Sheriff opens up about Nolan Wells investigation, makes promise to grieving family
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter addressed the ongoing investigation into the death of Nolan Wells on Monday, saying investigators continue to gather evidence and interview witnesses.
“Our investigation remains active and ongoing,” Ledbetter said. “We’ve received a lot of information that has been valuable to the investigation.”
The sheriff said investigators are continuing to collect and review evidence while conducting interviews.
“Nolan Wells’ family deserves a thorough and factual investigation,” Ledbetter said. “And that’s exactly what they are going to get.”
Wells, 18, was reported missing after he did not return home from a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island. Wells, who was Black, traveled to the island with three white friends.
The friends returned with Wells’ cellphone. His mother, Christine Wonsley, has said it was “improbable” that her son would have voluntarily remained on the island miles from the shore without his phone.
Wells’ body was found two days later, on July 6, off Horn. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy, but the results are still pending toxicology testing, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr. said Monday.
Wonsley and her husband, Elmore Wonsley, have hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent them in an independent investigation into their son’s death.
Earlier in the investigation, Ledbetter said widespread speculation surrounding Wells’ death had hampered and prolonged the investigation. He said investigators have been working continuously to document, verify and corroborate information received.
“We have to authenticate everything,” the sheriff said.
If investigators determine that criminal wrongdoing occurred, Ledbetter said the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office will work with the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office to pursue appropriate charges.
Wells and a July 5 pool party?
In recent days, a photo circulating on social media claimed that Wells was at a land-based pool party with friends on July 5.
The unsubstantiated claims gained traction after attorney Crump referenced the report that included a picture of those who attended the pool party, including Wells.
One of Wells’ friends has since dispelled that rumor surrounding the photograph, saying the picture was taken at a pool party in June before the July 4 trip to Horn Island.
Attorney addresses independent investigation
In a recent interview, Crump said his legal team is committed to uncovering exactly what happened to Nolan Wells.
“We are going to make sure that we get to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, because Nolan deserves it,” Crump said.
Crump described Wells as an accomplished student, athlete and devoted family member whose future appeared bright.
“He was not only a college student; he was a great athlete,” Crump said. “He was a model big brother for his brothers and little brothers and sisters, and he was a great son who was on the cusp of becoming a man.”
Crump said Wells’ parents had prepared him for success and that his father believed the upcoming football season could have led to Division I opportunities.
“He had a good football season last year, but this season he was really ready to go to the next level,” Crump said. “The highlights you’re seeing on social media of his athletic prowess are all relevant because when you start talking about drowning, this is a kid who knew how to swim.
“This is a kid who was in tip-top shape,” Crump said. “He was a superior athlete.”
He said Wells’ family wants investigators to conduct what he described as a complete, thorough and impartial investigation.
“They want to know that you have not taken the path of least resistance,” Crump said, referring to law enforcement. “That you have done a full, complete, thorough, impartial investigation.”
Crump argued that members of the Black community have concerns about whether the investigation would be handled differently if the circumstances were reversed.
“If the roles were reversed and three Black boys returned from the same trip with a white boy, the investigation would look much different,” Crump said.
“So all we’re asking is the same consideration you would have given if the roles were reversed,” he said. “Give that consideration to this family as well. That is our fight.”
‘Glaring contradictions’ and erroneous information
In his interview, Crump also pointed to what he described as conflicting accounts of Wells’ final moments before he disappeared.
“The glaring contradictions just jump out at you,” Crump said. “A young woman he was talking to says Nolan told her he was going back to get on the boat with the boys. The boys say Nolan told them he was going to stay and talk to the young woman. It’s a contradiction. They’re not saying the same thing. One of them is telling the truth. One of them is not. We have to get to the bottom of that. It’s important.”
Crump also referenced the video circulating on social media in which he claimed that Nolan Wells could be heard in some type of argument.
“They start the video, and you hear Nolan saying, ‘Give me my freaking (paraphrase profanity) phone. What are you freaking (paraphrase profanity) doing?’” Crump said. “That becomes even more relevant when you think about the story they are presenting — that Nolan chose to stay behind — yet left his phone behind.”
After Crump made those remarks, Wells’ close friend, Tracestin Shepherd, said he — not Wells — was the person involved in the argument shown in the video.
Shepherd first made the clarification in an interview with Rolling Stone and later repeated it during an interview with ABC. He also confirmed the information to the Sun Herald but declined to be interviewed further.
“That was my voice as I’ve stated in two other statements, and Nolan was not in the video.,” Shepherd said in a message to the Sun Herald. “You are more than free to use my information from other reporters if need(ed). I’m not doing anymore interviews I’m sorry just a reall tough time right now.”
In the interview with Rolling Stone, Shepherd added more insight, saying: “In that video, you hear somebody yelling — that is me,” Shepherd says. “It’s me yelling — my exact wording is, ‘Get me off this f.....g boat.’ I wanted to fight, and I’d felt like I hadn’t had my fair share.”
