Nolan Wells’ Investigators ‘Did Not Check’ This Crucial Element in Autopsy Report, Says Expert

Though it was determined that no charges will be filed in the death of Nolan Wells, questions still remain.

Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath released a video statement earlier this week saying that a Grand Jury found no evidence that a crime was committed and voted “No True Bill,” dismissing the case.

The State of Mississippi’s Chief Medical Examiner was unable to determine the teenager’s cause and manner of death but found the circumstances consistent with drowning.

However, Dr. Priya Banerjee — a board-certified forensic pathologist not connected to the case — told People in a report published Friday, September 25, “The pathologist did not check the sphenoid sinus. It’s not even mentioned.”

According to a study, per the National Library of Medicine, “accumulation of fluid” in the sphenoid sinuses is “significantly associated with drowning.”

Still, Banerjee noted, “There is no A equals B for drowning. If there’s a gunshot wound to the head, there’s a gunshot wound to the head.”

While neither the official autopsy nor the one done from the family’s outside pathologist details what was found in the lungs or in the sphenoid sinuses, per People, Banerjee believes there may have been fluid in the 18-year-old’s lungs.

“Those lung weights aren’t the heaviest I’ve ever seen but they’re still heavier than normal,” she told the publication. “And in the setting of decomposition, they do probably have fluid in them, which is water consistent with drowning.”

In recent days, Wells’ family has also begun to question the bruising found on his body. However, the Grand Jury Report stated that it was determined not to be “a fatal injury.”

“Further, the Grand Jury found no evidence of any fatal injury or organic disease to Mr. Wells’ body,” the report stated.

Banerjee said the autopsy reports on Wells were limited, adding: “In a case like this … I was shocked to see how limited in scope it is, and then she [the examiner] doesn’t check the sphenoid.”

Wells’ cell phone has also come into play in recent days, with TMZ reporting that digital forensic investigator Andrew Garrett — whose firm Wells’ family retained — said messages appeared to have been deleted after the college student last used his phone at 2:18 p.m. and before his family got access back.

Garrett said investigators cannot determine who deleted them or why.

As Globe reported, Wells traveled to Horn Island with friends on the morning of July 4. He was last seen near the island around 3 p.m., and he was found dead on July 6.

Wells’ friends have maintained that the Mississippi college football player opted to stay on Horn Island with an unknown female despite the others getting on a boat to head back to the mainland at around 4:30 p.m.

However, Wells’ parents have pushed back, saying that it would be unlike their son to do so. The friends who accompanied him to Horn Island retained legal representation.