Nolan Wells’ official state autopsy will be withheld from the public until it is presented to a grand jury, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath announced late Thursday.
A U.S. park ranger found Wells’ body on Horn Island, south of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, on July 6, two days after he went missing after traveling to the island with friends.
“I understand the public’s urgency to know what happened to Nolan, but we are not taking time for time’s sake,” McIlrath said. “We are taking the time required to complete the work this investigation demands.”
Wells’ family and supporters have grown frustrated waiting for the official autopsy results. Officials had previously said they were waiting on toxicology results before releasing the autopsy.
“I also understand that many people have questions about why more information has not been released publicly,” McIlrath said. “In Mississippi, the rules of professional conduct restrict the information a prosecutor can release during an investigation.”
Authorities have not concluded whether Wells’ death was an accident or if any foul play was involved. Grand juries can consider facts and make recommendations. The presence of a grand jury does not necessarily mean that a prosecutor will seek any indictments. McIlrath noted that “every death in the county, except those of natural causes and non-criminal car wrecks, are presented to your grand jury.”
The attorney for Wells’ family, Ben Crump, announced on Wednesday that an independent autopsy conducted in Washington, D.C., had found that Wells’ cause of death was “undetermined.” The forensic pathologist who conducted that autopsy said that without the findings of the official state autopsy, his autopsy was inconclusive.
Crump sought the independent autopsy on the family’s behalf, funded by former NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick’s foundation. In her statement today, McIlrath stressed that her office and local authorities would remain tight-lipped while the investigation continues.
“ If we sacrifice the integrity of the process in an effort to satisfy today’s questions, we risk undermining the confidence in tomorrow’s answers,” she said. “When the public asks, ‘What about this?’ or, ‘Have they looked at that?’ or, ‘Did they think about this?’ the answer is yes. Those are the same questions investigators ask.”
“ The difference is that we can’t publicly discuss the evidence, the interviews, or what those efforts have uncovered while the investigation is underway,” she continued. “Again, our restraint in sharing details of the investigation is not a refusal to share the truth. It is our commitment to protect the process that allows the truth to be known with confidence. “
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of Nolan Wells’ death and read past stories here.
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