Grand jury: No charges in the death of Nolan Wells

Sept. 22 (UPI) — A grand jury found that there will be no criminal charges in the death of Mississippi Black teenager Nolan Wells who died on a boating trip with his white friends, the district attorney announced.

Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath announced the ruling in a video message posted Monday on social media. She said the grand jury returned a “no true bill,” which means there was not sufficient evidence to indict anyone. The video and grand jury report were posted on the district attorney’s Facebook page.

Since his death, there has been public outcry suggesting that the 18-year-old’s death was suspicious as he was the only Black person on the boat that went to a Fourth of July Party on Horn Island that day.

The grand jury heard from 43 witnesses and reviewed evidence collected at the scene, digital evidence, police reports and interviews, videos, images and maps collected during the investigation, NBC News reported.

The grand jury was made up people from a mix of ethnicities: “12 Caucasians, five African Americans, one Asian, two Hispanics, two Native Americans and one individual who preferred ‘other,'” the grand jury report said. There were 13 men and 10 women on the panel.

“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath said. “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.”

Myers McIlrath also mentioned Ben Crump, the Wells’ family attorney.

“I’m not suggesting that a grieving mother police the rumors surrounding her child’s death,” she said. “What I am suggesting is that the Crump team knew better but did not do better.”

Crump responded Tuesday, “This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers. Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.”

“Mississippi’s own pathologist found two bruises on the back of this young man’s head … 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,” he added.

“We don’t know how Nolan died, and neither does the State of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating,” Crump said.

Wells’ parents are expected to speak publicly Tuesday.

The friends on the boat told police that they had to leave early because their boat started taking on water. They said Wells chose to stay on the island and catch a ride back later.

The report said it was common for people on Horn Island to “socialize on boats and in the water,” and that it was “not unusual or suspicious” for some to ride home on different boats. The island is only accessible by boat.

The report said there was no evidence that Wells had any sort of physical fight or argument with anyone. It also said “that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.”

But Crump and the Wells family do not believe he drowned. They have previously said he was athletic and a good swimmer. The family’s legal team had an independent autopsy, which found that his cause and manner of death were “undetermined.”