Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Parents of Nolan Wells Demand Answers After Grand Jury Declines Charges in Fourth of July Death | Crime Alert 09.24.26

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Parents of Nolan Wells Demand Answers After Grand Jury Declines Charges in Fourth of July Death | Crime Alert 09.24.26 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now.
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  Speaker 2: I'm Sydney Silvani. The parents of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells
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  Speaker 2: and high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump are calling on
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  Speaker 2: state officials to continue pursuing a fuller picture of the
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  Speaker 2: truth in the teenager's death, coming just one day after
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  Speaker 2: a Jackson County grand jury declined to bring criminal charges.
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  Speaker 2: Wells vanished on July 4th while celebrating with friends on
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  Speaker 2: Horn Island, a barrier reef accessible only by boat, and
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  Speaker 2: his body was found two days later. Speaking at a
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  Speaker 2: Tuesday press conference, Attorney Ben Crump criticized District Attorney Angel
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  Speaker 2: Myers-McGillrath's investigation as incomplete.
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  Speaker 3: Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers-McGillrath will have you accept
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  Speaker 3: that Nolan Wells' death can be summarized in three words.
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  Speaker 4: We'll never know. But Nolan Family offers three other words.
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  Speaker 4: We will never know.
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  Speaker 2: Crump argued that state authorities failed to conduct an exhaustive
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  Speaker 2: inquiry into the 18-year-old's death. Wells' mother, Christine Wells-Wansley, revealed
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  Speaker 2: she received a text message from the district attorney at
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  Speaker 2: 7.54 p.m. Monday, just minutes before the report was released
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  Speaker 2: to the public, describing the action as showing a painful
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  Speaker 2: lack of empathy.
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  Speaker 4: Elmore and I have read through the report.
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  Speaker 2: Page by page more than once. What we have learned
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  Speaker 2: is that we still have no answers, and the report
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  Speaker 2: reinforced the fact that Nolan was not given a thorough, transparent,
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  Speaker 2: and honest investigation. Wells was last seen with friends who
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  Speaker 2: claimed they had to leave early on a leaking boat
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  Speaker 2: while Wells opted to stay behind. His body was found
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  Speaker 2: July 6th at the island's northwestern tip. Crump previously suggested
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  Speaker 2: race played a role, noting Wells appeared to be one
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  Speaker 2: of the few black individuals on the island. District Attorney
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  Speaker 2: McIlrath pushed back against that narrative in a video statement
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  Speaker 2: released alongside a redacted report.
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  Speaker 1: Nolan's friends love Nolan, and Nolan loved them. Nolan chose
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  Speaker 1: to stay on the island that day, and there is
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  Speaker 1: not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that. The family,
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  Speaker 1: the Crump team, and anyone close to Nolan knew that
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  Speaker 1: his disappearance and death were not the result of racial
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  Speaker 1: hate or violence. Yet the flames of that narrative set
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  Speaker 1: against the backdrop of Mississippi's terrible history were fanned by
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  Speaker 1: both people who knew the truth and those who didn't.
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  Speaker 2: While the grand jury concluded Wells likely drowned, An independent
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  Speaker 2: autopsy commissioned by his family found two unexplained bruises on
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  Speaker 2: the back of his head and listed the cause of
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  Speaker 2: death as undetermined. Both the state examiner and a forensic
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  Speaker 2: pathologist agreed drowning was merely a diagnosis of exclusion. Family
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  Speaker 2: members also reject the drowning theory, citing the teenager's athleticism
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  Speaker 2: and strong swimming ability. Coroner Bruce Lynn told NBC News
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  Speaker 2: state autopsy reports remained sealed under Mississippi law. Meanwhile, civil
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  Speaker 2: rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton stated Mississippi's painful history justifies
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  Speaker 2: the family's deep skepticism. Crump announced a press conference in
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  Speaker 2: Orlando later this week to focus on Wells' cell phone,
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  Speaker 2: which friends brought back to the mainland, an assertion his
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  Speaker 2: parents strongly refute by asking what teenager would leave their
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  Speaker 2: phone behind. More crime and justice news after this. In
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  Speaker 2: Tip City, Ohio, former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn appeared
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  Speaker 2: distraught in court as prosecutors presented graphic crime scene photos
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  Speaker 2: during his murder trial. The 40-year-old is accused of executing
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  Speaker 2: his wife, Ashley, on February 16th by shooting her twice
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  Speaker 2: in the back of the head while she slept, then
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  Speaker 2: staging a home invasion and frantically calling 911. As the
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  Speaker 2: deputy coroner recounted autopsy details describing hair, brain matter, and
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  Speaker 2: blood obscuring the gunshot wounds, Flynn wept and winced when
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  Speaker 2: the coroner detailed a black eye Ashley suffered. Prosecutors presented
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  Speaker 2: text messages Flynn allegedly sent to his mistress expressing a
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  Speaker 2: desire to kill his wife. Ashley, a dynamic youth coach
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  Speaker 2: and Bible teacher at LifeWise Academy, was killed while the
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  Speaker 2: couple's two young daughters slept in the next room. Flynn
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  Speaker 2: is pleaded not guilty to murder, aggravated murder, felonious assault,
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  Speaker 2: tampering with evidence, and witness intimidation. Finally, controversial 20-year-old looks-maxing
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  Speaker 2: influencer Clavicular, real name Brayden Peters, faces multiple charges in Massachusetts,
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  Speaker 2: according to court documents. Peters is charged with rape, drugging
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  Speaker 2: someone for sexual intercourse, and procuring liquor under age 21
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  Speaker 2: following a May 2025 incident. An arraignment is set for
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  Speaker 2: October 14th. The criminal charges follow an April civil lawsuit
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  Speaker 2: filed in Florida by 18-year-old influencer Alexandra Vasilevna Mendoza, known
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  Speaker 2: online as Allora Ziva. Mendoza alleged Peters provided her alcohol,
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  Speaker 2: sexually assaulted her at his parents' Cape Cod home, and
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  Speaker 2: later injected her face on a livestream with unapproved fat-dissolving
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  Speaker 2: chemicals mixed with suspected methamphetamine without her consent. Peters' attorney
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  Speaker 2: denied the allegations, while Peters posted on social media, calling
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  Speaker 2: the lawsuit petty. For more crime and justice news, be
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  Speaker 2: sure to join us for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
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  Speaker 2: on Fox 1, YouTube, Sirius XM, and now streaming on Tubi.
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  Speaker 2: With this crime alert, I'm Sydney Silvani.