Attorney to Release Independent Autopsy Results for Nolan Xavier Wells on Wednesday

An attorney for the family of Nolan Xavier Wells says he will release the results of an independent autopsy into the 18-year-old’s death on Wednesday morning. The preliminary findings are set to be made public during a news conference held at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago, according to the civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family.

Wells’ parents are expected to attend.

has vowed to conduct his own investigation into the circumstances of the teenager’s disappearance, which followed a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the coast of Mississippi. Wells did not return to the mainland with his friends. His body was found floating off the island’s coast two days later.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted its own autopsy but has yet to release the results. The second autopsy was arranged by the family and Crump, and paid for by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick.

The still-unknown circumstances around Wells’ death have touched off rampant online speculation and prompted calls from Black leaders for transparency from local authorities. Wells, who was Black, had traveled to the island with a group of high school friends, all of whom are white.

A reward of $125,000 - jointly funded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, actor and producer Tyler Perry and former NFL player Terrell Owens - is now being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the death. The autopsy announcement comes two days after Wells was laid to rest in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

In his eulogy, Sharpton lamented the “inconsistencies and unanswered questions” that had placed a dark cloud over the grieving family. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else.