The FBI on Thursday was provided all files from the multijurisdictional unit investigating Jelani Day's death to analyze, the Peru Police chief said.
Those files include all Peru Police documents plus all files from the multijurisdictional unit, Peru Police Chief Bob Pyszka said in a statement Thursday.
The FBI has previously told local authorities that it "will not take over the lead of this case" despite requests to do so, Pyszka said. They've agreed only to assist. Pyszka said that "the multijurisdictional unit (has) reached out numerous times to the Federal Bureau of Investigations as most recently as early last week."
Generally speaking, the FBI only becomes the lead investigative agency on a case if there’s reason to believe a federal crime has been committed. Without that, the FBI can only provide support to the lead local agency.
When asked, Pyszka confirmed to WGLT that the FBI has not taken the lead in the investigation because at this time, there is no evidence of a federal crime that would warrant doing so.
The FBI itself has not publicly said why it's not the lead investigative agency on the case.
"The FBI is always willing to assist at the request of local law enforcement and is in communication with the Peru Police department to provide resources as needed. Department of Justice policy prevents us from further commenting on investigations," said FBI spokesperson Special Agent Siobhan Johnson in Chicago.
Day was an Illinois State University graduate student who went missing Aug. 24. His body was found Sept. 4 in the Illinois River in Peru.
Authorities say he drowned, and there were no signs of trauma on the body before his death. Authorities still don’t know how Day ended up in the water. His family and their supporters have rejected theories about suicide or self-harm and believe he was murdered.
Day's family has made repeated calls for the FBI to take over the investigation into his disappearance and death. Those calls have been amplified in recent days by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH coalition.
On Tuesday, U.S Rep. Bobby Rush, a Chicago Democrat, called on Attorney General Merrick and FBI Director Christopher Wray to launch a federal investigation.
“As I learned the details of Day’s case, I was reminded of the lynching of Emmett Till, whose body was found floating in a river in 1955 and still, decades later, no one has been held legally accountable for his death,” Rush wrote in a letter sent to Merrick and Wray. He added that the details of Day’s case were “strikingly similar” to past lynchings of Black men and women.
Gabby Petito case
Day’s case has drawn national comparisons to another high-profile missing person case: Gabby Petito.
Petito went missing while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend. Her case drew the immediate involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. Supporters of the Day family have pointed to the FBI investigation into Petito’s disappearance as an example of racial disparity in missing person cases.
There are a few differences in the two cases that could explain why the FBI was so quick to become involved when Petito was reported missing. Petito’s last known location was in a national park in Wyoming. National parks are federal land, which grants jurisdiction to the FBI. Because Petito and her boyfriend had crossed multiple state lines, the investigation into her disappearance involved several different agencies, with the FBI acting as the coordinating authority.
Petito was ultimately found dead and her death was ruled a homicide. Her remains were recovered in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Homicides occurring on federal property are understood to be a federal crime.
To date, there is no publicly disclosed evidence of a federal crime in the Day case that would compel similar involvement from the FBI.
