Pathologists say they ‘cannot rule out foul play’ in preliminary autopsy results of Nolan Wells
TheGrio...
Attorney Ben Crump shared the preliminary findings of the independent autopsy of Nolan Wells in the ongoing investigation.
Attorney Ben Crump has provided a critical update in the ongoing Nolan Wells case. During a press conference on July 22, Crump revealed that in the family’s independent autopsy, Dr. Roger Mitchell, a board-certified forensic pathologist, found that the cause of death and manner of death were “undetermined pending investigation.”
“This forensic pathologist identifies several limitations. Limitations during the second autopsy that create barriers to establishing a definitive cause and manner of death for Nolan Xavier Wells,” Crump said, reading the autopsy results. “[Dr. Mitchell] talks about the fact that we didn’t get to see the body when it was first recovered, like the medical examiner working for Mississippi would have seen it. He talked about the second autopsy performed on Nolan Wells revealed marked decompensation or changes. Marked decompensation can obscure the presence or absence of bruising on the skin surface, especially during a second autopsy examination. What he’s saying is that because the body was so decomposed that you couldn’t tell if there were bruises or abrasions on the body when he received it on the 10th of July.”
However, he did find red discoloration in the soft tissue of the back of the head in the occipital area, which is located in the lower part of the skull. Ultimately, Dr. Mitchell’s report underlined several limitations of the independent autopsy, which was secondary rather than primary, including the inability to observe the airway and lungs for water, the stomach for gastric contents, the anterior neck structures, and the throat.
“Unfortunately, because the body was decomposed and the organs have already been dissected, those are things we can only get from the initial autopsy,” Crump explained. “So, therefore, the manner and cause of death is undetermined until further investigation. We are hopeful that the Mississippi Medical Examiner would give Dr. Mitchell an opportunity to see their photographs and their observations of the condition of Nolan Wells’ body closer in time to July 4th.”
“In cases where a death has occurred in or around a body of water with suspicion of drowning, it is important to confirm how that person entered the water. This information is especially important for those deaths of persons who can swim, as in the case with Nolan Wells, at the time of this report, this forensic pathologist does not know the condition of Nolan Wells,” Crump explained. “He did not know whether he was conscious or unconscious when he entered the water, whether [or not] he was forced into the water. [Dr. Mitchell] said the condition of Nolan Wells before he entered the water would be the crux of the matter. It would be of utmost importance in order to be able to determine the cause and manner of death.”
The update comes days after the 18-year-old’s funeral. Wells reportedly went missing in Horn Island, Mississippi after a boat day with a group of friends on July 4. By July 5, authorities had begun a full-scale search for the teen and ultimately found his body on the morning of July 6. Todd Terrell, president of the United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit that assisted in the search, told Nancy Grace that Wells’ body was found “face down” and “fully clothed” in “the same vicinity of where he possibly drowned.” A detail, attorney Crump described as “significant” because the last time Wells was seen on camera, he was shirtless.
“At what point did he put on a shirt? Somebody saw something. There were almost 300-400 people. Somebody knows something,” Crump explained.
Despite these reports, the official investigation is still ongoing, as local officials continue the quest for answers.
“It is our hope that our local authorities will do what they need to do, because us having the preliminary autopsy results and hearing nothing from them-it’s heartbreaking and it’s concerning, which again is why we are here, why we have asked for this help,” Nolan’s mother Christine Wansley emphasized.