The attorneys representing friends of Nolan Wells assert that they were not involved in the deletion of messages from Wells' cell phone, which were found missing after his disappearance and subsequent death. Forensic examiner Andrew Garrett stated that messages were deleted from Wells' device between the last recorded use on July 4 and when it was returned to his family. Garrett, hired by Wells' family, noted that 'somebody had to take a user action to delete data' during a press conference on Thursday.
Attorney Edward A. Paltzik, representing Wells' friends, stated that Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour did not erase any messages and had no access to the phone. He emphasized, 'If anything was erased, they didn’t do it.' Wells last used his phone at 2:18 p.m. on July 4, and the device was recovered from Horn Island, where he disappeared and was later found dead, according to attorney Ben Crump, representing Wells' family.
Attorney Tyler Cox, also representing Wells' friends, explained that a girl from their group collected the phones left on the boat, including Wells' phone, and placed them in a truck. The phone was retrieved from the truck and given to a friend of Wells' family around 1:30 a.m. Cox noted that a grand jury found no evidence of deletion from Wells' phone and asserted that 'the people on the boat did not erase anything.' Paltzik criticized Crump's calls for transparency, stating that they have not provided the phone to the District Attorney.
Garrett reviewed over 280 pages of records and found that Wells primarily communicated through Snapchat and Instagram. A group chat continued after Wells' death, with participants unaware that messages were syncing to his phone. Crump mentioned that they possess all snaps from Wells' friend group, which have been shared with the District Attorney. He claimed that some messages indicated concerns about racism on Horn Island and described individuals in a nearby boat as 'real sketchy.' Paltzik questioned the claims about conversations regarding racism, labeling them as 'vague nonsense,' and announced intentions to sue Crump for defamation.