Medical Examiner Releases Preliminary Independent Autopsy Results in Nolan's Death | True Crime

[00:00:02]I don't believe he drowned. I believe he was killed.

[00:00:05]I did have but I'm a judge that has to weigh all the evidence. Preliminarily, that's what I see. You don't leave your friend on a island seeing that he has left his phone and not at least go back. You came there with him. You left him there, you say, cuz he wanted to stay. But you noticed that he's left his phone. How was he going to get home in the first place?

[00:00:32]>> Um this has been a difficult journey.

[00:00:37]Um losing a child it truly breaks your heart.

[00:00:46]>> Um for Dr. Mitchell was that the interior inner neck structures were absent, not received with the body.

[00:00:59]>> Nolan Wells' throat was not received with his body. Let that sink in for a moment. When a family desperate for the truth hires an independent forensic pathologist to conduct a second autopsy, they are looking for the things the first examination missed.

[00:01:17]They are looking for hidden fractures, overlooked defensive wounds, and perhaps most importantly in a case shrouded in suspicious circumstances, trauma to the neck. But when Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr., one of the most respected forensic pathologist in the nation, unzipped the body bag to begin his independent examination of Nolan Wells, he found an impossible forensic roadblock.

[00:01:43]The vital anatomical structures of Nolan's neck were gone.

[00:01:47]The very tissues, cartilage, and bone required to determine if Nolan had suffered blunt force trauma to the throat or if he had been strangled were simply not transferred with his remains.

[00:02:01]If you've been following our coverage of this case, you already know the timeline. You know the players. You know the devastating reality of how Nolan was found.

[00:02:12]But today, the entire landscape of this investigation has violently shifted.

[00:02:17]We are no longer just looking at a timeline of a missing man. We are looking at missing evidence.

[00:02:23]Evidence that could mean the difference between an unexplained tragedy and a homicide investigation.

[00:02:30]Dr. Mitchell's findings have finally been released, and they do not provide the neat, quiet closure the authorities might have hoped for. Instead, they blow the doors off this case.

[00:02:41]Today, we are breaking down the independent autopsy results, the glaring physical impossibilities of the crime scene, and the aggressive new legal strategy Nolan's family is launching to force the truth into the light.

[00:02:56]Welcome to Dark Truth Files.

[00:02:58]What this independent autopsy uncovered doesn't just challenge the official story, it completely shatters it. If you're new here, subscribe and hit that like button, and drop a comment letting us know where you're watching from. We read every single one.

[00:03:12]To understand the weight of these new developments, you have to understand who is delivering them.

[00:03:18]Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr. is not a rookie medical examiner.

[00:03:22]His career is built on finding the microscopic truths hidden within compromised remains.

[00:03:29]He knows what to look for when a body has been altered either by time, the elements, or human intervention.

[00:03:36]And his official conclusions regarding Nolan Wells are absolute in their ambiguity. Cause of death, undetermined.

[00:03:44]Manner of death, undetermined. Date of death, unknown.

[00:03:49]In the The of forensic pathology, undetermined is not a placeholder. It is a highly specific, deliberate classification.

[00:03:59]It means that after examining every available millimeter of physical evidence, the pathologist cannot scientifically align the state of the body with a natural death, an accidental death, or a suicide.

[00:04:12]When we look back at the initial days of this investigation, there was a palpable push to categorize Nolan's death quickly. But Dr. Mitchell's report halts that narrative completely.

[00:04:23]By declaring the cause, manner, and even the date of death as unknown, Dr. Mitchell is legally and medically stating that the physical evidence does not support a closed case, but it's what Dr. Mitchell did find that changes everything we thought we knew about Nolan's final hours. We have to talk about the physical state of Nolan when he was discovered, because the independent autopsy has confirmed a detail that completely fractures the established timeline.

[00:04:51]Nolan Wells was found >> [music] >> face down, and he was found fully clothed.

[00:04:57]On its own, that might not sound alarming, but we are not looking at this detail on its own. We have to look at it directly against the last known visual evidence we have of Nolan alive. The last time Nolan was captured on video, he was shirtless.

[00:05:14]These two facts cannot exist in a vacuum. We are not swapping the old timeline for a new one. We are crashing them together. How does a man, last seen on camera without a shirt, end up deceased, face down in the dirt, wearing a complete outfit? Let's view this through a behavioral and forensic lens.

[00:05:32]>> [music] >> If Nolan was alone and succumbed to the elements, a medical event, or an accident, [music] we would expect his clothing to match his last known state.

[00:05:42]In cases of paradoxical undressing, a phenomenon associated with severe hypothermia, victims remove their clothing.

[00:05:52]>> [music] >> They do not put it back on. If Nolan did not dress himself, someone else did.

[00:05:58]Dressing dead weight or dressing an incapacitated, unconscious adult male is an incredibly difficult physical task.

[00:06:11]It requires leverage, manipulation of the limbs, >> [music] >> and time.

[00:06:17]If a third party dressed Nolan after the events of that final video, it introduces a terrifying level of post-event staging.

[00:06:26]It suggests that whoever was with him was less concerned with getting him medical help and more concerned with how he would eventually be found.

[00:06:35]The clothing discrepancy isn't just a weird detail. It is a massive red flag pointing directly toward human intervention, and the physical evidence on Nolan's body only deepens that suspicion.

[00:06:48]When a body is found face down, investigators immediately look for signs of a fall, but Dr. Mitchell's examination uncovered something far more sinister hidden beneath the surface.

[00:07:00]Deep within the soft tissue on the back of Nolan's head, Dr. Mitchell located a 12 by 8 cm area of red discoloration.

[00:07:09]12 by 8 cm, that is roughly 4.7 by 3.1 in.

[00:07:16]This is not a minor bump. This is a massive, significant area of deep tissue trauma.

[00:07:23]Dr. Mitchell explicitly noted this as a major finding that requires immediate further investigation.

[00:07:31]Here is why this specific injury is so critical and why it changes the nature of the investigation. The autopsy confirmed there were zero skull fractures. In amateur investigations, people often assume that a fatal or incapacitating blow to the head will crack the skull. Forensically, that is completely false.

[00:07:51]A blunt force impact, such as being struck with a heavy, smooth object or the back of the head slamming violently against a flat surface, can cause massive internal hemorrhaging in the soft tissues without ever breaking the bone.

[00:08:07]>> [music] >> The energy from the impact transfers through the tissue, rupturing blood vessels deep near the skull, leaving a distinct area of deep red discoloration.

[00:08:16]Because Nolan was found face down, this injury to the back of his head is highly suspicious.

[00:08:23]If he simply collapsed forward, the trauma would be on his face, his forehead, or his knees.

[00:08:30]For a 12 by 8 cm contusion to exist on the back of his cranium, he either fell backward with immense force or force was applied to him. But, determining exactly how that force was applied is where Dr. Mitchell hit the wall.

[00:08:45]>> [music] >> The independent autopsy was sabotaged before the body bag was ever opened.

[00:08:50]When we evaluate a second autopsy, we have to acknowledge the devastating toll that time, decomposition, and the initial autopsy process take on the body.

[00:09:01]Dr. Mitchell noted that because of advanced decomposition, the skin could not be evaluated for bruising. This means that superficial defensive wounds, grab marks on the wrist, bruising on the torso, or superficial lacerations were completely erased by time. But, time wasn't the only enemy.

[00:09:24]The procedures of the first autopsy severely compromised the second. Dr. Mitchell documented that Nolan's internal organs had already been removed during the original autopsy and were placed back into the body cavity.

[00:09:38]This is a standard procedure in many morgues. After organs are weighed and sectioned, they are often placed in a biohazard bag and returned to the chest or abdominal cavity before the body is sutured closed.

[00:09:50]>> [music] >> However, this practice destroys the anatomical context. If an organ shows signs of trauma, toxicity, or disease, the independent pathologist is examining it out of its natural environment. They are looking at pieces of a puzzle that have been scrambled and thrown back into the box. And then, we return to the most damning roadblock of all, the missing throat. In a case where the victim is found fully clothed despite being last seen shirtless with massive, unexplained blunt force trauma to the back of the head, ruling out strangulation is forensic priority number one.

[00:10:30]Strangulation leaves microscopic fractures on the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage. It causes distinct hemorrhaging in the strap muscles of the neck. By failing to transfer those neck structures to Dr. Mitchell, the system has effectively blinded the independent pathologist. We are left asking, "Where is Nolan's throat?

[00:10:52]Was it retained by the original medical examiner for further histological testing?

[00:10:57]Was it discarded?

[00:10:59]Or is something more negligent or malicious at play?

[00:11:05]Nolan's family is no longer waiting for the local authorities to connect the dots. They are taking this devastating, fractured puzzle and forcing it into the legal system armed with Dr. Mitchell's findings.

[00:11:21]The undetermined rulings, the deep tissue head trauma, the terrifying clothing contradiction, and the missing forensic evidence, the family is formally demanding that a grand jury review this case. This is a massive shift in strategy. A grand jury does not just politely ask for information. A grand jury has subpoena power. They can compel witnesses to testify under oath.

[00:11:49]They can demand the unreleased crime scene photos. They can subpoena the original medical examiner to answer on the record exactly what happened to the anatomical structures of Nolan's neck.

[00:12:01]The family believes with absolute justification that Nolan has not received the investigation he deserves.

[00:12:10]The independent autopsy did not give them a cause of death, but it gave them something just as powerful. Proof that the current narrative is physically and forensically impossible.

[00:12:21]The investigation into Nolan Wells isn't over. In many ways, because of this independent autopsy, the real investigation is just beginning. The state must now answer for the missing evidence.

[00:12:34]The timeline must now account for the clothing. And the individuals who were with Nolan in his final hours must now realize that the forensic silence they were relying on has just been broken.

[00:12:46]>> Attorney Park and I talked this morning.

[00:12:49]We know that there are so many conflicting stories.

[00:12:58]The fact that she said him being found face down.

[00:13:06]The fact that we have other videos where people who have called said that is Nolan who is in some kind of uh dispute with others.

[00:13:19]We're looking at all of these things.

[00:13:21]The fact that the GPS tracking of the boat is being questioned by many.

[00:13:30]We are trying to dot every eye and cross every T because we understand that when our children's lives are at stake, it matters.

[00:13:46]Not just what happened, but what we do in the aftermath of them being taken away from us. And just like the NAACP stood up when another tragedy in Mississippi taking the life of young Emmett Till, we will stand up for Nolan Wells.

[00:14:10]Just like the NAACP and civil rights leaders stood up when another Mississippi son was taken, Emmett Evers, we will stand up for Nolan Wells.

[00:14:33]And just like too many of our young people, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Botham Jean, Terence Crutcher, Stephon Clark, Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, Sterling Alton Sterling, Eric Garner, George Floyd, the Tamir Rice, the young people who I was trying to focus on.

[00:15:13]Gary, we stand up until we get the truth, until we get justice for Nolan Wells.

[00:15:22]Justice for Nolan Wells. Justice for Nolan Wells. Justice for Nolan Wells.

[00:15:30]Justice for Nolan Wells. JUSTICE FOR NOLAN WELLS.

[00:15:47]TRIP WE WERE ASKED IF Christine and Elmore and President Johnson can come back and join us on the stage and Travon, we will have you coordinate questions and answers for us or President Johnson or Attorney Park and uh I will say this as President Johnson comes to the stage, I was sharing this with him and Chairman Russell, Christine Clark um God knows we wish we had you at the Department of Justice now.

[00:16:19]>> [applause] >> Christine Clark As I was sharing with President Johnson and um Reverend Al and others, this is so important that we continue to talk about Nolan Wells and what happened to him and that we get attention on him because in getting attention on him, it brings attention, Cliff Jones, to other cases that are not getting the attention as of yet, but I'm so grateful to Christine and Elmore because they said, "Whatever we can do not only to help our son, but to help these other young black boys who was killed uh November the July 4th holiday."

[00:17:08]And and I want to take a moment before we answer your questions to talk about two other young black men, BOTH 18 YEARS OLD who were killed in extraordinary ways that are very similar to Nolan.

[00:17:30]President Johnson, 18-year-old Daniel Ervins went on a fishing trip out on a fishing boat with two other young men. He was the only black.

[00:17:49]It is alleged that he ended up accidentally drowning.

[00:17:55]But his two white friends got his cell phone and threw it away, got his clothes and threw it away, and then went and deleted all of their text messages with him and social media.

[00:18:14]Sounds familiar?

[00:18:20]And they've only been charged with tampering with evidence.

[00:18:24]And his mother is crying out that they should be charged with murder because if they would lie about his cell phone and his clothes and deleted messages, then they would lie about what really happened TO DANIEL ERVINS.

[00:18:46]AND THEN THERE'S THE matter President Johnson Christine Clark of 18-year-old Sterling Smith. I'm sorry, Tyler Smith.

[00:18:59]Tyler Smith on 4th of July was at a house party with about 10 other people.

[00:19:10]He was on the only black person at the house.

[00:19:16]He somehow ends up shot in the head.

[00:19:22]Dead.

[00:19:26]Some of the friends get rid of the gun.

[00:19:31]The police show up.

[00:19:34]They tell the police it was a accident. It was an accidental shooting that they were playing Russian roulette.

[00:19:46]And Tyler Smith ended up getting killed.

[00:19:51]And apparently Kristen Clark, President Johnson, the police just took their word for it.

[00:20:00]His mother and grandmother are incensed.

[00:20:04]They asked the police, "Did you do a gunshot residue test on his hands?"

[00:20:14]And the reason they said they had to call us, like Daniel Ervins and Nolan Wells family, because the police told them, President Johnson, that there was no need to do gunshot residue on his hands or any of the other people in the house because I don't understand this logic, but they said if we they were playing Russian roulette, then all of them would have gunshot residue on their hands, so we don't need to do gunshot residue tests.

[00:20:57]It makes no sense whatsoever.

[00:21:00]So, they're taking the word of these 10 people that your son just killed himself and you don't have to worry about doing any investigation or testing forensically anything. Just take our word for it. Now, can you imagine IN ANY THREE OF THESE SCENARIOS had the survivors BEEN YOUNG BLACK MEN AND THEY WERE WITH A YOUNG WHITE MAN AND HE ENDED UP DEAD, WHAT KIND OF INVESTIGATION WOULD THERE HAVE BEEN? What kind OF INTERROGATION WOULD THERE HAVE BEEN?

[00:21:43]WOULD THEY HAVE EVER BEEN ABLE TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY UNTIL THOSE QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED? WELL, JUST LIKE YOU WOULD DO A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION FOR YOUR CHILDREN, WE WANT YOU TO DO A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION FOR OUR CHILDREN.

[00:22:01]>> [applause] >> WE DON'T WANT ANYTHING SPECIAL.

[00:22:09]WE JUST WANT EQUAL JUSTICE.

[00:22:12]EQUAL JUSTICE.