By WMBD-TV
BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL – It’s been two years since Carmen Bolden Day last spoke with her son Jelani Day. She now believes she has proof that someone else was involved in his disappearance and ultimately his death.
“It’s a void cause he’s absent. I don’t have him anymore. He went from missing, to them finding a body, to them identifying that body as him. And then I’ve had to bury him and now all I’ve been doing is working on trying to figure out why I had to bury him,” said Bolden Day.
Jelani was an Illinois State University graduate student studying to become a doctor. He was last seen alive Aug. 24, 2021. A body was found in the Illinois River in LaSalle County on Sept. 4, 2021. The body was not identified as Jelani’s for almost another three weeks. LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch ruled Jelani’s death as a drowning, but his family believes otherwise.
“Every day it’s something about Jelani. I never stop thinking about Jelani. I’m always working on something that has to do with Jelani,” said Bolden Day.
In January, Bolden Day demanded action from Peru city officials at a city council meeting. She said Police Chief Sarah Raymond has not given weekly updates since the formation of The Jelani Day Task Force. The grieving mother also called out Mayor Ken Kolowski and the council saying they are enabling the behavior of the police department
“I ask you tonight, have you enabled the lack of accountability? Have you looked into this case yourselves? What questions have you raised to the Peru Police Department,” she asked at the January meeting. “What accountability meetings have you set up? Do you know the details of this case? Have you asked questions about what is being done?
Now, with new information, Bolden Day wants her son’s death investigation turned into a murder investigation.
“Being that there were shoeprints found in the vicinity of Jelani’s body was found. That was never revealed to us. That was never disclosed to us,” she said. “We obtained pictures, the police had taken pictures of shoeprints. As you know, Jelani didn’t have on shoes. His shoes were found a mile up the river where his body was found. So those shoeprints couldn’t have belonged to him.”
This new discovery has Jelani’s family asking more questions.
“So, the question is, who does those shoe prints belong to? And why was that information not disclosed to us? Why was it not ever revealed? What are they hiding,” asked Bolden Day.
As a result of the shoeprint discovery and other developments she won’t disclose at this time, Bolden Day has focused more energy into her son’s case. She ultimately decided to postpone the second Jelani Day Foundation Dinner that was scheduled for Aug. 26.
“At the time when this stuff came, it was too much for me to do everything. So, I had to postpone it,” she said.
After making the decision to postpone the dinner, Bolden Day was asked to participate in the March on Washington’s 60th Anniversary March. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom held on Aug. 28, 1963, is when the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream,” speech.
“Now I will be up there representing my son, 60 years later in the presence of Dr. King’s children and social activists that are mentioned in history books. And Jelani’s name is associated with that,” Bolden Day said.
Bolden Day said she is appreciative of all the efforts that people are making to keep Jelani’s name alive.
“It really touches me to know that there are people that I don’t even know, that are just as concerned and want the answers just as I do,” she said.
The Jelani Day Foundation Dinner has been postponed until Feb. 3, 2024. Bolden Day chose the new date because it is National Missing Persons Day.
WMBD reached out to Peru’s Chief of Police and has not received a response prior to publishing.
WMBD-TV can be reached at [email protected].
