OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Family members and supporters of Nolan Xavier Wells filled a Mississippi church Monday to mourn and celebrate the 18-year-old, as the Rev. Al Sharpton pleaded for new evidence addressing the "many unanswered questions” around the teenager's July 4 disappearance.
The funeral opened with tearful remarks from Wells’ parents, who described their son as a warm and gentle presence, a role model to his younger siblings and a gifted
athlete with NFL ambitions.
“He had a way of making people feel seen, welcomed and valued,” said his mother, Christine Wonsley. “He could lift your confidence with just a few words and make you feel like you belong.”
In a fiery eulogy, Sharpton then promised a $100,000 reward for any new information about the circumstances around Wells’ death, which came following a July 4 boat trip with friends to Horn Island, off the Gulf Coast.
Half of the sum will be covered by the actor and producer Tyler Perry, who also paid for the funeral costs, Sharpton noted.
“Somebody knows something,” Sharpton continued, drawing applause from the crowd that included the director Spike Lee, former NFL player Terrell Owens and many prominent Black clergy. “Let every stone be rolled back and every veil be torn asunder and let truth pop out of the ground like a flower.”
Wells, who was Black, had traveled to Horn Island — a popular Fourth of July destination — with a group of friends from high school, all of whom are white. He did not return with his friends to the mainland that evening, officials said. His body was found two days later off the island’s coast.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said Wells’ friends are cooperating with the investigation, which remains ongoing. The sheriff said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else.
But the still-unknown circumstances leading to Wells’ disappearance have fueled rampant online speculation, galvanizing leaders in the Black community who have called for a thorough and independent investigation into his death.
In his eulogy, Sharpton stressed that those following the case should withhold judgement until more information becomes available. But he also questioned why Wells' phone and keys were found with his friends, why they had not immediately called police after realizing he was missing and why local officials appeared so quick to dismiss the possibility of foul play.
Invoking the history of racist violence in Mississippi, including the lynching of Emmett Till and assassination of Medgar Evers, Sharpton continued: “Some of us remember what happened in Mississippi. Before we can medicate and heal today, we’ve got to look at your history.”
The family’s attorney, Ben Crump, then led the crowd in a chant of “Nolan’s life mattered,” as Wells’ mother sobbed into the shoulder of her husband, Elmore Wonsley.
“They went out on the boat, the boat came back, and Nolan washed up on the shore two days later dead,” Crump said. “Wouldn't you want answers?”
At a news conference following the funeral, Crump said they were still waiting on the results of an independent autopsy. The official autopsy has also not been released.
Crump previously said he was working alongside the local prosecutor to inspect Wells' phone. The prosecutor has agreed to present the results of the investigation to a grand jury once it is completed, according to Crump.
Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, played wide receiver on the football team at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, Mississippi, and had aspirations of playing at a high-level Division I program.
In a joint statement last week, members of the Congressional Black Caucus called for an independent and transparent investigation into his death.
“We hope the outpouring of concern and support from people across the country in recent days brings them some comfort in the days ahead,” they said.
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Associated Press video journalist Sophie Bates in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.
