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NOLAN WELLS BOMBSHELL: I WENT WITH NOLAN'S MOM TO CORONER, THIS IS WHAT I SAW · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Nolan Wells Bombshell. A witness tells us tonight, I went
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: with Nolan's mother to the coroner's office and this is
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: what I saw. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Nolan is dead.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Could it be a decompositional change? Could it be something
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: else like blunt force injury? It's hard to say at
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: this point in time.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I find it very difficult to believe, Dr. Kendall Crowns,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: that not one, but two medical examiners cannot figure out
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: why he had deep red subcutaneous markings. Joining us tonight,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: an all-star panel, but first straight to a special guest,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Josh Gill with the Cajun Navy, who, as you know,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: searched for Nolan's body. Josh, thank you for being with us.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: The day unfolded when Nolan's body was found very bizarrely.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: You were there. I'm going to get to your trip
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: to the coroner's office along with the family, but I
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: want you to start at the beginning. What happened at
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: the beginning of that day? We believe that Nolan likely
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: died on July the 4th. Let's start with the day
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: that Nolan's body was found and that you ended up
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: at the coroner's office. Start at the beginning.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: So early that morning, I deployed some resources.
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: I deployed an aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft that wheels up at 0635,
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: as you can see right there from the photographs. I
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: was on my way to the Lake Mars boat launch.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: That's where the Tactical Operations Center was set up. And
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: I received a phone call. Received that phone call from
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: the Sheriff's Department that a body had been found.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Didn't say who it was. I was probably 15 minutes
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: out from the location.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: I then received a phone call within minutes after the
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: conversation from the sheriff's office from Nolan's mother, Christine, and
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: she was frantic. You know, again, that mother's intuition, she
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: knew what was going on.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: So I'm meeting at the boat launch. I was there
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: about 15 minutes at a time. Hold on just one moment.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Hold on.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Hold on. For those of you just joining us, Josh
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Gill is with us. He is the United Cajun Navy
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Incident Commander in the search for Nolan Wells. You stated
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: that you received a phone call from Nolan's mother, Christine.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: You said she was frantic. What was she saying?
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: So, again, I'm going to paraphrase.
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: She said that they had found him, that they had
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: found a body. My biggest concern at that exact moment
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: was to make sure that she was safe, that she
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: had a safe way to get there because it was
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: the beginning of what's more than likely to be the
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: worst day of her life.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Again, so continuing on.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Hold on.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Hold on.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Josh, you got me drinking from the fire hydrant here.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Every word you're saying sparks 100 questions. So Nolan Wells'
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: mother calls you. Okay. Where was she when she called?
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: She was en route to the boat launch as well.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: We were meeting there for the search.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Okay. Had she been told that a body had been found?
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: When she called me, so we had had earlier communication.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: But when she, via text, when she called me, she
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: told me that a body had been found.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: She had been notified by the sheriff's department.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Oh, gosh. Oh, no wonder she was frantic. So she
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: calls you. She's just been told by the sheriff a
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: body has been found. She calls you. You're going to
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: the boat launch. What boat launch? Where?
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: That's the Lake Mars boat launch.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Why there?
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: So that's where the operation was set up.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: That's where the search operations, again, the tactical operations center
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: was there.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: They had a mobile command unit.
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: And the multiple entities and agencies were basing their operations
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: out of there.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: So what it is, is a boat launch. Again, they
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: could launch rather quickly.
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: It's a protected area to launch and then make that
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: run to Horn Island and the surrounding areas. Okay.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: So you agreed with her. Did she ask you to
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: meet at the boat launch?
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: Oh, she knew I was going to that boat launch.
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: And she actually asked me that morning, early that morning,
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: where we were going to meet. And I told her,
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: here's the best place. Here's where the operation is beginning.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: It was a secured location by the sheriff's department. So,
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: you know, that's where they were running their operation. That's
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: a common practice.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Question. Do you know why Nolan's mother wanted you to
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: go with her to Horn Island?
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: So we had communication. She called me, literally called me.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: We had a voice conversation that Sunday morning about 7 o'clock, 730.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: She had called and asked for some assistance.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: You know, after that phone call, I asked to memorialize
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: all of our conversations so I could go back and
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: look at information.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: And that's, again, that's not uncommon for families to call us.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: What kind of assistance did she need? Find my son.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: There it is.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: So she asked you to help find her son, that assistance. Okay,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: got it. Okay, go ahead.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so she asked for that assistance, find my son,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: find Nolan. Started gathering information on who he is, who
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: he was with, where he was. She made it very
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: clear that he was with some friends, that they had
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: been on Horn Island. So then I start launching resources immediately. Okay,
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: hold on right there.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Hold on, hold on. Josh, what specifically did she say
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: about him going to Horn Island with friends, if you
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: can recall?
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: So she said that he went to Horn Island with friends.
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: It's July 4th, and Horn Island's a location that's well-known
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: and well-visited by people partying and hanging out for July 4th.
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: It's a huge boating community, and that was the location
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: where boats congregate and enjoy the 4th.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Okay, so she says he went to Horn Island on
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: the 4th with friends. Got it, okay. So you meet
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: at the boat ramp, and when you first saw her,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: what was her demeanor?
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: So she came to me. She gets out of the vehicle,
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: comes to me, gives me a big hug. Again, it's
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: a mother who her intuition is that her body was
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: being found.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: So.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: According to what we learned, the moment she gets out
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: of the vehicle, she runs straight to you and is hyperventilating.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Absolutely. She came straight to me.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: What happened?
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: 20 people. She gives me a big hug and starts crying.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: And look, I'm a softie. I started crying with her.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: We literally sat in the parking lot on the ground
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: in the gravel for probably 15 minutes.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: And we had some pretty deep discussions. She cried.
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: I cried with her. And her husband was there as well.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: And I wanted to say this, that he's a very
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: stoic individual. And he stood there with his hand on
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: both of our shoulders and was a part of everything.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: It was one of those moments you don't forget.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: What was she saying? What was she saying? I mean,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: in a moment like that, how do you console a mother, Josh,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: that has been told, by this disembodied voice on the phone,
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: we found a body. I mean, what was she saying?
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Did she not want to believe it was no one?
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Did she believe it was no one at this point?
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: She had not ID to body yet. Nobody had identified
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: that this was no one. Were you, was she holding
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: out hope? What was going on?
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: She knew again, mother's intuition is strong. It's very strong.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: Um, in her heart, she knew, um, as far as
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: what she was saying, uh, Why is always the question,
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: you know?
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: She asked God, why, why, why?
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: And the rest of the conversations were just, you know,
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: memories real quick.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: And I'm assuming everything was just flashing in front of
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: her eyes.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: Because, again, it's the beginning of the hardest time of
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: her life, losing her son. I would say just to
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: console her and to help anything that possibly could.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: What was the dad saying, if anything?
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: You know, he was, again, he was really quiet.
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: He was a quiet gentleman, but his physical presence afforded her,
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: made her feel safe.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: And I will say that, you know, he stood there
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: with us, you know, on the ground. He's there. And
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: his presence said a lot, and it meant a lot
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: to his wife, to Ms. Christine.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: And again, that's a tough time for him as well.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: So she's crying. You state that she knows... deep inside
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: that that body is her boy, her son. You start crying.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Did you remain standing in the parking lot or did
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: you sit down?
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: No, ma'am. Like I said, when she first came to me,
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: she gave me a big hug and I wrapped my
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: arms around her and we sat down.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: We sat very quickly. We remained seated for quite some
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: time to have that discussion, say a prayer. I did
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: pray with her. Yes, ma'am. On the ground, in the gravel.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Y'all were sitting on the... And you said she was hyperventilating.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: You sit on the ground. I believe I heard you
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: say that you started praying.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: Always. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: Was she praying that it wasn't no one?
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: So, you know, and again, I'm paraphrasing and going from
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: the best of my memory. It was more of a
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: prayer for peace and comfort is.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: What I did.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: And I always ask for that and then for answers.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: And I pray Godspeed if it is Nolan and for
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: the Lord to put his protecting hands over us in
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: everything that we do and to be with this family
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: and this mother, especially during these hard times.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: It's an emotional time.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: I cannot even imagine. I'm trying to get my head
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: around the picture of you and Miss Christine sitting on
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: the ground in a parking lot with her crying after
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: just been told we found a body and she knows
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: it's no one. I thank God that you were there.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: I thank God that you and Nolan's dad were there
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: to help her. I don't know how she even stood up.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: How did you get her to stand up?
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Um, so it was about 15 minutes.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: We were there on the ground and, um, You know,
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: a couple of times the sheriff came up and he
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: saw what was going on in the sheriff's staff and
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: they understood that it was one of those moments where
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: we need some space. She finally, and I hate to
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: say she called her composure because it was an emotional
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: time for me as well, as well as the father,
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: you know, and it's, we stood up and the sheriff
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: came over and, you know, he started discussing what the
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: process would be.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: I don't know how she even stood up. Okay, so
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: you help her up off the ground. Yeah. Okay, then
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: what happens?
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: So a family and friends started to arrive and the
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: security let them in and the sheriff came up. And
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: the sheriff, again, he had to help deliver that nukes,
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: you know, that a body was found and do his formal,
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: and I hate to say notification because at this point
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: he didn't say if it was Nolan or not, but
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: he explained that a body was found and where they
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: would be bringing that body to. And from there, you know,
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: the family gathered, and it was, I'd say a matter
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: of 15, 20 minutes maybe. We were then escorted. Christine
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: asked me to accompany them to the coroner's office, which
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: I was extremely honored to do so. And then the
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: sheriff's department escorted us to that coroner's office.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Can I ask you something, Josh? When the sheriff came over,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: Was it the sheriff or a deputy sheriff?
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: It was the sheriff.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: The sheriff. He comes over and formally tells her what
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: she was already told on the phone. A body has
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: been found. Had the body already been taken to the
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: coroner's office?
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: It was en route.
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: So it was en route to the coroner's office. And
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: he told us, you know, he told Christine... you know,
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: here's what's going on. Here's where you need to go
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: for further information. And again, extremely professional, extremely polite. And
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: the biggest word I can use was he was compassionate.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: You know, his staff was extremely compassionate. I can't take
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: that away from him.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: How was she at that moment? Was she just numb?
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Did she ask questions or did she just stand there
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: and take it? What was her response to the sheriff
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: coming over her? Face-to-face telling her we found a body. Because,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: you know, a lot of times, you know this from
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: all of the bodies that you have helped recover. Guys,
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: joining me is Josh Gill. He's our special guest tonight
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: with the United Cajun Navy. He's the incident commander. And
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: he was in on the search for Nolan from the beginning.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: And he went to the coroner's office along with the family,
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: along with the mother and the father. So when the
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: sheriff was, I guess, formally delivering this to her, you know,
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: a lot of people, when they hear it on the phone,
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: they don't want to believe it. I didn't. When it
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: happened to me, I thought, did I get that wrong?
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: So he comes up and tells her to her face,
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: and there's no way to mistake what he's saying. He's
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: right there in front of her. How did Ms. Christine respond?
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Just as any parent would respond. Tears.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: Shocked, um, disbelief, I think are some good words. Um,
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: but again, uh, I don't want to take away from
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: the compassion and the professionalism of the sheriff's department at
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: that point.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Um, and there were more people coming up.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Um, and at that point, you know.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: The sheriff had had conversation with the mother again, um,
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: in the family, uh, and just explain the process on
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: what was going to happen next as far as where
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: Nolan was going.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: Um, and then moving from there.
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: But I do want to add that during these conversations,
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: I reiterated to the mother and Mr. Elmore that Nolan
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: will be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: Through the process.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: I wanted to explain that because that's something that parents
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: always need to hear, family members, that their loved one
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: will be treated with dignity and respect.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: So you guys make it to the coroner's office. What
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: happens when you get to the coroner's office and no
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: one's body is already there?
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: Correct. So we go to the coroner's office. We sit down.
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: The coroner, he comes in, I mean, rather quickly, you know, 10,
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: 15 seconds once the table was filled with all the people,
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: family members, friends, myself.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: What table? Were you in a conference room?
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. A conference room table.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: Oh gosh. You know, at the medical examiners or coroners,
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: everything is so sterile and everyone I've ever been to.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: So this was a, like an office conference room.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: Um, you'd walk right in the door and there it was, um,
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: didn't really have that feeling of a coroner's office, if
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: that's fair to say, uh, more like a business office
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: conference room. Um, He walks in, very polite gentleman, very professional, well-spoken,
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: soft-spoken as well. And, you know, basically said that, you know,
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: they found a body. And from initial appearance, he identified
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: him as Nolan. He did want to take a DNA
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: swab or get a DNA sample from the family just for,
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: you know, further confirmation and for, I guess, record keeping,
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: whatever it was.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: But then he also, you know... She.
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: Asked about the condition, and he went into there were
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: no immediate signs of foul play.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: To me, again, my opinion in hearing this is.
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: No signs of blunt force trauma or any, I don't
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: know what the word I'm looking for is, any signs
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: of foul play.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: We would consider that.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Well, I guess they hadn't seen that big red mark
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: on the back of his occipital yet, underneath the skin.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: And I take it at this juncture, Josh, his throat
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: had not been dissected to look for potential subcutaneous bruising.
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: So you're telling me that from a cursory look at
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Nolan Wells' body, there was no sign of foul play,
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: such as a stab wound or a bullet wound or bruises,
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: deep gouges on the head. That, in my experience, having
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: tried so many homicide cases, I cannot count them, is
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: what you get from a cursory look at a body.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: Would you agree? So, correct.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: I'm not a medical examiner nor a coroner. Um, I
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: have gathered information and heard multiple people speak on that, um,
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: especially about the, the red spot, right?
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: We'll quote unquote, call it the red spot. Um, And
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: as I appreciate that that.
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: May be pooling or whatever, it could possibly be cellular decomposition. Again,
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: I'm not a medical examiner or a coroner, but I
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: do know what the coroner said at that immediate, that
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: first meeting with him.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Let's get back to what happened in that conference room.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: So you're there, the mom's there, the dad's there. The medical,
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: the coroner comes in, very calm, very soft-spoken, and tells... Ms. Christine,
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: that he believes it's Nolan based on physical appearance and description.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: Is that correct?
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, ma'am.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: What was her reaction? Because if it were me, I
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: would have been holding out, it's not him, it's not him,
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: it's not him. It's somebody that looks like him. I
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: don't believe it's him. He's out there. If I can
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: just get out of here, I can go find him.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: What was her reaction?
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: Again, um, it was quiet and it was a very
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: emotional time for the family as well. Um, I personally
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: believe at that point she accepted that it was him, uh,
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: Why do you say that?
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: You must have observed something that makes you say that.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Again, it's just actions, you know, not denial, not beating
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: on the table. It's not him. It's not him. Let's go.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Let's keep looking.
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: And her being in the medical profession as well as,
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: I believe, a nurse practitioner, I think she— I will never
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: say the word accept. She understood what was being told
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: to her, right? Yes.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Again, I'm not a parent. Will she still cry? Absolutely.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: She still cries to this day.
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: And look, so I want to make this very clear
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: to everybody that I support Christine and what she's doing.
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: There's not a playbook that's written for a grieving mother
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: who doesn't know what happened to her son. And I
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: truly hope and pray every day, as well as my
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: organization does, that she finds peace and comfort and she's
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: able to accept.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: And you know what else, Josh? Whatever the results are.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: I don't know how this would have unfolded if it
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: had not been for the United Cajun Navy. I'm just
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: putting that out there. For some reason, y'all have gotten
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: so much hate. But you guys were out there at
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: the get-go. You're the one that went with Ms. Christine
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: to the coroner's office. You were there. You're the one
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: that helped her stand up off the ground when she
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: was sitting on that pavement crying. That was you. United
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Cajun Navy. Yes, ma'am. I support her too. And my,
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: my fondest dream is that we find out that this
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: was an accident, but until we get to that point,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: this investigation must go on. Um, so he comes in
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: and tells her that then what happens?
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Um, so there were some questions, right?
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: Um, He asked the family if there was anything they
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: needed to know, and I asked a question. And the
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: question I asked was, can you please explain the process
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: on where Nolan's going to go, what's going to happen
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: from there?
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: And he did.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: He explained that he would be going to the crime lab,
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: I believe it was, on what was going on for
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: further autopsy.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: Again, and I'm paraphrasing this, and we all understood it.
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: We understood what was going to happen, where it was going,
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: and what would happen from there. again, and I have
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: to say this and reiterate this, that the family.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: Was in shock. I mean, it's horrible news to receive.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine it.
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: I'm an empath and I still can't possibly imagine how
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: it feels to receive that information that your son is
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: no longer here with the family, no matter what the
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: outcome is. Here's the issue though, is that we have
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: to be prepared to accept and understand what's told to
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: us as far as results of the grand jury or
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: whatever it is. I want to make sure that people
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: understand the prayers for peace and comfort are there daily
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: for this family, as well as the nation, because this
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: is a hard time for the nation and Ocean Springs
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: in particular.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: What happened then? You asked about the procedure. Let me
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: make sure I understand this. The coroner identified Nolan based
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: on descriptions. Because I've seen a photo, which we have
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: not shown, of Nolan's body where it washed up. Well,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: I say washed up. That's really a term of art.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: I don't know that he washed up. I don't know
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: how his body got right there because it seems to
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: me it was half in the sand and half in
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: the water.
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: Right?
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: So I don't know how it got there. That said,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: he made this I.D., based on the description given to
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: him of Nolan, but wasn't the actual ID made from
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: dental records?
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: So, I don't know.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: I don't know what the actual ID was made from,
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: if it was from dental records or if it was
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: a DNA swab. He did discuss collecting DNA with the
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: mother before we left.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: I did not witness that.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: Were you there when the DNA was collected?
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: I was not, I don't know how they caught it,
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: how they got it, but it was a discussion. But again,
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: the coroner was confident and his confidence level was high
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: that that was Nolan. And I think that's what Ms.
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: Christine wanted to do or wanted to understand. And the
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: reason being, I think that there's that professional courtesy of
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: understanding he's a coroner, she is a nurse practitioner and
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: he wouldn't tell her those things if it was not
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: in his heart.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: Let me understand, as I move forward in the questioning,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Josh Gill, Incident Commander, United Cajun Navy, with Ms. Christine
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Nolan's mother at the time she was taken to the
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: coroner's office. Dave Mack, Crime Stories investigative reporter, very quickly,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: wasn't Nolan identified through dental records? That's a yes, no, please. Yes, ma'am.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: He was identified with dental records.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: To Jeff Gentry joining us, again, Jeff, thank you for
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: waiting so patiently. Forensic certified bloodstain pattern analyst, crime scene analyst,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: death investigator, author of Forensic Science. Jeff, why did they
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: have to use dental records to identify Nolan Wells' body?
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: Nancy, usually dental records are used when other forms of
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: identification cannot be utilized. So the first thing that we
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: always try to do is to visually identify somebody. And
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: if you have family there or friends or an ID,
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: something to reference to visually identify the person, then that
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: is the first step. So just getting a general idea
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: of who they are. Then you want to move to
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: a scientific form of identification. And that is something based
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: on a scientific discipline. So there is proof that it
• 26:12
  Speaker 4: is the person when it goes to court or additional
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: questions are asked later. Your first form of scientific identification
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: is fingerprints. That's always going to be the easiest and fastest.
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: And if he had an ID or driver's license, then
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: there should be a fingerprint on file to be able
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: to identify this person rather quickly. However, in this case,
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: if he had been deceased for a day or two
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: before he was found, then forms of scientific identification like
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: fingerprints or even like a visual identification may not necessarily
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: be available. So in those scenarios, then you move to
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: alternate forms of identification like dental records so that you
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: would have to get the person's dental records from when
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: they were alive to compare them against dental records taken
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: when they're deceased at the autopsy. the last form of
• 26:58
  Speaker 4: identification that's used, which is the most expensive and most
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: time consuming, would be DNA. However, if you're going to
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: take this case to court and it's going to be
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: tried like a homicide, then you would probably want to
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: use a form of identification like DNA because it's much
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: more solid. You can verify with percentages how likely it
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: is that the person is who you believe they are.
• 27:19
  Speaker 4: So that's why dental records were most likely used in
• 27:23
  Speaker 4: this case versus something simple and fast like fingerprints or
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: visual identification.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: Judge entry can be found at evidenceoverassumption.com. Jeff, my takeaway
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: from what you just said is they could not make
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: a visual identification and they could not use fingerprints. You
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: said those were the first two choices, then dental, then DNA.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: Why would they not be able to make a visual ID?
• 27:55
  Speaker 4: I'm assuming because he was outside and in the elements
• 27:59
  Speaker 4: for a day or so.
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: It's hot. It's July.
• 28:01
  Speaker 4: It's very warm weather. However, in most cases where I
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: have seen drownings where the person is underwater for a
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: period of time, Their body is pretty well preserved, unless
• 28:13
  Speaker 4: we're talking about like multiple days, weeks that this person
• 28:16
  Speaker 4: is underwater. Usually the water is cooler temperature. And if
• 28:20
  Speaker 4: that person is face down in the water or completely submerged,
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: their body is pretty well preserved until they surface. Usually
• 28:27
  Speaker 4: a body after a couple of days surfaces. So I'm
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: really surprised that he was on the shore. I've never
• 28:33
  Speaker 4: personally investigated a drowning case before. where a person just
• 28:38
  Speaker 4: ends up on the shore especially if there's not a
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: strong current or waves usually in bodies of water the
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: person will stay in pretty much the location where they
• 28:46
  Speaker 4: go underwater if it's witnessed they don't usually move around
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: much after they have submerged or gone underwater so to
• 28:53
  Speaker 4: me it's very concerning that he was on the on
• 28:56
  Speaker 4: the shore or that his body surfaced that quickly But
• 29:01
  Speaker 4: that's what I am guessing is why they couldn't do
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: an immediate visual identification with the family or even fingerprints.
• 29:08
  Speaker 4: So I would really like to know more about the
• 29:10
  Speaker 4: condition of the body. That's what I am assessing as
• 29:12
  Speaker 4: a death investigator when I respond to a scene. So
• 29:14
  Speaker 4: there should be a death investigation report from a death
• 29:18
  Speaker 4: investigator who has experience looking at bodies and has experience
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: examining these.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: Type of things.
• 29:23
  Speaker 4: To show exactly what his condition was when he was found.
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: And if the body is decomposed more than what you
• 29:30
  Speaker 4: would normally expect in a drowning case, that should be
• 29:33
  Speaker 4: a big red flag. That's something that you definitely need
• 29:35
  Speaker 4: to look into further.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: So you're saying, let me follow up on what you
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: just said. You find it odd that he was quasi
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: on the shore. You also stated that location where the
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: body is found is typically where they went under. You
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: also said that the body must have been too decomposed
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: to make a facial ID that I did not hear
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: an explanation as to why fingerprint ID was impossible.
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: Fingerprint identification would be impossible if the hands were dried
• 30:09
  Speaker 4: out to an extent where they can't be fingerprinted. Sometimes
• 30:12
  Speaker 4: people that are underwater or if the hands are underwater,
• 30:15
  Speaker 4: the skin, just like if you're in the bathtub for
• 30:17
  Speaker 4: a prolonged period of time, the skin ends up looking
• 30:20
  Speaker 4: the same way. It just gets kind of wrinkled and
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: it's very hard to get a usable or workable fingerprint
• 30:26
  Speaker 4: in those scenarios. So one scenario would be the body
• 30:29
  Speaker 4: is too decomposed to get a fingerprint or a visual identification.
• 30:33
  Speaker 4: And then the alternate scenario is the body or the
• 30:36
  Speaker 4: hands were exposed to the water too long to where
• 30:39
  Speaker 4: they just are not able.
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: To get a good workable print. So those are the
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: different possibilities. But again, his.
• 30:45
  Speaker 4: Position at the edge of the bank or partially in
• 30:49
  Speaker 4: the water, that's really concerning because there's tons of people
• 30:51
  Speaker 4: around that area. If he was in that position or
• 30:57
  Speaker 4: on the shore decomposing for a day or so, Why
• 31:00
  Speaker 4: did nobody see him? Those would be my type of
• 31:02
  Speaker 4: questions that I would ask if I were a death
• 31:04
  Speaker 4: investigator responding to this scene.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: Jeff, I'm looking right now at the photo of his body.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: And it's about the beach is flat. And I would
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: say it's about three to four feet from where there's
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: nothing but sand, no water. It looks like it's just
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: as the water is starting. Like you could walk in
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: it very easily and your ankles may not even get wet.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: He's not out in the water at all. He's on
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: the beach and on wet sand. That's the way to
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: put it. It's wet sand. He's not out in the water,
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: Jeff Gentry. What does that mean? If anything?
• 31:55
  Speaker 4: That's really abnormal. I would have a ton of questions
• 31:58
  Speaker 4: in that case. I would wonder if there's no waves,
• 32:02
  Speaker 4: no strong current, why is that body up on a shore?
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: How did it get there?
• 32:07
  Speaker 4: And just like when we're looking at blood evidence or
• 32:10
  Speaker 4: other forms of evidence, if something is in a certain
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: position within a scene, you have to question how it
• 32:16
  Speaker 4: got there. I have investigated a lot of deaths, bodies
• 32:19
  Speaker 4: in canals, rivers, lakes, Large bodies of water never really
• 32:25
  Speaker 4: near the ocean to where you would expect somebody to
• 32:28
  Speaker 4: wash up to shore. But in these cases, even though
• 32:31
  Speaker 4: there's strong current waves, large bodies of water, I've never
• 32:35
  Speaker 4: really seen bodies.
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: Up on a shore, especially up out of the water.
• 32:41
  Speaker 4: Compose significantly to where they can't be identified or can't
• 32:44
  Speaker 4: be fingerprinted. So that would be a very big question
• 32:48
  Speaker 4: that I would have in this case is with the
• 32:50
  Speaker 4: absence of waves, with the absence of a strong current,
• 32:52
  Speaker 4: how in the world did this 19-year-old man end up
• 32:55
  Speaker 4: on shore out of the water?
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: Josh, I'm going to pick back up with you and
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: Nolan's family at the coroner's office, but you disagree with
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Jeff's characteristic. Explain.
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: Wind, wave, tides, currents.
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: If you look, there's also some aerial pictures that show
• 33:19
  Speaker 3: driftwood way on the beach. Those four things are what impacted,
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: as I appreciate, where Nolan ultimately ended up. If you
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: look in one of those pictures, man, a wave is
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: about to come right over and crest right near where
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: the body's at. So that shows that there is some
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: wave actions and some currents. The winds, the waves, the tides,
• 33:38
  Speaker 3: the currents have a huge impact on You know, anything
• 33:41
  Speaker 3: that's put into that water.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: It's known as the washing machine. It's a high tide,
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: high current area.
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: So, you know, that was the first things that I
• 33:52
  Speaker 3: looked at whenever I saw that picture. And that is
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: one of those pictures that I showed to the sheriff
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: immediately as I received it. The stuff that's dark in
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: that picture right there, I believe that that's debris. And
• 34:03
  Speaker 3: that debris could have easily or was.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: Washed up on that island.
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: And if you look at the picture as well into
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: the water, The white is, that's wave action, either from wind, tides,
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: or currents.
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: So, and it's going towards the beach.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: You know, when you walk down the beach and you
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: find shells and you find, you know, the bottle with
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: the message in it, it gets washed up on the beach.
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: Okay, so I think in simple terms, you're saying you
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: believe the body was washed up from the water to
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: that location. Okay, and Gentry is saying typically a body is,
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: is found where it goes in the water. So you're right.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: Tidal experts, water experts will have to determine that. I
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: want to get back to you at the coroner's office.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: A dental exam was used to make the ID, which
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: leads me to another question. If they could not, if
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: his face and his fingertips were so decomposed, that they
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: can't make an ID, then how do they know there
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: was not bruising or there was not skin marks on
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: his face, on his hands? That's a whole other thing.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: You're not a medical examiner. I get it. But that's
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: a question that needs to be answered back to you. They,
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: the family, Ms. Christine, the dad, were asked to provide DNA. Okay.
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: You did not see the DNA taken. Probably a buccal,
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: buccal swab. What happened then?
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: Um, so if I may add one thing is I
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: think that'd be a great question to ask the coroner is,
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: you know, how did I, how did he identify? Um,
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: because he was pretty sure, you know, in his best
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: professional opinion that that was Nolan.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: Um, and maybe he just, maybe he wanted the dental
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: records just out of professionalism.
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: And Hey, that's, isn't that one of the most definite
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: ways to identify?
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: Sorry.
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: And out of courtesy to the family. Let's, let's do
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: it the easy way for you as well as to
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: get the dental records. Um, so, you know, moving forward, uh, ma'am,
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: we left, we went to the house. Um, there was
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: a gathering at the house, um, and the people started
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: to pour in. Uh, and it was, uh, it was
• 36:14
  Speaker 3: a very emotional time. Again, the family, uh, the friends
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: and family that were there were, um, they were extremely
• 36:22
  Speaker 3: welcoming to myself. Um, Todd Terrell also came a very,
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: you know, he came within, I don't know, 30 minutes.
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: We stayed there for about 30 minutes. We had conversation
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: with the mother, Mr. Elmore, and some of the other
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: family members and discussed a couple things with them. GoFundMe
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: being one of them, and we wanted to assist with
• 36:40
  Speaker 3: that as far as the development and helping to spread.
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: The word on that piece, as well as offer our services.
• 36:48
  Speaker 3: You know, and anything that we could possibly do to
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: assist this family in this time of grief.
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: We're there for them.
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: Still there today. Anything that they possibly need, we're here
• 36:57
  Speaker 3: to provide. If it's a shoulder to cry on, we're there.
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: If she wants to get in an airplane or if
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: she wants to get in a boat and go back
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: out to Horn Island, we're there. We got it for her.
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: She's been offered those services. We just want her to
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: know and the family to know that we're there. We're 110%
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: supportive because, again, there's no playbook on how to grieve
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: for the loss of a child.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: Josh, at that time, when you were at Nolan's home,
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: after leaving the coroner's office with the family, was there
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: any concern that there had been foul play?
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: Um, you know, it really didn't come up there. It
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: just didn't come up.
• 37:41
  Speaker 3: I think that whole grieving process and it hit her
• 37:44
  Speaker 3: hard when they got back to the house. Um, You know,
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: at what point did potential foul play or the thoughts
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: of foul play or the accusations come into mind?
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't know.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: I think you're probably right that at that time she
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: walks in, Josh, and she comes into a home where
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: she knows her son will never be back in his
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: room ever again. And when you see all the relatives
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: and neighbors come in, it gets real. It's real. And
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: the pictures of Nolan are still out. All the family
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: photos are there. And I don't know when it hits
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: you that that's all you have going forward. That's it.
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: Photos and memories. Photos and memories.
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: So, ma'am, if I can say one thing.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: Please do.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: So I hear the emotion in your voice, right? I
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: can hear it in your voice.
• 38:45
  Speaker 3: And that's a sympathetic emotion for that mother, knowing that
• 38:50
  Speaker 3: she has, at that point when she walked through that door,
• 38:54
  Speaker 3: it became real and it became the hardest day, the
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: beginning of the hardest time of her life.
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: Again, I pray every day for the peace and comfort.
• 39:05
  Speaker 3: But ma'am, seeing that coming from you and understanding the
• 39:08
  Speaker 3: emotion behind it and what this lady's going through and
• 39:11
  Speaker 3: what this family's going through and what the community's going through,
• 39:15
  Speaker 3: It's very important. It's important to know that there's a
• 39:20
  Speaker 3: lot of people that are extremely upset and they lost
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: a community member um, who was loved and cherished.
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: So, you know, it's a tough time for everybody.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: Josh, did you speak with Nolan's mother again after that day?
• 39:37
  Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am.
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: We've had numerous conversations.
• 39:41
  Speaker 3: Um, and a lot, so a lot of, so we
• 39:43
  Speaker 3: had conversation about a, um, forensic pathologist, a secondary forensic pathologist.
• 39:49
  Speaker 3: She wanted one. I gave her a recommendation that I
• 39:52
  Speaker 3: got from somebody. She also discussed an attorney. You know,
• 39:57
  Speaker 3: she sent those messages as well. But the majority of
• 40:00
  Speaker 3: our conversations, man, to be honest with you, were I'd
• 40:03
  Speaker 3: send something to her, you know, keep your chin up
• 40:05
  Speaker 3: and your chest out and just know that you've got
• 40:07
  Speaker 3: a lot of people that love and support you. I
• 40:09
  Speaker 3: wanted to give her words of encouragement because I know
• 40:12
  Speaker 3: how important that is to a family, but also let
• 40:14
  Speaker 3: her know that if there's any questions that she has
• 40:16
  Speaker 3: that I could possibly take some of that weight off
• 40:18
  Speaker 3: of her shoulders or off of her family's shoulders to
• 40:21
  Speaker 3: help assist that, um, I'll do it for her.
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: And we're here for her.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: Did she have questions?
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: You know, it's not.
• 40:30
  Speaker 3: Really because she got an attorney rather quickly, um, which
• 40:35
  Speaker 3: is fine, whatever, you know, they're, that's on them. Um, Again,
• 40:39
  Speaker 3: the conversation turned into, uh, you know, very cordial.
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 40:44
  Speaker 3: Um, thanks for the prayers. Now we did have a conversation, um,
• 40:48
  Speaker 3: at one point, ma'am about another young man that I
• 40:51
  Speaker 3: was looking for to Darius many weather. And I brought
• 40:53
  Speaker 3: her up to speed on that case. And, uh, she said,
• 40:56
  Speaker 3: and she told me explicitly, please give the prayers, you know,
• 41:00
  Speaker 3: our prayers to the family of Jadarius, which, um, it was,
• 41:04
  Speaker 3: that was very important as well, because as a grieving mother,
• 41:08
  Speaker 3: She wanted to express her concern and her prayers to
• 41:11
  Speaker 3: another family who lost a young child.
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: Joining us tonight, special guest, Cajun Navy Incident Commander Josh Gill.
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: If you know or think you know anything about the
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: death of this young man, Nolan Wells, dial 228-769-3063. There's
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: a $ 125, 000 reward for information regarding what happened on Horn Island.
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: We remember American Hero Trooper First Class Kevin Miller, Connecticut
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: State Police, killed in the line of duty, leaving behind
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: his grieving children, Ryan and Sarah. American Hero Trooper First
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: Class Kevin Miller. Thank you to our guests, but especially
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: to you for being with us. Nancy Grace signing off
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: for tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow night as we
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: continue our search for justice for Nolan Wells. Good night, friend.