Civil rights attorney Ben Crump released information from a forensic examination of Nolan Wells’ cellphone and details of the official autopsy on Thursday, September 24, 2026. This release comes days after a Mississippi grand jury concluded it found no evidence of criminal conduct in the 18-year-old college student's death.
Wells’ family attorneys have called for transparency, requesting the public release of grand jury investigative materials and the official autopsy report. Crump stated that the messaging on Wells' phone was "very telling," noting that "some of his own friends were concerned about [how] people on Horn Island can be racist."
The grand jury, which convened last week, had access to 282 pages of Snapchat conversations. However, Crump and his team did not release a full report of all messages. The grand jury report stated Wells’ death was "consistent with drowning" and found no evidence of a fight on the island.
Crump and Wells’ parents have questioned this finding, as both the official and independent autopsies stated the cause of death could not be determined. The state’s official autopsy report, received by Crump’s team on Wednesday, indicated Wells’ airways and stomach were empty, which family attorney Liza Park said raised questions about the drowning conclusion.
Both autopsies noted fresh bruising on Wells’ head. A witness testified to the grand jury seeing Wells slip from a boat, but he reportedly continued to socialize afterwards. Wells’ parents and lawyers have expressed suspicion after his friends left the island without him, citing doubts he would stay without his phone, which was on the boat.