Updated
Updated · WZTV · Jul 30
Crump Says FBI to Oversee Evidence Review in 3 Black Teens' Deaths
Updated
Updated · WZTV · Jul 30

Crump Says FBI to Oversee Evidence Review in 3 Black Teens' Deaths

3 articles · Updated · WZTV · Jul 30

Summary

  • Crump said prosecutors in Nolan Wells' case are willing to review his team's evidence, and additional audio files could be jointly examined under FBI oversight.
  • Three 18-year-old Black teens — Wells, Daniel Erving and Tyler Smith — died between April and July, and all three families say official accounts remain incomplete or wrong.
  • Wells' body was found July 6 after he disappeared on a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island; an independent autopsy listed his cause and manner of death as undetermined.
  • Erving's death was ruled an accidental drowning and Smith's a self-inflicted accidental shooting, but Crump cited deleted messages, discarded belongings and a gun-shell mismatch as reasons for doubt.
  • Tampering-with-evidence charges have been filed in the Erving and Smith cases, yet no one has been charged in any of the three deaths, deepening family distrust of investigators.

Insights

What hidden truths do the deleted text messages and discarded evidence hold in these three officially accidental teen deaths?
Why would police rule a death self-inflicted if the recovered gun does not match the shell casing found at the scene?