Grand jury declines criminal charges in Nolan Wells death

A grand jury determined there was no evidence to bring charges against anyone in the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black man who was found dead after a July 4 boating trip with friends off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Angel Myers McIlrath, the district attorney overseeing Wells’ case, made the announcement late Monday, and comes after months of speculation about how Wells disappeared from a party and why the friends who ferried Wells to the island left without him.

Nolan Wells grand jury report released

Dig deeper:

A grand jury report released by Jackson County District ‌Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath’s office late Monday that was obtained by Reuters read: "The grand jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026, on the Triton, the Palm ​Beach, or the Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of ​Mr. Wells."

The report noted that "the position of, ​the condition of, time of ​discovery, and location ⁠of Mr. Wells' body is consistent with drowning."

RELATED: Three people charged with making threats in Nolan Wells case

"Both the State of Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner and Dr. (name redacted) opined that the cause ​and manner of Mr. Wells' death is undetermined and that drowning is ​a diagnosis of ⁠exclusion," according to the report. 

McIlrath told Reuters there was no evidence to support accusations ​that Wells' disappearance and death were racially motivated.

According to The Associated Press, attorneys for Wells’ family, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, said the grand jury’s report leaves unanswered questions and alleged that the district attorney ended the investigation despite not determining what caused blunt force trauma on the back of Wells’ head and body.

Nolan Wells case 

The backstory:

Nolan Xavier Wells took a boat trip with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July on an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. But he never returned.

Wells’ body was found on July 6 along the shore of Horn Island, about 7 miles off the Mississippi coast, more than a day after he was last seen alive. 

RELATED: Search called off after body matching missing teen Nolan Wells found off Mississippi coast

A Wells family attorney told The Associated Press that the island is uninhabited and accessible only by boat and roughly 200 people were there on July 4.

Wells’ parents and their lawyers were skeptical after Wells’ friends left the island without him, claiming he wanted to stay behind and talk to a girl. 

The AP noted that Wells’ phone was on the boat that took him to the island, which was later towed partway back to the mainland after taking on water.

RELATED: Nolan Wells' family calls for further investigation: 'It's not adding up'

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Wells’ parents questioned why a teenager would choose to stay on an island without his phone. 

They also suspect that messages on his phone were tampered with and accuse his friends of being reluctant to hand over his keys. Attorneys for Wells’ friends said the friends cooperated with authorities.

The Source: Information for this story was provided by Reuters, which references a grand jury report released by Jackson County District ‌Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath’s office and The Associated Press, which cites comments from an attorney representing Nolan Wells’ family and lawyers for Wells’ friends. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.