In a victory for due process and the rule of law, officials in Mississippi announced Monday night that a grand jury unanimously voted against bringing criminal charges over the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells.
The Tragic Death
The teen, who was black, was last seen alive on July 4 on Horn Island, an island 10 miles off the coast of Mississippi that is only accessible by boat, after going with a group of friends from high school for a Fourth of July party.
The group traveled aboard three separate boats and friends said Wells decided to stay on the island when the boat he arrived on left early because it was taking on water. It was reported that Wells stayed behind to talk to a girl he was interested in, and the others assumed he would get a ride back on another vessel. But he never made it back to the mainland. A massive search began and his body was found two days later, face down in the water along the shoreline of Horn Island.
Wells’ parents said they believed local authorities were too quick to rule their son’s death an accident and began working with known race-baiters Benjamin Crump and Al Sharpton. That has led to a litany of allegations against Wells’ mostly white friends who were with him on the day of his death.
The Grand Jury Report
The grand jury wrote in its report that “the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.” The Jackson County district attorney went further, saying, “there is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated.”
The grand jury met from September 14 to September 18, as 23 jurors heard from over 40 witnesses and reviewed evidence ranging from GPS data to cellphone extractions to photos and videos from the island. NPR reported evidence reviewed also included findings from Crump’s team.
With the grand jury’s return a “no true bill” in Wells’ death investigation, no indictment or charges will be filed.
Wells’ Family Pushes Back
According to the district attorney, Wells’ family’s legal team informed her office late last month that it had found no evidence a crime was committed against Wells. “On August 13, 2026, after the Crump team conducted and released the results of its independent autopsy and after receiving hundreds of tips, they advised my office that they had no evidence of a crime being committed against Nolan Wells,” she said.
Even so, that same team is now casting doubt on the grand jury’s findings, claiming the report offers more questions than answers, and accusing the district attorney of ending the investigation without determining exactly what caused blunt force trauma to the back of Wells’ head and body.
“All other causes must be ruled out prior to certifying a death as drowning,” Crump said at the news conference Tuesday after releasing the final version of their independent autopsy report. “What is another cause the district attorney failed to rule out? Blunt force trauma… Common sense tells you that this child did not just drown.”
At the same presser, Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said she didn’t believe the grand jury’s conclusion that her son had accidentally drowned was supported by the autopsy findings. “How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies,” she asked.
Quest for Accountability
Meanwhile, the attorneys representing the friends of Wells who have had their names dragged through the mud and been on the receiving end of racially charged rhetoric from the likes of Crump, Sharpton, and others have praised the grand jury’s findings and vowed to pursue legal action as necessary.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Russ Latino, attorney for Bart Edmiston, to discuss the grand jury report and what it means for his client moving forward. Watch:
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Latino by tuning in to episode 1,403 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.