Analysis found Snapchat messages between Nolan Wells and friends were deleted from his phone after he last used it and before his parents received it, digital forensic expert Andrew Garrett said. He could not determine why; a grand jury declined to recommend charges.
The phone had been left on a boat used to take Wells and his friends to Horn Island on July 4. His friends returned to the mainland that afternoon; Wells’ body was found in the water off the island a few days later. Attorney Benjamin Crump said messages showed friends worried some people on the island might be racist and about being alone with two men, especially if they were very drunk. Crump said no one was accusing anyone of wrongdoing.
An independent autopsy paid for by Colin Kaepernick found bruising to the back of Wells’ head, but listed the cause and manner of death as “undetermined.” Wells’ mother questioned the grand jury’s decision, citing the trauma and what she called inconsistencies.
