New findings have been released in the investigation into the mysterious dєatᩚh of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, the Mississippi college football player whose body was discovered in the waters off Horn Island two days after he disappeared during a Fourth of July outing.
On Monday night, September 21, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office announced that a grand jury unanimously returned a “no true bill,” meaning jurors found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges or indict anyone in connection with Nolan’s dєatᩚh.
However, despite the new findings, Nolan’s official cause and manner of dєatᩚh remain undetermined.
Both the Mississippi State Chief Medical Examiner and an independent forensic pathologist hired by Nolan’s family reached the same conclusion: the cause and manner could not be definitively determined. According to the grand jury findings, though, the circumstances surrounding where and how Nolan’s body was found were consistent with drowning, and accidental drowning could not be ruled out.
The grand jury also found no evidence that Nolan’s dєatᩚh was the result of a crime or was racially motivated.
Both autopsies identified bruising on the back of Nolan’s head. However, investigators determined the injury was not fatal. A witness testified under oath that Nolan had slipped awkwardly from the side of a boat earlier in the outing but continued socializing afterward and did not appear injured. Investigators found no evidence of another fatal physical injury or disease.
The newly released information also addresses toxicology. According to WLOX’s reporting on the court documents, testing found no evidence of cocaine use. Investigators determined Nolan had purchased his own alcohol using a fake ID and found no evidence that adults over the age of 21 supplied alcohol to Nolan or his friends.
Nolan traveled to Horn Island, approximately 10 miles off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, with friends on July 4.
According to the grand jury’s findings, Nolan traveled aboard a boat called The Triton, one of three boats being used by the group. The Triton later experienced bilge-pump and motor problems while returning to the mainland and had to be towed.
Investigators concluded Nolan had chosen to remain on Horn Island to continue socializing when the boats departed. His cellphone, however, returned to the mainland without him. The grand
jury noted that other passengers’ phones also ended up traveling back on different boats.
Nolan was reported missing that night.
After an extensive search, his body was discovered in the water near Horn Island on the morning of July 6.
The case quickly drew national attention as Nolan’s parents questioned the circumstances surrounding their son’s disappearance and pushed for additional investigation. Civil rights attorney Ben
Crump joined the family, and an independent autopsy was conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr.
That examination initially left significant unanswered questions because Nolan’s body was already decomposing and certain organs and neck structures had been retained following the state’s first autopsy. Mitchell ultimately classified both the cause and manner of dєatᩚh as undetermined and said at the time that non-accidental factors could not be excluded based solely on his examination.
Now, after reviewing the autopsy findings and other evidence, the Jackson County grand jury has declined to indict anyone.
The case is not necessarily permanently closed. Mississippi has no statute of limitations for homicide, and prosecutors said that if credible new evidence indicating foul play emerges, the investigation can be reopened and presented to another grand jury.
