Nolan Wells' friends cleared by grand jury as their lawyers vow to hold online accusers accountable
After a Mississippi grand jury found that Nolan Wells' death was "consistent with drowning" and turned up no evidence of a crime or racial motive, an attorney for one of the men wrongly targeted online said his client intends to hold the accusers accountable.
Wells, 19, disappeared July 4 after taking a boat trip to Horn Island, a barrier island along Mississippi's Gulf Coast, with a group of friends. Search crews combed the area for two days until a National Park Service ranger discovered his remains at the island's northwestern tip on July 6.
Months later, a Jackson County, Mississippi, grand jury returned a "no true bill" in Wells' death investigation, meaning no indictment or charges will be filed.
"The Grand Jury finds that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells' remains is consistent with drowning," the grand jury wrote.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Russell Latino, who represents Bart Edmiston and his family, said: "This story involves two tragedies.
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"The death of Nolan Wells is a tragedy. So too is the way his friends, his community and his state were maligned by unscrupulous charlatans and grifters who spread false and malicious lies," Latino said. "The grand jury, made up of Mississippians of all races and backgrounds, did its solemn duty. But to anyone who knew the actual facts, not reckless garbage spewed on the internet, the result of the process was never in doubt. The Edmiston family looks forward to bringing accountability to those who exploited tragedy to divide and injure. They continue to pray for healing, for the family of Nolan and for their precious community."
Edmiston and other friends of Wells' were subjected to months of online rumors and speculation that they were somehow criminally responsible for the then-18-year-old's death. The grand jury and Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath both concluded those allegations were baseless.
Edward Andrew Paltzik, who represents three of Wells' friends, had a pointed message for attorney Ben Crump.
"@AttorneyCrump NO TRUE BILL. You should apologize immediately to completely innocent young men Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour. You have some serious explaining to do!" Paltzik said.
He said he's also sent several legal notices to social media influencers and media figures on behalf of three men he represents.
In a video statement Monday, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said there was "absolutely no evidence" that Wells' death was due to his race.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Crump for comment.
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"The narrative that three White boys and a Black boy went to an island and only three White friends returned spread like wildfire. This was false," McIlrath said. "There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan's disappearance and death were racially motivated."
"Nolan's friends loved Nolan and Nolan loved them. Nolan chose to stay on the island that day, and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that," she said.
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READ THE GRAND JURY REPORT:
McIlrath also sharply criticized attorney Ben Crump's team, which she said knew early on that the death wasn't racially motivated.
"The family, the Crump team, and anyone close to Nolan knew that his disappearance and death were not the result of racial hate or violence," she said. "What I am suggesting is that the Crump team knew better but did not do better."
According to the district attorney, the family's legal team advised her office in August that it had uncovered no evidence a crime was committed against Wells.
"On August 13th, 2026, after the Crump team conducted and released the results of its independent autopsy and after receiving hundreds of tips, they advised my office that they had no evidence of a crime being committed against Nolan Wells," she said.
Lawyers representing Wells' family disputed the decision in a statement to Fox News Digital. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the state was closing the case before the truth had been established, citing bruising on the back of Wells' head and an independent autopsy that he said documented blunt force injuries to Wells' head and back. Crump said neither the family nor the state has determined how Wells died, and he urged the Justice Department to open an investigation if Mississippi declines to do so.
"Today, the State of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells’ death without getting to the truth," Crump said. "We are releasing the final independent autopsy report in its entirety, so everyone can read it for themselves. This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers. Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we."
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Both the Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner and the family's pathologist, Dr. Roger Mitchell, who performed a second autopsy for the Wells family agreed that while the cause of death is undetermined, "drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion." That means the conclusion was reached by ruling out other causes rather than by direct evidence of drowning.
The grand jury didn't find any evidence suggesting a crime occurred, or that Wells' death was motivated by race, and also took direct aim at the theories circulating on social media about the people on the boats.
"The Grand Jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026, on the Triton, the Palm Beach, or the Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells," the grand jury wrote. "The allegations against the occupants of the Triton, the Palm Beach, and the Tideline are not based in truth, and are solely the result of public clamor and private malice."
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Among the many questions surrounding Wells' death was an apparent injury to the back of his head, where bruising was found. A witness testified that he saw Wells slip off a boat, but the grand jury said it could not confirm the fall caused the bruising.
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"A witness testified under oath that he saw Mr. Wells slip awkwardly off the side of a boat around the time of 3:30 p.m. on July 4, 2026, but could not say whether Mr. Wells struck his head during the fall. The witness testified that Mr. Wells continued to socialize after the fall and did not appear injured," the grand jury report said.
The 23 grand jurors who heard the case included 12 White people, five African Americans, two Hispanics, two Native Americans, one Asian and one who identified as "other."