*A forensic analysis of Nolan Wells‘ cellphone, compiled by Garrett Discovery, has been publicly released.
The 292-page report contains private messages from 29 group chats of which Wells’ phone was a part, plus a log of his private Snapchat messages.
Most users’ names and numbers are redacted, and some images and videos are not viewable. What remains is a partial but vivid record of a friend group under pressure.
The messages capture the group reacting in real time to accusations that they were involved in Wells’ death, claims the grand jury ultimately rejected.
Wells’ parents had pushed for the phone to be scrutinized, but only if they could jointly analyze the data with state authorities.
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What the Messages Actually Say
Wells’ body was found on Horn Island off the Mississippi coast on July 6, two days after he attended a Fourth of July party on the water. The messages capture the hours in between.
On July 5, a user described seeing Wells around early evening the day before: “he came and was hanging out with us and around us, he never disappeared with [redacted] when it was time to leave around like 6 he got off our boat with this other guy and thy started walking back to their boat.” Multiple friends left Horn Island that afternoon after one of their boats began taking in water, according to their previous statements.
By 11:59 a.m. on July 5, suspicion had crept in. “There is def some sus s— going on,” one user wrote. At 12:24 p.m., another questioned the account that Wells had chosen to stay behind: “if he was gone ride with somebody else why would he leave his phone on the boat.” Later, a user urged the group to check their camera rolls, writing, “See if he was talking to anyone we don’t know.”
The Attorney Advice and the Grand Jury’s Answer
The messages that have drawn the most attention concern how the friends discussed police questioning. On the morning of July 6, a user offered what they called “a little advice,” writing that “if we get called in for questioning” then “the smart move is to ask for an attorney and that doesn’t mean we’re guilty it just smart so we don’t get played by some potential bias cop.”
Later, another user warned, “Bc they can try to get your ass,” and another advised: “just stick to what you know happened.” At 12:45 p.m., a user wrote, in part, “We have nothing to hide.”
Whether those messages reflect panic, caution, or something more coordinated is a question the grand jury ultimately declined to answer. Jurors reviewed some of the family’s materials alongside the official investigation and said they did not find sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges. The grand jury also said Wells’ friends had been unfairly singled out. The state’s chief medical examiner and a forensic pathologist hired by the family both said the cause and manner of death were undetermined, though the grand jury said the position and location of Wells’ body were “consistent with drowning.”
Race, Grief, and a Funeral
Wells’ family has openly worried that race could be a factor in the investigation, given Mississippi’s history. The friend group was mostly White. On July 14, one user wrote, “We need to go to Nolan’s funeral and get with all our other black friends to prove a statement for the media.” Less than an hour later, someone suggested asking “Ms. Christine,” Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley, whether she was fine with them attending.
On July 20, the day of the funeral, a user reacted to news that a reward was being offered, writing that “they are doing such a disservice at a funeral and so ignorant.” That night, the group discussed placing a cross for Wells. “Bring his flip flops,” one user wrote. “We can bury those as well.”
The Questions That Remain
Wells’ parents and their attorneys have said key questions remain, particularly around bruising on his head that the grand jury called non-fatal. They have urged the Justice Department and FBI to conduct independent investigations. The Justice Department has declined.
So the phone records do not close the case. They show a group of young people facing questions they did not have answers to, and they show a grand jury that read the same material and found no crime to charge. What happened to Nolan Wells on Horn Island is still officially undetermined, and for his family, that is not an answer.
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