Nolan Wells death: No criminal charges, drowning suspected

NewsChristine Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, mother and step father of Nolan Wells, stand on a stage with a photo of their son as they appear at the National Urban League's annual conference to share updates on his death, as well as Daniel Erving, and Tyler Smith, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)AP Photo/John AmisThere will be no charges filed in the death of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells, according to the Jackson County Grand Jury report released late Monday night.The district attorney said the grand jury had been unanimous in not returning an indictment after considering evidence from witnesses and others, including an independent investigation started by Wells’ family, per a video statement on Monday.“The death of Nolan Wells has devastated our community. Outsiders and influencers have attempted to exploit Nolan’s death to divide and create chaos here, but we are better,” prosecutor Angel Myers McIlrath said.Wells disappeared during a July 4th party and his body was found two days later.Both the state’s medical examiner and an outside expert hired by Wells’ family believed “the cause and manner of Mr. Wells’ death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion,” according to documents released on Monday.The report said the “position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location” of the 18-year-old’s body off the coast of Mississippi is “consistent with drowning.”His body was recovered in the water off Horn Island two days after the party.The grand jury of 23 people, convened last week, found “no credible evidence to support the public allegations” that anyone riding to or from the island that day surrounding Wells “engaged in any criminal conduct related to” his death.According to ABC News, the panel was comprised of what the report called a “cross section of citizens” from the area: 13 men and ten women, including “12 Caucasians, five African Americans, one Asian, two Hispanics, two Native Americans, and one individual who preferred ‘other.’” Their ages ranged from 27 years old to 68 years old.The case has garned national attention.Earlier this month, it was reported three people were charged with threatening a judge, a witness and local officials connected to the investigation into the death of Wells.None of the three appearec to have known Wells, the 18-year-old found dead after a Fourth of July boat trip with friends to an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.His parents discussed if race was a factor, given the state’s fraught history.“Had the survivors been young Black men and they were with a young White man and he ended up dead, what kind of investigation would that have been?” the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, previously said.According to the grand jury’s report, “Mr. Wells did not have cocaine in his system at the time of his death and found no evidence to suggest Mr. Wells ever used cocaine” — rebutting a claim that spread online.Wells had, however, purchased alcohol with a fake ID, per the grand jury’s findings, and no one over the age of 21 provided alcohol to him or his friends on July 4.At the same time, the grand jury noted that it had considered the toxicology report but said that it was not “particularly informative” or reliable given the decomposition of Wells’ body.Mark Heim is a senior writer who provides sports, news and trending content. He co-hosts a daily sports radio show on WNSP-FM 105.5 in Mobile. Heim has been recognized with awards for his writing, headlines and...