Forensic pathologist discusses Nolan Wells preliminary second autopsy report

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WXXV) – Questions remain about what happened to 18-year-old Nolan Wells on the Fourth of July.

Last week, attorney Ben Crump revealed the preliminary findings of a second autopsy. As the public awaits the findings from the initial autopsy conducted by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office, many people—including the forensic pathologist who performed the second autopsy—are also waiting for the toxicology report.

WXXV’s Aubrey Spears spoke with a board-certified forensic pathologist who is not affiliated with the case about the preliminary findings.

“One thing to keep in mind is that when a body starts to decompose, especially if it isn’t found right away, bacteria can produce alcohol in the bloodstream. So, when the toxicology report comes back, if it shows a small amount of alcohol, that is not necessarily an indication that Nolan Wells was drinking alcohol at the time of his death or before he died. It could indicate that bacteria produced alcohol after his death, meaning he had no alcohol in his system when he died. We need to evaluate that report in the context of how advanced the decomposition was at the time of the first autopsy in order to interpret the findings properly,” said Dr. Judy Melinek, president and CEO of PathologyExpert Inc.

We’ll have more from Aubrey’s conversation with Dr. Melinek on Wednesday during WXXV News at 9:00 p.m. on Fox and 10:00 p.m. on NBC.