Lawyers representing Nolan Wells’ family say they plan to coordinate with the local district attorney’s office to review the contents of his cellphone as part of the investigation into his death. The family retrieved the phone from Wells’ friends after he was reported missing following a July 4 boating trip to an island off the Mississippi coast.
The family has previously said it appeared some messages may have been deleted before the phone was returned, one of several questions they have raised about both the circumstances of Wells’ death and the handling of the investigation. Family members and their attorneys met Wednesday with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, primarily to discuss how the inquiry is moving forward. Attorney Ben Crump said McIlrath also agreed to present the case to a grand jury once the investigation is complete.
Messages requesting comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.
Attorneys say they want a grand jury to reach an impartial decision
“The hope is when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them, so we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells,” Crump said. “Our lived experiences tell us that we must question everything, everybody’s role, law enforcement’s role. That is the lived experience as Black people in America.”
In Mississippi, most felony cases are presented to a grand jury, according to Ronald Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. Rychlak said a grand jury is generally made up of 15 to 25 citizens who hear evidence from prosecutors and determine whether there is enough to issue an indictment.
Wells had gone by boat with friends to the island on July 4 but did not leave with them when they departed around 3 p.m. He had been spending the weekend with friends before returning to college for football training. Accounts have differed over whether Wells intended to remain on the island, roughly 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) off the Mississippi coast, to speak with a girl or whether he expected to return with the group.
His mother reported him missing shortly after midnight on July 5. Later that day, boat and rescue crews began searching the water and the area around the island. Wells’ body was found July 6 in the water near Horn Island, off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority-white space. Family and attorneys have said from photos and videos of the July 4 celebration on the island, where nearly 200 people gathered, that Wells was one of very few Black people present.
The Congressional Black Caucus also weighed in Wednesday, adding to calls for an independent investigation into Wells’ death.
Authorities with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies were quick to say they did not suspect foul play in his death. Results of an official autopsy are still pending, and the investigation is still open, officials said.
Both the family’s attorneys and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department investigators have asked witnesses or anyone with video from the popular beach island to come forward as they seek answers about the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.
Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team. His family has urged a deeper investigation, saying he could swim and questioning why his friends would leave him behind but take his keys and phone.
Questions remain around teen’s recovered cellphone
Family members retrieved his phone from the home of one of Wells’ friends the evening of July 4 after using a locator app to find it. His family said their son was an avid Snapchat user, but there were no posts or messages from the 24 hours or so before they gained possession of it.
Crump previously said he planned to hire an expert to determine whether data could be recovered from the phone or social media. Wednesday, he said that process will move forward in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office investigators.
Rychlak, the law professor, said mutual inspection of evidence between the police and victim’s family is not typical.
“Evidence is secured and not usually shared,” Rychlak said, adding that cooperation between the family and police could speed the investigation.
Wells’ death has galvanized the Black community. Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells’ funeral. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy, and filmmaker Spike Lee attended a news conference last week in support of Wells’ family.
Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley said Wednesday that they want the funeral Monday to be a celebration of their son.
“He would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating, and so what we’re gonna do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,” she said. —
Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.
