Grand Jury Review No Charges In Nolan Wells’ Death

A grand jury has found there wasn’t evidence to bring charges in the death of Nolan Wells, a Black teen who was found dead after a July 4 boating trip off the Mississippi Gulf Coast — a conclusion swiftly questioned by Wells’ family. The decision announced late Monday by Angel Myers McIlrath, the district attorney overseeing Wells’ case, comes after months of intense speculation about how the 18-year-old disappeared from a bustling party and why the friends who ferried Wells to the island left without him.

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The grand jury in Jackson County, Mississippi, found no evidence of criminal conduct and noted that examinations of his body by the Mississippi medical examiner’s office and an independent forensic pathologist hired by Wells’ family found the cause and manner of death to be undetermined. “If credible evidence comes to light in the future that suggests Mr. Wells’ death was non-accidental, this matter should be represented to the Jackson County Grand Jury for further consideration,” the panel’s report said.

Lawyers for Wells’ family, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, said the grand jury’s report leaves more questions than answers and accused the district attorney of ending the investigation despite not determining what caused blunt force trauma on the back of Wells’ head and body. They also renewed their request that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct an independent investigation and called on McIlrath to release the investigation file and the full autopsy report by the medical examiner.

Source: AP News