Family of Nolan Wells calls for federal probe into his death after grand jury says no criminal charges
A grand jury found the no criminal charges are warranted in this case.
Nolan Wells' family called for a federal investigation into his death on Monday after a grand jury reviewing the evidence determined last month that no criminal charges are warranted in this case.
"What we were left with were many, many inconsistent stories," Christine Wonsley, Wells' mother, said during a press conference on Monday.
The 18-year-old's body was recovered on July 6, and authorities at the time said they suspect he drowned, but a grand jury was convened to review the evidence.
The grand jury of 23 people found "no credible evidence to support the public allegations" that anyone riding to or from the island that day surrounding Wells "engaged in any criminal conduct related to" his death, according to the report released on Sept. 21.
The report says that the "position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location" of Wells' body off the coast of Mississippi this July is "consistent with drowning."
"I cannot take that ruling, and I cannot move on with my life," Wonsley said of the grand jury finding. "We have been left with more questions and heartbreak than any answers."
The private autopsy commissioned by Wells' family and the official state autopsy both found Wells' cause and manner of death to be "undetermined."
"Elmore and I, our family, our friends, the community, all of you, we cannot accept that. We cannot. cannot. So it is our plea that this case is reopened, reexamined," Wonsley added.
Wells' parents were joined at a press conference on Monday afternoon by their attorney Ben Crump and Cynthia Choi, executive director of Stop AAPI Hate, as Wells was Black and Filipino American.
They called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the teen's death. Crump also shared a letter from Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, calling on the National Park Service to investigate his death on Horn Island, which is overseen by NPS.
The FBI, the DOJ and NPS didn't immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
The Congressional Black Caucus also urged the DOJ in August to launch an "independent federal review" into Wells' death.
"When a family is denied truth, and when anyone seeking justice is met with closed doors, intimidation instead of answers, this fight belongs to all of us," Choi said. "We join the Wells-Wonsley family in demanding that the Department of Justice use their resources to conduct a full and thorough federal investigation."
The circumstances surrounding Wells' death garnered national interest after the college football player went missing on the 4th of July after going on a boat trip with friends to Horn Island. Officials said it appeared Wells stayed behind on the island after his friends left.
"... The Mississippi District Attorney said after the grand jury proceeding that they have closed their case, but we have not closed our case and we refuse to close the chapter on Nolan Xavier Wells," Crump said on Monday.
The state autopsy report indicated that the pathologist found "evidence of injury" to the back on Wells' head that is described as "two dark red-purple subcutaneous scalp contusions."
The report did not conclude how this injury occurred, but determined it was not a fatal injury. It found that there were "no external scalp injuries" and "no fractures" in the skull.
The grand jury reviewed the findings of the private and the state autopsies as part of the evidence in this case, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath -- who convened the group -- said in a Sept. 24 statement.
"I know the work that was done in this investigation. I know the people who did it, and I know the lengths to which they went to find the truth," McIlrath said, referencing the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and other agencies that assisted in the probe. "I witnessed the commitment, the compassion, and the diligence of the grand jurors as they did the work they were sworn to do, and I am confident in their decision and the process by which they reached it."
ABC News' Emily Shapiro and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
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