Nolan Wells’ family is refusing to give up after a grand jury determined that no criminal charges were warranted in the 18-year-old’s death.
During a press conference Monday, Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, called for a federal investigation and said the family was left with more questions than answers. “What we were left with were many, many inconsistent stories,” Wonsley said.
Wells’ body was recovered off the Mississippi coast on July 6 after he went missing during a Fourth of July boat trip to Horn Island with friends. Authorities initially suspected he drowned, but both the official state autopsy and a private autopsy commissioned by his family listed his cause and manner of death as “undetermined.”
A 23-person grand jury concluded there was “no credible evidence to support the public allegations” that anyone traveling to or from the island engaged in criminal conduct related to Wells’ death. The report said the “position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location” of his body was “consistent with drowning.”
“I cannot take that ruling, and I cannot move on with my life,” Wonsley said. “We have been left with more questions and heartbreak than any answers.”
She added, “Elmore and I, our family, our friends, the community, all of you, we cannot accept that. We cannot. cannot. So it is our plea that this case is reopened, reexamined.”
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Wells’ parents were joined by attorney Ben Crump and Cynthia Choi, executive director of Stop AAPI Hate. The family is calling on the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate, while Rep. Frederica Wilson has urged the National Park Service to review the case because Horn Island falls under its jurisdiction.
“When a family is denied truth, and when anyone seeking justice is met with closed doors, intimidation instead of answers, this fight belongs to all of us,” Choi said. “We join the Wells-Wonsley family in demanding that the Department of Justice use their resources to conduct a full and thorough federal investigation.”
Although the Mississippi district attorney’s office has closed its case, Crump said the family will continue searching for answers.
“… The Mississippi District Attorney said after the grand jury proceeding that they have closed their case, but we have not closed our case and we refuse to close the chapter on Nolan Xavier Wells,” he said.