With a smile that went from ear to ear, and a shaggy medium length haircut, it was hard to miss a guy like Jay Polhill. This happy-go-lucky Photography student from Columbia College in Chicago had no idea that his life would be cut short by following his passion. Before I go into the mysterious death of Jay, I wanted to first talk about the amazing life he lived.
Jay was born on June 9th, 1989 to his parents Rick and Jane Polhill in Monroe, Wisconsin. Although he was born in Monroe, he grew up 30 minutes away in the small village of Lena, Illinois, which was a stone’s throw away from the Wisconsin-Illinois border. The Polhill family was very close and Jay seemed to be the goofy and funny spirit that illuminated a room. It seems like everyone who met Jay had a great impression from him as a kind and charismatic person.
When Jay was a child he had a tumor surgically removed from his sinus cavity. I went through the same surgery when I was 4 years old and my parents explained how I was a completely different and energetic kid afterwards. I can only imagine that Jay felt the same way and had a newfound appreciation for life after his surgery. While in high school Jay wrestled and ran track for Lena-Winslow High School and found his passion for photography. With a population of about 2,900 residents in Lena, one could only imagine how just a tiny spark of adventure could inspire someone like Jay to leave this small town and head for a bigger city like Chicago.
After graduating high school in 2008, Jay went on an unforgettable trip to South Korea to visit a friend for the summer. On returning back from his vacation and working some part times jobs, I think Jay started asking himself what we all do once we get our freedom. “what now?”
So he left Lena and headed to Chicago to start as a photography major student at a private school called Columbia College. I can only imagine how Jay felt at his first day of college leaving a small town like Lena and going foot forward into a whole new life with people that shared a similar passion for art. Jay lived in a college dorm and excelled at his classes and making an impact on the campus by becoming a very social person with a lot of friends. It was these same friends that noticed Jay didn’t show up to a party on February 28th 2010.
Before Jay went missing, he was in contact with a few people; he responded to a text from his mom at 10am, which said, “Sorry. Busy night. Way behind. Be in touch later. Love you.”. His girlfriend had been texting him about the party he was going to that Sunday afternoon, and said she would meet him at his dorm later that night. Detective Bob Rodriguez, who was assigned to the case, spoke with the people at the party and no one recalled seeing Jay at all. No one had heard from him after those last texts were sent, and no one had any idea where he could be.
Two days later, on the morning of March 2nd, someone collecting water samples out of the Calumet River in South Chicago found Jay’s body. He was wearing only a t-shirt and all of his clothes and personal items were taken. Jay’s autopsy report came back inconclusive, and later changed to homicide by Medical Examiner Dr. Mitra Kalelkar, with the conclusion being multiple severe injuries to the head and the cause of death being drowning. There was no drugs or alcohol detected in his blood and no signs of sexual assault. There were two suspicious identical wounds on his leg that may be consistent to a propeller blade from a boat.
When investigators started digging into the last known people to see Jay, they were able to retrieve a video surveillance of him leaving his dorms heading towards the 500 block of South State Street shown wearing winter clothes while holding a laptop bag and his camera. These items, including his cell phone and wallet, were never retrieved, and are still unaccounted for.
To detectives, the Calumet River in South Chicago seems like an odd place to end up, so was he kidnapped and taken there? Was he up to something and was meeting someone there?
When talking to his classmates, the answer became clear. Jay was working on a photography project and the subject he chose was bridges. The Calumet River is the best place to go if you want a variety of bridges in different angles and settings, so it made sense now that Jay was going there with his camera to work on his school project that day.
When officers looked at Jay’s CTA card, they saw that he took the Red Line to get to the river. I was able to get a scheduled route to the Calumet River from Columbia College. This is not the exact route Jay took, but a possibility.
The Calumet River is surrounded by industrial companies and open marsh areas where homeless encampments are known to the community. It is my strong opinion that someone living in the area saw an opportunity to rob Jay and ultimately murdered him in the attack. I would imagine that Jay's body was not moved far from where he was attacked and was most likely attacked on the river's banks while taking pictures. The reason I believe it was someone from the homeless community is from the fact that Jay's body had no clothes on when it was found.
This case is considered cold and has become lost in our minds, but not the hearts of Jay's family and friends.
If you have any Information relating to Jay's murder, please contact:
Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-TIPS
Investigating Agency 312-746-9690
Information was obtained from the following sources:
Sweeney, Annie. "Jay Polhill's death is a mystery spanning 20 miles,18 months". Chicago Tribune. 22 August 2011.
Zekman, Pam. "Family Offers $10K Rewards To Solve Mystery of Student's Death". CBS Chicago. 17 October 2011.
Miller, Carlin. "Jay Polhill, Missing Columbia College Student: Friends & Family Reach Out to Internet for Help". CBS News Chicago. 4 March 2010.
"New clues in alleged 'Smiley Face Killer' murders". Fox 32 News Chicago. 22 July 2019.
Footprints At The River's Edge. (Aug 10 2011).
Jay Polhill Obituary. The Journal-Standard. 5 March 2010.