An independent autopsy commissioned by Nolan Wells’ family was inconclusive, attorney Ben Crump announced Wednesday, July 22. The Ocean Springs, Mississippi, teen was found dead in the water on the northwest end of Horn Island on Monday morning, July 6. Wells went missing on July 4 after taking a boat to the island with friends. The search for the teen was called off after a body was found by a park ranger on Monday, July 6.
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New legal docs obtained by the outlet showed that Wonsley filed a petition Monday to open her son’s estate and appoint her as its administrator, stating that the estate’s assets would consist “solely of claims for damages resulting from the circumstances surrounding his death.” The appointment would give Wonsley the authority to file a lawsuit on behalf of her son’s estate if anyone is eventually legally found for his death.
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The autopsy found the teen’s cause and manner of death to be “undetermined” pending further investigation. Crump announced the preliminary findings in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago.
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The independent autopsy report did not show any evidence of fractures or deep tissue injuries, the Associated Press reported. It also described a “red discoloration” on the back of Wells’ skull as “inconclusive” and meriting further investigation, according to Crump.
Dr. Robert Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, wrote in the report that the possibility that “non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death” could not be ruled out.
Meanwhile, Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, is now laying the legal groundwork to potentially sue over her son’s death. She has asked a Mississippi court to put her in charge of his estate, TMZ reported.
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Wonsley signed the petition in Jackson County Chancery Court on the day of Wells’ funeral. According to the filing, the teen did not have a will, was never married and did not have children, which leaves his mother as his sole heir.
No official report states that anyone is legally responsible for Wells’ death.
