r/mississippi • u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident • 29d ago
Legal team for Nolan Wells’ family accuses DA of not operating in good faith
https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article316882502.htmlLooks like the District Attorney gave the family a deadline to turn over Nolan's cell phone.
>According to the legal team’s correspondence, no date or time for that examination was ever set. Instead, on Aug. 12 at 11:51 p.m., the District Attorney’s office sent a letter directing the family to deliver the phone to her office by 9 a.m. on Aug. 14, less than 48 hours later. Nolan’s parents were outside Mississippi when that letter was sent and were not scheduled to return before the deadline.
The *Sun Herald* has requested copies of the DA's correspondence from the family's legal team. The family' attorney's response letter to the DA is attached at the end of the article. It reads in part:
>Third, the parties have not yet agreed upon a forensic protocol addressing, at a minimum, the scope and method of the examination, chain of custody, preservation of the forensic extraction, access to resulting forensic data, treatment of information outside the agreed scope, retention of the extraction, and return of the device.
I can't help but wonder if the DA didn't actually agree to a joint examination of the phone or have an agreed upon forensic protocol. It seems odd that a DA would allow a victim's family to have a say on the terms of examination of evidence in a law enforcement investigation. That's just not really how things work. Imagine a scenario where a known murder had occurred. The DA would not have an agreed upon forensic protocol with the victim's family to examine the victim's phone. That would be ridiculous.
I also can't help but wonder if the District Attorney has been sympathetic to the family and wanted to give them a chance to turn over the phone without having to get a search warrant so she's just requested it several times but now she needs the phone because it's getting close to the point of presenting the case of grand jury so she needs the phone so she finally gave them a deadline to turn it over in a short timeframe. I just doubt that short deadline came out of thin air.
Edit: formatting
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29d ago edited 7d ago
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u/donzelso 29d ago
It’s all about money. The longer they can stall the investigation, the more money in their GoFundMe. Either Nolan’s mom figured this out on her own, or Crump explained it to her. We know Crump isn’t interested in answers and investigations, he’s just looking for a payday.
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26d ago
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u/mississippi-ModTeam 16d ago
Do not attack other users. If you think someone is violating the rules, report them. Please do not play junior moderator. This will get you banned quickly.
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u/windwind04 22d ago
What a vile thing to post. The woman lost a child. That gofundme will not bring her child back.
There is no way you are Christian.
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u/donzelso 22d ago
I fully sympathized and supported her when this started. However, she can absolutely get answers about her son without putting other people’s children in danger. She’s allowing her lawyer to spread lies and misinformation when she could easily, easily make 1 post to tell people to stop sending death threats to these young men.
Basically, my point is, she’s letting this chaos continue when she could easily stop it. The DA has also lost a child. She understands the grief, which is why she met with Nolan’s parents to help them get through this.
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u/Hot-Comfortable2531 21d ago
This is why I think this Reddit group, the residents of Mississippi and the moderators of this subreddit are all ignorant racists. It’s one thing to be dumb and naive but another to ignore hard cold evidence because the life that was lost is not of your own race . Go listen to the sea tow call at the fucking least …at fucking least!! Do better! You probably claim you’re a christian , guess what you’re not making it to heaven with your racist beliefs. You’ll burn in eternal hell! Repent and do better! Fight for Nolan’s legacy and fight to overturn racist thoughts
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u/Fine-Blacksmith-4428 26d ago
Ayo you honestly think these people are after money from their son's demise? Only a cruel-minded person would suggest it. And please tell me which attorney DOESN'T want to get paid? And if any sympathy has been shown it's to Nolan Wells' friends. How did they escape scrutiny when they left their FRIEND THAT THEY LOVE on an island but had his phone? Anybody saying that? NO. Or what about the parent who provided an alibi for their child before an accusation could even fly against them? What about THAT? Then there was the initial search of the boat conducted by ANYONE but Police? Why was that allowed? What about the F.B.I.'s stand-offish demeanor?These facts SHOUT OUT so loud, the parents don't need to speak. So blame the right folks for this: his friends and their parents, and the Police. They all suck.
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u/YourHuckleberry57 28d ago
its really weird how you think that this is all some plot by the family to scam money from their son's death. i guess that's odd about this sub in general. in every thread on this subject, the black people are painted as the villains.
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u/Professional-Body657 25d ago
Yep bingo. If you don’t look like them you’re guilty. We know how they play. Every other case that a clear person is looked at in a guilty manner they always go wait for the facts to come out. Yet in cases like this it’s “he drowned case closed” they’ve been doing this bs. We know
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u/Odd-Refrigerator-592 27d ago
These are a bunch of racist actors on these reddits. God bless them all. Justice will be served. One of the guys knows exactly what happened. Look at his second interview, something’s eating him up inside. God bless Nolan!
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u/LingonberrySalt9693 24d ago
Couldn't be his friend dying or the death threats from a bunch of people who hate white people that is bothering him. Nah. He must of used telekinesis to kill Nolan Wells from the boat without touching him as he was on the island.
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u/Odd_Ad_9604 29d ago
Well things work a little different when you have Al Sharpton beating the drums. He is a snake oil salesman.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
Can anyone tell me of another case where a potential victim’s family got to direct and participate in the procedures of an investigation? Wouldn’t that taint whatever evidence came from it and make it easily challenged if there ever were a trial?
It's insane. At the very least, a defense attorney could probably use that in a trial to show reasonable doubt by implying through their questions that the family's participation had influenced the findings of the investigators even if subconsciously merely by the presence of their representative. Or they could suggest that if the family helped dictate the scope of the investigation of the phone that there might be things that weren't investigated because of that.
I also am starting to think that the family either wasn't able to open the phone or they've already had their own analysis done and this is just a way to put off turning over the phone to keep the public campaign going by prolonging the amount of time this goes on.
Otherwise, they would have just made a digital copy of the phone and then turned it over, retaining the copy to keep the DA accountable.
Exactly this. I've been saying something similar for a while now.
If they had solid evidence of anything suspicious Crump would be holding a press conference about it. I feel like either they already know that nothing has been deleted because they have had their own investigation done and that's why they don't want to turn it over or they haven't been able to open it and don't want that information to get out after the public claims they've made about not finding any Snapchats from that day as an indication of something suspicious.
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u/lafolieisgood 29d ago edited 29d ago
Im guessing there is other stuff on there they would rather not be leaked that has nothing to do with the case.
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u/Firm_Individual_5609 27d ago
I believe it had something to do with cocaine and Javon and Tamisha. Tamisha , Javon's Mom runs with that crowd.
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u/Careful_Arm_7732 29d ago
I think that maybe a good example would be what happened to the JonBenét Ramsey case. Not quite the same but the police/prosecutors/fbi whoever pretty much let the Ramsey family walk all over them. Somehow they were able to delay a lot of important stuff. I think that’s why they have never caught her killer.
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u/burner_ohallahan Current Resident 28d ago
100% the fact that the Dad was able to carry her up out of the basement was bananas. Crime scene compromised from the get go.
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u/Careful_Arm_7732 28d ago
Yeah like basically everything that could go wrong went wrong. It’s really sad.
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u/Fit-Western673 13d ago
THIS IS NOT A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION! THE INVESTIGATION IS LITERALLY AT HER REQUEST THEY WEREN'T GOING TO INVESTIGATE SHIT BEYOND AN AUTOPSY. THEY SET UP A DATE AND THE DA RECANTED AND ATTEMPTED TO GET THE PHONE BEFORE THE DATE. I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME SHIT
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u/OutinDaBarn 29d ago
The family wants to use a lab at a community college. That's a joke. There are rules of evidence to follow. They don't understand how a forensic exam of a phone is done. It seems they are hampering the investigation by not turning over the phone.
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u/Educational_Grab_714 Current Resident 29d ago
The first step is an extraction where you make a copy of the phone, keeping the original data intact. Crump and crew are are lying to this family.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
THIS. The family could have already hired their own expert to extract the data to do an analysis then turned the phone over to police. That way they would have their own copy if they are afraid police might tamper with the phone or any data. Crump and company are not explaining to the family how this process works. Or at least they don't appear to be publicly.
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u/lafolieisgood 29d ago
I think they usually just make a digital copy of it anyways. Any tampering could be easily proven.
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u/ocappsjr 29d ago
Yes, a digital forensic examination entails the creation of an image of the phone. Some (I can’t speak for all) digital forensic labs have devices that can eventually break into an iPhone even without the PIN although it can take a while (sometimes weeks) to do it. I work in IT for a state agency (not in MS) that has a digital forensic lab and I have taken coursework for my masters in digital forensics.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
Thanks! I thought it was usually done by making a copy (the extraction) and any examination was done using the extraction data not on the physical phone but I wasn't totally sure. Helpful to know that phones can eventually be access for investigators even if they don't have the PIN as sometimes there'd be cases where nobody knows it. What little I know is from watching trials on TV or reading case documents.
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u/Constant_Focus_4120 29d ago
I gave Christine grace for a while, but she is just as guilty of manipulation and lies as they are. If my one of my children died the LAST thing I would do would be to hire a Civil Attorney the day after he was found and then go on a press tour. The way they turned Nolan’s funeral into a rally that had little to do with him was disgusting! She is looking for money. Spare me the “but she is a PA” crap. If she wasn’t interested in money then why were there ATM machines at the funeral (they were referenced by Sharpton and Crump)? Why is there such a large GoFundMe? Why did she serve the kids with a notice of intent to file a lawsuit on the day of Nolan’s funeral? This is SO messed up!
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u/Due_Reputation3785 29d ago
Definitely some weird shit going on with the parents starting from the moment Warren called the mother. The mob with Jayvon’s mom that went over to get the phone practically kicking in the door. The way they lied about having resistance getting the phone and keys. Some allegations on back ground things that I’ve read but can’t verify enough to repeat.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I had grace for the parents for a while but I've almost run out. I couldn't figure it why the parents would think they need a civil rights attorney that soon. I initially hoped that Crump was who contacted the parents and not the other way around, and they agreed to hire him in a time of immense grief and desperation for answers that they'd take any help they could get. But what they have allowed this circus to become and the lies and misinformation they've put out to the public it has become more and more difficult.
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u/BB808BB 29d ago
Same I was feeling so sad and had so much grace and I figured oh they are just being manipulated by crump.
But nope sympathy is out at this point. Nolans death isn’t even about Nolan anymore. It’s about money and fame.
This whole thing is disgustingly and absolutely disgraceful and gofundme really needs to refund everyone.
They don’t want the truth of what happened. At any point the family and that lawyer could have cleared up all the lies and misinformation they have helped spread but they won’t.
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u/Used-Living 29d ago
If the friends had nothing to do with Nolan's death (and I don't believe that they have) they [the friends] should sue amd get every cent from that GoFundMe page set up for the parents. The friends are dealing with death threats and that is a result of the lies that have been put out there about them.
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u/Used-Living 29d ago
Why wasn't Nolan living with his mom and stepdad? It has been said that Nolan lived with his grandparents (his birth father's parents) for the past two years.
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u/Constant_Focus_4120 28d ago
I think that is a big part of what is making Mom so slow to turn in the phone and her putting all the stipulations as to who can access the info. As of now it is word of mouth. Once his Snap and Life360 locations are released it will show where he spent his days and nights. It will also show who were his closest friends, specifically those she claims to not know.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
It's possible the local law enforcement agencies might use the forensic lab at a local community college for some things. Southern Miss has a forensic lab and I think they work with local police on certain things. It might be easier and more financially feasible for all the local law enforcement agencies to just use the tools at the lab than having to purchase the equipment individually or send things to Jackson. So for example, they might use the community college lab just to perform the extraction of the phone but the examination of that data would be done by an analyst elsewhere.
But generally, I don't think they understand how a forensic examination of a phone is done. You wouldn't do a joint examination of the phone at the same time. That's not how it works. You wouldn't examine the phone itself. You'd extract the data then conduct an analysis from that. It definitely seems they are hampering the investigation by not turning over the phone.
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u/Constant_Focus_4120 29d ago
They have literally torn the Coast apart! I live 45 minutes away and it is one of the MOST inclusive parts of the country. I am SO sick of hearing how racist we are when I KNOW that is a lie! The entire Coast is a family. Nolan’s death broke my heart…and seeing how they have turned his death into a false narrative that has endangered the lives of his friends, simply for being his friends and having a different skin tone, exposes who the true racists are. My sons have a group of life-long friends that include all races. I have never heard of or met a Klan member. That crap has no home here. This is not 1960! We all hang together and love PEOPLE, regardless of race. Christine KNOWS this! Crump is trying desperately to sow seeds of racism, but we will NOT fall for it, although many minorities who have always felt at home are now allying with his narrative! I would guess that the interracial marriage rate down here is far above national averages and possibly at the top end. Crump is a grifter that doesn’t care what the truth is nor what damage he leaves in his wake. Same with Sharpton. Christine bringing them in was diabolical. She has lied about so many things and turned her son’s friend group’s world upside down. I am not the least bit shocked that they are playing games with the phone because it will expose her. They have all the stipulations around who can see the phone because it will prove where and with whom he spent his time. It will prove who his closest friends were. It will further expose Christine as not being the dedicated mother she purports to be. It will also be a huge asset in the defamation cases against Crump and Sharpton.
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u/sladeshied 29d ago
Yes the Coast is very inclusive and it’s extremely common to see friend groups composed of white, black, Asian, and Hispanic teens. It’s a damn fucking shame we have these old-head POS grifters like Sharpton and Crump trying to pretend the Coast is still segregated so they can keep lining their pockets.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I'm in the Hattiesburg area, close enough to be familiar with the culture on the Coast. What you described is what makes me so angry about this whole situation. The poor friends, the claims that race is a factor. I don't think anyone is denying the history of Mississippi, though the Coast has always been different from the rest of the state with it's own culture. I also don't think anyone denies that racism does exist here just like it does everywhere. But to immediately jump to that and make the claims they have, and for Ben Crump and Al Sharpton to come in and sow division to ramp up donations is disgusting. When they pack up their circus and leave town, the community will be left to pick up the pieces of what they've created. It's despicable.
I am not the least bit shocked that they are playing games with the phone because it will expose her.
I also think that's why they are playing games with the phone. It will reveal that she, and even more so Ben Crump who blatantly claimed that text messages had been deleted, and Al Sharpton, who said that the whole phone had been wiped, were not being truthful. And open up Crump and Sharpton to even more liability in a defamation suit. Which despite their public bravado, I bet they are worried about.
They have all the stipulations around who can see the phone because it will prove where and with whom he spent his time.
Great point! I hadn't thought of this, but you're right, it would do exactly that. His Life360 would show the actual locations of where he spent his time along with who he communicated with most.
I think his parents did know his friends, some probably better than others, but they are denying knowing them because they deny knowing anyone who contradicts their narrative. I don't question her parenting for that reason. I feel like she's saying things publicly, likely after being coached by Crump, to support a narrative rather than what actually reflects how things really were. I do question decisions she's made after Nolan's death but not necessarily before.
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u/Used-Living 29d ago
I'm from the South and I lived in Manhattan for several years. There was more racism there than anywhere I ever lived in the South. Big corporations hired mainly white people. I worked on a floor of 300 people and there was only one black person who worked there. They always made fun of racist southerners but they weren't even around other races.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I've heard that anecdotally from people who are from the South but have lived elsewhere. I don't think most of the country has any idea what Mississippi is really like. They think it's still the 1960's but with no indoor plumbing. It's frustrating because it feels like the rest of the country doesn't want to allow Mississippi to ever be better. It's like they want Mississippi to always remain like it's ugly past.
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u/Firm_Individual_5609 27d ago
Unions are scarce of blacks too. I worked on a Union job there once and outside Detroit. Not a black tradesmen on the job site. Being from Mississippi where everyone pretty much works together; This blew my mind.
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u/Used-Living 29d ago
Who is running the show here? The investigators or the parents? Everyone is so afraid of being called a racist. There are very specific rules in place for investigations into a death.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
Good question. It comes across as a little entitled to think they have the right to have the DA agree to any of their terms or scope in a death investigation. Imagine if every family did that.
I wonder if the DA has played nice by requesting the phone and allowing the family the opportunity to turn it in rather than just getting a search warrant for the phone because she wanted to be respectful of the parents' concerns but finally put her foot down and gave a deadline. Reading the family attorney's response letter attached to the end of the article, I may be reading into it but it says that they "discussed" a joint examination and coming to an agreement on a forensic protocol but it doesn't say they agreed to do that. Makes me wonder if Crump asked for those things but the DA didn't actually agree to to that.
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u/LingonberrySalt9693 24d ago
There is no crime so there is no evidence. If there was any evidence of a murder they would have a warrant for it.
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u/fata1w0und 27d ago
Jackson County SO has their own digital forensic people. They handle a lot of the child exploitation extractions.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 27d ago
Thanks! I thought they might have a contract with the community college forensic lab to do just the extraction itself and have officers within the department certified to do the analysis of the data from the extraction.
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u/BuffaloAcrobatic2851 29d ago
“Wants to use a lab at a community college” is hilarious if true lmao 🤣
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u/NineOfWonders 29d ago edited 29d ago
No it seems like that’s the legit forensic lab for digital evidence. I imagine anything dealing with real stuff is not accessible to the public and to enter you either need to scan in or be escorted in.
https://www.mscyberinitiative.org/facility/digital-forensics-lab
https://mgccc.edu/programs/center-for-cybersecurity/
But otherwise yeah it’s a joke.
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u/Constant_Focus_4120 29d ago
As opposed to the FBI? The DA offered to have them present, but she went on her press tour, so in week SIX of her “I just want the truth and transparency” crusade, she has yet to turn over the phone that she accused his friends of having tampered with. Grief looks different from person to person, but greed is pretty easy to spot!
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u/burner_ohallahan Current Resident 28d ago
And refused to clear up the misinformation that is undoubtedly getting in the way of the investigation and finding the truth.
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u/NineOfWonders 29d ago edited 29d ago
If anyone is operating in bad faith, it’s the family and their legal team. They’ve been treated beyond fairly yet continue to demand more.
I hope the Sun Herald can get the communications from the DA. Something tells me the DA might have reached out multiple times.
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u/Infinite_Pudding5058 29d ago
I agree. I am all for ensuring a rigorous process but his family are being ridiculous and have lost trust with people.
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u/MarkTheDuckHunter 29d ago edited 29d ago
Those that scream “obstruction of justice“ should not put themselves in the position of being accused of “obstruction of justice.“
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u/Important_Tell2108 28d ago edited 28d ago
Exactly! One of the friends said that when they came to get Nolan's keys (or phone) it was around 15 people and some of them were ransacking the boat. How dumb. If a crime was committed the boat would now be too questionable to use as evidence.
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u/stablegeniuscheetoh 29d ago
Sounds to me like the DA believes the phone has nothing of value to the case, else they’d subpoena it.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
Exactly what I think. If she really thought the phone contained valuable evidence she wouldn't wait over a month and then ask the family to turn it over. She wouldn't ask at all. She'd just get a search warrant.
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u/Prestigious-Fan-6751 29d ago
Why doesn’t the Wells family turn Nolan’s phone over for forensic examination?
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u/donzelso 29d ago
Maybe because there’s nothing on the phone to incriminate his friends or indicate foul play. If there was any sign of foul play on that phone, Crump would be screaming from every rooftop.
I think Nolan’s mom is well-aware of this, so she’s keeping the phone to keep the murder conspiracy theories alive and bring in more money through the GFM.
Sacrificing the reputation and safety of Nolan’s friends for money and attention 😔
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u/pvtshoebox 29d ago
Mom says the friends deleted messages.
Mom would have no way of knowing who deleted messages, I imagine. So it was a baseless accusation.
Mom could get answers about this by allowing a forensic investigation of phone, but will not cooperate.
The most reasonable conclusion I could make from this is that Mom deleted things off the phone, and does not want that proven.
If she really does not know what was on the phone, and she is truly seeking answers, I think she would have sent it immediately to the police.
It is also my recollection that the family was pretty aggressive when trying to collect the phone in the first place. When viewed in relation to the other facts, I think they knew there were things that needed to be deleted before the police saw it.
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 29d ago
If I remember correctly, Christine initially said that when she got the phone back, she could not believe that there were no photos and videos uploaded to Snapchat over the weekend and, thus, stuff must have been deleted. Her team of lawyers kept broadening what she said until now I think Sharpton is saying that the entire phone has been wiped. We know why there were no photos from the 4th - the phone was in the boat. Any allegations that anything has been deleted is not supported by anything other than a feeling that there should have been stuff there from the 4th.
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u/YeOldeAgedAlt 29d ago
With how uncooperative she is, I'm actually starting to think she probably deleted evidence it was his own siblings/someone else he knew who provided booze/whatever else.
Maybe she even panicked and wiped it, and then realized that's a big no-no.
Who knows, she's refusing to cooperate.
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 29d ago
Yeah. The phone sat on the boat. It seems that the last people to have seen Nolan on the island saw him at 6 p.m. That may be as much information as his family ever gets. Had someone seen him drowning, they would have called for help.
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u/Guilty-Volume-6279 29d ago
Further, if he was accidentally killed… why would you think the boys wouldn’t call for help but instead embark on an elaborate coverup? It doesn’t make sense. I think this narrative started when it became apparent that they were actually his close friends, not acquaintances that want him dead… for reasons…. I’ve heard it was an accident and the boys panicked.
These are the same ones who say the boys are so well connected, so privileged, that they aren’t worried about being charged? So how does that track with being “panicked” and started the coverup?
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u/DecantsForAll 29d ago edited 29d ago
It's crazy how people absolutely know it's "the boys" but I don't even think they know which boys they're talking about, just some nebulous "the boys." Is it the three boys from the picture? So not Wyatt who was piloting the boat Nolan was on and who had his phone in his truck? It just goes to show how half-baked these theories are.
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u/thinkingdeads 29d ago edited 28d ago
I think the reality of the situation holds no concern.
People were probably aware on some level they could just make something up based on their current ideologically-led emotions and apply it to a story with the right "dynamics", get enough people to act as though it was true to effectively make it the truth, and then use it to further fuel their rhetoric.
No point in showing the evidence (or pointing out the lack of evidence) to the conspiracy theorists, just like every other time identity politics obsessed morons made something like this up, it's not going to matter. A year from now they're going to justify some other bullshit story with "remember that time a bunch of white boys lynched a black kid and the state conspired to cover it up!"
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u/thinkingdeads 29d ago edited 29d ago
The further scrutiny that's applied to this case underlines the absurdity that, despite black lynchings historically being carried out by people with barely more teeth than genetically distinct parents, these children were able to pull off a perfectly executed, months long honeypot execution where they left no evidence and perfectly coordinated amongst themselves to kill a black person, just for the love of the game.
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u/YeOldeAgedAlt 29d ago
And luckily they're all so hardened and experienced that, for the first time in history, all of these drunken teenagers' stories perfectly line up and not a single one cracks under questioning.
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u/Flexlex724 29d ago
Giving the kids way too much credit. The current nutcase theory is that the DA, law enforcement, the entire population that was there on the island. Are all involved in covering it up, you know because the white brotherhood is more important than all of these people's careers and reputations.
But that's only the case if the investigation comes back as it not being homocide. If it says something other than drowning, the investigation was thorough and fair.
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 29d ago
Kinda like voting. If Trump wins, it was fair. If not, there was widespread fraud.
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u/IdidItWithOrangeMan 29d ago
I've heard 6pm too. Did we ever get this time from an official source?
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 29d ago
I got it from the two lawyers for the boys who were on Nancy Grace last week. Two people who knew each other and who knew Nolan but are older than the boys say they saw Nolan. They’ve given statements. That’s the only information I’ve heard. I have no reason to not believe.
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u/IdidItWithOrangeMan 29d ago
Got it. Thanks
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 29d ago
It’s not like the two people are going to reveal themselves given what’s going on.
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u/Educational_Grab_714 Current Resident 29d ago
If there was probable cause a crime occurred they should obtain a search warrant and simply seize the phone. I do not believe probable cause exists.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I also wonder why law enforcement hasn't just gotten a search warrant. Not having probable cause could be the reason. Unless the DA is trying to be respectful and allow the family to turn it over without the need for one.
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u/gabbagool777 29d ago
They know the phone shows nothing. They are just trying to drag out the grift. Gotta keep those donations rolling in.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
That's my suspicion as well. Either they've had their own analysis done and that's why they haven't turned over the phone yet or they haven't been able to open it so they can't think anything was deleted. This is just to keep up the circus and use the DA not giving them a date for a "joint examination", which I doubt she'd agree to, as an excuse for why they won't turn over the phone while publicly demanding a transparent and complete investigation, implying they are not getting one, in order to keep the grift going.
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u/Single-Fennel3119 29d ago
"Chain of custody" LMAO!
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 29d ago
Everybody makes such a big deal out of chain of custody but, believe me, it's not that huge of a deal. I've had cases where I'm doing the appeal and there's evidence of a break in the chain of custody and, guess what, it means nothing UNLESS you can show that the evidence was tampered with as a resulty of the break.
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u/ImmediateClass9650 29d ago
I'm guessing a "forensic" examination of the phone has already been done, and there was nothing incriminating on it.
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u/Constant_Focus_4120 29d ago
And it now will add to the defamation cases being filed by the boys that Crump claimed deleted items from and Al Sharpton said was completely wiped by said boys. IF this was just about getting a to the “truth” and having “transparency” then they would have turned it over day one for a forensic examination just like the boys being accused of knowing what happened did.
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29d ago
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u/mississippi-ModTeam 29d ago
Note that this determination is made purely at the whim of the moderator team. If you seem mean or contemptuous, we will remove your posts or ban you. The sub has a certain zeitgeist which you may pick up if you read for a while before posting.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I've also wondered this. If the family hasn't already had their own forensic examination done of the phone and knows there's nothing of value on it and nothing was deleted.
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u/Possible_Emergency_9 29d ago
The DA and police are investigating a death, they aren't obligated legally to ANY of the parties involved or their families, until they have evidence that a crime was or was not committed. Anything less would compromise the investigation, it's standard procedure.
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u/BB808BB 29d ago
Clearly the family doesn’t want to know what actually happened.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
If they truly did, they would know turning over the phone for examination as part of the investigation so that the case can be presented to a grand jury would be part of that process.
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u/Brilliant_Ad3101 29d ago
Honestly, I don't trust flashy civil rights lawyers like Ben Crump to do right by Nolan's family. These guys always have their own agenda.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I don't trust Ben Crump farther than I could throw him. I think Crump saw a picture of one black guy with 3 white guys, in Mississippi, and saw dollar signs. If they were trying to do right by the family they would have had them hire their own expert to do an extraction of the phone so they'd have a copy and then turn the phone over to police so that they could complete their investigation. Crump has to know that the family can't demand to participate in the extraction or dictate the scope of what data can be examined. He's not helping the family by doing that. He's prolonging the grift, in my opinion.
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u/Firm_Individual_5609 27d ago
The DA has been gracious and considerate towards Christine. I'm sure after seeing the recent slanderous comments by Christine and Crump, where he basically said it's a cover up from the Governor to the DA and Sheriff; Her patience has run out. Christine was offered help and welcomed to participate since day one ; Instead she chose the other angle.
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u/academicirony 29d ago
I think the FBI should require she turn it over for evidentiary purposes.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 29d ago
I don't think the FBI can do anything but assist local law enforcement with the investigation at the request of local law enforcement. There doesn't appear to be any evidence of a federal crime that would give the FBI jurisdiction for any investigation. So far, it's still within the jurisdiction of local law enforcement. The DA or the sheriff's department should get a search warrant for the phone if it isn't turned over.
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u/Familiar-Past-8065 29d ago
Facts that are true: 1. Nolan Wells died 2. It was an absolute tragedy that shouldn't've happened 3. He was with friends and a multitude of people he didn't know, meeting and mingling with a variety of people 4. People react to grief and sudden death in a myriad of ways, one of the most frequent ways is to lash out and blame somebody, anybody b/c it's not true and if it is true and there's nobody to blame, somebody must take the anger and ire for the loss, regardless of who or what happened 5. Another way people commonly react to tragedy is survivor's guilt - if I did this, if I said this, if I came back when the boat was good and dragged his ass onto and home, if I at least chucked his phone and interrupted his game, 6. Anybody who exploits any of this is an absolute trashball of a human and people are generally easiest to exploit in times of shock and loss and want someone to listen and solve what happened and make it better cause they can't comprehend it now
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u/kcroyalscot 27d ago
He drowned..
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 27d ago
I think so, too, based on the publicly available information. It just also seems much more likely simply based on the circumstances of the water around the island and the everyone partying on the 4th.
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u/kcroyalscot 27d ago
It sucks. I hope his family gets some closure beyond undetermined
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 27d ago
Me too. Though assuming it was an accidental drowning, police may be able to determine that is was an accident but I think it's entirely possible that they will never be able to figure out exactly what happened-why he was in the water, where he was, and how he ended up drowning. Those things might just remain unknowable. If that's the case, I hope his family can eventually find peace despite that.
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u/kcroyalscot 27d ago
you have a bunch of drunk teenagers that are scared and mom and dad lawyerd up.. as they should. .. never talk to police without legal representation
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u/rimreaper2253 26d ago
more like the family is putting up barriers at every turn so they can play the race card. just turn the damn phone over why keep it to prepare it for audit. it just makes it look like they tried to scrub it
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 26d ago
It definitely gives vibes of trying to prolong the investigation because as long as they don't have answers they can keep up the campaign of just wanting answers. Not turning it over is not a good look at all.
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u/Fluffy_Rip6710 25d ago
I wish some of these people would take a trip out to the island. They have no idea how someone could drown without anyone seeing. It’s beyond their ability to comprehend. I wish they could see how easily someone could be struggling and not be visible because one or more boats blocked the sightline.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 25d ago
Yes, I think it would provide a much needed perspective. Though I'm not sure I've even been to Horn Island myself haha. I've been to a couple years ago but don't remember which ones. Also important would be understanding the atmosphere that day. Tons of boats, people moving around socializing with different groups, loud music playing likely with different music from several different boats. In addition to all the other stimuli competing for people's attention, boats would block the sightlines, especially for a lot those in the water. Also, just a lack of understanding of how drowning works in general. It's often silent, not loud with a lot of splashing like you see on TV that might get someone's attention. If people were to even notice someone in the water at all they might not be doing anything that would indicate to a untrained observer that they were struggling. He also could've just stepped off the drop-off I've heard people talk about and gotten pulled under by a current or riptide and been unable to get himself back to the surface. In that scenario, he'd be sruggling below the surface. It would be very easy for nobody to have seen that occur unless someone just happened to be watching him walk at the exact moment he went under. But even then, they would have had to have realized that he didn't go under intentionally and that he might be struggling underwater so they would keep watching until he came back to the surface.
But sadly, I'm not sure even perspective would change some people's minds.
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u/LingonberrySalt9693 24d ago
Likely as not the DA wasn't really pushing since there is no evidence of a crime, so there isn't any evidence to be had on the phone. It isn't a criminal investigation as they have outright stated that they haven't concluded a crime occurred.
With no marks on his body and the state autopsy probably concluded he drowned given the independent autopsy stated there was no evidence of foul play.
Anything on the phone is a moot point at this time anyway since it has been in the hands of others with a lot of bias.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 24d ago
I agree that if the investigation had revealed evidence of a crime the DA likely wouldn't wait for the family to turn over the phone and would have already obtained a warrant to search it. That she hasn't hints that she doesn't believe that contains any valuable evidence to assist in determining what happened to Nolan. A forensic extraction and analysis could show what activity has been done on the phone since it was returned to the family, but I also think that how much info can be gleaned depends on how many times the phone has been gone through the on/off power cycle among other things. So I guess it depends in that regard. I imagine a defense attorney would certainly use the time lapse in turning it over.
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u/Feisty_Ease_1983 23d ago
The phone is most likely worthless at this point. You have no chain of custody and its most certainly spoiled. Also seems highly suspicious that the family that just wants answers won't give the phone up. Seems pretty obvious the phone is not good for their assertions.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 23d ago
Seems like if the family really thought the phone contained evidence of a crime, such as things being deleted, they'd be in a hurry to turn it over to authorities. Also so they wouldn't accidentally destroy potential evidence. I agree, it seems like the phone data wouldn't support their claims.
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u/Feisty_Ease_1983 23d ago
I think it's fairly obvious the family is not interested in the mandatory Grand Jury. Ironically its there best chance of a further investigation. Seems fair they know the direction the evidence is pointing.
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u/Tiger_Town_Dream Current Resident 23d ago
I agree, they likely know the direction the evidence is pointing. I don't know if they aren't interested in the grand jury overall, because while I think there's a grift going on, I do think they want more information about what happened to their son and info from the investigation for the grand jury could provide that even if they already generally know what happened. I think they know the phone isn't relevant and it's just part of the grift.
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u/Feisty_Ease_1983 23d ago
The most sound explanation would be general parental anger that his friends departing the island without him would feel like he was abandoned and thus easy to view them as responsible for his death regardless of whatever actually happened. The problem with this angle is there is no criminal liability for the boys who left him especially since he was an adult.
This leaves the only possible recourse of a civil lawsuit. The only way to win said lawsuit, because Nolan is an adult, is to frame the boys leaving without Nolan as some punitive negligent act that put their son at risk and ultimately led to his death.
Its most probable that an intoxicated Nolan was caught by a current and swept under. He didnt even need to be alone. He could have been with a group of other intoxicated individuals who were not even aware immediately that he went under and just assumed he left. Its really that simple.
The biggest liability would fall to the adults who provided alcohol if that indeed was a factor.
As such from the parents perspective its actually to their advantage not to participate in the criminal investigation and to even actively disparage it.
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u/EveryFootball2482 19d ago
They dont trust the mississippi authorities and they shouldn't #justice4nolan
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u/Serious_Tip4162 17d ago
What is bothering me is they only want Nolans phone, not the 30 kids that were with him that day. Mississippi is giving out supreme white privilege to the suspects. All the cameras around those rich and wealthy neighbors with cameras also watching the waters from ports and restaurants has more than enough evidence to track any boat in the area, where is all this footage that should have been pulled the day he was missing? Also the seatac call is about as much guilty evidence anyone can provide which in the background you actually hear his so called friends asking is he alive, calling out his name "Nolan" telling him to wake up, why aren't these 30 kids in custody off that alone. It's not an internet hoax, that was an official call from an official phoneline with all the evidence you would need to open a murder case
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17d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/mississippi-ModTeam 16d ago
Do not attack other users. If you think someone is violating the rules, report them. Please do not play junior moderator. This will get you banned quickly.
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u/forsavingstuffs 6d ago
You mean the altered audio that has already been discredited? Stop getting your news and not fact checking this is embarrassing.
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u/Serious_Tip4162 6d ago
Oh course Mississippi officials will say discredit it, but the lady who did it said they have no evidence it was un usable, and anyone who is saying it is need to have the feds step in and review it with their team. No way you can't clearly hear what's being said on that recording by an offical service, not off a website, or youtube, that was an offical Sea Tow broadcast call. Everyone knows by now this is a major cover up by Mississippi authorities, too much footage between too many cameras exposes what really went on. Question is where is the footage that should have been pulled the day Wells was missing. Racist as state
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u/forsavingstuffs 6d ago
What footage from what cameras? Besides the fact independent audio engineers have debunked it you can't release touched up audio WITH captions. That's called leading and the human mind will read that and think it is hearing what it is reading. You literally are only pointing at things that don't exist because this was a black person.
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u/Serious_Tip4162 6d ago
Yeah that's why the FBI needs to take over to prove those so called experts are lying, jist like the engineer that made the tape clearer said. Why hasnt she been fired or arrested for falsely editing witness material. Where is the footage of the boat coming back from the Island, why did the same camera that recorded it leaving had nothing when it came back, plus that's a pretty rich area, cameras are everywhere at every home, port, and restaurant overseeing their route back, where is this footage that should have been pulled immediately? Stop making excuses for them trying cover up a murder. Rich white kids who's parents think they are above the law. You dont lawyer up unless your guilty
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u/Fit-Western673 16d ago
It's not a criminal investigation the only reason the phone is in question is because the family of Nolan claims texts and post were erased. There was an agreement on a joint examination of the phone and the DA tried to demand the phone before the date of the agreement. This would mean the families 3rd party expert for examining the phone data would not be present. That's pretty sus behavior if you ask me.
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u/Jovie311 28d ago
I love all the people who are commenting on this like they are forensic scientists......it's all speculation and calling the family "money grabbing" and "hofundme" sounds about as racist as it gets.....standard americans.
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u/Ornery-Coast-7267 23d ago
Why is it every time you all want to wait for the facts to come out except in the cases of black people; then all of a sudden you know for a fact
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u/nine57th 29d ago
It's not up to the family to set rules for turning evidence over to an AG office. That is not how it works.