Grand Jury Declines to Charge Anyone in Nolan Wells’ Death After July 4 Party, and Authorities Suspect Drowning Is to Blame

A Mississippi grand jury has decided not to indict in the unusual death of teen Nolan Wells, who vanished during a large Fourth of July party

The 18-year-old’s death after going to Horn Island attracted national attention and his parents worried race could be a factor

The state’s medical examiner and an outside expert said they believed “the cause and manner of Mr. Wells’ death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion”

No one will be charged in the unusual death of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells, who vanished from a large Fourth of July party and whose body was found two days later, authorities said — a decision that may not quell the scrutiny of the case, given the circumstances.

In a video statement on Monday, Sept. 21, the district attorney said the grand jury had been unanimous in not returning a true bill, or indictment, after considering a wide range of evidence from witnesses and other sources, including elements of the independent investigation launched by Wells’ family.

“The death of Nolan Wells has devastated our community. Outsiders and influencers have attempted to exploit Nolan’s death to divide and create chaos here, but we are better,” said the prosecutor, Angel Myers McIlrath.

Both the state’s medical examiner and an outside expert hired by Wells’ family said they believed “the cause and manner of Mr. Wells’ death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion,” according to documents released on Monday by McIlrath.

The grand jury further found that the “position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location” of his body was “consistent with drowning.”

Very long post from a free lance writer who has followed the case closely. It is a point by point dissection of the lies, slander, and threats these kids faced from howling online mobs and the family attorneys. Well worth the read.

As a native Mississippian, I can truthfully say we have done more and achieved more to address past race issues than any other state.

———————————— by Sarah J. Fields

🚨BREAKING REPORT🚨: JACKSON COUNTY GRAND JURY RETURNS NO TRUE BILL IN NOLAN WELLS DEATH - AND THE RECORD DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE RUMORS, THE SEA TOW CALL, THE PHONE, THE AUTOPSY, AND THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST HIS FRIENDS

I told my followers to pay attention to what happened this week. Now you know. After months of accusations, viral theories, threats, social-media speculation and repeated claims that a group of young men somehow killed their best friend, a Jackson County, Mississippi grand jury has completed its investigation into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells. The grand jury unanimously returned a No True Bill. That means NO indictment was issued against anyone in connection with Nolan’s death.

But the report went considerably further than simply announcing that no one was charged.

According to the September 18, 2026 grand-jury report, jurors reviewed an enormous amount of evidence, including evidence presented by Nolan’s own family’s attorneys and privately retained experts, before concluding that there was NO credible evidence connecting the young men who traveled to and from Horn Island with criminal activity related to Nolan’s death.

The report states that the grand jury issued 132 subpoenas and heard from 43 witnesses. It reviewed physical evidence, digital evidence, reports, recorded interviews, photographs, videos, maps, GPS and location information, cellular-phone extractions and responses to subpoenas. It also had access to the complete investigative file of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, including material supplied by other law-enforcement agencies involved in the investigation.

One of the biggest pieces of misinformation surrounding this case involved the Sea Tow call. The grand jury obtained the ORIGINAL Sea Tow recording made by occupants of the Triton on July 4. After reviewing it, the grand jury found that the various Sea Tow calls and interpretations/manipulations circulating on the internet and social media were “not true and accurate.”

That is significant because versions of that call became central to some of the most serious accusations leveled at these young men. Certain individuals dissected it, manipulated it and claimed it proved things that the actual evidence did NOT prove. The grand jury had the original recording, and its conclusion was clear: the online versions and interpretations were not accurate. (Yes, Jeanetta Brantley should be held accountable for this).

Nolan’s cellphone also became one of the biggest points of controversy in this case, and the newly released correspondence now shows exactly what happened. The State did not initially possess Nolan’s phone. In an August 17 letter, District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath wrote that if investigators had possessed a legal basis to seize and search the phone, the State would have done so. Instead, the phone remained under the control of Nolan’s parents. The DA’s office repeatedly worked with the family’s attorneys to arrange a forensic examination.

The correspondence shows that the FBI agreed to perform that examination at the Mississippi Cyber Initiative laboratory at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The DA told the family’s attorneys that if they wanted the FBI examination included in the investigation and presented to the grand jury, the phone should be provided to the FBI. The family’s attorneys, however, “had concerns” about the exact examination procedure and wanted a mutually agreed protocol.

Ultimately, Nolan’s parents chose to have the phone examined by their OWN independent forensic examiners, Andrew Garrett and Christian Garrett of Garrett Discovery. The family’s OWN experts examined it, and their findings went to the grand jury.

The final grand-jury report states that jurors received a 14-page Mobile Device Examination Findings Preliminary Report, followed by a 21-page final mobile-device examination report addressing the device’s lock state, screen activity, messages, calls, location and application usage. The grand jury also received a 261-page Snapchat Conversation Report. Those materials were considered during the investigation.

On September 1, the DA’s office emailed the family’s attorney because it had not yet received the completed forensic report and asked whether it had been sent and whether there was a tracking number. Attorney Ahmad Smith responded September 2 that the examination had taken longer than expected and that the final report was expected shortly. The grand jury ultimately received and reviewed the family’s phone evidence before reaching its conclusion.

There is another critical finding involving Nolan’s phone. For months, people treated the fact that Nolan’s phone returned to the mainland while Nolan remained on Horn Island as inherently suspicious. The grand jury specifically addressed that. It found that people visiting Horn Island commonly move between boats, socialize on different boats and leave phones and personal belongings aboard vessels other than the ones on which they originally traveled. Most importantly, Nolan’s phone was not the only phone that returned to the mainland without its owner. That is a major factual finding considering how heavily that circumstance was used online to fuel theories of foul play. (I’m thinking of SO many horrible content creators right now that said some pretty wild things things).

The grand jury found that Nolan traveled to Horn Island on July 4 with friends aboard one of three boats: the Triton, Palm Beach and Tideline. It then made one of the clearest findings in the entire report: Nolan chose to remain on Horn Island after the three boats departed. Other people remained behind as well. According to the report, Nolan stayed on the island to socialize. The grand jury found NO credible evidence that anyone aboard the Triton, Palm Beach or Tideline engaged in criminal conduct related to Nolan’s death.

The report states that allegations against the occupants of those boats were “not based in truth” and were the result of “public clamor and private MALICE.” The grand jury further characterized the public attacks against those individuals, their families and their friends as “malicious, false” and having “no truth in fact or evidence.” I’M HAPPY they chose to address this in the documents.

The grand jury also found that GPS data and security-camera footage confirmed the accounts given by passengers aboard the Triton, Palm Beach and Tideline. This means that the witness statements were not considered in isolation. They were checked against objective electronic evidence. The report further states that the individuals who traveled to and from Horn Island aboard those boats fully cooperated with investigators, providing marine GPS devices, surveillance footage, cellphones and statements to both law enforcement and Nolan’s family.

The grand jury also found that Nolan was NOT involved in a physical altercation or argument on July 4.

Nolan’s family retained forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell to conduct an independent review, and the newly released correspondence demonstrates that Mitchell was given substantial access. He reviewed the investigative case file, was transported to Horn Island to inspect the area, was permitted to examine retained tissue including Nolan’s larynx and hyoid structures, reviewed histology slides and was given access to materials at Mississippi’s Medical Examiner’s Office and the broader investigative file. The DA specifically arranged for Mitchell to have access to material necessary to complete his opinion.

The correspondence also shows that when Mitchell finished an addendum to his independent autopsy report shortly before the grand jury convened, the DA’s office requested it immediately so jurors could have it before his testimony. The family’s attorney supplied that finalized addendum on September 15. The grand jury therefore considered not only the State medical examiner’s work, but the conclusions of the family’s own independent forensic pathologist.

Both the Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner and Dr. Mitchell concluded that the cause and manner of Nolan’s death remained undetermined. Both considered drowning a diagnosis of exclusion. The report says bruising was observed on the back of Nolan’s head, but it was not a fatal injury. The grand jury found no evidence of a fatal injury or organic disease. The two pathologists reportedly disagreed regarding some non-deep tissue bruising involving Nolan’s buttocks and shoulder.

A witness testified under oath that Nolan slipped awkwardly from the side of a boat at approximately 3:30 p.m. on July 4. That witness could not say whether Nolan struck his head during the fall. Critically, Nolan reportedly continued socializing afterward and did not appear injured. The grand jury said the precise cause of the bruising could not be established with absolute certainty.

The report also directly addresses another rumor that spread publicly. The grand jury found that Nolan did not have cocaine in his system at the time of his death and found no evidence suggesting that he had ever used cocaine. The grand jury did note a forensic limitation: decomposition fluid is not considered a reliable source for accurately determining substance levels in a body. But the report expressly states that the toxicology evidence supported witness accounts regarding Nolan on July 4.

Images from a pool party were also circulated online as supposed evidence connected to the events surrounding Nolan’s disappearance. The grand jury investigated those photographs and determined that the widely circulated pool-party images were NOT taken the night of July 4. (I previously debunked this rumor myself)

According to the report, those photographs were from July 3 and approximately one week earlier and had no evidentiary value to Nolan’s death investigation.

Another repeated public assertion was that Nolan was the only African-American person on Horn Island that day. The grand jury found that claim to be false. The report specifically states that Nolan was not the only African-American person on Horn Island on July 4 and says the false assertion contributed to misinformation, speculation and rumors concerning his death.

The grand jury also investigated claims surrounding the Triton’s condition. It found that the Triton suffered a bilge-pump and motor malfunction on July 4 and was actively taking on water. The Tideline briefly towed the Triton while a passenger manually held the motor trim button down so water could drain from the boat’s interior.

The report states that an extensive search of Horn Island was conducted on July 5, before Nolan’s body was discovered. The grand jury concluded that had Nolan’s body been on the island during that search, investigators were confident it would have been discovered. The report further states that the position, condition, time of discovery and location of Nolan’s body were consistent with drowning.

The family’s own investigation was also invited into the grand-jury process. The District Attorney repeatedly asked Nolan’s family and their lawyers to provide witnesses, reports, recordings, photographs, digital material, expert opinions and anything else developed through their independent investigation that could potentially establish criminal conduct. According to the grand-jury report, the family’s attorney advised prosecutors that their investigation had revealed no witnesses or evidence that the legal team reasonably believed possessed information germane to potential criminal activity warranting referral to the DA’s office.

The report also says the family did NOT request that any additional document, recording, photograph, digital-media file, report or other item in its legal team’s possession be submitted beyond what ultimately went before the grand jury.

The correspondence also sheds light on what was happening behind the scenes while the public narrative surrounding this case was exploding. In a July 29 letter, DA Angel Myers McIlrath expressed concern about the widespread dissemination of unverified information. She wrote that it had resulted in hundreds of threats, harassment and intimidation directed at witnesses, law-enforcement personnel, uninvolved people with similar names and public officials. She specifically referenced information she said had been shared directly or indirectly through the Ben Crump team and wrote that Mr. Crump had publicly taken the position that “he could continue sharing information related to the case regardless of its source or verification.” This tracks. Considering Crump shared the “pool party photo” on his own Instagram without ever verifying its source.

After everything - 132 subpoenas, 43 witnesses, the sheriff’s complete file, digital evidence, GPS records, security footage, phone extractions, Snapchat records, expert pathology evidence, the ORIGINAL Sea Tow call, the family’s independent investigation and additional witnesses - the grand jury unanimously returned a No True Bill.

I told everyone to pay attention to what happened this week. I am still headed to Mississippi tomorrow. I will be spending time talking to the boys, their families, attorneys, members of the Cajun Navy and people throughout Ocean Springs. I plan to address as many of the questions submitted by my followers as possible, including questions raised beneath my last report.

And now that the grand jury has spoken, I hope the conversation can begin turning toward something else that desperately needs to be addressed: accountability for the people who publicly accused young men of k*lling their best friend when the evidence did not support those accusations.

Accountability time! You’re about to see some surprising things in the near future. And my supporters will like what is coming.

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