CHICAGO: The Nolan Wells autopsy commissioned by his family left both the cause and manner of the 18-year-old athlete’s death undetermined, pending further investigation.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced the preliminary findings on July 22 at the 117th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention in Chicago. Forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell conducted the independent examination.
The report found no fractures or deep-tissue injuries. It described red discolouration at the back of Wells’ skull as inconclusive and requiring further investigation.
Independent autopsy finds possible head injury in Nolan Wells case.
🎥: NAACP pic.twitter.com/6aGmRu4Ofy
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 22, 2026Mitchell said available evidence did not allow him to exclude the possibility that non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death. The finding does not establish foul play or identify a criminal cause.
The pathologist said decomposition limited the examination. Wells’ body also reached the independent examiner without internal organs or neck structures removed during Mississippi’s initial autopsy, preventing a full assessment of possible drowning or neck injury. The report noted that such removal is not unusual during an earlier examination.
A preliminary independent autopsy commissioned by the family of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells found his manner and cause of death are undetermined, pending further investigation, according to attorney Ben Crump. https://t.co/2JZNamCcFz pic.twitter.com/d7FUemk5bU
— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) July 22, 2026Nolan Xavier Wells disappeared during a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island, off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. A US park ranger found his body at the island’s northwestern tip on July 6.
Mississippi’s medical examiner had not released the state autopsy findings as of the independent announcement. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said its investigation remained active and requested original photographs, videos and eyewitness information from Horn Island.
Wells played football at Ocean Springs High School and was a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
