Attorney Ben Crump Reveals Nolan Wells' Independent Autopsy Results – and the Report Ends with 7 Unanswered Questions

What should have been a routine search for medical clarity instead exposed crucial gaps in the evidence.

The independent examination was meant to bring Nolan Xavier Wells' grieving family closer to the truth. Instead, its findings exposed how much critical information remains unavailable and raised a troubling possibility that could not yet be ruled out.

Attorney Ben Crump recently revealed the preliminary results of Nolan's independent autopsy before a standing-room-only audience at the NAACP National Convention in Chicago.

According to an Associated Press report, the second examination classified the 18-year-old's cause and manner of death as "undetermined" pending further investigation. The findings did not identify fractures or deep tissue injuries.

Ben told the crowd that the report described a "red discoloration" in the back of Nolan's skull. The finding was deemed inconclusive, but the pathologist believes it deserves additional investigation.

Without more evidence, the forensic pathologist wrote that he could not exclude the possibility that "non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death."

Nolan 'May Have Suffered an Injury' to His Head

The possible significance of the discoloration became clearer as Ben discussed the report in greater detail. TMZ explained that Nolan "may have suffered an injury to the back of his head," based on the independent autopsy's preliminary observations.

According to the report, the affected area with the red discoloration measured approximately 12 by 8 inches. However, significant decomposition made it impossible to determine whether bruising had been visible on Nolan's skin.

There is also another possible explanation: Discoloration at the back of a person's head can sometimes develop when blood pools after death while the body is lying in a particular position.

That means the red area could not, on its own, establish that Nolan had been struck or otherwise injured. Yet its size and location ensured that it remained one of the report's most closely scrutinized findings.

Key Parts of the Body Were Unavailable

The independent examination faced serious limitations before it even began. An initial autopsy had already been performed by Mississippi's medical examiner. When Nolan's body was later examined by the family's pathologist, it arrived without its organs and neck structures.

The AP noted that this practice is not considered unusual following an initial autopsy. However, the missing material prevented the independent pathologist from answering several central questions.

The absence of Nolan's throat and other neck components meant the pathologist could not determine whether he had suffered an injury to the neck.

Because his lungs were also unavailable, the independent examiner could not establish whether water had entered them. That evidence could be crucial in evaluating whether Nolan drowned and whether he was alive or conscious when he entered the water.

Ben said the original autopsy photographs, throat tissue, lungs, and other evidence could help answer some of the family's biggest questions.

He called on Mississippi officials to provide the material so it could be reviewed as part of the family's independent investigation.

The Mississippi medical examiner has not publicly released the state's official autopsy results. In a statement provided to TMZ, the office said the July 7 autopsy was completed "in accordance with the standard procedures and protocols" followed in all examinations conducted by the Office of the State Medical Examiner.

The office added that Nolan's case remains active and ongoing. It declined to comment further on either the investigation or the independent autopsy.

Authorities had initially indicated that Nolan died by drowning. However, Ben has challenged that early characterization, particularly because so many medical and investigative questions remain unresolved.

The attorney has also voiced concern that officials could allow the full circumstances of Nolan's death to be overlooked. Still, no final determination of foul play has been made, and the independent autopsy itself did not identify a definitive cause of death.

Who Conducted the Independent Autopsy?

The second examination was conducted by Dr. Roger Mitchell, a board-certified forensic pathologist. He serves as president of the National Medical Association and president of Howard University Hospital. He also previously served as chief medical examiner in Washington, D.C.

His report acknowledged that decomposition and the absence of material removed during the first autopsy significantly restricted the conclusions he could reach. The independent examination was funded by former NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick. His organization, Know Your Rights Camp, has previously financed independent autopsies in other high-profile cases.

For Ben, the findings represented progress, but not closure. "This is only another part of the puzzle, and even though it tells us significant information, we still have more questions than we have answers at this time," he said.

Nolan's Mother Addresses the Pain and Speculation

Nolan's mother, Christine Wonsley, also spoke before the Chicago crowd. She described the pain of losing a child as immeasurable and said her family's focus remains singular: Discovering what happened to Nolan.

She also said she had faced false allegations that she was racist. According to Nolan's mother, those accusations had compounded the family's grief at an already devastating time. The still-unclear circumstances surrounding her son's death have fueled widespread online speculation.

Nolan, who was Black, had traveled to the island with a group of high school friends, all of whom are white. That fact, combined with questions about the group's final hours together, has intensified demands for transparency.

His family has also alleged that messages were deleted from Nolan's phone after his body was found. No public finding has established who may have deleted anything, when it happened, or what the alleged messages contained.

A Fourth of July Celebration Took a Tragic Turn

According to a timeline of the events surrounding Nolan's disappearance and death, the teenager spent the evening of July 3 at home, where he prepared salmon for his family. His mother, Christine, remembered their goodbye simply: "It was hug, kiss, and he left."

Nolan then spent the night with friends ahead of their Fourth of July trip to Horn Island. The visit was not considered unusual. Reportedly, Nolan had previously traveled to the island with friends, and the group regularly made the approximately 45-minute boat journey to spend time there.

Nolan had graduated from Ocean Springs High School in 2025 and enrolled at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver.

He was expected to return to school following the holiday weekend and begin training for the upcoming football season. Photos taken during the boat trip showed Nolan smiling in sunglasses and blue swim trunks, towering above several of the friends gathered around him.

At some point that afternoon, though, the group began returning to the mainland — without Nolan. His family received a phone call from one of his friends at around 11 p.m. on July 4 and subsequently reported him missing.

A multi-agency search was launched, involving local authorities, the United States Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, and volunteers. Nolan's parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, also traveled to the island and searched for him.

In the days before things really took a dark turn, Christine had shared desperate appeals on social media for any information on her son's whereabouts.

By July 6, hope gave way to tragedy when a body matching Nolan's description was recovered from the water near the shoreline. Dental records later confirmed his identity.

The Viral Beach Clip Seemed to Show a Disturbing Confrontation

Filmed from a boat near the shoreline, a video shows several young people gathered on or near the beach. A person could be heard yelling while members of the group appeared to be involved in an intense discussion.

Because the footage was recorded during the Fourth of July gathering, many online observers believed it captured a confrontation involving Nolan shortly before his disappearance. One man in blue swim trunks was widely identified on social media as Nolan.

The voice in the video also became a major focus. Ben, who is representing Nolan's family, discussed the footage during a press conference and said Nolan could seemingly be heard demanding: "Give me my freaking phone, what are you freaking doing?" According to Nolan's friend, Tracestin Shepherd, however, that is not what the footage shows at all.

Nolan's Friend Says the Argument Began with His Girlfriend

In his first media interview, Tracestin gave his account of what really happened in the viral beach video. Tracestin said he arrived at Horn Island with members of his family at around 3:30 p.m. on July 4.

He intended to meet Nolan and other high school friends who had been on the island since earlier that morning. At the time the confrontation began, Tracestin said he was standing waist-deep in the water and having a disagreement with his girlfriend.

An acquaintance from a nearby town allegedly walked past and criticized their conversation. The man had not traveled to the island on the same boat as Tracestin or Nolan. "I told him he needed to mind his own business," Tracestin recalled.

According to Tracestin, the exchange became heated and eventually escalated into a physical altercation between him and the acquaintance. Tracestin's uncle, who had raised him like a father, instructed him to leave the water, get onto the family's boat, and return home. Tracestin initially complied.

But after boarding the boat, he saw that some of his friends had begun defending him back on the beach. He then changed his mind and said he wanted to get off the boat and return to the confrontation — and it was at that moment that another adult nearby began recording.

Tracestin says the clearest voice heard in the viral footage did not belong to Nolan… It was his. "It’s me yelling — my exact wording is, 'Get me off this [expletive] boat.' I wanted to fight, and I'd felt like I hadn't had my fair share," he revealed.

Tracestin's girlfriend supported his version of events, as did his uncle and a family friend who could be seen in the video attempting to calm him.

The unnamed family friend said there was no uncertainty about whose voice was being recorded. "Nobody knows what Tracestin was saying better than me because he was screaming it in my face," he stated.

Tracestin's uncle and other older adults eventually intervened, helping break up the confrontation among the younger people on shore. Another friend, Jayvon Williams, had previously suggested that the voice sounded like someone other than Nolan.

Jayvon described witnessing a friend becoming agitated on a boat as adults attempted to remove him from the island.

Tracestin subsequently confirmed that he was the friend Jayvon was describing. "Those were not Nolan's words," Tracestin reiterated. "They were mine."

Tracestin Says Nolan Is Not Visible in the Clip

The identity of the man in blue swim trunks has also been heavily debated. Nolan had been wearing blue trunks that day, prompting many viewers to conclude that he was among the people standing together on the beach. Tracestin disputed that interpretation as well.

He said the man being identified online as Nolan was too short to be his friend, who stood approximately six feet two inches tall. According to Tracestin, Nolan does not appear anywhere in the video.

Instead, he said Nolan was outside the camera's frame and spending time in the water while the unrelated altercation unfolded and the video was taken around 3 p.m. Tracestin also provided his full account to local law enforcement on July 10 and said he had also communicated with Nolan's family.

Another Friend Said Nolan Seemed 'Completely Fine'

One of Nolan's best friends, Warren, offered his account of the July Fourth gathering during part one of an interview on "The Officer Tatum Show." Warren described a large party on the island, with groups arriving by boat carrying food and drinks for the holiday.

He said the boats in his group were tied together near an area where the water depth varied. According to him, someone stepping from the front of one boat would have entered water around neck level, while the water near the rear was closer to waist deep.

As the day continued, more people gathered around the boats. Warren characterized the scene as a large, familiar holiday celebration attended by friends, college students, and other people they knew.

He acknowledged that Nolan was drinking, as were many others at the gathering. However, Warren said Nolan appeared "completely fine" during every conversation they had that day.

He recalled having ordinary conversations with Nolan and said his friend was making him laugh. Warren stressed that he was not watching Nolan continuously because hundreds of people were on the island and he was moving among different groups. Warren also described Nolan as consistently joyful.

He said Nolan was smiling in virtually every photograph he has of him and was the kind of person he could call when he needed encouragement.

According to Warren, Nolan regularly reassured his friends, "If you ever need something, I'm here, man." Warren said their group was very close and comfortable speaking openly with one another. He denied noticing anything alarming about Nolan during the conversations they shared before the group began preparing to leave at approximately 4:30 p.m.

His recollection that Nolan seemed well earlier in the day now stands beside the unresolved question of what happened afterward.

Reverend Al Sharpton's Words at Nolan's Funeral

Nolan was laid to rest in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, two days before the independent autopsy findings were announced. During the funeral, the Rev. Al Sharpton spoke about the "inconsistencies and unanswered questions" that he said had placed a dark cloud over the Wells family's grief.

Al questioned why Nolan's friends left the island without him. He also asked why they took his phone and keys and why they did not immediately report him missing. He also stated, "We can't have someone in law enforcement saying there was no foul play before there was an investigation."

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has offered a different account of the group's departure. He said initial interviews suggested that Nolan Wells chose to remain on the island, and his friends reportedly believed he would return with someone else. The sheriff has said the friends are cooperating with investigators and that the inquiry remains ongoing.

Ben said the family and its representatives were attempting to remain respectful and collaborative with authorities. "But it's always troublesome to all of us when these investigations just take forever," he added.

A Huge Reward Is Now Being Offered

Several prominent figures have joined the family's call for answers. A combined $125,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction connected to Nolan's death. The reward is funded by Al, Actor and Producer Tyler Perry, and former NFL Player Terrell Owens.

The Independent Autopsy Report Ends with Seven Unanswered Questions

The most striking part of the independent autopsy may not be one isolated finding; it is the list of questions printed at the end of the report. On the document signed by Roger and dated July 19, 2026, the pathologist stated that seven issues remain outstanding:

1. “What were the circumstances that led to Nolan Xavier Wells entering the water?
2. What was the body position when found?
3. Was there water in the airway?
4. Is there any evidence of injuries to the anterior neck structures?
5. Is there any evidence of intracranial hemorrhage (subdural or subarachnoid)?
6. What was the composition of the stomach contents?
7. What are the toxicology report findings?”

The report concludes that the best classification for Nolan's cause and manner of death is "Undetermined – Pending Investigation."

It also states that the forensic pathologist reserves the right to review and incorporate additional information into his opinion as it becomes available. For Nolan's family, that final page offered neither the confirmation they feared nor the clarity they desperately wanted.

Instead, the examination left them with a possible injury at the back of their son's head, critical evidence they have not yet been able to review, and seven unanswered questions that now sit at the center of the investigation.