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Private autopsy leaves Nolan Wells death undetermined; NAACP accuses officials of failures

Reality Check with Ross Coulthart · Mystery remains on Nolan Wells' death after private autopsy · July 23, 2026
Private autopsy leaves Nolan Wells death undetermined; NAACP accuses officials of failures
Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Mystery remains on Nolan Wells' death after private autopsy
">> The narrative should not be it was an accident before there was an investigation. The narrative should not be the words of individuals who went on a boat to the island with him, but they came without him, but with his cell phone. And you don't investigate those individuals."
NewsNation’s Ross Coulthart reports that a privately commissioned autopsy into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells did not determine a cause or manner of death, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wells’ family. Crump said the pathologist noted “red discoloration” at the back of Wells’ head but lacked internal neck structures that he said were not provided by the Mississippi Medical Examiner’s office, limiting the examination. NAACP president Derrick Johnson criticised Mississippi and local officials, arguing authorities should not presume an accident and alleging investigators have not properly examined the accounts of those who travelled with Wells to Horn Island.
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Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Reality Check with Ross Coulthart

Mystery remains on Nolan Wells' death after private autopsy

July 23, 2026 · 2m · 1 Egleze moments
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