Trump says he may ask FBI to investigate Wells death

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 17:00 · Archive

President Trump said he may ask the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells, 18, a Black college student found dead after disappearing during a July Fourth boat trip to Mississippi's Horn Island.

President Trump said on Wednesday he was considering asking the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black college student who disappeared on Fourth of July during a boat trip with friends to Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi's coast. His body was found on the island two days later.

Wells's family and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump have called for a federal investigation. Wells's father Elmore Wonsley said on Monday: "Our son was found on federal land and we are asking the FBI to step in and do a full investigation." Crump said in a statement: "When President Trump responds to news reporters that 'we're looking into it,' we believe that carries more weight than the response given by the FBI. Our team stands ready to work with the federal government to ensure Nolan's death is investigated to the fullest extent."

The Jackson County Sheriff's Department initially said Wells was last seen travelling to another part of the island with a girl and that there was no evidence of foul play. However, a Jackson County grand jury later determined that Wells drowned. An independent autopsy by Roger A Mitchell Jr, a forensic pathologist and president of Howard University hospital, contradicted this, finding no evidence of drowning due to the absence of water in Wells's stomach, lungs and throat, and noting bruising on his head, back, left shoulder and buttocks. Wells's cause and manner of death remain officially undetermined.

How it is being reported

• Trump says he is considering asking FBI to investigate the death of Nolan WellsLawyers for Wells’s family have called for a federal investigation into 18-year-old’s disappearance and death On Wednesday, Donald Trump said he was considering asking the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells, a Black college freshman who was last seen alive on a 4 July boating trip with friends. Wells, 18, went missing while on Horn Island, a barrier island off the coast of Mississippi. His body was found on the island two days later. Wells’s cause and manner of death are still undetermined. Continue reading...Guardian World · 8 Oct, 16:35
• Trump says FBI may investigate Nolan Wells’ death: ‘We’re looking at that’Trump said “we’re looking at that” when asked by reporters whether or not the feds would carry out their own investigation into the death of the 18-year-old Mississippi football player.New York Post · 8 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Nolan Wells · Donald Trump · Elmore Wonsley · Ben Crump · Horn Island · Mississippi · FBI

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