Nolan Wells' preliminary independent autopsy results read by attorney Ben Crump

[00:00:00]Dr. Roger Mitchell, board certified forensic pathologist, uh performed a preliminary report on the death of Nolan Xavier Wells.

[00:00:12]He conducted and and then presented this report on July 19th, 2026.

[00:00:20]Um preliminary report, second autopsy, death of Nolan Xavier Wells.

[00:00:27]Cause of death undetermined pending investigation.

[00:00:32]And we'll explain that as we go through the report this morning. The manner of death undetermined pending investigation.

[00:00:46]Statement of examination. This forensic pathologist was retained to perform a second autopsy examination on the body of Nolan Xavier Wells.

[00:00:57]Name of deceased, Nolan Xavier Wells, age 18 years old, race black, gender male, date of death unknown.

[00:01:11]Second autopsy date was performed on July 10th, 2026.

[00:01:21]Preliminary findings.

[00:01:24]And this is significant.

[00:01:29]Focal area of red discoloration in the soft tissue of the back of the head, the occipital region.

[00:01:40]He said the ideology is unknown at this time.

[00:01:46]He said the body was received after the initial autopsy.

[00:01:51]He said the body had marked decompensate comp- decompensation.

[00:01:58]He said, "Corona incision of the scalp, brain removal, Y-shaped incision of the anterior torso."

[00:02:10]And he talked about the organs being removed as is common as is common.

[00:02:17]Accompany in the body in the body cavity.

[00:02:22]And that when you have a autopsy, the organs are removed from the body and they're dissected and examined and then they're put back in a bag within side the body.

[00:02:34]So, when they're buried, their remains will all be with them. But in this occasion, if there's going to be a second autopsy, then the organs are put in the body cavity so the second pathologist could be able to examine the organs as well.

[00:02:57]Very significant um for Dr. Mitchell was that the anterior inner neck structures were absent, not received with the body and we'll explain that in just a minute.

[00:03:19]Um and then it talks about the additional performed the additional procedures performed during the second autopsy and we'll go into the paragraphs on that there cuz he explains it better in his narrative. So, where's the first page of the discussion? Not the diagram yet. You can keep the diagram over there.

[00:03:53]Move this back, Lisa.

[00:03:59]>> So, he talks in the preliminary discussion opinion, "This forensic pathologist identified several limitations during the second autopsy that create barriers to establishing a definitive cause and manner of death for Nolan Xavier Wells."

[00:04:23]And And that's important. He talks about the fact that we didn't get to see the body when it was first recovered like the medical examiner working for uh Mississippi would have seen it.

[00:04:38]He talked about the second autopsy performed on Nolan Wells revealed marked decompensation or changes.

[00:04:47]"Marked decompensation can obscure the presence and absence of bruising on the skin surface, especially during a second autopsy examination." What he's saying because the body was so decomposed that you couldn't tell if there was bruises or abrasions on the body when he received it um on the 10th of July.

[00:05:20]"For these reasons, additional dissection procedures not performed during the first autopsy examination were performed to rule out potential blunt force injuries responsible for the death. These procedures included facial dissection, posterior head and neck dissection, dissection of the ribs, the pelvic dissection of the subcutaneous and deep soft tissue dissection of the back, the buttocks, the arms and legs.

[00:06:00]The He did all of this to rule out things. He ruled out there were no fractures or deep tissue injuries identified. This was very important because he wanted to be very thorough and very transparent because transparency is the key to getting to the answers of why Nolan Wells is not with us.

[00:06:27]So, he did that there and was very straightforward, very open, very open.

[00:06:40]He says, "However, dissection of the back of the head doing the layered posterior neck dissection revealed a 12-x-8 in focal area of red discoloration in the deep soft tissues overlaying the occipital bone.

[00:07:06]And he talked about how he found red discoloration when he cut open into the back of his head towards the occipital bone and he saw the red discoloration and we actually saw the pictures of it. It's significant. You You can't help but notice why is this dark red here in the back of his head. And so, he was important to note that in his report.

[00:07:53]He said that ideology of this finding is unclear.

[00:08:00]There are no lacerations of the overlying skin nor fractures of the underlying skull.

[00:08:09]These findings are inconclusive for perimortem injury due to the body due to both the extensive decomposition and the absence of associated injuries.

[00:08:26]This finding, however, is significant enough to be highlighted in this preliminary report for further investigation.

[00:08:40]It is important to reiterate that the finding could not have been observed in the first autopsy because the posterior head and neck dissection were not performed.

[00:09:01]He said another limitation Move this back here.

[00:09:05]Another limitation faced by this forensic pathologist was the absence of the anterior internal neck structures.

[00:09:15]The trachea and the laryngeal cartilage, the thyroid horn and the hyoid bone were not received with the body.

[00:09:29]So, he's saying that the throat was not received with the body when he got Nolan Wells' body in Washington, D.C. to perform the second autopsy.

[00:09:48]And so, let's discuss that with what he said about that.

[00:09:55]He said, "It is assumed that the initial pathologist retained these structures for additional evaluation."

[00:10:05]He said, "The retention of the anterior neck structures during an initial autopsy is a common forensic pathology practice." He was chief medical examiner for 7 years in Washington, D.C. And he said that if they had concern about throat or any fracture or compression of the throat, they too would hold them back. He doesn't know why they held the throat back, but he said the throat was not with the body of Nolan Wells when he received it in Washington, D.C. to perform the second autopsy.

[00:10:44]He said, "Nevertheless, a posterior neck dissection performed without review of the anterior neck structures is incomplete.

[00:10:57]Therefore, this pathologist cannot rule out injury to the neck as a contributing a contributor or a cause of death." He said he would need to have the medical examiner in Mississippi allow him to review the throat. That's why he said his autopsy is undetermined pending investigation. Remember, it's about transparency.

[00:11:30]Because the initial autopsy rightfully removed and dissected each organ, there are additional limitations inherent in the second autopsy of Nolan Wells. The most significant of the limitations was the inability to directly observe the airway and the lungs for water and directly observe the stomach for gastric contents.

[00:12:01]He said, "It is very significant as to what the initial forensic scientist who got to review the body when it was recovered.

[00:12:18]We have heard from our call center people saying the body wasn't waterlogged. Well, we need to know those things, but unfortunately, because the body was decomposed and the organs have already been dissected, those are things we can only get from the initial autopsy. So, therefore, again, the manner and cause of death is undetermined until further investigation. We are hopeful that the Mississippi medical examiner would give Dr. Mitchell an opportunity to see their photographs and their observations to the condition of Nolan Wells' body closer in time to July 4th. That is very important, and we have to continue to demand transparency, President Johnson.

[00:13:19]>> [applause] >> In addition, the original toxicology results have not been received at the time of this report.

[00:13:32]And we continue to wait for the toxicology to come back because again, that would be part of the investigation into uh Nolan Wells autopsy by Dr. Mitchell.

[00:13:49]It is significant to note that there's many things that go into toxicology that only Dr. Mitchell would be able to opine upon and medical experts can opine upon. And he feels the proper place to do that is before a grand jury in a courtroom. And so, we would hope that the district attorney would present Dr. Mitchell before the grand jury as well.

[00:14:24]>> [applause] >> We want all relevant information to be heard by the grand jury.

[00:14:35]Lastly, in cases where a death has occurred in or around a body of water Can you move this back?

[00:14:47]This is This is important.

[00:14:53]Okay, right there.

[00:14:57]Lastly, in cases where a death has occurred in or around a body of water with suspicion of drowning, it is important to confirm how that person entered the water.

[00:15:16]This is the crux of the matter.

[00:15:20]This information is especially important for those deaths of persons who can swim.

[00:15:31]As in the case with Nolan Wells at the time of this report this forensic pathologist does not know the condition of Nolan Wells.

[00:15:44]He did not know whether he was conscious or unconscious >> [snorts] >> when he entered the water.

[00:15:53]He said that would be significant.

[00:15:57]He said he did not know whether he was forced into the water or unforced into the water. He said that would be significant.

[00:16:08]So he said the condition of Nolan Wells before he entered the water would be the crux of the matter. It would be of utmost importance to being able to determine a cause and manner of death.

[00:16:28]He said definitive circumstances of death are required to determine the manner of death.

[00:16:39]For these reasons this pathologist cannot rule out and let me really call your attention to this. For these reasons this pathologist cannot rule out if any intervening non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells.

[00:17:09]Understand he said based on the examination of the body he cannot rule out foul play.

[00:17:19]That is significant.

[00:17:23]With the following questions still outstanding, number one, what were the circumstances that led to Nolan Xavier Wells ending in the water?

[00:17:36]Number two, what was the body position when it was found? We know that a member of the United Cajun Navy said that he was face down and he was fully clothed.

[00:17:54]Number three, was there water in the airway?

[00:17:59]Remember he talked about the lungs and the airways where they filled with water.

[00:18:07]Number four, is there any evidence of injuries to the interior neck structure?

[00:18:15]We got the autopsy without his neck. We got the body without his neck at the time of the second autopsy.

[00:18:25]Number five, is there any evidence of any intracranial hemorrhaging?

[00:18:32]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.

[00:18:44]Number six, was the composition of the What was the composition of the stomach contents? He talks about that being important because when was he found?

[00:19:00]How long had he been in the water? How long had it been since his last meal?

[00:19:05]All those things become relevant factors when you're trying to do a thorough and impartial autopsy.

[00:19:16]And number seven, what was what are the toxicology report findings?

[00:19:23]He said, "The best classification again for the cause and manner of death for Nolan Xavier Wells is undetermined pending investigation.

[00:19:35]This forensic pathologist reserves the right to review and incorporate additional forensic pathology information into his opinion as it becomes available."

[00:19:48]He says, "The above opinions are expressed to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

[00:19:58]Dr. Roger A. Mitchell, July 19th, 2026."

[00:20:05]And we know that as I said, this is only another part of the puzzle.

[00:20:12]And even though it tells us significant information, we still have more questions than we have answers at this time. And we will continue to press forward and persist, Christina Elmore, with getting the answers to these questions because as you Yes.

[00:20:36]>> [applause] >> We will persist, persist, persist because as Christine and Elmore and Attorney Parker and I talked this morning, we know that there are so many conflicting stories.

[00:21:01]The fact that she said him being found face down.

[00:21:08]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."

[00:21:21]We're looking at all of these things, the fact that the GPS tracking of the boat is being questioned by many.

[00:21:32]We're trying to dot every I and cross every T because we understand that when our children's lives are at stake, it matters just what happened, but what we do.