Mississippi grand jury in Wells case includes 23 members from six ethnic groups

Crump disputes finding, points to unexplained head and back injuries

A 23-member Jackson County grand jury that returned a “no true bill” Monday in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells drew from six ethnic groups, according to the grand jury report posted to District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath’s Facebook page. The panel included “12 Caucasians, five African Americans, one Asian, two Hispanics, two Native Americans and one individual who preferred ‘other,’” the report said, with 13 men and 10 women. A “no true bill” is a grand jury’s finding that there is insufficient evidence to indict anyone.

In a Monday video message announcing the result, McIlrath said: “There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated. 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 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.

McIlrath also addressed the family’s legal team in the video message. “I’m not suggesting that a grieving mother police the rumors surrounding her child’s death,” McIlrath said. “What I am suggesting is that the Crump team knew better but did not do better.”

Crump responded Tuesday, rejecting the finding. “This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers,” Crump said. “Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.” Crump and the Wells family have said they do not believe he drowned, and have previously said he was athletic and a good swimmer.

Crump pointed to forensic findings he said remained unexplained. “Mississippi’s own pathologist found two bruises on the back of this young man’s head,” Crump said, noting that an independent autopsy commissioned by the family 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,” Crump said. “We don’t know how Nolan died, and neither does the State of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating.” The family’s independent autopsy found Wells’ cause and manner of death “undetermined.”

The investigation centered on a Fourth of July outing to Horn Island. The island is accessible only by boat. According to the friends on the boat, the vessel began taking on water and they had to leave early; Wells chose to stay on the island and catch a ride back on a different boat later. The grand jury 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 report also said there was no evidence that Wells had any sort of physical fight or argument with anyone on the trip, and concluded that “the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.”

Wells’ parents were expected to speak publicly Tuesday. Wells was the only Black person on the boat that traveled to Horn Island for the July Fourth outing, and since his death there has been public outcry suggesting the 18-year-old’s death was suspicious.