The family of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black teenager who died after a July 4 boat trip in Jackson County, Mississippi, is calling for his autopsy to be released publicly and for the Justice Department to open its own investigation, after a grand jury found no evidence of wrongdoing in his death.
The grand jury ruled Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning.” He was found two days after disappearing from the outing to Horn Island, where he had reportedly been traveling with a group of friends who are all white.
Family attorney Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, said the family will not accept the grand jury’s conclusion as the final word.
“The State of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells’ death without getting to the truth,” Crump said in a statement late Monday.
Crump said an independent autopsy commissioned by the family found injuries that have not been explained.
“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. 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,” Crump said.
Crump argued that the case remains unresolved despite the grand jury’s finding.
“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,” he 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.”
Crump has suggested since taking on the case that race played a role in Wells’ death, a claim that Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath rejected in a video statement issued Monday after the grand jury’s findings became public.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath said. “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.”
Myers McIlrath also criticized Crump’s team directly.
“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,” she said.
According to a partially redacted report, the grand jury that convened last week issued 132 subpoenas and heard testimony from 43 witnesses and seven experts regarding the events of July 4 on Horn Island. Friends told police Wells chose to remain on the island that afternoon and planned to catch a later ride back with others.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Wells’ parents are expected to make a public statement Tuesday.
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