A private autopsy commissioned by the family of Nolan Wells provided little new insight into the teen’s mysterious death earlier this month.
Attorney Ben Crump announced the findings during a news conference held at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday. He said Wells’ cause and manner of death, per the independent report, are both undetermined, pending further investigation.
Crump added that there was “red discoloration” to the tissue in the back of Wells’ head, though what caused it is still unknown. He also noted Wells’ body was in a state of decomposition when it arrived for autopsy, making it difficult for the forensic pathologist to uncover and identify relevant evidence in the case.
The autopsy, which was paid for by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, was conducted by former Washington, D.C. chief medical examiner Dr. Roger Mitchell. It was performed after the state carried out its own autopsy, meaning most organs as well as the throat and larynx did not come with the body.
Wells seemingly vanished during a Fourth of July boating trip with friends to an island off the coast of Mississippi. His body was found in the water on July 6 by Horn Island, located about 10 miles south of the mainland, after a search by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the National Park Service.
“This has been a difficult journey,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said Wednesday. “Losing a child truly breaks your heart. It is a pain, you just can’t measure it.”
The mourning mother also demanded local authorities step up their probe, calling the lack of information “concerning.”
“The only question we have is ‘What happened to our son?’” she said.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride back on his own. He also noted the friends were cooperating with the investigation, which remains ongoing.
A reward of $125,000 — jointly funded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, actor and producer Tyler Perry and former NFL player Terrell Owens — is also being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with Wells’ death.
With News Wire Services