Nolan Wells’ case to be presented to grand jury as family meets with the Mississippi DA
TheGrio...
After meeting with District Attorney, Nolan Wells’ family’s legal team says investigators will jointly examine cellphone evidence
This morning, attorney Ben Crump and Nolan Wells’ family met with Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath for an update regarding the case surrounding the 18-year-old whose body was found at Horn Island in Mississippi. During what Crump describes as a “respectful meeting,” the DA’s office revealed that Wells’ case will be turned over to a grand jury once its investigation is complete.
“We also agreed that we would have a mutual inspection of the cell phone with our experts and their experts,” the family’s attorney shared in a press conference on July 15. “Attorney Eric Hertz is helping lead the investigation team with former law enforcement experts who are going to help us with the cell phone download. So everybody will be able to see at the same time what the cell phone has.”
Additionally, the family and the DA’s office reportedly discussed ensuring they are covering all their bases in the investigation. According to Crump, his team receives 50 to 100 calls daily from people who claim to have been on Horn Island or are familiar with individuals who were on the island where Wells was found. However, there are ultimately several unanswered questions about what happened to Wells.
“We are trying desperately to figure it out, and we don’t profess to have all the answers, but we’re trying. And we are going to get to the truth…We know, in America, in the South, certain people are investigated differently, and we shared that with them.”
“There’s a lot of narratives out there right now. I’m not going to comment on any particular one, but whenever a case this big gets in the news, people try for whatever motivations- law enforcement, or whoever- people who call in try to set up a narrative so that people will follow the narrative,” attorney Hertz added. ”Our job is to cut through all the noise and find the truth, and the truth needs to be found by unbiased investigation, as well as unbiased lawyers, journalists, and everyone else. We just ask that you keep an open mind until we get to the truth.”
As they still await the results from both law enforcement and their independent autopsies, Christine and Elmore Wonsley are focused on Nolan’s funeral, which will take place on July 20 at Center Point Church in Ocean Springs. Following the viewing and funeral service, the family will host a celebration in honor of Nolan at the Jackson County fairgrounds, inviting family, friends, Nolan’s teammates, peers, and members of the media to join them.
“We want to celebrate Nolan, and he would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating and. So what we’re going to do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,” Christine shared. “For those of you, again, if you are having protests, even the day of his service, I am asking you guys to just keep it peaceful. Nolan would never want any type of violence or anything like that, he was not that kind of person. So if you guys would again, just be peaceful to the community. Thank you so much, just the outpouring of love, support.”
Thanking everyone for supporting the GoFundMe campaign, the grieving also shared a message of encouragement to her son’s friends: “stay strong and please just take care of your mental health, because I know this is a lot. It’s a lot for us, and I know you guys are feeling some of that too. So thank you all.”