BACKGROUND: From a recent post: December 4, 2021. "Jelani Day: Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump adds his voice to demands that the FBI investigate Jelani Day's death as a hate crime, NPR (Reporter Emma Bowman) reports..."Day, a graduate medical student at Illinois State University, went missing on Aug. 24. A month later, officials confirmed that the Black 25-year-old man had been found dead in the Illinois River. His death was ruled a drowning, but it remains unknown how Day ended up in the river. "None of it adds up," said Crump said, who was joined in Chicago by co-counsel B'Ivory LaMarr; Day's mother, Carmen Bolden Day; and civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Two days after Day's disappearance, his car was found in Peru, Ill., a city located an hour north of where Day lived in Bloomington. Day's family, who suspect homicide, have rejected suggestions that the cause of death was suicide. "Jelani was not depressed, he was not burdened," Bolden Day said."
https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2021/12/jelani-day-civil-rights-lawyer-ben.html
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STORY: "FBI offers 10,000 for information on Jelani Day case," by Reporter Kelsey Watznauer, published by NWI,com on December 13, 2021.
PHOTO CAPTION: "A prominent civil rights attorney has joined the mother of Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day, who disappeared in August and was found dead in a river, to investigate his death."
GIST: "The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information in the Jelani Day death investigation.
In a “seeking information” post added to the bureau’s Most Wanted website late Friday, a description and three photos of Day are listed asking for the public’s help in gathering information related to his death.
Day, a 25-year-old Illinois State University grad student and Danville native, was reported missing in Bloomington on Aug. 25. His body was recovered from the Illinois River near Peru, 60 miles north of ISU, on Sept. 4. Authorities later determined he died by drowning.
The FBI’s Chicago field office and the agency’s Behavioral Analysis Unit has been assisting with the case since October, despite Day’s family and supporters urging the bureau to take the lead on the investigation.
Special Agent Sioban Johnson from the Chicago office told The Pantagraph on Monday, the FBI announced the reward for information on Friday “with the intention of calling additional attention to this important subject and the full media campaign this morning.”
According to a statement from the “Jelani Day Joint Task Force,” the FBI push for information and reward are part of the group’s “enhanced measures” to identify new leads related to the case.
In addition to the FBI assistance, a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement team involved with this death investigation currently includes: LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomington, Peru and LaSalle police departments, Illinois State Police and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
“To supplement forensic, analytical, and technological investigative techniques already in use in the Day investigation, the JDJTF is engaging in a coordinated, nationwide, multi-platform social media campaign to identify new leads,” according to the statement.
The reward of up to $10,000 is for “substantial information regarding Day’s final hours leading to the identification of new witnesses or evidence.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (which is 1-800-225-5324) or go to tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously""
The entire story can be read at:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGllVgcqcNLdSFtlsFxcPPMGMxM
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
