Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said an independent autopsy into the death of Nolan Wells has returned “inconclusive” findings, while a former medical examiner told INC News that the results described so far do not suggest a “cover up” or evidence of wrongdoing.
Crump disclosed the findings Wednesday during the NAACP National Convention in Chicago, saying the private examination identified an area of “red discoloration” on the back of Wells’ head. According to Crump, Dr. Roger Mitchell, the pathologist who conducted the independent autopsy, was unable to determine a cause “pending further investigation.” The official autopsy has not yet been finalized.
“Why is this dark red here in the back of his head?” Crump said. “This pathologist cannot rule out if any intervening non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells.”
Asked by INC News to assess the case, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said the head injury described in the independent autopsy does not, on its own, indicate foul play.
“So that could be from bumping into something in the water. There’s a lot of debris in the water, for example. It depends how deep it is, but it’s describing a really superficial impact that could have happened before death or after death,” Baden said.
Nolan Wells is seen smiling on the field while playing wide receiver for Southwest Mississippi Community College. (Christine Wonsley/Facebook)
“What he’s describing is a minor injury that could be… totally innocent,” Baden said.
Nolan Xavier Wells vanished on the Fourth of July while boating with friends, authorities said. (Jackson County Sheriff’s Department via Facebook)
Baden said Mitchell was “reaching for straws” in the independent autopsy report, adding that the findings are consistent with accounts from local law enforcement that his death was accidental and no foul play was involved.
Wells, 18, initially disappeared July 4 after he went with friends on a boat trip to Horn Island, which is a barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Officials and search crews searched for two days before a National Park Service ranger located his body on July 6 while on the island’s northwestern tip.
Attorney Ben Crump speaks at a press conference outside the federal courthouse on July 15, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Getty Images)
Officials haven’t released a cause of death as officials continue to investigate.
