NOLAN WELLS’ DEATH RULED “CONSISTENT WITH DROWNING” — GRAND JURY REACHES A KEY FINDING

Posted by Team - September 22, 2026

Nolan Wells’ death ‘consistent with drowning,’ no evidence it was criminal or racially motivated, grand jury finds

Nolan Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning,” and there was no foul play, a grand jury found after reviewing the official autopsy and other evidence in the highly publicized case.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office found the 18-year-old’s cause and manner of death undetermined after his body was discovered two days after vanishing from a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island with pals — echoing the results of an independent autopsy carried out by a pathologist hired by Wells’ family.

“The Grand Jury finds that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning,” according to the grand jury report filed Friday in Jackson County.

The 23 grand jurors who met last week also found no evidence that a crime resulted in Wells’ death.

The findings come after the jury was provided a slew of evidence, including sworn testimony from the forensic pathologist who Wells’ family hired to do an independent autopsy, a forensic examination of Wells’ cellular phone, and other materials from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office’s death investigation.

The family’s independent autopsy, conducted by Dr. Roger Mitchell, was hindered by the fact that Wells’ body did not have a throat following the official post-mortem conducted by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Dr. Mitchell was given “full access” to examine the teen’s internal neck structures as part of the grand jury findings.

“There was bruising on the back of Mr. Wells’ head which was not a fatal injury. Further, the Grand Jury found no evidence of any fatal injury or organic disease to Mr. Wells’ body,” the reports said.

A witness testified under oath that he saw Wells slip “awkwardly” off the side of a boat around 3:30 p.m. on July 4, but couldn’t definitely say whether the college student struck his head during the fall.

Wells continued to socialize after slipping and did not appear injured, the witness added.

“While the Grand Jury found no other evidence to explain the bruising to the back of Mr. Wells’ head, or suspected bruising on his ʙuттocks and shoulder, the Grand Jury cannot say without absolute certainty that this fall caused this bruising,” the report said.

Wells, who was black, died after traveling to Horn Island — 10 miles off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast — with a group of pals on July 4.

The college football athlete’s friends took their boat back to the mainland after running into a mechanical issue, but Wells stayed behind.

His body was discovered on July 6 in the water off the island.

Wells also purchased alcohol with a fake ID leading up to his death, and no other people over the legal drinking age gave him or his friends any booze on July 4. There was no evidence he took cocaine, the report revealed.

There was also no evidence to support “public allegations” that anybody who rode to or from Horn Island was responsible or engaged in any criminal conduct leading to the teen’s tragic death, the grand jury found.

Wells’ pals have been subjected to a campaign of wild conspiracy theories and campaigns of harᴀssment from amateur online sleuths about why they left their friend behind and allegedly had his phone and keys.

The grand jury report called any such attacks on the group of Wells’ friends who traveled on three boats — the Triton, the Palm Beach, and the Tideline — or their families to be “malicious” and “false.”

It also maintained that it wasn’t unusual for Wells to remain on Horn Island even after his pals left — calling it “common for visitors” on holidays or other crowded days.

“The Grand Jury finds that Mr. Wells’ phone was not the only phone to travel back to the mainland without its owner.”

Wells was also not the only black person on Horn Island that day, one of the false ᴀssertions that the report said led to “misidentification, speculation, and rumors” concerning his death.

“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s death and disappearance were racially motivated,” District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a video statement released Monday.

“The death of Nolan Wells has devastated our community. Outsiders and influencers have attempted to exploit Nolan’s death to divide and create chaos here. But we are better together,” McIlrath said.

“Nolan’s friends loved Nolan and Nolan loved them,” the district attorney said. “Nolan chose to stay on the island that day and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that.”

Ben Crump, an attorney for the Wells family, slammed the grand jury decision.

“Today, the State of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells’ death without getting to the truth,” Crump said in a statement following the release of the grand jury report.

“This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers,” the civil rights attorney added. “Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.”

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Nolan Wells’ death ‘consistent with drowning,’ no evidence it was criminal or racially motivated, grand jury finds Nolan Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning,” and there was…

NOLAN WELLS’ DEATH RULED “CONSISTENT WITH DROWNING” — GRAND JURY REACHES A KEY FINDING

Nolan Wells’ death ‘consistent with drowning,’ no evidence it was criminal or racially motivated, grand jury finds

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