Judge Mathis sees ‘reasonable suspicion’ in the case of Nolan Wells

Judge Mathis speaks out about the mysterious death of Nolan Wells and why he thinks it warrants a thorough investigation. 

Judge Greg Mathis has weighed in on the case unfolding surrounding the death of Nolan Wells, and why he finds “reasonable suspicion” surrounding the details thus far. 

During a recent appearance on the “The Art of Dialogue” podcast, the 66-year-old judge and TV personality shared his perspective on the case, its details, and ultimately what he thinks transpired.

“I don’t believe he drowned, I believe he was killed,” he said. 

“But I’m a judge that has to weigh all the evidence preliminarily,” he continued. “That’s what I see. You don’t leave your friend on an island, seeing that he has left his phone, and not at least go back. You came there with him. You left him there. You say because he wanted to stay, but you notice that he’s left his phone. How was he gonna get home in the first place? Wouldn’t he need his phone in order to call his transportation?” 

He added, “Or they should have known some of that.”

On July 4, Wells, an 18-year-old from Mississippi, went missing during a boat outing to Horn Island with friends. He was later found dead on July 6 and suspected initially of drowning in a turn of events that has captured national attention, particularly for the fact that it’s a case of yet another mysterious death of a Black person who was among a predominantly non-Black group of friends. And according to Mathis, the known facts in this case at the very least warrant a thorough investigation. 

“There’s a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed,” the “Mathis Court with Judge Mathis” star noted.

“When you go to the grand jury, the prosecutor presents all the evidence that they have to explain to the grand jury the case they’re looking into, and over 90% of the time, the prosecutor comes back with an indictment because grand juries only hear one side,” he explained. “They’re only going to hear the side of the prosecutor. So the question becomes: Is the prosecutor going to do a thorough investigation and presentation to the grand jury? Because if they don’t, if they miss some parts of the evidence that is necessary, then the grand jury has nothing to consider.”

Among the aspects of this to consider, Mathis noted the cellphone not being in the same place as Wells, the fact that it appears Snapchat content may have been deleted, and the racial undertones at play, given the history of Black people losing their lives in mysterious ways or racial killings, should all be high up on the list. 

“Mississippi really has a bad reputation, and this once again is reinforcing it,” he said before recalling famous deaths and Civil Rights killings, including Medgar Evers, who was shot and killed in his driveway Jacksonville in 1963 by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

When asked how he personally would approach this case if he were among the legal team—which consists of civil rights attorney Ben Crump—he said, “The objective would be to get it in front of the grand jury, and Ben’s done that.”

He added, “Let’s see what happens.”