District Attorney Fires Back at Crump

D.A. Angel McIllrath issued a press release tonight firing back at Ben Crump.

The information I have released to the public is true and accurate, and I stand by it.

The Grand Jury returned a detailed report concerning their findings in the Nolan Wells death investigation. The Grand Jury report references the cell phone extraction reports our office received and their consideration of them. The 30-hour digital download that Mr. Garrett discussed during the press conference today was never provided to the State as Mr. Garrett suggested. All that was provided to us were two emails containing around 300 pages of selected findings from Nolan’s cell phone. However, the information they provided in their press conference today and what they provided to my office prior to grand jury was that no one physically accessed Nolan’s cell phone after his last known use and before his parents received it. The family had been concerned about Nolan’s phone being accessed before they received it. When I recently spoke to Mrs. Wonsley, I mentioned how relieved she must have been to learn this. The user action discussed by Mr. Garrett is from other snapchat users, not someone physically accessing Nolan Wells’ phone. If the Crump team has evidence to the contrary, they have not provided it to us. The Grand Jury report outlined the other evidence they received, including cell phone downloads, surveillance data, GPS data, and the printed report of Nolan’s cell phone.

I’ve reviewed the letter provided by Mr. Garrett and have no reason to disbelieve his account of what the Crump team shared with him as I am not privy to the content of their communications. My correspondence with the Crump team is clear, the State was always willing to participate in a mutual examination and would accept the private examination if the Wonsley’s chose that path, and that is the path they chose. Please read our correspondence.

The Crump team made a decision to wait until the 11th hour to do a private phone extraction and only provide the Grand Jury with certain portions of the results. That is not the State of Mississippi failing to be thorough in its investigative efforts, that is the Crump team making strategic choices to control the public information on Nolan’s phone and create a misleading public narrative.

What the snaps tell us is how strong Nolan’s bonds of friendships were. It also tells us that the family and the Crump team should not have allowed Nolan’s friends to be publicly accused and have their lives and their family’s lives threatened and reputations ruined. With respect to the autopsy report released today, the Grand Jury report outlines its findings related to Nolan’s autopsy and what evidence they considered. The Grand Jury received both the State of Mississippi and Dr. Mitchell’s reports and received their testimony. In fact, both the State Medical Examiner and Dr. Mitchell arrived at the same conclusion, except for whether there was superficial, non-fatal, non-deep tissue bruising on Nolan’s buttocks and shoulder. As shown in the reports made public by the Crump team and referenced in the Grand Jury’s report, neither doctor found evidence of a fatal injury, neither found evidence of disease that would have caused Nolan Wells’ death and neither ruled out drowning. What this reveals is how thorough the Grand Jury’s investigation was and how committed I have remained to making sure the Grand Jury received every piece of evidence available.

The Crump team advised my office that they had no evidence of a crime against Nolan Wells. They never advised anything differently. The Crump team is asking the public to ask questions that the Crump team has the answers to. They are the only ones who have had access to Nolan’s phone and the full extraction. Mr. Crump, why are you asking the public to ask us, what was deleted? Which alleged snap deletion do you claim is related to Nolan’s death, Mr. Crump? What witness or piece of evidence on the phone or otherwise supports what you keep claiming, Mr. Crump? Tell us. The Crump team and Nolan’s family have had my personal cell phone and an open invitation to present anything they wanted to the Grand Jury from the beginning. Instead of choosing the grand jury they have chosen to grandstand.

I know the work that was done in this investigation. I know the people who did it, and I know the lengths to which they went to find the truth. I have complete confidence in the work of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the many agencies that assisted in the investigation of Nolan Wells death and am grateful for their professionalism and dedication in pursuit of the truth. I witnessed the commitment, the compassion and the diligence of the Grand Jurors as they did the work they were sworn to do, and I am confident in their decision and the process by which they reached it.

My interactions with Mr. Crump, as well as his conduct in this case, have demonstrated that he is not worthy of our trust. I did not expect that his characterization and representations in this case would be any different today, nor do I expect anything better from him in the future. The truth is the Crump team was offered a standing invitation to provide any evidence or witnesses that they wished to present to the Grand Jury, including any expert they retained. I did exactly what I promised the family I would do - give the grand jury a complete and thorough investigation and the family the opportunity to present anything and everything they wanted. I invited Dr. Mitchell to not just testify, but to take his time to review anything he needed, which he accepted. An open invitation such as this is extraordinary, but Nolan Wells deserved everyone doing everything in an effort to determine the truth about how he died. We did that.

Lastly, I want to share the text of my communication with Mrs. Wonsley concerning the Grand Jury report. This should shed light on my intentions and compassion for the Wonsleys. “Christine this is DA Angel Myers McIlrath. I wanted to make sure you were aware that we sent Mr. Smith the Grand Jury report on Nolan’s death. If you would like I can email it to you directly as well. I wasn’t sure of your preference and wanted to be respectful of your representation.

The report was filed earlier today and will be out in the public tonight. The report along with my statement and correspondence will also be available on our office FB page.

You continue to remain in my prayers. If I can support you in your grief please know that I will.”

Again, if the Crump team genuinely has new information or evidence that Nolan Wells was murdered they should stop playing games and immediately provide it to me