Independent Autopsy: Cause of Teen's Death 'Undetermined'

An outside pathologist can't yet say how 18-year-old Nolan Wells died—but he's not ruling out foul play, reports NBC News. The teen athlete vanished July 4 while celebrating on Mississippi's Horn Island, and his body was found two days later. A preliminary independent autopsy ordered by Wells' family lists both cause and manner of death as "undetermined," attorney Ben Crump said Wednesday at an NAACP gathering, adding that the doctor found red discoloration on the back of Wells' head and noted missing parts of his throat, preventing him from excluding neck trauma. "This pathologist cannot rule out if any intervening non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells," he said, per NPR.

The state autopsy, including toxicology, remains unfinished, prompting the family to seek their own review and publicly press local authorities for answers. "The only question we have is, what happened to our son?" said Wells' mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley. "It is our hope that our local authorities will do what they need to do. Us having the preliminary autopsy results and hearing nothing from them is heartbreaking and concerning." Civil rights figures including Al Sharpton and Tyler Perry have put up $125,000 for information leading to any arrest and conviction.