The family of a teen whose naked body was discovered in Livingston, Montana, in a field off Highway 89 at the beginning of February says law enforcement is not working hard to uncover the truth about their loved one’s death because he is Black.
Jalen Williams, a native of Evanston, Illinois, was found dead on Feb. 10 near his girlfriend’s house.
Authorities say he froze to death. However, the 19-year-old’s family suspects foul play.
“[Detectives] told me Jalen died of hypothermia,” Lilonda Brooks, the teen’s mother said to Chicago station NBC 5 last week. “He was frostbitten.”
The family wants to know “how?” They believed the man knew his surroundings very well. They also think someone did something to him before his tragic demise.
Terrance Brooks, Williams’ uncle said, “He was found face down with no clothes on – in an open field.”
The mother also said it looked like her son’s body showed signs of trauma.
“It looked like he put up a fight – bruises – like he was swollen,” she said. “Something happened to my son, and not of his own actions.”
According to the family, the young man moved to Montana for work purposes after landing a job working on a ranch with Heroes and Horses, a program that works with veterans, offering them an alternative to work through their post-traumatic stress disorder and scars from combat.
The family alleges the Livingston Police Department is not being helpful to them as they search for clues surrounding Williams’ premature death.
The uncle explained to the press that his nephew moved to the state after graduating from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, in 2020 and went back and forth to Chicago to spend time with his family. Lilonda Brooks says her son was thinking about starting a business in the town and was excited about his future, saying, “He had reached that point to take off.”
Terrance Brooks believes that race may play a part in the…
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