Key Takeaways
- A Mississippi grand jury declined to pursue criminal charges in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells.
- District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said jurors found insufficient evidence to charge anyone; she also said there was no evidence of a racial motive.
- Wells’ family and attorney Ben Crump are urging Mississippi to continue investigating and seeking an independent U.S. Department of Justice investigation.
A grand jury has decided against pursuing criminal charges in Nolan Wells’ death, District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath announced on Monday (Sept. 21). In a video statement, she said that after a “thorough and exhaustive investigation,” jurors met last week and determined there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime in the case, in which the 18-year-old was found dead following a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island with friends.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath shared. “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.”
The Mississippi DA also criticized Ben Crump and his team, whom she claimed previously told her office that they uncovered no evidence suggesting a crime was committed against Wells. “I’m not suggesting that a grieving mother police the rumors surrounding her child’s death,” she said, according to NBC News. “What I am suggesting is that the Crump team knew better but did not do better.”
Ben Crump urges Mississippi to keep investigating Nolan Wells’ death
In a statement released on Tuesday (Sept. 22), Crump said that the grand jury results leave them with “more questions than answers.” He added, “Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.”
The attorney also pointed to a July report prepared by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell, who found “red discoloration” in the soft tissue at the back of Wells’ head. Crump explained, “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.”
“We don’t know how Nolan died, and neither does the State of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating,” he continued. Wells’ parents, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, addressed the public alongside Crump in the press conference below.
Grand jury report outlines the investigation into Nolan Wells’ death
Alongside Myers McIlrath’s video statement, the DA’s office posted a partially redacted version of the grand jury report to Facebook. According to the document, investigators issued 132 subpoenas and heard from 43 witnesses, seven of whom were called to testify before the panel.
The grand jury consisted of 23 people, described in the report as a “cross section of citizens” from Jackson County ranging in age from 27 to 68. The group included 13 men and 10 women, with “12 Caucasians, five African Americans, one Asian, two Hispanics, two Native Americans, and one individual who preferred ‘other.’”
In addition to challenging the outcome, the Wells family and Crump are once again urging the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an independent investigation. It’s also worth noting that, legally, their fight for justice may not necessarily end here. Should credible new evidence surface, it could be presented to another grand jury.