Nolan Wells autopsy findings released | FOX 5 News

[00:00:00]All right, moving on this morning attorney Ben Crump released preliminary findings from an independent autopsy in the death of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells during a news conference at the NAACP National Convention. This was up in Chicago. Wells' disappearance was July 4th after traveling by boat with friends to Horn Island and his body was found July 6th near the island's northwestern tip after a 2-day search.

[00:00:26]Crump was joined by Wells' parents Christine and Elmore Wells. We want to check in and listen to hear what they had to say with these findings.

[00:00:34]>> This pathologist cannot rule out if any intervening non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells.

[00:00:51]Understand.

[00:00:53]He said based on the examination of the body, he cannot rule out foul play.

[00:01:01]That is significant.

[00:01:05]With the following questions still outstanding, number one, what were the circumstances that led to Nolan Xavier Wells ending in the water?

[00:01:19]Number two, what was the body position when it was found?

[00:01:24]We know that a member of the United Cajun Navy said that he was face down and he was fully clothed.

[00:01:36]Number three, was there water in the airway?

[00:01:42]Remember he talked about the lungs and the airways where they filled with water.

[00:01:50]Number four, is there any evidence of injuries to the interior the structure.

[00:01:58]We got the autopsy without his neck. We got the body without his neck at the time of the second autopsy.

[00:02:08]Number five, is there any evidence of any inner cranial hemorrhaging?

[00:02:15]He said that is going to be very significant. Things that he could not observe at autopsy that the initial medical examiner would have been able to observe.

[00:02:28]Number six, was the composition of the What was the composition of the stomach contents?

[00:02:36]He talks about that being important because when was he found, how long had he been in the water? How long had it been since his last meal?

[00:02:49]All those things become relevant factors when you're trying to do a thorough and impartial autopsy.

[00:03:01]>> Okay, so a lot of information coming in at you right there. Want to go over just a few of the points in case you didn't pick it all up. First of all, Dr. Roger Mitchell conducted the independent autopsy just on July 19th, and that's after the body was released following an initial autopsy. So, what he said was according to the preliminary report, the cause and manner of the death still undetermined pending the ongoing investigation. The report also states the date of the death is unknown right now. Apparently, there was discoloration in the soft tissue on the back of Wells's head. He said he could not determine its cause, described that finding as a significant concern though, and said it was important enough to be highlighted in the preliminary report for further investigation. So again, a lot to come on that story, and you know, we will keep you up to date right here on Fox Local.