As the public continues to raise questions about the death of Nolan Wells, the Ocean Springs teenager found dead on Horn Island earlier this month, the district attorney overseeing the case is speaking out.
Angel Myers McIlrath, who represents Mississippi’s 19th Circuit Court District, which includes Jackson County, posted a roughly four-minute video on Facebook Thursday afternoon to “talk directly to the people of Jackson County.”
In it, she urged patience, explaining that law enforcement is still investigating the case and that information is not being withheld out of ill intent, but to protect the integrity of the investigation.
“Our community is grieving the tremendous loss of Nolan Wells, who is loved and treasured by everyone,” McIlrath said. “Nolan’s family deserves answers and our community deserves answers.
“Nolan’s case is being handled the same way with the same care and same commitment to the truth that we handle all death investigations with.”
McIlrath explained that every death investigated in the counties she serves, apart from those resulting from natural causes or noncriminal car wrecks, is eventually presented to a grand jury once the investigation is complete.
She said Wells’ case will follow the same process used in other death investigations, with evidence – which could include the state’s autopsy results – remaining under seal until the case is presented to a grand jury.
Wells traveled by boat with friends on July 4 and was reported missing after he did not return to the mainland. On the morning of July 6, the 18-year-old student-athlete’s body was discovered by a park ranger following a multiagency search of the barrier island about 10 miles south of Ocean Springs.
His death has sparked a national discussion, with social media users and commentators debating how he died. Wells, who was Black, was last photographed on a boat with a group of white friends. Shortly after his body was found, his family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump to help ensure what he described as a “thorough and transparent investigation.”
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McIlrath said that is exactly the type of investigation being conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department alongside state and federal law enforcement agencies.
“Since Nolan was reported missing, local, state, and federal law enforcement have worked around the clock investigating what happened to him,” she said.
Addressing criticism over the lack of public updates, McIlrath said state law limits what she can disclose during an active investigation.
“Every piece of evidence must be examined. Every credible lead must be followed to its conclusion. Every witness interview must be analyzed in context of all other evidence,” McIlrath explained. “The pressure for answers does not change what the work requires.
“Our responsibility to Nolan and to our community is to complete this investigation thoroughly, carefully, without compromise, supported by the evidence, and worth the confidence of the people who we serve.
“I also understand that many people have questions about why more information has not been released publicly. In Mississippi, the rules of professional conduct restrict the information a prosecutor can release during an investigation.
“Our restraint in communicating facts and evidence is not an effort to keep the truth from the public. It is an effort to protect the integrity of this investigation and the grand jury proceeding.”
Following a meeting with McIlrath on July 15, Crump confirmed that the results of the investigation will be presented to a grand jury. Since then, however, Wells’ family, which is conducting its own independent review with Crump’s legal team, has publicly questioned what they describe as a lack of communication from law enforcement.
Earlier this week, preliminary findings from an independent autopsy were announced and said to have showed Wells’ cause of death to be undetermined. The autopsy, performed by forensic pathologist and National Medical Association president Dr. Roger A. Mitchell, could not determine whether foul play was involved.
Mitchell found “there were no fractures or deep tissue injuries identified” and “there were no lacerations of the overlying skin nor fractures of the underlying skull.” He did, however, note “red discoloration” on the back of Wells’ head, writing that it was difficult to determine whether it resulted from decomposition or an injury sustained before his death, according to Crump.
“It is our hope that local authorities will do what they need to do because us having the preliminary autopsy results and hearing nothing from them is heartbreaking and concerning which, again, is why we are here and why we are asking for this help,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said during a press conference announcing the initial autopsy findings.
The state conducted an autopsy before the independent examination, but its initial findings have not been released publicly or to Wells’ family.
In her video, McIlrath acknowledged the flood of discussion surrounding the case, saying there is “a lot of information out there and a heck of a lot of misinformation out there.” She asked people to be patient while investigators complete their work.
“As divided as the discussion surrounding Nolan Wells’ death has become, I know we all want the same thing – to understand what happened to Nolan,” McIlrath said.
“With that being our shared goal, we must also share the goal of protecting the integrity of how the truth is discovered,” she continued. “If we sacrifice the integrity of the process in an effort to satisfy today’s questions, we risk undermining the confidence in tomorrow’s answers.”