More than a week after Nolan Wells was found dead on Horn Island, his family met with the Jackson County district attorney for the first time on Wednesday as they continue searching for answers about the Mississippi teen’s death.
Nolan Wells’ cellphone to undergo joint inspection
Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, and their lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, met with Jackson County District Attorney Angel McIlrath on Wednesday to discuss the case, according to the New York Post. After the meeting, Crump said at a news conference that the family learned more about how the investigation will move forward, but they did not receive any new information about how Wells died.
“Every morning, they wake up, and there’s a hole in their hearts,” Crump said, as per Clarion Ledger.
Crump said the case will be presented to a grand jury after investigators complete their work. “There will be a grand jury that she will turn this case over to once they have collected all the information and finished their investigation,” Crump told the press conference, per NY Post.
He also said Wells’ cellphone will undergo a “mutual inspection” by investigators and independent experts after concerns were raised that content on the device may have been deleted.
“We also agreed that we would have a mutual inspection of the cellphone, with our experts and their experts,” Crump said. “Help us with the cellphone downloads, so everybody will be able to see at the same time what the cellphone has,” he added.
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Family questions missing Snapchat content on Nolan Wells’ phone
The 18-year-old did not return with friends from a boat trip to Horn Island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast on the July 4 and his body was found there two days later. Police have said nothing “yet” points to foul play but the family is conducting their own investigation.
In a tearful interview with Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America,” Christine Wonsley said she tracked Wells’ phone on the Life360 app after his disappearance but was left with concerns when she recovered it. “When we finally got his phone, me and my sister went through the phone. We went in his Snapchat. He had two accounts. Absolutely nothing,” she said, as per NY Post. “It wasn’t even 24 hours, which is how long videos and pictures stay on Snapchat, and I was just like ‘that can’t be’.”
Also Read: Nolan Wells case: Timeline of disappearance and death as we revisit key events
“I’ve seen Nolan whenever he Snaps- like when he goes and he’s having fun, like he does videos… there was absolutely nothing… even my sister was like… ‘that’s suspicious’,” she said.
She added during a press conference in Harlem that “there were no saved pictures. There were no snaps from that day…” “Anyone who’s ever been around Nolan will tell you at social gatherings, he’s taking videos, he’s taking pictures, he’s even come up to me when I’m getting ready to go to bed, ‘Hey, Ma, come on, take a picture of me’,” she explained. “You know, that was Nolan, so that’s why we feel that things may have been deleted, because of the fact that there was nothing in either one of his accounts.”
Wells was last reportedly seen on the northwest tip of Horn Island on July 4 and did not return to the mainland with the group he arrived with. The US Coast Guard verified his friends first called for a search that night, and his mom also reported him missing around midnight. A park ranger found his body Monday morning and dental records were used to confirm it was Wells.
Wells’ family revealed that a homegoing service for the teen will be held at Central Point Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on July 20, Monday morning, followed by a celebration of his life at Jackson County Fairgrounds.
