The family of Nolan Wells is demanding that his autopsy be released publicly and that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate his death, accusing Mississippi officials of attempting to close the case “without getting to the truth.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, said they “will not rest” despite a grand jury’s finding that Wells’ July boating death was consistent with drowning and showed no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
The family says the finding does not explain why an independent autopsy identified “recent unexplained blunt force injuries to the back of [Wells’] head.” The 18-year-old was found two days after he disappeared during a July 4 boat trip with friends, all of whom were white.
“The State of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells’ death without getting to the truth,” Crump said in a statement issued late Monday.
“Mississippi’s own pathologist found two bruises on the back of this young man’s head and informed investigators of them early in this investigation,” Crump said.
“An independent autopsy documented traces of blood and recent blunt force injuries to the back of Nolan’s head and his back. To this day, not one person has explained how they got there,” he added.
“We don’t know how Nolan died, and neither does the State of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating, and if it will not pursue this to the end, the Department of Justice should,” Crump said.
“This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers. Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we,” he stated.
Crump, who has represented the families of prominent civil rights cases involving Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, has argued since joining the case that race may have played a role in Wells’ death.
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Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath accused Crump of inflaming racial tensions with those claims.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath said in a video statement Monday after the grand jury’s findings were released.
“Nolan’s friends loved Nolan, and Nolan loved them. Nolan chose to stay on the island that day, and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that,” she said.
“I’m not suggesting that a grieving mother police the rumors surrounding her child’s death. What I am suggesting is that the Crump team knew better but did not do better,” Myers McIlrath added.
Wells’ parents are expected to address the public later Tuesday.
The grand jury met last week and issued 132 subpoenas, hearing testimony from 43 witnesses and seven experts about the events of July 4 on Horn Island, according to a partially redacted report.
Wells was last seen that afternoon. According to his friends, he decided to remain on the island and return later with another group.
His body was discovered two days later.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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