PASCAGOULA — A Jackson County grand jury has decided not to charge anyone in the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, finding no credible evidence that his death on Horn Island on July 4 was a crime.
The panel voted unanimously to return a “no true bill.” In a seven-page report filed with the Jackson County Circuit Clerk, the grand jury found that the location and condition of Wells’ body, along with where and when it was found, were consistent with drowning.
The grand jury also noted that Wells’ own family and its legal team had told the district attorney’s office, in writing, that their independent investigation turned up no witnesses or evidence pointing to potential criminal activity. The family did not ask that any additional material in its possession be submitted to the grand jury, the report states.
The report noted that two pathologists could not pin down how Wells died. Both the state’s chief medical examiner and Dr. Roger Mitchell, a forensic pathologist hired by Wells’ family, concluded that the cause and manner of death were undetermined. Drowning, they said, was what remained after other causes were ruled out.
The grand jury was seated April 20, met again Sept. 14 and finished its work Sept. 18. It issued 132 subpoenas and heard from 43 witnesses. The panel said it had full access to the complete case file of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, including material from every law enforcement agency that helped investigate. It said it was confident in the work done by state and federal investigators.
The report knocked down several claims that had spread online. The grand jury found no credible evidence that anyone who traveled to or from Horn Island on July 4 was involved in a crime tied to Wells’ death. Wells went to the island with a group of friends on three boats — the Triton, the Palm Beach and the Tideline — and chose to stay after the boats left, the report states. The panel called the accusations against the boats’ passengers the result of “public clamor and private malice” and said attacks on them and their families were “malicious, false, and have no truth in fact or evidence.”
The grand jury found that Wells was not the only African American on Horn Island that day, contrary to what had been said publicly. It found that GPS data and security video backed up the passengers’ accounts, and that Wells was not in any fight or argument on July 4.
The report addressed other claims as well. The grand jury found that pool party photos shared widely online were taken July 3 and the week before, not the night of July 4, and had no bearing on the case. It found that versions of a Sea Tow call spreading online were not accurate. The Triton, it found, had a bilge pump and motor failure that day and was taking on water, which led to a short tow by the Tideline. The panel also found that Wells’ phone was not the only phone that returned to the mainland without its owner, and said that was common for island visitors who move among boats.
The grand jury found that Horn Island was thoroughly searched July 5, the day before Wells’ body was found. It said it was confident the body would have been found then if it had been on the island.
On the medical evidence, the report found bruising on the back of Wells’ head that was not a fatal injury, and no sign of any fatal injury or disease. A witness testified under oath that he saw Wells slip off the side of a boat about 3:30 p.m. on July 4, but could not say whether Wells hit his head. The witness said Wells kept socializing afterward and did not appear hurt. The state medical examiner and the family’s pathologist disagreed over whether there was bruising on Wells’ buttocks and shoulder, and the grand jury said it could not say for certain what caused it. Neither expert ruled out accidental drowning.
The grand jury also found that Wells did not have cocaine in his system and no evidence he had ever used it. It cautioned that the toxicology results were of limited value because decomposition fluid is not a reliable way to measure substances in a body.
Mitchell, the family’s pathologist, was given full access to the case file, visited Horn Island and examined Wells’ internal neck structures at the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory, where extra tissue slides were prepared at his request, the report states. He confirmed that keeping the neck tissue was proper and standard practice, and he cleared up rumors that other organs, including the lungs and stomach, had been held back. He testified before the panel.
The grand jury said it also reviewed reports on Wells’ cellphone prepared by the family’s examiner, Garrett Discovery Inc., including a 261-page report of Snapchat messages.
The 23 grand jurors who heard the case ranged in age from 27 to 68 and included 13 men and 10 women. The panel described itself as a cross-section of Jackson County. District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath’s office presented the case.
The report noted that Mississippi has no statute of limitations on homicide. If credible evidence later surfaces that Wells’ death was not accidental, the grand jury said, the case should be brought back to a Jackson County grand jury. The panel offered its sympathy to Wells’ family and friends and said the evidence had convinced its members of Wells’ “outstanding character.”
