An independent autopsy could not “rule out foul play” in the mysterious death of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old who disappeared after a Fourth of July boating trip with friends before his body was found floating in the water near the Mississippi island they ventured to.
The preliminary findings were made public during a news conference held at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family.
The examination, Crump announced, did not determine a cause or manner of death, but did note some “significant” findings.
Among the notable findings, according to Crump, was a “discoloration in the soft tissue of the back of the head, the occipital region,” though no underlying skull fractures or lacerations to the skin around the area were found.
The report showed no evidence of fractures or bruising, but the decomposition of the body, along with other limiting factors, made it impossible to make a determination.
“[Dr. Roger Mitchell] talked about how he found red discoloration when he cut open into the back of his head towards the occipital bone, and he saw the red discoloration, and we actually saw the pictures of it. It’s significant,” Crump said.
But the pathologist noted that certain organs, which were removed during the initial autopsy conducted by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s office, were “absent” from the body.
“He said it is assumed that the initial pathologist retained these structures for additional evaluation,” Crump said.
While not an uncommon practice, Crump said the organ removal posed “several limitations during the second autopsy that create barriers to establishing a definitive cause and manner of death for Nolan Xavier Wells.”
“In cases where a death has occurred in or around a body of water with suspicion of drowning, it is important to confirm how that person entered the water. This is the crux of the matter,” Crump said. “This information is especially important for those deaths of persons who can swim, as in the case with Nolan Wells. At the time of this report, this forensic pathologist does not know the condition of Nolan Wells. He did not know whether he was conscious or unconscious when he entered the water. He said that would be significant. He said he did not know whether he was forced into the water or unforced into the water. He said that would be significant … He said definitive circumstances of death are required to determine the manner of death. For these reasons, this pathologist cannot rule out … if any intervening non accidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells.
“Understand, he said based on the examination of the body, he cannot rule out foul play,” Crump said. “That is significant.”
Crump had previously vowed to conduct his own investigation into the circumstances of the teenager’s disappearance, which followed a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the coast of Mississippi. Wells did not return to the mainland with his friends. His body was found floating off the island’s coast two days later.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted its own autopsy but has yet to release the results.
The second autopsy was arranged by the family and Crump, and paid for by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. Crump said it would determine if Wells “had any physical injuries to his body beyond drowning.”
The still-unknown circumstances around Wells’ death have touched off rampant online speculation and prompted calls from Black leaders for transparency from local authorities. Wells, who was Black, had traveled to the island with a group of high school friends, all of whom are white.
A reward of $125,000 — jointly funded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, actor and producer Tyler Perry and former NFL player Terrell Owens — is now being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the death.
The autopsy announcement comes two days after Wells was laid to rest in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
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Mississippi Jul 10Investigation underway into death of Mississippi 18-year-old who vanished on July 4 boating trip
In his eulogy, Sharpton lamented the “inconsistencies and unanswered questions” that had placed a dark cloud over the grieving family.
He questioned why Wells’ friends had left him behind, taken his phone and keys and failed to report him missing to police. And he suggested local investigators had spoken prematurely in statements to the press indicating that no crime was suspected.
“The reason that a lot of people across the nation are looking at this Nolan situation is because we’re looking at the history in Mississippi,” Sharpton added. “We can’t have someone in law enforcement saying there was no foul play before there was an investigation.”
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else. He has said the friends were cooperating with the investigation, which remains ongoing.
“We are trying to be respectful and collaborative as much as we can,” Crump said. “But it’s always troublesome to all of us when these investigations just take forever.”
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