A grand jury investigating the death of Nolan Wells has unanimously decided against making any indictments in the Black 18-year-old South Mississippi resident’s July 4 death on Horn Island, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a statement Monday night.
“Jackson County, after a thorough and exhaustive investigation, your grand jury met last week concerning the death investigation of Nolan Wells and unanimously returned a no true bill,” McIlrath said in a video statement on Facebook. “In addition to bringing prosecutions against the guilty, the grand jury must also exonerate those who have been falsely accused.”
Wells, an 18-year-old resident of Ocean Springs, disappeared on July 4 during a boat trip with a group of friends to Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Authorities found Wells dead on the island two days later.
In the days and weeks after his death, rumors spread about the cause of Wells’ death, with many influencers suggesting Wells’ white friends may have been involved in his death despite a lack of evidence.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated. Nolan’s friends loved Nolan and Nolan loved them,” McIlrath said. “Nolan chose to stay on the island that day, and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that.”
The grand jury report released Monday by District Attorney Angel McIlrath indicates the grand jury issued 132 subpoenas and heard from 43 witnesses, with seven individuals being invited to testify before the grand jury.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Wells’ cause and manner of death undetermined and drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion, the report said. The medical examiner’s report also found “there was bruising on the back of Mr. Wells’ head, which was not a fatal injury” and found “no evidence of any fatal injury or organic disease.”
“The Grand Jury considered credible evidence concerning the circumstances of how Mr. Wells sustained the injury to the back of his head, but the exact cause of injury remains uncertain,” the report said. “A witness testified under oath that he saw Wells slip awkwardly off the side of a boat around the time of 3:30 p.m. on July 4, 2026, but could not say whether Mr. Wells struck his head during the fall. The witness testified that Mr. Wells continued to socialize after the fall and did not appear injured.”
An independent autopsy the family had conducted by Dr. Roger A. Mitchell found Wells’ cause and manner of death undetermined pending further investigation. Dr. Mitchell performed the autopsy and sent the findings to the family’s attorney Ben Crump on July 19.
While the grand jury says it found no other evidence to explain the bruising on the back of Wells’ head, it also could not say with certainty that this fall is what caused the bruising found during the autopsies.
The report also noted the grand jury received a 14-page report concerning Wells’ cellphone that was prepared by the family’s own forensic examiner.
After the grand jury convened for a hearing, it received a 21-page “mobile device examination findings—device lock state, screen activity, messages, calls, locations and application usage… final report” and a 261-page “Snapchat Conversation Report” and considered both reports in its investigation into Wells’ death.
In its investigation into Wells’ death, the grand jury considered comprehensive materials and evidence, including the following:
- Testimony of witnesses
- Physical evidence collected during the investigation
- Digital evidence collected during the investigation
- Reports generated during the investigation
- Interviews and recorded statements collected during the investigation
- Images collected during the investigation
- Videos/recordings collected during the investigation
- Maps collected/generated during the investigation
- GPS and location data collected during the investigation
- Cellular phone extractions collected during the investigation
- Responses to subpoenas duces tecum, meaning a formal action or legal document requiring the production of documents or physical evidence
The toxicology report found that Wells did not have cocaine in his system at the time of his death and there was no evidence Wells ever used cocaine.
The grand jury found that Wells chose to remain at Horn Island on the afternoon of July 4, 2026, after the Triton, Palm Beach and Tideline boats departed the island. The grand jury also found no credible evidence to support public allegations that anyone on the three boats engaged in criminal conduct related to Wells’ death.
“The allegations against the occupants of the Triton, the Palm Beach, and the Tideline are not based in truth, and are solely the result of public clamor and private malice,” the report said.
The grand jury also received the Sea Tow call made by those onboard the Triton on July 4, and it found that the various interpretations of the call circulating on the internet were not accurate.
The Triton had a bilge pump and motor malfunction on July 4, and was actively taking on water and sinking. It was towed a short distance by the Tideline, allowing the water to drain, the grand jury found. GPS data and security footage confirm the accounts of the passengers on the Triton, Palm Beach and Tideline.
A photo of Wells at a pool party that had been circulating on the internet was taken on July 3, 2026, and the jury determined that it had no evidentiary value.
In the report, the grand jury recognized that it is common for individuals traveling to Horn Island to socialize on boats and in the water and did not find it suspicious for individuals to return on boats they did not travel to the island on. The report also noted that Wells’ phone was not the only phone to return to the mainland separate from its owner.
Wells purchased alcohol with a fake identification card and no one over the age of 21 supplied him or his friends with alcohol on July 4, the report said. It also found that Wells was not in any physical altercation or argument on July 4, despite rumors.
The 23 members of the grand jury that heard this matter ranged in age from 27 to 68 and included 13 men and 10 women. Of the 23 members of the grand jury, 12 were white, five African American, one Asian, two Hispanic, two Native American and one individual who identified as “other.” Jackson County’s population is 71% white and 21% Black.
In the report, the grand jury also acknowledged that there is no statute of limitations on homicide cases in Mississippi.
“If credible evidence comes to light in the future that suggests Mr. Wells’ death was non-accidental, this matter should be re-presented to the Jackson County Grand Jury for further consideration,” the report said.
The grand jury extended its deepest sympathy to Wells’ parents, noting the evidence presented spoke to Wells’ outstanding character.
In the video statement released Monday night, District Attorney McIlrath also reflected on the death of her own child.
“I know what it is to bury a child. You are vulnerable in ways that are incomprehensible to people who have never stood there,” she said. “You want answers.”
In the video, McIlrath said she read that a congresswoman had met with Wells’ family and Crump’s legal team and that the congresswoman said that “Nolan Wells is another Black boy murdered and no one seems to care.”
“Ma’am, you are wrong,” McIlrath said, addressing the statement.
She called her office’s investigation exhaustive and said prior to these statements, Crump’s legal team had advised her office they had discovered “no evidence of a crime committed against Nolan.”
“I also want you to understand that I’m not suggesting that a grieving mother police the rumors surrounding her child’s death,” McIlrath said in the video. “What I am suggesting is that the Crump team knew better, but did not do better.”
During the video, she also dispelled claims that the DA’s office kept results of the official state autopsy report from the family, stating the results were withheld from the public due to Mississippi state law but were shared with the family and their legal team.
“Shortly after I received the autopsy report, I reached out to Nolan’s mother directly and when she did not respond, I spoke with one of her Mississippi attorneys and shared Nolan’s autopsy and toxicology results,” McIlrath said.
McIlrath said she has released all correspondence between her office and the Crump team throughout the duration of the investigation into Wells’ death, which is available on the Office of the District Attorney’s Facebook page, website and at the circuit clerk’s office.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of Nolan Wells and read past stories here.
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