Nationwide — Nolan Wells’ parents are continuing to seek justice after a grand jury found that no criminal charges should be filed in connection with their 18-year-old son’s death. The decision came after an investigation into Wells’ disappearance during a Fourth of July trip along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His family and attorneys said Tuesday that they plan to keep pursuing the case and want a closer examination of what happened to him.
The 23-member Jackson County grand jury unanimously found that there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges. The panel said there was no credible evidence that the friends who traveled with Wells had engaged in criminal conduct connected to his death. The group spent last week reviewing the case, hearing from 43 witnesses and examining police reports, interviews, physical evidence, digital records, videos, photographs and maps.
The grand jury reached its conclusion after considering how and where Wells’ body was found. Authorities recovered him from the waters near Horn Island two days after he disappeared from the barrier islands off Mississippi. The report said the position, condition, timing, and location of his body were consistent with drowning. It described drowning as a conclusion reached after considering the available evidence and said the condition of the body made it difficult to determine exactly what happened.
That finding has not ended the family’s questions. Mississippi’s State Medical Examiner performed an autopsy, but the full report has not been publicly released. Wells’ family also hired forensic pathologist Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr. for an independent examination. His examination reportedly found recent, unexplained blunt force injuries to the back of Wells’ head and other areas of his back. The grand jury report said the bruising on his head was not fatal and could not determine how it happened.
Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, pointed to another issue during Tuesday’s press conference. According to ABC News, she said both medical examiners and Wells’ death certificates listed his cause and manner of death as undetermined. She questioned how the grand jury could conclude that he drowned while there was also evidence of trauma. One witness told the grand jury that Wells appeared to slip awkwardly from a boat around the time he was last seen. The witness could not determine whether he struck his head but said Wells continued socializing and did not appear injured afterward.
The family and its attorneys said they will continue looking into the death and could pursue the matter through a civil case. The grand jury report said Wells’ family had an opportunity to submit evidence from its own investigation and noted that the family’s attorneys did not identify witnesses or evidence they believed showed criminal activity requiring further action. Still, the case is not permanently closed. Mississippi has no statute of limitations for homicide cases, and the grand jury said the matter could be presented again if credible evidence later suggests that Wells’ death was not accidental.