The quest for answers concerning the death of Nolan Wells continued Tuesday with the public release of an independent autopsy done at the request of the Wells family. The examination points to an unexplained injury suffered by Wells as well as a number of unanswered questions as the circumstances that led to him dying remain unclear months after his body was discovered.
Independent autopsy details unexplained head wound on Nolan Wells’ body
One day after it was announced that no criminal charges have been brought in Wells’ death, the teen’s parents Elmore and Christine Wells Wonsley, as represented by a legal team that includes civil rights attorney Ben Crump, are pointing toward an independent autopsy they had conducted. The report, published online by TMZ, makes the conclusion that “Nolan X. Wells sustained recent unexplained blunt-force injuries to the back of the head and additional areas of his back.” Following up on preliminary reports of an apparent head injury, the report concludes that “the ‘red discoloration’ reported in the preliminary report was confirmed as blood and reported as two contusions (bruises) by the original pathologist.” Criticizing the Mississippi medical examiner’s findings concerning Wells’ body, the independent report states “Although the original Mississippi forensic pathologist reported these bruises of the head to investigators early in the death investigation, the circumstances, mechanism, and contribution of those injuries to his death remain unexplained.”
The report also calls into question the validity of toxicology tests done on Wells’ body, noting that the body’s state of decomposition made it impossible to accurately determine the teen’s blood alcohol level at the time of his death, thus making it unclear whether intoxication could have played a role in his apparent drowning. More generally, while the recent grand jury report surrounding Wells’ death determined that the evidence was “consistent with drowning” and concluded that the teen’s head wound was a non-fatal injury, the independent autopsy report notes that the conclusion that Wells drowned does not clarify the circumstances that led to this outcome. “The available record does not definitively establish the decedent’s condition immediately before entering the water, whether he entered voluntarily or was forced, whether he was conscious or impaired, or why he would have been unable to extricate himself despite reportedly being able to swim and while in the presence of other persons,” the report said. Given these uncertainties, the report recommends that “the investigation should remain open and active.”
Criticizing official investigation and repeating calls for answers
As Blavity previously reported, a Jackson County grand jury returned no criminal charges in the case of Wells’ death. In light of the grand jury decision, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath criticized members of the public, including Crump and the Wells family, for promoting “the narrative that three white boys and a Black boy went to an island and only three white friends returned,” a narrative which she called “false.” Crump and other supporters of the Wells family, meanwhile, called on the District Attorney’s office to continue investigating. Wells’ parents and Crump held a press conference Tuesday to react to the grand jury’s findings, discuss the independent autopsy and call for continued investigation. Crump demanded that Mississippi release its full autopsy report.
Crump also criticized the state medical examiner on the question of Wells’ head injury. “The cause of those injuries and their contribution to Nolan’s death remain unexplained,” Crump said in a statement ahead of Tuesday’s press conference. “The state medical examiner neglected to take photographs of the back of Nolan’s head.” At the press conference, attorney Lisa Park added that the independent examination determined that the head injury likely occurred within four hours of Wells’ death. Christine Wells Wonsley also criticized the District Attorney’s office for releasing the state’s finding through Facebook. “To me, that showed a lack of empathy and a need to get this case done and over with,” she said, adding “How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies?”
In short, the Wells family and their representatives are expressing their dissatisfaction with the way the case has been handled and have vowed to continue pressing for more information concerning how the 18-year-old college student died. The release of the independent autopsy conducted on behalf of the family highlights the uncertainties that still surround Wells’ death and back the family’s call for additional investigation until it is determined how and why their son died.