No criminal charges in death of black Mississippi teenager, grand jury says
Nolan Wells' family had raised alarm that he ended up dead "after going out on a boat with three young white men".
No criminal charges in death of black Mississippi teenager, grand jury says
A grand jury will not file criminal charges against anyone in the death of a Mississippi teenager, who was found dead two days after a boating trip with friends on 4 July.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney retained by the family, had expressed concerns that Nolan Wells, a black man, "ended up dead after going out on a boat with three young white men", and that witness accounts had conflicted.
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said the grand jury found there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime in Wells' death.
In a statement to US media, Crump said the grand jury's conclusion "leaves us with more questions than answers".
"Nolan's family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we," he said.
Police said Wells accidentally drowned, while his friends said he chose to remain on Horn Island after they decided to leave early because of a problem with their boat.
A grand jury report posted on the district attorney's social media on Monday found that the "position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr Wells' body is consistent with drowning".
"There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan's death and disappearance were racially motivated," Myers McIlrath said in the video message.
According to the report, 25 grand jurors heard testimony from 43 witnesses, including a forensic pathologist hired by Wells' family to carry out an independent autopsy.
"The grand jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026 ... engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells," the report said.
The report said those who travelled with Wells were fully cooperative and provided GPS devices, surveillance footage, cell phones and other evidence.
It also said it is not unusual for visitors to Horn Island to stay and leave on different boats than they arrived on during crowded holiday days.
Wells' mother Christine Wonsley was the first to sound the alarm that her son, who played American football at Southwest Mississippi Community College and was described by his coach as a "happy-go-lucky kid", had gone missing after he did not return on the evening of 4 July.
Authorities found his body off the coast of the island on 6 July, after a search involving multiple local, state and federal agencies.