Attorneys for Nolan Wells’ family agree to joint inspection of teen’s recovered cellphone

Lawyers for Nolan Wells’ family said they will work with the local district attorney’s office investigating his death to examine the contents of his cellphone. The family recovered the phone from his friends after he was reported missing during a July 4 boat trip to an island off the coast of Mississippi.

Wells’ family had previously claimed that messages appeared to have been deleted from his phone before they recovered them, which is just one of a slew of concerns they have raised about the circumstances and investigations surrounding his death. They met with District Attorney Angel Myers McElrath on Wednesday to discuss the investigation process. But attorney Ben Crump said McElrath is also committed to presenting the investigation to a grand jury once it is complete.

Messages seeking comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.

Attorneys hope the grand jury will make an impartial decision

“The hope is that when this is presented to the grand jury, all the relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them, so that we can conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells,” Crump said. “Our life experiences tell us that we should question everything, everyone’s role, and the role of law enforcement. This is the experience we have as black people in America.”

Most criminal cases go to a grand jury in Mississippi, said Ronald Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. A grand jury typically consists of 15 to 25 citizens who listen to the prosecutor’s evidence and then decide whether there is enough evidence to indict, Rychlak said.

Wells traveled to the island by boat with friends on July 4, but was no longer with them when they left around 3 p.m. Wells was spending the weekend with friends before returning to college for football training. Conflicting accounts have been given as to whether he intended to stay on the island, about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) off the coast of Mississippi, to talk to a girl or to return with those friends.

His mother reported him missing shortly after midnight on July 5. The next day, boat and rescue teams began searching the waters and around the island. Wells’ body was recovered from the waters near Horn Island, off the coast of the Mississippi Gulf, on July 6.

Speculation and suspicions about the teen’s death have spread 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 lawyers 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 in attendance.

The Congressional Black Caucus also commented on Wednesday, increasing calls for an independent investigation into Wells’ death.

Authorities with the Jackson County Police Department and other agencies were quick to say they did not suspect foul play in his death. Officials said the results of an official autopsy are still pending, and the investigation remains open.

Attorneys for the family and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department investigators have asked witnesses or anyone with video from the popular beach island to come forward for answers about the moments leading up to 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 urged a deeper investigation, saying he could swim and wondering why his friends had left him behind and taken his keys and phone.

There are still questions about the teen’s cellphone that was recovered

Family members recovered his phone from a friend of Wells’ home on the evening of July 4 after using a location app to find it. His family said their son was an avid Snapchat user, but there had been no posts or messages in the 24 hours or so before they got the app.

Crump previously said he plans to hire an expert to determine whether the data can be recovered from the phone or social media. He said Wednesday that the operation will move forward in cooperation with investigators from the Attorney General’s Office.

Reciprocal inspection of evidence between police and the victim’s family is not unusual, said Rychlak, the law professor.

“Evidence is secured and is not usually shared,” Rychlak said, adding that cooperation between the family and police could speed up the investigation.

Wells’ death 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 director Spike Lee attended a press conference last week to support Wells’ family.

Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said Wednesday that she wanted Monday’s funeral to be a celebration of her son.

“He didn’t want us to sit around and cry and eat, so what we’re going to do is have a party to celebrate him,” she said. –

Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Torbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.