Nolan Wells’ Death Remains Undetermined After Grand Jury Declines Charges; Jackson County DA Clashes With Family’s Legal Team

By Hip Hop Enquirer News | September 26, 2026
Reporting by Investigative Journalist Dennis Byron

A Jackson County, Mississippi, grand jury has declined to indict anyone in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells. The decision has intensified calls for answers from his family and supporters because the central question remains unresolved: How did Nolan die?

Wells disappeared during a July 4 trip to Horn Island and was found dead two days later. In a report released September 21, the grand jury said the location and condition of his body were consistent with drowning and found no credible evidence of criminal conduct by people who traveled to or from the island with him. The jurors returned a unanimous “no true bill,” meaning no indictment.

That finding has prompted public outcry, but a distinction matters: “Consistent with drowning” is not an autopsy determination that drowning caused Wells’ death. According to the grand jury’s own account, both Mississippi’s chief medical examiner and the independent forensic pathologist retained by Wells’ family classified the cause and manner of death as undetermined. Neither ruled out accidental drowning. The medical findings therefore leave the cause open; they do not, by themselves, establish that the grand jury reached the wrong decision about whether there was evidence to charge someone with a crime.

For Wells’ family, that unresolved medical conclusion is precisely why the decision cannot be the last word. Their attorney, Benjamin Crump, has pointed to injuries documented on Wells’ body and questioned how he entered the water, whether he did so voluntarily, and whether he was conscious at the time. Crump has called for continued investigation and said the Department of Justice should step in if Mississippi will not pursue those questions further. The NAACP has also called for release of the state autopsy report and investigative file.

The dispute sharpened after a September 24 news conference at which Crump’s team presented findings from a forensic examination of Wells’ phone. Digital forensic examiner Andrew Garrett said some Snapchat material had been deleted between Wells’ last known use of the phone and its return to his parents. District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath disputed any suggestion that this proved someone physically accessed Wells’ phone, saying the activity described involved other Snapchat users. Whether the phone data has any bearing on Wells’ death remains contested.

McIlrath’s written response went beyond defending the investigation. She accused Crump’s team of controlling information and creating a misleading public narrative, said its members had chosen to “grandstand,” and stated that her dealings with Crump showed he was “not worthy of our trust.” She maintained that the family’s experts were invited to present evidence to the grand jury and said she remains confident in the jurors’ work. Crump’s team, meanwhile, continues to challenge whether the investigation has adequately answered the family’s questions.

The increasingly personal exchange risks drawing attention away from the facts still at issue. A grand jury’s refusal to indict is a consequential decision, but it does not turn an undetermined cause of death into a confirmed drowning. Nor does an undetermined autopsy, standing alone, prove a homicide. Wells’ family and the public are entitled to a clear account of what the evidence establishes, what it leaves unanswered, and what further investigative steps remain possible.

This is a developing story.