'No Organs Were Missing': Jelani Day's Mother Dispels Claims

BLOOMINGTON, IL — While Jelani Day's mother is still searching for answers about her 25-year-old son's death, she responded to comments and conspiracies theories Monday that several organs were taken from his body. The organs were not missing, just decomposed.

"Family, We need to hit pause for a moment," a post on a Facebook page seeking justice for Day read Monday. "As outraged and upset as we are, we must stay the course, and stick to the facts in our search for answers."

The post included a statement from Day's mother, Carmen Bolden Day, who has been advocating for equity in her son's case since he was reported missing from the Illinois State University campus on Aug. 25.

His body was ultimately discovered in the Illinois River. Police have called the circumstances he was found in "unusual and suspicious."

Since a Friday article in the Chicago Sun-Times detailed Carmen Day's experience with the LaSalle County Coroner's Office, social media posts have spread claims that Day's brain, liver and jaw were missing or sawed off of his body. Those claims are inaccurate, according to his mother.

"No organs were missing. I do not want to stray off from the facts," the statement from Carmen Bolden Day read. "There were contradicting facts from the first preliminary autopsy compared to the second independent autopsy, but this is not a case of organ harvesting, however, my son did not put himself in a river."

According to LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch, the confusion came from those misinterpreting the decomposed state of the organs.

"Some [organs] were severely decomposed due to the body being in the water," Ploch told Patch, but he specified that no organs were missing.

Little information has been released to Day's mother since his body was found about a quarter-mile east of the Illinois Route 251 bridge in Peru, Illinois. He was found about and hour from where he was last seen at a cannabis store near Illinois State University, but not far from where his car was found days earlier.

According to Ploch, a finding on the cause and manner of Day's death is pending a toxicology report.

The Sun-Times article said Carmen Bolden Day had still not seen her son's body since the coroner identified him. But she had been told in graphic detail about the condition he was in, including the decomposed state of his eyeballs, teeth, brain, liver and spleen.

Day's mother said in a statement the primary goal should still be finding out what happened to her son.

"My son was murdered and my goal and purpose are to find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable!!!" she wrote.

The case gained national attention, sparking a conversation about inequity when it comes to missing Black people. Celebrity musician Lizzo even shared a TikTok on Day's disappearance, calling attention to the investigation.