By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-25 17:26:36 | Updated at 2026-09-25 18:37:20
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Nolan Wells’s state autopsy overlooked one key part of the body in determining his cause of death, according to one “shocked” forensic expert.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s three-page autopsy report, which listed the cause and manner of death for Wells, 18, as undetermined, did not mention his sphenoid sinus — a crucial indicator in suspected drowning cases, Dr. Priya Banerjee told People.
“The pathologist did not check the sphenoid sinus. It’s not even mentioned,” Banerjee, a board-certified forensic pathologist unconnected to Wells’ case, told the outlet.
“In a case like this … I was shocked to see how limited in scope it is, and then she [the examiner] doesn’t check the sphenoid.”
The sphenoid sinuses, which are at the base of the skull, can have fluid in them in drowning victims, just like the stomach, lungs, and airways, according to the pathologist
The state autopsy conducted after Wells, a Southwest Mississippi Community College football player, was found dead two days after vanishing from a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island with pals, was released by family attorney Ben Crump and his team on Thursday.
The undetermined findings echoed the results of an independent autopsy carried out by a pathologist hired by Wells’ family.
A Jackson County grand jury report released on Friday determined that Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning,” and there was no foul play.
Banerjee agreed with the diagnosis, based on the autopsy report, which excluded other major traumas.
“There is no A equals B for drowning,” she says, adding, “If there’s a gunshot wound to the head, there’s a gunshot wound to the head.”
Though Wells had unexplained bruising on the back of his head, the grand jury determined that the injury was non-lethal and possibly occurred when a witness saw him “awkwardly” slip off a boat on the afternoon of that fateful day.
The witness, who testified under oath, couldn’t definitely say whether the college student struck his head during the fall. Wells continued to socialize after slipping and did not appear injured.
“I don’t see any other blunt trauma to the rest of the body, like he was bashed in the back, kicked, stomped, anything like that,” Banerjee explained.
“The most important thing is the body had to be in water, which we know he was. He was found floating face-down,” she said.
The state’s autopsy did not reveal any fluid in Wells airways or stomach, though Banerjee believes there was likely fluid in the lungs — drawing scrutiny from Crump during a press conference yesterday.
“Places you can find water in the body that we look for with drowning are sphenoid sinus, lungs and stomach,” Banerjee said. “That doesn’t mean all three need to be there to make that diagnosis.”
“You have to swallow water to get in your stomach,” she said “You have to aspirate it to get it into your lungs and you have to breathe it in through your nose to get it into the sinus.”
“Those lung weights aren’t the heaviest I’ve ever seen but they’re still heavier than normal. And in the setting of decomposition, they do probably have fluid in them, which is water consistent with drowning,” she added.
Dr. Mary Jumbelic, a board-certified forensic pathologist and former Chief Medical Examiner of Onondaga County, New York, previously told The Post that the absence of water could indicate “dry drowning,” where the airway spasms shut before water is inhaled.
“Now, with that in mind, if you’ve done all these things and you don’t find water in the lungs and stomach, there’s something called a dry drowning, and that just means that you don’t get a lot of water in your lungs because you almost have an asphyxial process in your upper airway before you’ve breathed in a lot of water,” she said.
The toxicology results, which showed that Wells was a “presumptive positive” for nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol in his system, could have been altered by the state of his body’s decomposition, the pathologist contended.
“As the body is decomposing, what does bacteria do? They create alcohol just like we do for drinking purposes,” Banerjee said.
The grand jury report said there was also no evidence to support “public allegations” that anybody who rode to or from Horn Island was responsible or engaged in any criminal conduct leading to the teen’s tragic death.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s death and disappearance were racially motivated,” District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a video statement released Monday.
“The grand jury had a much more holistic view of the case, many, many more facts,” Banerjee said. “But the fact that they came back with drowning and didn’t charge anybody, I’m just going to have to believe that that conclusion is fair. I don’t know.”
