STONECREST, Ga. The parents of Nolan Xavier Wells and their legal team say their search for answers will continue despite a Mississippi grand jury’s decision not to bring criminal charges in connection with the 18-year-old’s death.
Nolan’s parents, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, appeared Tuesday with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and other members of their legal team during a press conference at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The press conference was held immediately before the church’s noon Bible study.
Crump sought to move the public conversation away from disagreements between the family’s attorneys and Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath.
Crump said neither the family’s legal team nor the district attorney’s office is the central issue. The issue, he said, is determining what happened to Nolan Xavier Wells.
Legal team says information was new
Crump and members of the family’s legal team said the grand jury report contained information they were learning alongside the public.
That information, they said, included findings concerning injuries described as blunt force trauma. The attorneys said they had not previously been aware of those findings and intend to examine the information as their independent investigation continues.
Crump also disputed the district attorney’s account of what information was available to the family before the grand jury completed its work. He said the legal team did not understand that it could have received the state autopsy report and believed it had been told that information would not be released until after the grand jury proceedings concluded.
McIlrath has said her office communicated with the family’s attorneys, provided access to investigative resources and gave the family’s independent forensic pathologist access to relevant evidence and materials.
Good News Now has not independently determined when each report or piece of information became available to the family’s legal team.
Questions remain about Nolan’s death
The Jackson County grand jury returned a unanimous no true bill, meaning it found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.
According to its report, the 23-member grand jury issued 132 subpoenas and heard testimony from 43 witnesses. Jurors found no credible evidence that anyone involved in the July 4 trip committed a crime connected to Nolan’s death or disappearance.
The report said the position, condition, discovery time and location of Nolan’s body were consistent with drowning. However, drowning has not been established as his official cause of death.
Both the Mississippi chief medical examiner and the forensic pathologist retained by Nolan’s family classified his cause and manner of death as undetermined. Drowning was described as a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning it remained a possible explanation after other causes could not be established.
The grand jury also reviewed bruising found on the back of Nolan’s head, shoulder and buttocks. Jurors concluded that the bruising was not fatal and found no evidence of another fatal injury or underlying disease.
References to blunt force trauma do not, by themselves, establish how the injuries occurred, whether another person caused them or how Nolan died.
The family’s attorneys continue to question whether investigators have determined how Nolan entered the water.
Nolan’s mother calls for truth and justice
During the press conference, Christine Wells-Wonsley quoted Micah 6:8 and spoke about the family’s faith as they continue seeking answers.
She said the family serves a Lord and Savior who acts justly, sees what happens in secret and does not forget the fatherless or those who are grieving.
Wells-Wonsley said they are “trusting Him with what they cannot see.”
She added that God also calls people to act justly. She said the family is seeking the truth, will walk humbly and will keep walking.
“Nolan deserves to be at school right now,” she said. “Nolan deserved to live.”
She emphasized that, from the family’s perspective, there is only one victim: “our son, Nolan Wells.”
“We’re just getting started”
Liza A. Park, co-counsel for the family and head of Ben Crump Law’s Atlanta office, said the legal team’s investigation is “just getting started.”
Crump also pledged that the attorneys would continue seeking answers.
“We’re never stopping until we know the truth.”Ben Crump
The legal team announced that another press conference is expected to be held Thursday in Florida. Additional details about its location and timing were not immediately provided.
Nolan disappeared July 4 after traveling with friends to Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His body was discovered in the water near the island two days later.
Good News Now will continue following developments in the case.
Please continue to pray for Nolan’s family and community as they seek truth, clarity and peace.