Attorneys for Nolan Wells' family said they will work with the local district attorney’s office investigating his death to inspect 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 Mississippi coast.
Wells' family had previously alleged that messages seemed to have been erased from his phone before they got it back, just one of a slew of concerns
they've raised about the circumstances and investigation surrounding his death. They met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath on Wednesday largely to discuss the inquiry process. But attorney Ben Crump said McIlrath also committed to presenting the investigation to a grand jury once it was completed.
Messages seeking comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.
“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.”
Most felony cases go to a grand jury in Mississippi, said Ronald Rychlak, a professor of law at the University of Mississippi. A grand jury is typically comprised of 15 to 25 citizens who listen to the prosecutor’s evidence and then decide whether there is enough evidence for an indictment, Rychlak said.
Wells had traveled to the island on a boat with friends on July 4, but did not return with them when they left around 3 p.m. Wells had been spending the weekend with friends before returning to college for football training. Conflicting accounts have been given as to whether he planned to stay on the island, about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) off the Mississippi coast, 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 crews launched searches in the water and around the island. Wells’ body was recovered in the water near Horn Island, off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, on July 6.
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.
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.
