{"id":4643,"date":"2026-08-14T17:38:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4643"},"modified":"2026-08-14T17:38:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:38:43","slug":"legal-team-for-nolan-wells-family-accuses-da-of-not-operating-in-good-faith-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4643","title":{"rendered":"Legal team for Nolan Wells\u2019 family accuses DA of not operating in good faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The legal team representing the family of Nolan Wells attacked the District Attorney\u2019s Office in South Mississippi on Friday, saying District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath is not operating in good faith in the investigation into the death of the beloved Ocean Springs teen.<\/p>\n

Read more Legal team for Nolan Wells\u2019 family accuses DA of not operating in good faith<\/a><\/p>\n

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In a letter sent to McIlrath on Aug. 13, the legal team said that Nolan\u2019s parents remain willing to facilitate a forensic examination of Nolan\u2019s phone, consistent with what the parties agreed to on July 15.<\/p>\n

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According to the legal team, at that July 15 meeting, the parties agreed to a jointly coordinated forensic examination of the phone using the Digital Forensics Lab at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, with possible FBI involvement.<\/p>\n

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According to the legal team\u2019s correspondence, no date or time for that examination was ever set. Instead, on Aug. 12 at 11:51 p.m., the District Attorney\u2019s office sent a letter directing the family to deliver the phone to her office by 9 a.m. on Aug. 14, less than 48 hours later. Nolan\u2019s parents were outside Mississippi when that letter was sent and were not scheduled to return before the deadline.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNolan\u2019s family has not refused to cooperate, and the correspondence with the District Attorney\u2019s Office is proof of that,\u201d the legal team said in a news release. \u201cWe agreed on July 15 to examine this phone together, with their experts, our experts, and possibly the FBI. We have continued to expect that the forensic examination of Nolan\u2019s phone would happen exactly as agreed on July 15. In order to preserve the evidence, we asked for a protocol, a chain of custody, and an agreement on what happens to the data. We have yet to receive these details.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Setting a deadline to turn over Nolan Wells\u2019 phone<\/h2>\n

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Previously, McIlrath said the rules of professional conduct for prosecutors prevent her from making any comments on an active investigation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur restraint in communicating facts and evidence is not an effort to keep the truth from the public,\u201d McIlrath said in a video on July 23. \u201cIt is an effort to protect the integrity of this investigation and the grand jury proceeding. As your district attorney, I have an ethical obligation to avoid public statements that could influence witnesses, prejudice a proceeding, or compromise the fairness of the legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to the legal team, the parties have also not agreed on a forensic protocol governing the scope and method of the examination, chain of custody, preservation of the extraction, access to the resulting data, and return of the device. The legal team has asked the District Attorney\u2019s office to send its proposed protocol and has said the examination can be scheduled immediately once it is agreed upon.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSetting a 48-hour deadline while this family was out of state is not a good-faith path to answers, and it weakens our confidence in the process,\u201d the legal team said in the news release. \u201cNolan\u2019s parents will not be pulled into a fight over deadlines and logistics. Even in their grief and heartbreak, they are still trying to work with the DA, but they want to be able to trust that this is a fair and impartial investigation and that the agreements made will be honored. They are focused on one thing, and that is finding out what happened to their son.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Sun Herald has asked the legal team representing Wells\u2019 family for copies of correspondence from the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

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