Teen Found Dead off Mississippi Island; Tyler Perry to Fund Funeral and Autopsy

Tyler Perry will help pay for the funeral of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference Friday. Colin Kaepernick is funding an independent autopsy of the teen, whose body was found off the coast of Mississippi’s Horn Island on July 6. Crump, joined by Al Sharpton and Wells’ parents, called for an independent investigation.

He said the family does not trust Mississippi law enforcement to conduct a fair probe into how their Black son ended up dead after going out on a boat with three young white men. Some details surrounding the death are not adding up, Crump added, noting that Wells knew how to swim. Wells’ attorneys stated that his friends took his cell phone and keys before returning to land from the island.

The phone was not recovered with the body. Crump questioned accounts that Wells chose to stay behind, asking what teenager would leave a phone on the island. Sharpton said he is not bringing in race but is not discounting it either as a factor.

He added that no one should rush to judgment saying it was not racism because investigators do not yet know. Wells’ parents appeared earlier Friday on CBS Mornings and also called for an independent investigation. His father, Elmore Wonsley, said Wells always stays with the group and that it is not his character to stay behind alone.

His mother, Christine Wonsley, said she believes Snapchat messages were deleted from the phone before it was recovered and that no saved videos remained, which she called unusual. Wells was a student at Southwest Mississippi Community College and a wide receiver on the school’s football team. He was from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and would have turned 19 next month.