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Nolan Wells’ mother is pushing back on the way her son has been described since his death, asking people to remember him as the 18-year-old teenager he was.
During an interview with NBC News’ Yasmine Vossoughian Tuesday (September 22), Christine Wells-Wonsley corrected the description of Nolan as a “man” and explained why the distinction matters to her family.
“Let’s not call him a man because 18, you’re still a teenager,” Wells-Wonsley said. “I know by law you’re an adult. Nolan was a boy. He was a child. He was our child.”
She continued, “So, for everyone watching, please stop referring to him as a man because he was a teenager. He was 18 when he left this earth.”
Wells-Wonsley and Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, spoke with Vossoughian following a grand jury’s decision not to bring criminal charges in their son’s death.
Nolan disappeared during a July 4 trip to Horn Island and was found dead two days later. The grand jury found insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family listed his cause and manner of death as undetermined. The official investigation remains ongoing.
The family has continued to seek answers about what happened to Nolan. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, has also called for further investigation.
For Wells-Wonsley, the way her son is remembered remains deeply personal.
“Nolan was a boy. He was a child. He was our child,” she said.