A grand jury has unanimously declined to indict anyone of a crime in the death of Nolan Wells, who disappeared on July 4 during a boat trip and was later found dead, as the Mississippi district attorney on the case vigorously rejected months of speculation that his death was racially motivated.
The grand jury returned a “no true bill,” meaning it did not find probable cause to indict anyone, Angel Myers McIlrath, district attorney for Mississippi’s 19th Circuit Court District, announced on Sept. 21.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath said in a video posted to social media.
Wells, 18, went on a boat trip with a group of friends to the isolated Mississippi barrier island Horn Island on July 4 but didn’t return with them. His body was found on July 6 on the northwest end of the island. An independent autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell couldn’t determine a cause or manner of his death, an attorney for the family previously said.
The case spurred a national conversation about the safety of Black Americans when among groups of predominantly White people and concerns that their cases won’t be handled properly by the justice system, all amid a backdrop of a history of extreme racial violence in Mississippi. All along, authorities have said they did not find evidence of foul play, and Wells’ family and prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump have called for thorough investigative efforts to find out what happened to Wells.
The decision by the grand jury doesn’t answer the question, Crump said in a post to social media late on Sept. 21.
“The public still deserves a clear account supported by records, evidence, and independent scrutiny,” Crump said in the post. “Nolan Wells’s death still demands answers. No true bill should not mean no further questions.”
In a statement shared with USA TODAY, Crump and the legal team for Wells’ family called for the investigation to continue.
“Mississippi must keep investigating, and if it will not pursue this to the end, the Department of Justice should,” the statement said. “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.”
Here’s what the grand jury said in the Nolan Wells case
The grand jury said it didn’t find evidence to support indicting anyone in Wells’ death. Allegations against others who rode to and from the island that day “are not based in truth, and are solely the result of public clamor and private malice,” the grand jury said in a partially redacted report released by Myers McIlrath.
“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 grand jury said.
The grand jury concluded in its report that Wells chose to remain on Horn Island to socialize, as was not uncommon for people to do on holidays. There was no evidence he got into any physical altercation or argument on July 4, the grand jury said.
The report said that the state medical examiner and independent autopsy concluded a cause of death was undetermined and that “drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion,” meaning other causes must be ruled out.
“The Grand Jury finds that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning,” the report said.
Wells had no cocaine in his system and there was no evidence he ever used it, the report said. He purchased his own alcohol using a fake ID, the grand jury said. Bruising found on his head was not a fatal injury and there was no evidence of any fatal injury, the grand jury said.
Crump and the legal team for Wells’ family said in a statement that the bruising was still unexplained.
DA condemns speculation, threats during investigation
Myers McIlrath announced the grand jury report in a 15-minute video posted to social media. In the video, she dismissed claims that her office didn’t cooperate with Wells’ family during the investigation, saying that she could not publicly disclose certain information that was shared with the family.
She also condemned speculation about a racial motivation in Wells’ death and threats that stemmed from rumors circulating online. Multiple people have been charged with federal crimes for allegedly making threats against people involved in the Wells case.
“The narrative that three White boys and a Black boy went to an island, and only three White friends returned, spread like wildfire. This was false,” she said, calling any suggestion that race was a factor a false narrative. Myers McIlrath said a diverse group of people went to the island.
“Nolan chose to stay on the island that day, and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that,” she said.
“The death of Nolan Wells has devastated our community,” she said. “Outsiders and influencers have attempted to exploit Nolan’s death to divide and create chaos here.”
She also accused Crump’s team of allowing false narratives to spread about the case, the racial factors and the investigators’ cooperation with the family.
Crump did not immediately respond to Myers McIlrath’s comments.