Ben Crump Releases Data From Teen's Cellphone
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What happened
On Thursday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump released findings from a forensic exam of 18-year-old Nolan Wells’ cellphone and details of the official autopsy in Wells’ death. Wells, a Black college student, went with a group of mostly white friends on a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island, Mississippi; his body was found two days later. A Mississippi grand jury recently found no evidence of criminal conduct and said the death was consistent with drowning. Wells’ family disputes that conclusion, noting that official and independent autopsies listed the cause of death as undetermined, and has asked federal authorities to review the case. District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said she stood by the investigation.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 3 articles
2 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It started with unnamed sources; a named source appeared within the hour.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 2 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Crump, Ben Crump and Mississippi grand jury
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 1 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: official autopsy report, forensic cellphone analysis
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- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 24, 14:11 UTC by NewsNation, with no named source. First named source within the hour, from NewsNation. First document 23 hours later, from The Guardian (official autopsy report).
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- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Daily Wire reported it on 2026-09-22.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication. Left-leaning coverage reports that Crump released cellphone forensics and autopsy details after a grand jury found no criminal conduct in Wells' death. That coverage says both autopsies left the cause of death undetermined even though the panel called the death consistent with drowning. Family lawyers told the Guardian that empty airways mean there is "no water in the lungs." Only one left-leaning outlet published a detailed account, so those outlets do not disagree among themselves. A reader of the silent side is missing that clash, and that phone data showed the device leaving the island on the boat after Wells unlocked it with his face.
Left-leaning coverage leads with Crump's news conference and friends' worries that people on Horn Island "can be racist," while the district attorney's statement that she stood by the investigation is placed at the close.
How did the grand jury call the death a drowning if both autopsies left the cause undetermined and the airways were empty?
Bottom line
Right-leaning coverage has not reported Crump's cellphone release, so readers there never see the Guardian's account of 282 Snapchat pages and an official autopsy with empty airways.
The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Both the official and independent autopsies said the cause of death could not be determined.
- The grand jury had 282 pages of Snapchat conversations from Wells' phone.
- Phone data showed Wells opened the device with his face on the boat around 2.17pm.
- A witness told the grand jury he saw Wells slip off a boat around 3.30pm and then keep socializing without appearing injured.
The Left View
The Guardian and NewsNation reported that Crump’s team described cellphone data tying messages and GPS to Wells’ phone from the day before he went missing until his family recovered it, including a facial unlock on the boat around 2:17 p.m. on July 4, after which the locked phone traveled away with others. Coverage highlighted 282 pages of Snapchat conversations available to the grand jury, Crump’s remark that messaging was “very telling” and that some friends were concerned people on Horn Island “can be racist,” empty airways and stomach in the official autopsy, fresh head bruising, and friends leaving the island without Wells while his phone stayed on the boat. Family lawyers called for release of grand jury materials and a federal review; a lawyer for some of Wells’ friends said it was unclear what new information the phone report revealed, and the district attorney reaffirmed the investigation.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive in its documentary core: named actors, a grand jury report, official and independent autopsies, and a forensic phone exam with specific timestamps—not merely one party’s uncorroborated word. Established: the grand jury found no criminal conduct and described the death as consistent with drowning; both autopsies listed cause of death as undetermined, noted empty airways and stomach, and recorded head bruising; phone data show a facial unlock on the boat about 2:17 p.m. July 4, then the locked phone leaving with the group. Contested or alleged: whether those facts indicate foul play, whether friends’ departure or racism-related messages bear on the death, and how the panel reconciled an undetermined autopsy with a drowning finding. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for full public autopsy, phone-extraction, and grand jury materials; any federal decision to open a review; and further responses from prosecutors and counsel for Wells’ friends.
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