Crump addresses questions regarding independent investigation into Nolan Wells’ death
JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WXXV)- The legal team representing the parents of Nolan Wells answered questions on Wednesday about previous actions and statements made by Attorney Ben Crump.
During a press conference last week, Crump discussed a video of an alleged argument on Horn Island that was filmed on July 4th. Crump alleged that Wells could be heard in the video shouting for his phone. WXXV heard from an eyewitness who alleges Wells was not involved in the altercation.
When asked on Wednesday if Crump’s team was able to verify who can be heard in the video, Crump stated his team has people working on it.
“That’s what a witness told us, and that’s what we reported. Then another witness has come forward and said no, that was his voice. We have other witnesses who said there were other altercations, so as Mr. Hertz said, we’re trying to go through it all and so forth. We’ll be even more careful to say this is what witnesses told us in the future,” he said.
Crump was also asked about an image he reposted on social media of a pool party that included a caption written by the original poster alleging the photo was taken on July 5th around 1:00 am and that Wells can be seen in the background of the image. However, concerns have been raised about the photo’s authenticity and the claims made in the caption.
WXXV has not been able to verify if Wells can be seen in the image and if the photo was taken on July 5th
“Let’s make it clear we’re reposting everything because we’re trying to get people to come and call. We said from the beginning, we’re in a ferocious search for the truth. So, things out there, we are trying to post and ask people do you know something about this? Let us know. Just because we repost does not mean that we authenticate anything. Look at our social media. We have always been very careful to say this is a repost, and we almost always give a declaration that that’s what it is a repost,” said Crump.
Last week, Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, stated that they believed messages may have been deleted from his cellphone. Crump shared that they planned to turn the phone over to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department after independent experts examined it.
On Wednesday, Crump announced that his team and the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office agreed to a “mutual inspection of the cell phone.”
“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,” said Crump.
Crump had also previously stated that he hoped to have the independent autopsy results last Friday, but it took longer than expected for Wells’ body to arrive in Washington D.C.
Attorney Crump was asked once again about those autopsy results.
He says the family is currently concentrating on the funeral services for Wells, but he says shortly after that, his team hopes to be able to share some of the findings of the preliminary autopsy. However, he says they are still waiting on some things.
“Like we said, we’re waiting. Let the doctors do what they do. They ain’t got their autopsy back either, so we’re trying to get it right. And when we get it, we’re going to share it.”
