Independent autopsy of missing Black teen Nolan Wells in Mississippi finds cause undetermined, foul play not ruled out

An independent autopsy report has raised further questions surrounding the suspicious death of Nolan Wells, a Black college freshman.

Disappearance and Discovery

Wells went missing on July 4 in the water near Mississippi's Horn Island while attending a boat party with approximately 300 other young people. According to Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter, Wells remained on the island with a young woman after the friends he arrived with departed, as he was reportedly expecting a ride home from someone else. His friends returned with his phone and keys, but not him. His body was discovered two days later.

Autopsy Findings

Ledbetter announced that there was likely no foul play involved before completing an official autopsy. This prompted civil rights lawyer Ben Crump to intervene and call for an independent examination, funded by former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick. The independent autopsy was conducted on July 10.

The findings determined Wells's cause and manner of death to be "undetermined" but did not rule out foul play. Notably, the independent autopsy revealed "red discoloration" on the back of Wells's head, just above the start of his neck.

While toxicology results remain pending, the independent report provides significantly more information than what state authorities have released. The state performed its own autopsy but has yet to make its findings public.

Speculation and Context

Several factors have fueled speculation that race played a role in Wells's death:

• Ledbetter's premature dismissal of foul play
• The involvement of the son of a local judge
• The absence of pictures or videos from the day of Wells's disappearance on his phone
• A photo shared by his mother on social media showing him smiling with three white peers on the day he vanished

"We are in Mississippi," Crump said during a speech at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta on Sunday. "These were three young white men. Nolan was the only young Black man. Had the roles been reversed, we know this investigation would be going differently. It would be like the first 48. They would be interrogating those young, Black boys."

Claims of foul play or racism are not without historical precedent. Mississippi has a long, disturbing history of anti-Black racism, from the murder of Emmett Till 71 years ago to more recent decisions by state medical examiners to ignore police brutality and other misdeeds during autopsies.

Trump Claims Fallen Soldiers Supported Iran War

President Trump attempted Wednesday to assert that U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war all agreed with his stated mission.

Trump made the remarks as he prepared to board Air Force One en route to Dover Air Force Base for a dignified transfer ceremony honoring the remains of four soldiers killed in the Iran war over the past week.

"Some of you are going with us to honor our heroes, and they are indeed great heroes actually. All of them said very strongly, 'We can't let, we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.' They won't have a nuclear weapon. So we're going to honor them," Trump said.

While it is common for a president to assert that the deaths of U.S. troops were not in vain, claiming that all of them proudly supported the war is another matter. Military service compels troops to follow orders and deploy wherever directed, regardless of personal opinion.

Iran has responded to U.S. and Israeli strikes on its territory with missile strikes across the Middle East, including on Israel, oil infrastructure, international business targets, and U.S. military bases. This has placed U.S. troops on the front lines of the conflict, with at least 18 American soldiers killed so far.

Read The TNR Blue Book, our new newsletter on the Democratic Party: Democrats' Plan for Ending the Iran War