Nolan Wells’ family has put the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office on the clock regarding a joint examination of the teen’s phone.
The 18-year-old was found dead on Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 6 after spending Independence Day with friends. While Wells never made it back to shore, his phone did.
Wells’ parents were able to retrieve the phone from friends the day he disappeared. Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, says she went through the phone and believes it was tampered with.
“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.
She believed that was suspicious because she said her son is always on social media. Wells’ friends pushed back on those claims, saying it is common practice for people not to be on their phones while on Horn Island.
Phone Demands
A week after Wells’ death, his parents and their legal team met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath to discuss the case.
It was during that meeting that Ben Crump announced that their legal team and the DA’s office would do a joint examination of Wells’ phone.
However, a month later, no time or date had been set. Instead, the DA’s office sent a letter to Wells’ parents, telling them they had 48 hours to turn over the teen’s phone.
“Setting a 48-hour deadline while this family was out of state is not a good-faith path to answers, and it weakens our confidence in the process. Nolan’s parents will not be pulled into a fight over deadlines and logistics,” their legal team said in response.
The legal team then turned the table and asked the DA’s Office to choose any time between Tuesday, August 18, and Friday, August 21 for a phone examination.
“The family wants Nolan’s phone examined right away, with both parties in the room. All parties agreed on July 15 that we share the same goal, which is determining the circumstances surrounding Nolan’s death,” the legal team said.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the DA’s office to see if a time has been set. We have not heard back.
How Does a Phone Examination Work?
Forensic expert Scott Akers says a phone examination involves specialized procedures to ensure data integrity and chain of custody.
First, an examiner must gain access to the physical phone. If the password is unknown, there are specific procedures for bypassing the security.
“Once you’re into the phone, and this can be done with other people standing by, they can sit there and watch you download the phone”, Akers told Nancy Grace.
Akers says examiners use tools such as Cellebrite to extract or mirror data from a device, creating a forensic copy on another computer while preserving the original data on the phone.
Once the data is copied, the examiner can establish a timeline of events by chronologically reviewing text messages, photos, emails, and Snapchat activity.
“You can look at all the text messages, and it’ll even let you know which ones are deleted,” Akers said.
Regarding that deleted content, Akers says it may still be recoverable if it has not been overwritten by new data. Forensic software can identify and flag those messages as deleted.
“Things that were deleted at some point in time are still there and can be recovered,” said Akers.
How Far Can Subpoenas Go?
In July, attorneys for Wells’ family requested information from several social media platforms and a popular location-tracking app.
Subpoenas filed in Mississippi court requested information tied to Wells’ accounts on Snapchat, WhatsApp, TikTok, Meta Platforms, and Life360.
Among the requested information are subscriber records, current and former usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, display names, account creation dates, and the IP addresses used to create and access each account.
Digital forensics expert Robert Fried says that while these subpoenas could work for getting that information, the actual content of communications is often difficult to obtain.
“You’re not going to get the content a lot of times of this data, this communication that they are after ultimately,” Fried said on NewsNation.
Fried adds that apps like WhatsApp and Snapchat frequently purge messages from servers, making recovery challenging.
“A lot of these companies, they thrive on people wanting to have private communication,” he said.
Where the Investigation Stands?
While the investigation into Wells is ongoing, the NAACP Office of General Counsel announced it’s joining the family’s legal team.
“Drawing on the Association’s long history of pushing for full and fair investigations when Black lives are lost under suspicious circumstances, we will bring additional investigative and legal resources to bear and ensure that no stone is left unturned in the quest for truth and accountability for Nolan’s family,” said Kristen Clarke, General Counsel of the NAACP.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating. Their findings will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office. A grand jury will then review the case and determine if criminal charges will be filed.
