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A Mississippi grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges over the death of Nolan Wells, the Black teenager found dead two days after a Fourth of July boating trip, while his family says important questions remain unanswered.
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said the evidence did not support charging anyone in connection with Wells’ death. The grand jury’s findings were released on Monday.
Wells had travelled to Horn Island with friends on 4 July. His body was discovered on 6 July following a search involving local, state and federal agencies.
Family says decision leaves unanswered questions
Ben Crump, the civil rights lawyer representing Wells’ family, said the outcome “leaves us with more questions than answers”.
“Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.”
— Lawyer Ben Crump.
Crump had previously raised concerns about Wells dying after going out on a boat with three young white men. He also questioned conflicting witness accounts about what happened.
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According to reports, jurors heard from 43 witnesses, including a forensic pathologist hired by Wells’ family to conduct an independent autopsy.
The panel found no credible evidence that anyone aboard the boats involved in the trip had committed a crime connected to Wells’ death. It said those who travelled with him had cooperated fully, providing mobile phones, GPS devices, surveillance footage and other evidence.
Myers McIlrath also rejected allegations of a racial motive, saying there was no evidence to support claims that Wells’ disappearance or death had been racially motivated.
Evidence consistent with drowning
Police had previously said Wells drowned accidentally. His friends said he chose to remain on Horn Island when they left early because of a problem with their boat.
The grand jury said the condition and location of his body, together with when it was discovered, were consistent with drowning. It also noted that visitors sometimes leave Horn Island on a different boat from the one on which they arrived, particularly during busy holidays.
However, the medical findings did not establish a definitive cause of death. According to Reuters’ account of the report, both the state medical examiner and the family’s independent pathologist recorded the cause and manner of death as undetermined. Neither ruled out accidental drowning.
A family’s search for answers
Wells played American football at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where his coach remembered him as a “happy-go-lucky kid”. His mother, Christine Wonsley, raised the alarm when he failed to return home on the evening of 4 July.
The grand jury’s report said the case should be reconsidered if credible new evidence emerges suggesting his death was not accidental, according to the Associated Press.
For Wells’ family, Crump said, the decision not to bring charges has not ended their efforts to establish what happened to him.
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