Ben Crump and the parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells renewed calls for a federal investigation into his death on Monday (October 5), weeks after a Mississippi grand jury declined to bring criminal charges in the case.
Crump and Wells’ parents, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, were joined by Stop AAPI Hate Executive Director Cynthia Choi at the Center of Hope in Inglewood, California.
Crump said during the conference that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was scheduled to attend but couldn’t due to unforeseen circumstances. Waters has joined Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) in calling for a “prompt and exhaustive” federal investigation into Wells’ death.
Wells, a Black college student from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, disappeared July 4 during a boating trip to Horn Island. His body was found in the water two days later.
Crump noted that a Jackson County grand jury returned a “no true bill” in September, declining to bring criminal charges in Wells’ death. The grand jury report said accidental drowning was consistent with the evidence and was not ruled out.
However, both the state and independent autopsies determined Wells’ cause and manner of death as undetermined. An independent autopsy found blunt-force injuries to the back of his head and other areas of his back.
“The Mississippi district attorney said after the grand jury proceeding that they have closed their case,” he said. “But we have not closed our case. And we refuse to close the chapter on Nolan Xavier Wells.”
Wells’ mother questioned why more investigative attention was not given to the trauma found to her son’s head.
“We have been left with more questions than answers,” she said.
Wonsley urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and emphasized the need to treat Wells’ death with the same urgency they would if he were their own child.
“Treat him as if he were your child,” Wonsley said.
Choi said Stop AAPI Hate would continue standing with the Wells family “for as long as it takes.”
Ahead of Monday’s news conference, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum shared a statement from Executive Director Christina Baal-Owens.
“How long must parents wait for answers around the death of their son?” Baal-Owens said. “The family of 18-year-old Nolan Wells has endured an unimaginable loss while still being left without the simple truth about what happened to him.”
Baal-Owens said NAPAWF is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI to conduct a thorough, independent review of Wells’ death, clarify what federal investigative steps have been taken, and make information that can legally be released available to his family.
Watch the full news conference below.
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