Jelani Day’s Mother Clarifies Reports His Body Was ‘Flayed’: This Is Not A Case Of Organ Harvesting

Jelani Day’s Mother Clarifies Reports His Body Was ‘Flayed’: This Is Not A Case Of Organ Harvesting

Update #2 (Oct. 12th): Jelani Day’s mother, Carmen Bolden Day, has disputed recent reports that several organs of her son’s body were missing when he was found.

She reportedly said in a statement,

“This is not a case of organ harvesting, however, my son did not put himself in a river. My son was murdered and my goal and purpose are to find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable!!!”

Original Story (Oct. 11th): New information regarding the Jelani Day case has been released.

As previously reported, Jelani Day–a 25-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University–was pronounced dead last month. He went missing near Peru, Illinois on Aug. 24th, and he was pronounced dead on Sept. 23rd after a body found in the Illinois River was identified as his. While the body of Jelani Day was found on Sept. 4th, it took the LaSalle County coroner three weeks to identify the remains.

Jelani Day

Jelani Day‘s family ultimately decided to request for a private coroner to perform a second autopsy on the body. According to his mother–Carmen Bolden Day–and attorney Hallie M. Bezner, Jelani Day‘s body was largely decomposed by the river and its animals, leading to things like the corpse having numerous fish and turtle bites. Jelani Day‘s body was also recovered without any eyeballs, and his organs were cited as being “completely liquified.”

There were other findings that appeared to be even more suspicious, such as the body missing its front teeth and the jawbone being “sawed out.” Jelani Day‘s genitalia was also reportedly unidentifiable, and the LaSalle County forensic pathologist suggested it had been “flayed.” 

Jelani Day

With this new information, the investigation into what happened to Jelani Day continues. Attorney Hallie M. Benzer remarked:

“I’m really trying to ask questions and not go down the path of a lot of conspiracy because I think it’s easy to go that way.”

She also reflected on the condition of Jelani Day‘s remains, which were reportedly so decomposed that Carmen Bolden Day was advised against viewing them.

“He was in such bad shape. It’s just a heartbreaking story, for sure.”

Since the news broke, various social media users have chimed in on the situation. Many compared Jelani Day to Emmett Till, and others suggested he was a victim of organ trafficking. See what some Twitter users had to say down below:

Jelani Day was recently honored at a celebration of life in his hometown of Danville, Illinois. His family continues to seek answers, and the investigation is ongoing.

We send our prayers to Jelani Day’s family.

[VIA]