🚨 Independent Autopsy Reaches Final Conclusions in Nolan Wells Case—Questions Still Remain
Case Update: The independent aut0psy in Nolan Wells’ d3ath has reached its final conclusions as the police investigation continues
The case has received national attention, with prominent civil rights activists calling for a transparent investigation.
( Scott Olson/Getty Images)<ʙuттon class="mt-1 bg-primary text-sm text-link ml-2 absolute bottom-0 right-0 before:content-['...']" data-ylk="elm:loadmore;itc:1;sec:content-canvas;slk:more;" data-yga="{"yLinkElement":"expand"}" data-rapid_p="8" data-y-link-id="1537od60ownjsy04lp0z" data-v9y="1">More
An independent autopsy performed on the body of Nolan Wells this week was inconclusive, leaving the family of the 18-year-old athlete still searching for answers about what led to his death.
Wells, of Ocean Springs, Miss., went missing on July 4 during a boat trip with a group of friends to Mississippi’s Horn Island. He did not return with the group, and his body was found floating in the water just off the coast two days later.
Police are investigating the death as an accidental drowning. A day after Wells’s body was found, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said that Wells’s friends were cooperating with investigators and there was no initial indication of a crime.
The case has received national attention, with prominent civil rights activists calling for a transparent investigation in a state with a long history of racial violence.
“We still have more questions than answers,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family, said at a news conference on Wednesday announcing the results of the independent autopsy, which was paid for by former NFL quarterback turned activist Colin Kaepernick.
The results of the official state autopsy, performed before the one commissioned by the family, are still pending. A toxicology report has also yet to be released.
What the independent autopsy found
Ben Crump goes over the results of an independent autopsy on Nolan Wells at a press conference in Chicago on July 22.
(Scott Olson via Getty Images)<ʙuттon class="mt-1 bg-primary text-sm text-link ml-2 absolute bottom-0 right-0 before:content-['...']" data-ylk="elm:loadmore;itc:1;sec:content-canvas;slk:more;" data-yga="{"yLinkElement":"expand"}" data-rapid_p="12" data-y-link-id="1pu0d6d056co4c0yzdk1" data-v9y="1">More
Dr. Roger Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who performed the independent autopsy on Wells on July 19, could not rule out the possibility that “non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death.” He listed the cause and manner of death as “undetermined” pending further investigation.
The autopsy found no evidence of fractures or deep tissue injuries. It described an area of “red discoloration” on the back of Wells’s head, but did not identify its cause.
Mitchell acknowledged that his preliminary findings were limited by several factors, including a lack of access to organs that were removed in the initial autopsy, making it impossible to determine whether Wells had water in his lungs or if his neck had been injured.
“The condition of Nolan Wells before he entered the water would be the crux of the matter,” Crump said. “It would be of utmost importance to being able to determine the cause and manner of death.”
What happened on the boat trip?
A person holds a placard that reads “Justice for Nolan” outside of the National Action Network headquarters in New York City on July 10.
(David Dee Delgado/Reuters)<ʙuттon class="mt-1 bg-primary text-sm text-link ml-2 absolute bottom-0 right-0 before:content-['...']" data-ylk="elm:loadmore;itc:1;sec:content-canvas;slk:more;" data-yga="{"yLinkElement":"expand"}" data-rapid_p="15" data-y-link-id="1hbdyr40q2xma609jyyj" data-v9y="1">More
On July 4, Wells traveled by boat with a group of friends to Horn Island, a popular uninhabited beach island about 7 miles off the Mississippi coast. According to Crump, there were about 200 people there that day.
âś“ Team
Case Update: The independent aut0psy in Nolan Wells’ d3ath has reached its final conclusions as the police investigation continues The case has received national attention, with prominent…