An independent pathologist, commissioned by Nolan Wells’ family, says the teen suffered blunt force injury to the back of his head just hours before his death.
The family and their legal team, led by attorney Ben Crump, released the findings a day after a grand jury decided not to charge anyone.
Dr. Roger Mitchell traveled to Mississippi earlier this month to meet with the state medical examiner to finish his autopsy after critical neck structures were absent during the first examination.
In a report published Sept. 14 and obtained by Atlanta Black Star, Mitchell concluded that the area previously described as “red discoloration” was actually blood from bruises and contusions caused by blunt force trauma to the back of the head.
Despite this, Mitchell ruled the cause and manner of Wells’ death undetermined. The state medical examiner came to the same conclusion. The examiner also reported the bruises but did not include it in the state autopsy.
“Nonetheless, the original Mississippi forensic pathologist reported the bruises/contusions to the sheriff’s department on July 7, 2026. However, this forensic pathologist could not find any record detailing specific investigation into the blunt force injury to the back of head,” Mitchell wrote in his report.
Wells, 18, went missing on Horn Island, off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, July 4 while celebrating with friends. Searchers found his body face down on the shoreline with his head in the sand on July 6, according to the report.
Officials first said that Wells died from an accidental drowning. The state medical examiner did not identify water in Wells’ airway nor was there gastric contents (including water) within the stomach.
The grand jury report said Wells death was ‘consistent with a drowning’.
However, Mitchell says drowning is a “diagnosis of exclusion,” meaning investigators must rule out all other possible causes of death before certifying a death as a drowning.
“The available record does not definitively establish the decedent’s condition immediately before entering the water, whether he entered voluntarily or was forced, whether he was conscious or impaired, or why he would have been unable to extricate himself despite reportedly being able to swim and while in the presence of other persons.”
Mitchell says while the medical examiner noted the bruising on the back of Wells’ head, they failed to take close-up pictures of the contusions, dissect the area at the back of the head, or take histological sections of the area of bruising.
The pathologist did his own histological examination and found a lack of white blood cells, suggesting ‘a probable recent injury prior to death’.
A witness testified under oath that Wells slipped awkwardly off the side of the boat but continued socializing and showed no signs of injury. However, investigators never determined whether that incident caused the bruising.
Mitchell also noted two additional bruises on Wells’ lower back just above the buttock and one on the left upper back near the shoulder blade. However, he could not identify the size and cause of these bruises from a single photograph.
The final independent autopsy report also acknowledged Wells’ toxicology results.
According to initial results, Wells had a blood alcohol level of 0.27%, which is three times over the legal limit. The report found the ethanol level using fluid from the body cavity after decomposition, rather than blood or another reliable bodily fluid.
Mitchell says the way investigators obtained the sample makes the results unreliable.
“The central interpretive problem is that ethanol measured after death
may represent an unknown combination of alcohol consumed during life and ethanol
generated after death by microbial fermentation,” he wrote.
Mitchell says the investigation should remain open and active “until the circumstances surrounding the blunt-force injuries, the events immediately preceding entry into the water, the decedent’s level of consciousness and functional capacity, witness observations and timeline, and any potential intervening non-accidental factors can be definitively established.”
Wells’ parents share the same sentiments, saying they will keep fighting for answers.
“Elmore and I do not believe that Nolan simply and accidently drowned,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Attorney Ben Crump added, “Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.”
