Nolan Wells Update: Independent Autopsy Results Released by Family

The family of Nolan Wells have released the preliminary findings from an independent autopsy.

According to the family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, at a press conference on Wednesday, July 22, Nolan’s cause of death was “undetermined pending investigation.” Crump added that Nolan’s date of death was unknown.

“Preliminary findings… and this is significant,” Crump continued, reading from the autopsy report. “Focal area of red discoloration of the soft tissue of the back of the head – the occipital region.”

However, there were “no lacerations of the overlaying skin nor fractures of the underlying skull, and the findings were considered ‘inconclusive’ due to the “extensive decomposition and the absence of associate injuries.”

As Globe previously reported, Nolan disappeared during a July 4 boating trip to Horn Island off of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. According to authorities, the 18-year-old didn’t return to the mainland with the group he traveled with, and his friends claimed he chose to stay on the island after meeting a girl. However, his body was found face down in the water two days later on July 6.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner performed an official autopsy as well, but those results have not yet been publicly released. Toxicology testing is still pending, and officials said that those results can take several weeks.

While there weren’t any obvious or immediate signs of foul play, Bruce Lynd told NBC affiliate WDSU6 that “we asked for an autopsy (at) the state medical examiner’s office so that they could do the full autopsy and be able to tell if there was any foul play or trauma.”

Meanwhile, Nolan’s parents, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, commissioned an independent autopsy.

“We had his body flown from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., because his family wanted to make sure that they had a doctor who had no ties to Mississippi law enforcement to do an independent examination of their son’s body,” Crump explained.

Nolan’s friend, Tracestin Shephard, who was also on the trip, spoke to Good Morning America and claimed that he and his friends had been the target of online death threats.

“We did no wrong here, and we don’t understand how we’re getting so much hate behind us,” Shepherd said during the July 13 episode of Good Morning America. “We all cared and loved Nolan, and nobody wanted to see Nolan die. Nobody wanted to see his life be taken so short.”