Nolan Wells’ parents and legal team held a press conference on Tuesday at a Georgia Baptist church, calling for answers after a grand jury in Mississippi declined to bring criminal charges in the investigation of his death. The 18-year-old college football
player disappeared on July 4 after a boating trip with friends off the coast of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Two days later, following an extensive search, a federal park ranger found his body washed up on Horn Island, where he had last been seen.
“We’ll never stop until we get to the truth,” family attorney Ben Crump said in Tuesday’s press conference. “We’re going to fight until hell freezes over.”
Crump added, “The grand jury left us with questions, Nolan’s family deserves answers.”
At the end of the press conference, Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, took the stage. “Last night was a reminder that our son’s life does not matter to those who hold positions that are supposed to serve and protect the public,” said Christine, adding that Wells “did not deserve to have his life taken away so suddenly.
“Despite the grand jury’s decision, Elmore, our family, and I will continue to fight for justice,” she said. “Nolan deserved to come home on July Fourth.”
Elmore Wonsley, Wells’ father, said, “Continue to speak his name, because he’s not a hashtag, he’s our son.”
The grand jury made an unanimous decision not to make any indictments, finding that there is insufficient evidence of criminal conduct, meaning no arrests will be made. There is no statute of limitations for homicide in Mississippi, so if new credible evidence of foul play is found regarding Wells’ death, a new grand jury could be called and the investigation reopened.
On Monday, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath released a video on Facebook about the grand jury’s decision not to make any indictments. “In addition to bringing prosecutions against the guilty, the grand jury must also exonerate those who have been falsely accused,” McIlrath said.
The friends Wells’ traveled to Horn Island with have been accused by online sleuths of being involved in his death. They have denied these accusations and say they have been forthcoming with authorities. After receiving death threats and harassment, they have filed lawsuits against Crump and social media influencers. “There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” McIlrath said in the video.
The grand jury report revealed that the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Wells’ cause and manner of death “undetermined” and “inconclusive.” A separate autopsy was performed this summer at the request of Wells’ family. Both the state medical examiner and the independent forensic expert commissioned by the Wells’ family found that the cause of his death was undetermined.
McIlrath also released the full grand jury report and all of her correspondence with Wells’ legal team on Monday night. The grand jury panel, which consisted of 23 members, issued 132 subpoenas and heard from 43 witnesses, with seven individuals invited to testify. The report says the grand jury found “the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.”
Wells’ family and legal team are demanding the district attorney keep the investigation open, release the full autopsy report, and continue to call on the Department of Justice to investigate Wells’ death.
“How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies?” Wells’ mother said Tuesday at the press conference. “Elmore and I do not believe that Nolan simply and accidentally drowned. And nobody saw anything?”
At the press conference, Crump said there are not enough answers about “blunt force trauma” that his independent autopsy found on the back of Wells’ head. In the report released yesterday, the grand jurors said they “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.”
According to the report, Wells slipped off the side of a boat the afternoon of July 4. “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.”
In a widely circulated video, Wells’ friends are seen arguing on the beach at about 3:45 p.m.. Initially, there were rumors that Wells was involved in the argument. The grand jury said they found that Wells was “not in any physical altercation or argument on July 4.”
On Tuesday, Crump said they are going to hold another press conference about their independent investigation into Wells’ phone data. Wells’ phone, which was found at his friend’s house hours after the boat trip, has been the subject of questions surrounding his death. His parents have said they found it unusual that their son didn’t post to social media before his death. The Jackson County District Attorney said she never received the phone from Wells’ family, only limited cell phone data.
“I never received the full extraction data of Nolan’s cell phone,” said McIlrath. Crump’s team did provide a 282-page report that was reviewed by the grand jury.
On Tuesday, Crump’s team said they are still reviewing the new evidence released via the grand jury report. The NAACP’s General Counsel Kristen Clarke spoke at today’s press conference and said, “We call, as the Congressional Black Caucus has, for a full and independent Justice Department investigation.”
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