Nolan Wells' family pushes back after grand jury finds no cause for charges in his July death

(22 Sep 2026) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4686143 ++SOUNDBITES PART COVERED++ ASSOCIATED PRESS Stonecrest, Georgia - 22 September 2026 1. Ben Crump getting on the stage with Nolan Wells Family UPSOUND (English) “Justice for Nolan Wells, justice for Nolan Wells.” 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Wells-Wonsley, Nolan’s mother: ++PART COVERED++ “Elmore and I have read through the report page by page more than once. What we have learned is that we still have no answers and the report reinforced the fact that Nolan was not given a thorough, transparent and honest investigation. There is no explanation as to how the bruising on his body and the blunt force trauma to the back of his head occurred. Please remember that both medical examiners, as well as his death certificate, states that the cause and manner of his death is undetermined.” 3. A picture showing a drawing of the independent autopsy 4. Nolan’s parents hugging each other 5. A woman looking at the stage 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Wells-Wonsley, Nolan’s mother: ++PART COVERED++ “So my question is, how can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning despite knowing that there was trauma to his body and despite hearing many inconsistencies? Elmore and I do not believe that Nolan simply and accidentally drowned.” 6. Wide of Nolan’s family and their legal counsel on the stage 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Crump, Wells’ family lawyer: ++PARTIALLY COVERED++ “The work isn't done. As we said from day one, it just doesn't add up, y'all. It doesn't add up. And so we will continue to press forward with that releasing information publicly and to the authorities, both on the state level and on the federal level.” 9. Wide of Nolan’s family and their legal counsel leaving the stage STORYLINE: A grand jury determined that there wasn't evidence to warrant charges in the death of Nolan Wells, a Black college student whose body was found after a July 4 boating trip and party on an island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Wells' family swiftly pushed back on the findings. District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, who has overseen the investigation into the 18-year-old's death, announced the grand jury's findings late Monday, after months of intense speculation about how Wells went missing from the bustling party and why the friends who ferried him to Horn Island left without him. The grand jury found no evidence of criminal conduct and said that based on various factors, including the position and condition of Wells' body when found two days after he was last seen, his death was “consistent with drowning.” Although the state medical examiner's office's autopsy results haven't been made public, the grand jury report said that it and a separate autopsy conducted by a forensic pathologist hired by Wells’ family found bruising on the back of his head but couldn’t determine the cause of death. Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said at a news conference Tuesday that she didn't understand how the grand jury concluded that her son had accidentally drowned given the autopsy findings. "How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies?" she said. Attorneys for friends of Wells who have been the subject of online rumors and accusations hailed the report’s findings, with one saying his client can now properly grieve. AP video by Emilie Megnien. =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3ad5136c9c9b4f7293570dc96277fb95