Jelani Day Update: Mother Reacts To Claims That Student's Organs Were Stolen

As authorities waited to confirm Jelani Day's cause of death, the 25-year-old's mother, Carmen Bolden-Day, clarified in a statement "no organs were missing" from her son's body.

Jelani's body was found in the Illinois River last month after he was reported missing by his family in August. Over the weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times stated when the body was found, "the family’s private forensic pathologist could find no brain, according to Day (Carmen) and her attorney. No organs. Neither liver. Nor spleen." However, the report was misconstrued, with many claiming Jelani's organs were removed before his body was found.

The family's attorney Hallie Bezner said the LaSalle County Coroner’s Office’s pathology report explained the organs were “completely liquefied.” The Chicago Sun-Times also explained that the organs had decomposed after Jelani's body spent several days in the river.

“No organs were missing. I do not want to stray off from the facts. 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. My son was murdered and my goal and purpose are to find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable," Carmen wrote in a statement, according to News Nation.

The Chicago Sun-Times also reported Jelani’s body was found without eyeballs, and that his jaw had been “sawed off.” Several social media users called for justice claiming that his death could be a case of organ harvesting.

Meanwhile, Bezner told The Pantagraph that the Sun-Times’ report was accurate, but the story was misconstrued.

“I think that people read between the lines to try to have some conspiracy that doesn't exist," he reported.

On Sept. 4, the police retrieved a body from the Illinois River and ran DNA tests and dental identification to confirm if the body was that of Jelani.

“There are no words to clearly communicate our devastation,” his family said in a statement at the time. “At this moment there are more questions than answers surrounding Jelani’s disappearance and death, and that is where we will focus our energy. As of this moment, we do not know what happened to Jelani and we will not stop until we do.”