Crime · updated 15m ago · 3 min read
Jackson County Mississippi Grand Jury Declines Criminal Charges In Nolan Wells Death
Grand jury unanimously returned no true bill; no charges in Nolan Wells's death. Wells vanished July 4 during Horn Island boating trip; body found days later.
14 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Holdout Juror Michael Péguy Desronvil Says Lindsay Clancy Knew Exactly What She Was Doing →
3 of 4 outlets skipped it: grand jury process included GPS data and cellphone extractions.
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No charges after grand jury
A Jackson County, Mississippi grand jury declined to bring criminal charges in the death of Nolan Wells, finding that the “position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location” of his body was “consistent with drowning.” The grand jury also found “no credible evidence to support the public allegations” that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026 “engaged in any criminal conduct related to” Wells’s death. Angel Myers McIlrath said the grand jury indicated there was not enough evidence to charge someone with a crime in Wells’s death, and Ben Crump said the result “leaves us with more questions than answers.”
The grand jury heard from 43 witnesses and reviewed materials including physical and digital evidence, including GPS devices, surveillance footage, cell phones and other evidence. The grand jury report said Wells’s body was recovered in the waters off Horn Island two days after he vanished after he and friends celebrated July 4 off the Gulf Coast.
Family challenges the result
Ben Crump said the grand jury’s decision did not resolve the mystery of how Wells died, and he accused the district attorney of ending the investigation despite not determining what caused blunt force trauma on the back of Wells’s head and body. Angel Myers McIlrath said she could not accept “false narratives that Nolan’s death was somehow racially motivated,” and she said “There is not a shred of evidence to support these narratives.” The grand jury report said it found “no credible evidence” supporting public allegations of criminal conduct related to Wells’s death, and it also said it was “not unusual” for visitors to return from the island on boats they did not travel to the island on.
The grand jury report said Wells’s phone was not the only phone to travel back to the mainland without its owner, and it said it is “not unusual or suspicious” for people to place phones and personal items on other boats they visit and socialize on. The grand jury report said the public clamor and malicious allegations against the occupants of the three boats “have extended to their family members and friends,” and it called the “public attacks” “malicious, false, and have no truth in fact or evidence.”
What happens next
The grand jury report said, “If credible evidence comes to light in the future that suggests Mr. Wells’ death was non-accidental, this matter should be represented to the Jackson County Grand Jury for further consideration.”
The report said the long-awaited toxicology report was “not particularly informative as decomposition fluid is an unreliable source for evaluating substance levels within a body,” and it said the panel found Wells had no cocaine in his system and no evidence he’d ever used it.
The report said there was bruising on the back of Wells’ head that was “not a fatal injury,” and it said it was still unclear how Wells got that bruise.
The grand jury report said Wells bought alcohol with a fake ID, and it said no adults of alcohol-buying age provided any to him on the island that day.
The grand jury report also said there is no statute of limitations on homicide cases in the State of Mississippi, and it said the family’s lawyers advised their private investigation “revealed no witnesses or evidence” that warranted referral.