MISSISSIPPI — Attorneys representing the parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells have released new information raising questions about his death during a Fourth of July boat party.
The boat was headed to Horn Island, Miss., when the incident occurred.
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An autopsy report from the state medical examiner found no water in Wells’ lungs or stomach and noted bruises on the back of his head.
Independent forensics experts mapped Wells’ location during the excursion, pairing his travels with hundreds of Snapchat messages sent by his friends.
According to friends who were on the trip, Wells stayed behind to speak with a girl. However, his parents questioned why he would leave his phone on the boat.
Ben Crump, an attorney for the parents of Wells, discussed information recovered from the phone during the investigation.
“The messages on his phone, in the snaps, will show some of his own friends were concerned with people on Horn Island, can be racist,” Crump said.
The official findings in the case contain conflicting details. Although the state medical examiner noted head bruises and no water in the lungs or stomach, a grand jury report concluded that the position, condition, and location of Wells’ body were consistent with drowning.
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