Jackson, Miss. – A state grand jury has declined to recommend criminal charges in the death of Nolan Wells, an 18‑year‑old Black college student who was found dead two days after a July 4 boat party on Horn Island. The panel’s redacted report, posted on the district attorney’s Facebook page, states the death was “consistent with drowning” and notes that both the state autopsy and an independent autopsy commissioned by the family found bruising on the back of Wells’ head but could not determine a cause of death.
Family and civil‑rights advocates reject findings
Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, expressed disbelief at the conclusion, saying, “How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies?” Civil‑rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the family, called the report “more questions than answers,” accusing District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath of ending the investigation without ruling out blunt‑force trauma.
“All other causes must be ruled out prior to certifying a death as drowning,” Crump said at a news conference. “Common sense tells you that this child did not just drown.”
Witness testimony and evidence
A witness told the grand jury he saw Wells slip off the side of a boat around 3:30 p.m. on July 4, but the teen continued to socialize afterward and showed no obvious injury. The panel could not determine whether that fall caused the bruising noted in the autopsies.
The report also noted that Wells’ phone was left on the boat and that his friends’ phones traveled back to the mainland without their owners, a detail the grand jury reviewed but did not elaborate on. Alcohol was detected in Wells’ system, but the panel described the result as unreliable because testing involved decompositional fluid that can generate alcohol after death.
Reactions from friends and officials
Attorneys for several of Wells’ white friends, who have faced online accusations, welcomed the findings. “He said that he felt like he could breathe for the first time,” attorney Tyler Cox said, adding that the decision allows his clients to mourn without the cloud of criminal suspicion.
Representatives from the district attorney’s office and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety declined to release the full autopsy report, citing exemption from public‑records laws. The NAACP’s general counsel, Kristen Clarke, urged the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation, noting that the island is federally maintained and patrolled.
Calls for further transparency
Crump and the family renewed their request for the DOJ to step in and for the state medical examiner’s full autopsy to be made public. They argue that transparency is essential for accountability, especially given Mississippi’s history of racial tension.
At Wells’ funeral, Rev. Al Sharpton invoked the state’s legacy of lynching and civil‑rights murders, urging families not to accept unanswered questions surrounding the death of a young Black person.
District attorney’s response
In a video announcing the grand jury’s findings, McIlrath expressed frustration with speculation and rejected narratives that the case was racially motivated. “There is not a shred of evidence to support these narratives,” she said.
The grand jury’s report concluded with a statement of sympathy for the family and praised Wells’ character, but it left many of the family’s concerns unresolved, setting the stage for potential federal involvement.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
