Commission an independent autopsy Nolan Wells’s The family is still undecided, and the lawyer Ben Crump Announced Wednesday, July 22. A teenager from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was found dead in the water on the northwest tip of Horn Island on Monday morning, July 6. Wells disappeared on July 4 after sailing to the island with friends. this The search for the teen has been called off Passed by a body found Monday, July 6, park rangers.
What is the listed cause of death?
An autopsy found the teen’s cause and manner of death were “undetermined” pending further investigation. Crump announced the preliminary findings before a sold-out crowd at the annual NAACP national convention in Chicago.
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An independent autopsy report did not show any evidence of broken bones or deep tissue damage, the Associated Press reported. Crump said the report also described a “red discoloration” on the back of Wells’ skull as “inconclusive” and worthy of further investigation.
Dr. Robert Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy, wrote in his report that the possibility that “non-accidental factors contributed to or resulted in death” could not be ruled out.
Meanwhile, Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, is laying the legal groundwork for a possible lawsuit over her son’s death. She has asked a Mississippi court to put her in charge of his estate, TMZ reports.
New legal documents obtained by the outlet show that Wansley filed a petition on Monday to open her son’s estate and appoint her as administrator, noting that the estate’s assets would “include only damages arising out of the circumstances of his death.” If someone is eventually legally found in connection with her son’s death, Wansley will have the right to sue on behalf of her son’s estate.
Wansley signed the petition in Jackson County Chancery Court on the day of Wells’ funeral. According to the documents, the teen had no will, never married and had no children, making his mother his sole heir.
There are no official reports that anyone is legally responsible for Wells’ death.
