Nolan Wells Cause, Manner of Death 'Undetermined' After Independent Autopsy Report

Source for: attorney Ben Crump’s July 22, 2026 announcement, at a press conference at the 117th NAACP National Convention in Chicago alongside Nolan Wells’s parents Christine and Elmore Wonsley, that the independent autopsy found cause and manner of death “undetermined,” “pending investigation.” Verbatim: “Attorney Ben Crump said Nolan Wells’ cause and manner of death are undetermined ‘pending investigation,’ according to the preliminary independent autopsy report… Crump made the announcement Wednesday alongside Nolan’s parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, at a press conference at the 117th NAACP National Convention in Chicago.”

Also source for the July 10 date the autopsy was conducted, in Washington, D.C. (the location attaches to where the autopsy happened, not to Dr. Mitchell’s own base), and for the report’s completion date: “Crump’s team said the second autopsy was conducted by experienced forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell in Washington, D.C., on July 10. The report was created on July 19.”

Added 2026-07-28 (approval-brief + receipt-gate). This same article also reports findings load-bearing for the essay’s own argument, previously undocketed. Verbatim: “The preliminary results found no lacerations of skin or fractures of the skull, but Crump noted that there was a 12-by-8-inch area of red discoloration in the soft tissue on the back of Nolan’s head. ‘We saw the pictures of it. It is significant,’ Crump said.” “Because the throat was not received with the body for the second autopsy, Dr. Mitchell couldn’t rule out injury to the neck as a contributor or cause of death. He also couldn’t observe the airway for water or the stomach for gastric contents.” Crump noted that it is common to remove organs when conducting an autopsy, and Dr. Mitchell pointed out that doing so is common practice. “the independent autopsy report could not confirm if Nolan was conscious or unconscious when he entered the water. He also said the report stated that it was not known if Nolan was forced into the water or not.” Photo caption, same article: “The date of Wells’ death is unknown.”

Added 2026-07-29 (approval-brief round 5 + receipt-gate). This article also carries the reason the exam was limited, previously undocketed. Verbatim: “Because Nolan’s body was so decomposed by the time the second autopsy was conducted, Dr. Mitchell couldn’t tell if there were bruises or abrasions on his body, according to Crump.”

Correction 2026-07-28 (approval-brief round 2): an earlier essay draft quoted the discoloration and the missing-throat detail without the qualifiers italicized above (no fractures/lacerations found; organ removal is common autopsy practice) — a condensation-drops-qualifiers defect, in the essay’s own favor. Both qualifiers are now required whenever this record is cited for these findings.