Nolan Wells Death

Ben Crump isn't buying the official line from Mississippi authorities that Nolan Wells simply drowned to death, saying the District Attorney never explained the injuries the teen sustained to the back of his head.

Crump -- the Wells family attorney -- issued a statement Monday night, claiming Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath is trying to close the chapter on Nolan's death "without getting to the bottom of what caused the blunt force trauma to the back of his head and body."

Crump also released the results of Nolan's second and final independent autopsy, finding that the 18-year-old's cause and manner of death were undetermined. 

Nolan Wells' death has been determined to be "consistent with a drowning" ... months after the 18-year-old vanished during a Fourth of July boating trip to Mississippi's Horn Island.

According to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's autopsy report, Nolan's manner of death was ruled "undetermined."

“The Grand Jury finds that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning,” the report read. The Grand Jury, which consisted of 13 men and 10 women, was impaneled on April 20, per local reports. They met again on September 14 and ended on September 18. The report also noted Nolan did not have cocaine in his system, despite rumors.

The lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has hired the lawyer for a friend of Nolan Wells.

Edward Andrew Paltzik announced he is now representing the juror, whose identity has been sealed by the court following intense public backlash over the mistrial.

Paltzik is calling his client a "courageous and heroic" American and a "champion of justice" ... while vowing to protect him from those who have publicly attacked him.

Three of Nolan Wells' friends are firing back at Sunny Hostin and threatening to sue her ... claiming "The View" cohost is falsely linking them to his death.

According to a letter obtained by TMZ, attorneys for Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour say Sunny crossed the line while discussing Nolan's death on a July episode of "Behind The Table with The View."

The lawyers say Sunny repeatedly referred to the trio as "these three boys" and claim her comments effectively accused them of serious crimes, including murder, hindering prosecution, and evidence tampering.

If Nolan Wells' so-called friends think Rev. Al Sharpton is going to just roll over, apologize, and dole out retractions, Sharpton says they should think again.

He issued a statement Tuesday, slamming the boys' impending defamation lawsuit as "meritless," explaining he'll "neither be silenced nor retract statements he did not make."

Sharpton said ... "This is not going to distract us from the question that brought us here: 'What happened to Nolan Wells?' His parents buried their 18-year-old son without knowing how or why he died. They asked me to stand with them, and I will continue to stand with them until they get the answers they deserve."

1:43 PM -- Al Sharpton tells TMZ ... "I welcome the lawsuit and will have my attorneys be in touch with theirs to arrange for them to serve me so we can get in court."

Sharpton says ... "I convened a prayer vigil on what would have been Nolan's 19th birthday and three of the young men joined the Zoom and I asked them to come forward. While I did not know their names, so I did not defame them, we have a right and a duty to raise questions that were raised to me by Nolan's parents."

He continues ... "From the onset of this case, I publicly stated that I welcomed any litigation that would legally require every person that was with Nolan Wells before his death to be forced to answer questions under oath. Litigation requires depositions, discovery and a complete examination of the facts."

Sharpton concludes ... "I have been involved in the case for one sole reason: To help Nolan's parents Christine and Elmore find the truth in what happened to their beloved son through a transparent and accountable investigation. If a lawsuit is a catalyst for the truth, then it is welcomed and it will not deter NAN or me from continuing to stand with the family in their pursuit of justice."

Nolan Wells' friends are tired of Reverend Al Sharpton insinuating they had something to do with his death ... and they've sent a legal letter demanding he stop.

The legal team representing Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour sent the letter to the reverend Friday ... claiming they're ready to file a civil lawsuit against him for making repeated false statements suggesting that they had something to do with Nolan's death.

The lawyers highlight a series of statements made by Sharpton -- including during an interview with TMZ last month -- which they say imply the three friends aren't being forthcoming -- and may even have something to do with Nolan's death.

Nolan Wells' mom Christine Wonsley is still digging for answers ... and now she's going straight after the marine towing companies his friends called on the day he disappeared.

TMZ obtained two new subpoenas filed Thursday on behalf of Nolan's estate -- one for Sea Tow Services International and another for Ward Marine Services, which operates as Sea Tow South Mississippi.

For Sea Tow, she wants basically everything connected to the July 4 incident from 2 PM to 8 PM ... including calls, recordings, dispatch records and documents showing who handled the response.

As investigators continue to put together clues regarding Nolan Wells' mysterious death, officials revealed it's been years since someone has drowned off Horn Island.

The Jackson County coroner told PEOPLE they have no recorded drowning deaths at the Mississippi barrier island within the last six years.

But officials did tell the outlet there was a drowning death investigation at nearby Petit Bois Island within the last several years.

Plus, they said a teenage girl got stuck in the waters at nearby Dauphin Island and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Nolan Wells would have turned 19 today ... and three of the friends who were with him before his death joined a virtual vigil honoring his life.

Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour participated in the National Action Network's noon prayer vigil for Nolan ... appearing on Zoom with their cameras on and microphones muted.

Attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik, who represents the three friends, tells TMZ ... they wanted to honor Nolan on his birthday ... and he shared a statement from the young men.

The NAACP joined Nolan Wells' family in their legal fight for answers ... and the organization is saying enough is enough as questions swirl about the teen's mysterious death.

The NAACP said Monday it has offered additional investigative resources to Nolan's family ... demanding "truth and transparency" in the case that's captivated the nation.

As you know, Nolan went missing after taking a boat out to Horn Island with friends on the Fourth of July. His body was found days later in the water, near where he was last seen alive.

An attorney for Nolan Wells' family says they're ready to examine his phone ... but they're waiting on the Jackson County DA's Office to set the date.

Liza Park -- a member of Ben Crump's team -- said Thursday the DA's office, the family's forensic team and possibly the FBI have agreed to jointly download and examine the device.

The plan, according to Park, is to examine the phone one time with everyone present ... but they're still waiting for prosecutors to provide the time and place.

One of Nolan Wells' friends is calling out the late teen's mother ... saying her social media posts were at least partially responsible for some of the hate being thrown their way.

In a new interview on "The Officer Tatum Show", YouTuber Brandon Tatum sat down with Nolan's so-called best friends Morgan Seymour, Warren Hudson, and Jax Pitalo ... asking the boys straight-up how they think the coverage surrounding Nolan's death should have played out.

Jax claims that -- aside from wishing "Nolan could still be here" -- "his mom blasting us on social media from the get-go" triggered a huge media frenzy.

Nolan Wells' friends say they wish they had never gone to Horn Island on the Fourth of July ... believing Nolan would still be alive if they had stayed home.

TMZ obtained exclusive clips from the group's sit-down with YouTuber Brandon Tatum and their attorney, J. Tyler Cox ... ahead of the full interview dropping Monday on "The Officer Tatum Show" ... and his friends talk regret, race and more.

Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour open up about the tragedy and the allegations that followed ... including claims race played a role in Nolan's death.

Senator Rand Paul has made it clear ... he wants to see Anthony Fauci in an orange jumpsuit, and people are increasingly alarmed over Ariana's appearance. So we gotta ask ...

Nolan Wells' friends set out Friday to Horn Island after launching an investigation of their own into the death of the teen ... and the visit was intense.

Warren Hudson and Jax Pitalo took their lawyers, J. Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik, to inspect the Mississippi barrier island ... and a realization hit them like a ton of bricks.

Cox tells TMZ ... things got raw for the boys ... "The trip was tough for Warren and Jax because that’s the last place they saw their best friend. A couple of times we had to pause and give them their space.” He pointed out one of those places included the site where Nolan’s body was discovered.

Ben Crump isn't sweating Nolan Wells' friends turning to Trump's lawyer for help.

We caught up with the prominent civil rights attorney in NYC Thursday ... and he says the boys' choice of attorney is just a distraction.

Crump tells us the only thing that matters to him and Nolan's family is getting to the truth about what happened.