No charges in Nolan Wells’ death, but key questions remain
A Mississippi grand jury found no evidence to charge anyone in Nolan Wells’ death. His family says medical findings and cellphone records still do not explain what happened during his July 4 trip to Horn Island.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. — A grand jury has declined to charge anyone in the death of Nolan Wells, but the central question remains unanswered: How did the 18-year-old die after traveling with friends to Horn Island for the Fourth of July?
Wells disappeared July 4. His body was found near the Mississippi island’s northwestern shore two days later. The Jackson County grand jury found no credible evidence that anyone who traveled with him committed a crime related to his death. It said the circumstances of his discovery were consistent with drowning. Yet both Mississippi’s chief medical examiner and a pathologist hired by Wells’ family classified the cause and manner of death as undetermined. Neither ruled out accidental drowning.
The grand jury issued 132 subpoenas and considered information from 43 witnesses, along with physical and digital evidence. Its decision means no charges will be filed based on the evidence it reviewed. It does not establish precisely how Wells died.
At a Sept. 24 briefing, the family’s attorneys pointed to two bruises on the back of Wells’ head documented in the state examination. The family’s pathologist, Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., identified blunt-force injuries but could not determine what caused them or whether they contributed to Wells’ death. His report says the original examiner found no water in Wells’ airway or stomach. That finding alone does not rule out drowning.
The state examination found no fractures or bleeding in Wells’ larynx or hyoid bone and no other injuries identified as contributing to his death.
A forensic review of Wells’ cellphone raised separate questions about his final hours. Examiner Andrew Garrett said location data placed the phone on a boat and showed Wells last accessed it at about 2:18 p.m. Garrett said some Snapchat data was deleted between Wells’ last use of the device and its return to his parents. He could not determine who deleted it or why.
The review also recovered group conversations. The family’s lawyers described messages discussing people encountered near the island and concerns about racism. They said those messages do not establish that a crime occurred.
The phone became a point of disagreement between the family and investigators. The family’s attorneys said a proposed joint examination broke down over who could enter the laboratory and the terms for turning over the device. They said they later gave prosecutors their forensic findings. The attorneys also said they received the state autopsy report Sept. 23 after confusion over its release.
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath has said the investigation found no evidence that Wells’ death was racially motivated. Wells’ family and attorney Ben Crump continue to seek answers about his final hours, the source of his injuries and how he entered the water.
