Shocking Autopsy Twist in Nolan Wells Mystery Death

What were the circumstances that led to. Nolan xavier Wells ending the water? Last time we saw him on the videos, he. was without a shirt. Somebody saw. something. Somebody knows something. Why. is Nolan Wells dead? >> That question has hung in the air since. July 4th, since 18-year-old college. football player Nolan Wells vanished. from a remote island only to be found. days later under circumstances [music]. that still don't add up. The independent.

autopsy results for Nolan Wells are now. in and what they found, [music]. I'm going to break it all down with you. with an expert who can tell us what. [music] this all really means. Welcome. to Sidebar presented by Law & Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. So look, we have all been waiting for. answers in this case. The family has. been waiting for answers in this case. Waiting for something, anything that. could tell us what really happened to. Nolan Wells on that island. His family.

has been waiting patiently. The public. has been watching. And today, finally, we got something. The independent. autopsy results are in. Remember the. family had commissioned that an. independent autopsy be conducted. There. seems to be this level of perhaps. distrust in the investigation from the. state, the state ME. We know that. they're being represented by attorney. Ben Crump. And Ben Crump just stepped up. to the mic this morning to tell us what. they found. Now, briefly, a lot has. happened, okay? A lot's been going on.

But most importantly, to give you an. update here, Nolan Wells' life was. honored this week. There was a massive. service. There was hundreds of people. Reverend Al Sharpton delivered the. eulogy. Tyler Perry covered the costs. And before that service ended, Sharpton. made a move that got everyone's. attention. A $50,000 reward for. information leading to a conviction in. Nolan Wells' case. Perry matched it on. the spot. $100,000 now. That's the total. for whoever knows something that could. lead to a potential conviction here. Assuming for the moment, by the way,

that a crime was committed. The FBI has. stepped in. They're looking into threats. that were tied to this case. Tells you. how high the temperature has gotten. And. all of this is happening with the. possibility of a grand jury looming. Look, as far as we know, after a meeting. with the DA, Ben Crump said that the DA. indicated that after the sheriff's. office investigation, they may present. this case to a grand jury. No timeline. yet, but a possibility as we're waiting. the official results of the autopsy, right? Because I want to be clear. What. I'm about to get into is the results,

the preliminary findings of the. independent autopsy, not the state. medical examination's autopsy. We've. been tracking every development in this. case. And today, Ben Crump made this. huge announcement standing at the podium. at the NAACP convention with the. preliminary findings. We know that Nolan. Wells' body was moved to Washington, D.C. Again, the family commissioned. this. They ordered this. And these are. the findings that provide our first. independent look at what happened. Before we even got to those findings, Ben Crump laid out why this fight for. transparency even exists.

>> I want to thank. you all who have called the call center. I want to thank. Reverend Al Sharpton. I want to thank Mr. Tyler Perry. I want to thank Mr. Terry Owens. for putting up the $125,000. reward. for anybody. out there who have information. so we can get to the truth of what.

happened. I mean, any videos, and we've. gotten so many videos, President. Johnson, from that day, from young. people. And we want them to have the. courage to come forward with the. pictures, what you heard. I know people. say there were a lot of disturbances out. there. Some believe they it involved. Nolan. All of those things are important. to get to the truth of what happened. And so, that's why I thank you all for.

being here because this. >> [screaming]. >> news. is as important as any news in the. United States of America finding out why. is Nolan Wells dead? >> Losing a child, it's [snorts]. truly breaks your heart. It is a pain. that is. just. you can't measure it. Um.

especially someone like Nolan who. brought so much joy and and light and. life to everyone. Um you don't find too many genuine. people like him. So, to lose that light. at such a young age under these. circumstances has been absolutely. difficult. Um which is why we've gone this route. There's so many people out in the public. asking all of these questions. But the. only question that we have is what.

happened to our son. That that is the only question. And so, it is our hope that. our local authorities will do what they. need to do. because us having the preliminary. autopsy results and hearing nothing from. the um. it it's heartbreaking and it's. concerning, which again is why we are. here, why we have asked for this help.

>> So, now the family has their independent. autopsy results. And here is what that. medical examiner, that pathologist, found. >> Preliminary report, second autopsy, death of Nolan Xavier Wells. Cause of death undetermined. pending investigation. The manner of death. undetermined pending investigation. Focal area. of red discoloration. in the soft tissue of the back of the.

head, the occipital region. He said the ideology is unknown. at this time. He said the body was received after the. initial autopsy. He said the body had marked decompensate. comp decompensation. >> So, what do you hear? Cause. undetermined, manner undetermined, this. red discoloration on the back of the. head. But, this is where it gets. interesting. So, according to Ben Crump,

he claimed the United Cajun Navy found. Nolan fully clothed, face down, even. though Crump pointed out that the last. picture we have seen of Nolan wearing. the swim trunks with his friends that's. been circulated everywhere, he's not. fully clothed, right? He's not wearing a. shirt. And you have this last video of. him or a uh potentially of him, this. newly surfaced TMZ footage recorded at. 2:23 p.m. on July 4th, which appears to. show a man arguably matching Nolan's. description on a boat wearing the same.

blue swim trunks that he had on in that. famous photo. Again, shirtless, if that. is him. However, this just came out. So, the United Cajun Navy took to X and they. said, "Attorney Crump, we didn't say. Nolan was fully clothed when found. He. was wearing only swim trunks. Please. don't misrepresent our words." Now, this. is another issue to try to make sense of. what the condition of Nolan's body was. Okay, so I want to make sense of this. I. want to try to understand what all of.

this means. I'm bringing on one of our. favorites in this space. This is Dr. Neider Rutherford, Richland County. Coroner. So good to see you, doctor. I. knew you were watching this live. We. were watching it live. I know you were. taking. a lot of notes as we were trying to make. sense of this. There's a lot of different areas here to. go into. I guess I'll just start with. the big conclusion from this independent. autopsy and you tell me how limited. independent autopsies are, but the fact. that it came out that the cause and.

manner of death are undetermined pending. investigation, is that something that. surprises you or. what should we what do we mean What do. we mean by this? What do we take away. from this? >> Number one, given the circumstances surrounding this. case, I am extremely disappointed that. an independent autopsy was not performed. from the beginning. Yes, the state has. has a responsibility to perform the. autopsy, but even the county coroner.

said, "I want no parts of it. I'm. sending this to the state ME's office.". So, if they were going to do that, they. should have given this family the option. from the beginning to have an. independent autopsy because things are. missing from this independent autopsy. that as a mother, as a community member, don't sit right with me. Number one, if. you were going to hold back any parts of. the body, I feel as if the independent.

examiner should have known that from the. beginning and a report of what those. findings were should have been sent to. him. Yes, it is customary to hold back. pieces of the body if you're going to. examine them further, but why? What was there that you needed to. examine and why have you not discussed. this with the family? Transparency as a. public official, especially in the role. of coroner where you are expected to. perform an independent autopsy outside.

of the police's investigation, I feel that the the coroner and ME's. office has not been transparent and. and upfront with this family, and that. is very concerning to me. Why would you. hold back the neck muscles? Why would. you hold back. >> play Let me play that. Let me play that. portion of the press conference right. now. >> The interior. internal neck structures. were absent, not received with the body. The trachea.

and the laryngeal cartilage. the thyroid horn and the hyoid bone were. not received with the body. Therefore, this pathologist cannot rule out injury. to the neck as a contributing. a contributor or a cause of death. >> Dr. Dr. Rutherford, why would those. pieces be removed? And are they being. tested? Um you make a really good point about. why that wasn't communicated to um Dr.

Mitchell, right, the person who is. conducting this and an autopsy, but why. would those pieces of a body be. typically, or I don't know, is it. typical to remove them and for what. purpose? >> Yes, it is typical to remove them. Whenever an autopsy is performed, we are. removing those internal structures so. that we can further examine them, not. only from a visual standpoint. standpoint, but from a microscopic. standpoint as well. Now, when we look at. the neck muscles, we look at what's. called the strap muscle. So, if you kind.

of just to give you kind of an an idea, these are your strap muscles, okay? But. right here sits your esophagus, sits. your trachea, sits your hyoid bone. They. specifically mentioned that the hyoid. bone was not included in the body when. the independent examiner received it. That's a significant point for me. because that means that they are. checking to see if the strap muscles had. hemorrhaging, meaning signs of strangulation. Petechial hemorrhaging is very. important, but also bleeding into those.

muscles. The hyoid bone, examining that bone, being able to. remove the soft tissue from it to check. for signs of trauma, like a fracture to. that bone, is crucial when you're. thinking about possible strangulation or. someone being choked, hit in the neck. area, blunt force trauma. The other. thing that's significant for me with. this is that they could not determine. whether or not intracranial hemorrhage. occurred, which again is problematic. because there was discoloration to the.

back of the skull. They noted it. They measured it. Why. didn't. >> you about that. >> Why was that not disclosed? And if there. was no underlying fracture, fine, but why not say that? This family. should know more than what they know. Even when we get cases like this and we. have questions, we still tell the. families what little we know and tell. them, "Hey, things could change, but. here's what we have right now.". >> So, there's a a lot of questions about.

this. Number one, the fact that those. I hate to say it, those pieces. of Nolan's body are missing, does that. mean you can't even determine whether. this was an accidental drowning? >> Exactly, because I need to know when. they when they received that body at. that first examination, was there water. in the airway? Was there debris in the. airway? What were the contents of his. stomach? Were there pills there? Was. there alcohol there? Was there food. there? That gives me a timeline on when. Nolan may have last eaten. What was he.

drinking? I'm examining the contents of. his stomach. How was his body found? Was. he found actually in a body of water, truly inside of the water, or was he. just on the shoreline? All of these. things matter greatly when you are doing. a water death, especially. >> So, if they remove if the first. examiner, right, removed those. uh those body parts, does that suggest. that they may have a conclusion? That. when the state ME's report comes out. with the toxicology findings, they may.

have a conclusion whether or not there. was foul play, whether there was. trauma to the that that region, whether. there was drowning. That the fact that. they removed those pieces would suggest. they may have an answer. >> They sent everything else. So, obviously, they held these pieces of. Nolan's body behind to further examine. them. Why? And if you weren't going to send the. entire body, why? And you need to tell.

not only the examiner that, you need to. tell the family that, you need to tell. the attorney that because that is. significant information. This Dr. Roger. Mitchell cannot perform a full. independent examination if he's missing. pieces of the body. Did you do a full. skeletal x-ray to know whether or not. those bones were broken? I really think. the biggest mistake here is that they. did not allow this family to go ahead. and perform an independent autopsy. knowing the circumstances of this case. >> But you know, people are going to look.

at this and say, "Are they hiding. something?" They give a body over. without Does that Is that a fair. conclusion or is that Like again, I want. to be careful about this and say, "Is. this something that you've seen before? Is it standard? Is it a lapse in. judgment? Is it a mistake? Is it sloppy. work? Or is there something that is not. you know, there's a lack of. transparency?". >> Here's what I think. Listening to them respond about the. condition of his body and what they. believed could have happened to Nolan.

without even getting to the examination. of his body is concerning. How can you. assume that there was no foul play? How. can you assume that this was an. accidental drowning and you have not. even completed the autopsy yet? That. would have been mistake number one to. point out in this case, not only from a. from a. from a perspective of being a parent, but also just as the coroner, I I meet. with our law enforcement and tell them, "Hey, please do not release this type of.

information without talking to me. first.". Because I don't want the family to think. that we're hiding anything from them. I. want them to know, and Nolan deserves to. have the story of his death told. no matter how harsh it may be, no matter. how benign it may be. He deserves to. have the truth of his death told. accurately. >> This red discoloration on the back of. Nolan's head in this this issue this. tissue area. I believe they call it the. focal, you would know better than me,

the focal they they they call it the. focal um. >> They called it a focal discoloration, meaning that this was it wasn't a. diffuse discoloration. I mean, it didn't. cover a wide area. It was very specific. to that area, so specific in fact that. they could measure it to determine that. it didn't spread anywhere else. So, I. think that's really important because. that could be a point of impact. >> Now, could that be from the examination, the first examination, the way the body. was placed, or could that be because.

remember when the body was ultimately. examined, right? I think it was July. 10th they say the body was examined. unless I I I think I'm correct about. that. But the could that be someone hit. Nolan, something happened to him, and. that mark would still be there. just assuming, or do you think it could. be something that happened after he. died? >> I think it's probably before, especially. because there seemed to be. um the the discoloration as it was. described. And again, you have some.

someone who is a non-medical. professional reading an autopsy report, which I also completely disagree with um. because it it muddies the waters. He. really should have had Dr. Mitchell or. an assistant, someone with medical. training and knowledge to read this. autopsy report, but I digress. The. discoloration that they discussed, just. want to make sure I'm quoting them. correctly in in what they stated, said. it was a 12 by 8-in red discolo- red. discoloration overlaying the occipital. bone. So, I think that's significant. because this shows a blow from behind.

No matter whether or not it caused. intracranial hemorrhage or not, we know. that there was no underlying skull. fracture associated with it. So, the. fact that this. um. happened to him, we know that this was a. antemortem thing, that this happened. before he died because you don't you. don't really bruise after you die. We check for those bruises. We actually. had the pathologist cut into those. bruises and they look for certain. things. Now, again, this body was found.

later. It was found in an outdoor area, but we don't know if that body had been. there the entire time or did somebody. bring it back and drop it off? They say. he was fully clothed, but in all the. pictures he doesn't have a shirt on. There's so many questions. >> you make of that? What about the marked. decomposition of the body? >> Again, it's very significant. It's so. significant because I want to know what. decompositional changes there were. Was. he bloated? Was he waterlogged? They say. he wasn't waterlogged, but again, if. you're found face down near a body of.

water, wet things break down faster. I. can't imagine that the shoreline is just. dry. There's water there. There's moisture. there. So, so is his face intact? What. were there bugs on him? There there. should have been some examination, even. with the forensic entomologist, to say. was bug activity present here. You can. look at the bugs to help determine a. timeline for the time of death. I just I. feel like so much is missing here and I. think the biggest mistake, Jesse,

seriously, is that they should have. given this family the option to perform. an autopsy on their own before someone. else touched the body. >> I want to play something else from Ben. Crump this morning. Let's take a look. >> This pathologist cannot rule out if any. intervening non-accidental factors. contributed. to or caused the death of Nolan Wells.

Understand, he said based on the examination of the. body, he cannot rule out foul play. That is significant. With the following questions still. outstanding, number one, what were the circumstances that led to. Nolan Xavier Wells ending in the water? Number two, what was the body position when it was.

found? Number three, was there water. in the airway? Remember he talked about. the lungs and the airways where they. filled with water. Number four, is there any evidence of injuries to the. interior neck structure? We got the autopsy without his neck. We. got the body without his neck at the.

time of the second autopsy. Number five, is there any evidence of. any intracranial hemorrhage? 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. Number six, what was the composition of the What was. the composition of the stomach contents?

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? All those things become relevant factors. when you're trying to do a thorough. and impartial autopsy. And number seven, what was what are the. toxicology report findings?

He said, "The best classification for. the cause and manner of death for Nolan. Xavier Wells is undetermined pending. investigation.". >> So, they can't rule out foul play. How. does How do the state investigators now. respond to this? Um I'm imagining they're still waiting. for toxicology resort results for for. their own autopsy, but do they respond. to this? Um how do they respond to this?

When do we receive the official autopsy. from the state medical examiner's. office? What's going to happen next. there? I mean, I'm really curious about. the law enforcement's response to this. >> I think their option is to respond. I. think it's the only right thing to do. The The fact that they have chosen not. to respond, the fact that they've chosen. not to be transparent and to share. information is is not just a failure of. duty, but it's a betrayal of public.

trust. The public trusts you to tell the story. about how people died, whatever that. truth may be. And if they have something, they need to. talk with the family. They don't need to have a press. conference about it. They don't need to. to talk to anyone else but that family. And tell the family, "Hey, I want to. share this with you, but I need you guys. to not share this until we get all of. the reports back." That's a very simple. ask. This mother and father want to know.

what happened to their son. That That's the least that they could do. is respond and say, "This is why we're. saying there's no foul play. This is how. we've concluded this.". >> And I'm curious, look, if there really. is a divergence um between what that. medical examination is and what is here, I mean, it's already going to raise a. lot of questions. This presser's going. to raise a lot of questions. The. toxicology findings, um how much is that. going to help fill in the blanks? >> I don't know that it will. If there's.

nothing there, then it's it's. non-contributory to the cause of death. But what if there is something there? This is a student athlete. This is. someone who who prided himself on his. athletic ability and staying healthy to. play football. This was a a first love. for him. Um you hear his dad speak so. passionately about his son's football. career and what he was trying to do. So. I can't imagine that this is a kid who's. just out here, you know, doing drugs and. drinking. And if someone saw him doing. those things, then step forward. Say.

something. Because we know as parents. that our children don't tell us. everything that they do. He's a college. kid. Maybe he he does do something every. now and again, but someone needs to say. something. Someone needs to say. >> I I think even, you know, as we talked. about having that video come out that. could potentially. uh be Nolan, that's a piece of the. puzzle, right? More video coming out, establish a timeline. There's something. to this idea about so many people being. there. And you don't know who spoke to. who yet. And what those interviews were.

like, but again, you have to imagine. somebody might have more information. because right now, um based on this. independent autopsy, and we'll see what. happens with the official autopsy, that. can only tell so much. So, uh Dr. Nita. Rutherford, thank you so much for coming. on. I really appreciate it. >> Thank you so much. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please [music] subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcast. You can also. check us out on NBC's Peacock as well.

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