Many including family and friends of Nolan Wells’ have been skeptical about the case, and now the latest independent autopsy is adding even more fuel to those doubts.
During a Wednesday morning press conference at the NAACP National Convention in Chicago, civil rights attorney Ben Crump stood alongside the grieving family to reveal the first public details from a private medical examination. The preliminary findings revealed a concerning “focal area of red discoloration in the soft tissue in the back of the head”. The severe bruising measured 12 by 8 inches across the lower portion of his skull, raising urgent questions about how the young Mississippi athlete really died.
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Raising even more eyebrows, Crump revealed that when the independent medical examiner received Nolan’s body, key parts of his throat were completely missing… having apparently been removed by the state coroner for further testing. Because of those missing pieces and the ongoing investigation, the private doctor hasn’t officially declared a cause or manner of death yet, but made one thing crystal clear: they definitely aren’t ruling out foul play just yet.
The tragic timeline started back on the Fourth of July when Nolan went on a boat trip to Horn Island with a group of friends. Nolan was the only Black teenager in the group, and when his friends headed back to the mainland, they left him behind on the island along with his phone and keys. Two days later, on July 6, a park ranger discovered his body in the water.
Because of how strangely his friends acted and how slowly state officials have moved, the family refused to wait on local authorities for answers. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick stepped up to pay for the independent autopsy, which was performed by former Washington, D.C. chief medical examiner Dr. Roger Mitchell.
At Nolan’s memorial service, family and community leaders made it clear they will not stay quiet until the truth comes out. His mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, pleaded with the public to keep her son’s story alive, telling supporters to “share his stories, and never stop saying his name”. Reverend Al Sharpton, who helped put up reward money alongside filmmaker Tyler Perry and former NFL star Terrell Owens, warned authorities against brushing off foul play before a real investigation is finished. Sharpton urged people to stay focused on facts, stating, “Somebody saw something and knows something”.
While the state medical examiner has yet to publish an official report, the discovery of significant head trauma has intensified the heat on law enforcement to investigate every angle.
Attorney Ben Crump emphasized that the family is in a “ferocious search for the truth of what really happened to Nolan Wells”. With local and federal agencies now getting involved, the community is demanding complete transparency and real accountability for Nolan.