Judge Mathis Weighs In on Nolan Wells' Independent Autopsy Results

Judge Greg Mathis is questioning the investigation into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells after an independent autopsy could not determine how the Mississippi college football player died. Speaking on The Art of the Dialogue, Mathis said the unanswered questions deserve far closer scrutiny and urged investigators to continue pursuing every lead.

Wells disappeared during a July 4 trip to Horn Island with friends and was found dead two days later after an extensive search. Jackson County investigators have said they did not initially suspect foul play and believed Wells likely drowned, although the investigation remains active.

While forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell found Wells' cause and manner of death to be undetermined, he said decomposition and limitations from the original examination prevented a complete forensic evaluation. The report also documented unexplained red discoloration on the back of Wells' head, as reported by the family's attorneys.

Mitchell also said the independent examination was limited because several organs had already been removed during the original autopsy. He said those missing structures prevented him from fully evaluating every possible cause of death.

When civil rights attorney Ben Crump discussed the independent autopsy findings, he said they answered few questions while raising several others, including how Wells entered the water and whether key evidence remains unaccounted for. Crump said the family's goal is to learn exactly what happened and has continued calling for transparency throughout the investigation.

Mathis also compared the Wells case to the legacy of Emmett Till, saying Mississippi's history places an even greater responsibility on investigators to fully examine every unanswered question before reaching conclusions. In the interview, he also questioned why Wells' cellphone was left behind and whether investigators have fully reconciled conflicting accounts from the friends who accompanied him to Horn Island.

Mississippi has not yet released the official autopsy or toxicology results, and no charges have been filed in the case. Those findings are expected to play a key role in determining what happened during Wells' final hours.