Rife with unanswered questions, the death of Nolan Wells, a Black teen from Mississippi whose body was found on an island after a Fourth of July outing with friends this summer, has drawn attention from people around the world, including in Belmont.
The library’s monthly “True Crime All The Time: Multimedia True Crime Group” grappled with the facts –– and rumors –– surrounding the death of the 18-year-old college football player during a recent gathering. The Wells case is just one of the many mysterious, real-life murders the group has discussed and analyzed since its creation.
Janina Majeran, the community outreach librarian, printed out a timeline detailing what happened leading up to Wells’ death and how officials and friends acted afterward. His family’s lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, has lobbied for a federal investigation after a grand jury declined to criminally charge anyone following a review of the teen’s autopsy, according to multiple news sources.
“The private autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family and the official state autopsy both found Wells’ cause and manner of death to be ‘undetermined,’” according to ABC News.
The Belmont group focused on unanswered questions about the case and human nature.
The teen’s body was found on July 6, two days after his friends, many of whom are white, left him on the island. Some people interviewed told investigators Wells wanted to stay to speak with a young woman, while his family and attorney dispute this account.
Like Wells’ family, the true crime group found inconsistencies, problematic decisions, and no satisfactory answers in the case as it stands today. This is particularly true after digital forensics experts found questionable messages from Wells’ friends on his cell phone.
“Nobody saw anything and nobody knew anything,” said attendee Laura Dinerstein sarcastically. The group read aloud some of the friends’ texts, one of which stated, “All i keep seeing is white folk made it home and the one Black kid didn’t,” according to several news sources.
“I would like to believe they [his friends] didn’t murder him, but they know something,” posited Majeran.
The grand jury is “not saying that it’s definitely a drowning,” said attendee Kirstin Jensen, noting an autopsy found Wells had suffered head injuries.
“Nobody has a conscience?” rhetorically asked Julia Campbell, who wondered how so many young people could keep a secret –– if there is one. “Did nobody care about him?”
She and the rest of the group expressed sympathy for Wells’ parents and their suffering.
Campbell also noted Mississippi’s not-so-distant past treatment of Black people that may be a factor in a possible cover-up.
“There’s just this history of accepted racism,” she said.
Why true crime?
Group members felt an immediacy with the Wells case because it has unfolded over the past few months. However, the group also explores historic crimes.
Asked what’s appealing about the genre, Campbell said, “You can be safely scared” in your home while reading about, watching or listening to shows on violent, deadly assaults.
Majeran noted that paradoxically, “Horror movies [can be] calming for people who have anxiety because you are living it out through the film.”
Acknowledging that true crime has a voyeuristic element, Campbell said, “We focus on the perpetrator because we want to see them get caught … we do feel for the victims.”
Campbell said that “It’s almost easier to focus on this evil person” than the sadness surrounding the victims.
“I’ve always been fascinated by psychology,” said Majeran about what intrigues her when reading about serial killers like Ted Bundy. She said she wonders how someone can live for years hiding in plain sight like a “normal” person when they’ve committed heinous murders.
The violent acts beg the question, “What is the nature of evil?” said Dinerstein.
Other true-crime fans are intrigued by the mysteries surrounding cold cases or the methods law enforcement use to capture criminals.
We need to understand what’s going on to keep ourselves safe, said Campbell.
The group will meet on Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the case of Kouri Richins, who was found guilty this year of murdering her husband. For more information, visit belmontpubliclibrary.net/explore/programs/event-calendar/
