Nolan Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, has hit out at people trying to give her family advice on how they are “handling” the death of their son. Attorney Ben Crump, who has been hired by the family, has come under fire for his handling of the case.
The Ocean Springs, Mississippi, teen was found dead in the water on the northwest end of Horn Island on Monday morning, July 6. Wells went missing on July 4 after taking a boat to the island with friends. The search for the teen was called off after a body was found by a park ranger on Monday, July 6.
“Please DO NOT call my/my husband’s phone trying to give us advice about how we are handling the death of OUR CHILD, telling us how to handle people, and questioning our legal team. We are all doing our best. At the end of the day the only question Elmore and I need answered is WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR SON NOLAN. #JusticeForNolanWells #Forever18,” Wonsley wrote.
Wonsley is reportedly laying the legal groundwork to potentially sue over her son’s death. She has asked a Mississippi court to put her in charge of his estate, TMZ reported.
New legal docs obtained by the outlet showed that Wonsley filed a petition Monday to open her son’s estate and appoint her as its administrator, stating that the estate’s assets would consist “solely of claims for damages resulting from the circumstances surrounding his death.” The appointment would give Wonsley the authority to file a lawsuit on behalf of her son’s estate if anyone is eventually legally found for his death.
Wonsley signed the petition in Jackson County Chancery Court on the day of Wells’ funeral. According to the filing, the teen did not have a will, was never married and did not have children, which leaves his mother as his sole heir.
Criticism against the legal team
Crump has been criticised for his handling of the case. He was slammed for allegedly spreading “unverified information” when he posted a pool party photo showing Wells, which surfaced with misleading information.
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The United Cajun Navy disputed claims that Wells was found “fully clothed” after reports surfaced suggesting the same. Calling out Crump in an X post, the United Cajun Navy wrote, “The fact that some people misinterpreted what “fully clothed” means is irrelevant at this point. Nolan Wells was discovered wearing only the swim trunks he was photographed in the day he went missing. The real issue is that @AttorneyCrump falsely stated during his press conference that the @Unitedcajunnavy told Nolan’s family that he was found fully clothed, and then went on further to invent a story about him wearing a shirt. None of this is true and at no time did we ever discuss what we witnessed during the recovery with his family.”
Jayvon Williams and Tracetin Shepherd, two of Wells’ Black friends, told the media that people need to stop making his death about race. One friend even accused Crump of preying on Wells’ parents at a difficult time.
