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Jackson County DA pushes back in Nolan Wells death probe as family demands answers

By CNN

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    JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WAPT) — Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath is pushing back against criticism from attorneys representing the family of Nolan Wells, saying legal and ethical rules limit what she can publicly disclose about the ongoing investigation into the 18-year-old’s death.

In a statement released Tuesday, McIlrath said prosecutors do not have the same freedom as private individuals to discuss evidence, witness cooperation or other details tied to an active investigation.

McIlrath said she cannot publicly identify which information has been verified or deemed false, and cautioned the public against drawing conclusions based on information shared online.

“The fact that something is said does not necessarily mean it’s actually true,” McIlrath said in the statement.

Her comments come after attorneys representing Wells’ family accused the district attorney’s office of not operating in good faith as the investigation continues.

Part of the dispute centers on a forensic examination of Wells’ cellphone.

Attorneys for the family have said Wells’ parents remain willing to make the phone available for a joint forensic examination and have not refused to cooperate with investigators. The legal team has also said it wants clear procedures in place concerning the examination, chain of custody and handling of any data recovered from the device.

McIlrath said her responsibility is to protect the integrity of the investigation and the grand jury process, even amid growing public pressure for more information.

She said releasing additional details publicly could interfere with the legal process or violate her ethical obligations as a prosecutor.

“My obligation and commitment is to present the Grand Jury with all the evidence collected in this case in order for them to reach a decision based on a thorough investigation, complete evidence presentation, the actual truth, and an understanding of the law,” McIlrath said.

McIlrath also asked the public to allow investigators and prosecutors to complete their work rather than pressuring her office to release information she says cannot legally be disclosed.

She said her office intends to present the grand jury with a “thorough, complete, and fair investigation” into Wells’ death.

Wells disappeared during a July 4 boating trip to Horn Island. His body was found two days later along the shoreline.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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A NASA observatory will likely reenter Earth’s atmosphere this year after rescue effort falls short

By CNN
(CNN) — A satellite called LINK that recently launched to boost the orbit of a falling space observatory won’t be able to carry out its daring rescue mission after all.NASA’s decades-old Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is steadily losing altitude and in danger of reentering Earth’s atmosphere. Designed by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to save the observatory, the LINK satellite began to encounter difficulty in late July. Just weeks after LINK lifted off on July 3, it started to spin out of control.Katalyst was able to regain control of the satellite, but the company acknowledged that the issue cost it time, which would delay LINK’s rendezvous with Swift by about a month. However, that postponement — at least initially — did not seem to be a deterrent to the mission.Now, NASA and Katalyst have announced that LINK’s mission will not capture and boost Swift to a higher orbit “due to ongoing attitude control issues,” according to statements Wednesday.Swift’s science mission will come to an end as the observatory likely burns up in Earth’s atmosphere later this year, according to NASA.“NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.“This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting. The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future.”But LINK’s journey isn’t over yet, and the lessons learned could be instrumental for future in-space servicing operations.Demonstrating future capabilitiesThe mission team is forging ahead with its plan for LINK to rendezvous with Swift — but as a demonstration rather than a rescue.“We are going to learn everything we can from LINK’s rendezvous attempt and put those lessons to work on the missions that follow,” Isaacman said.Originally, LINK was expected to conduct a survey of Swift to determine the best grappling points on the observatory, a step that will likely be part of the satellite’s anticipated rendezvous, though it’s currently unclear when this test will take place.Swift wasn’t designed to be serviced in space, which means that insights from the demonstration could be used for future missions.“Katalyst designed, developed, and launched an experimental spacecraft to go after an ambitious mission on an aggressive timeline,” said Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space Technologies, in a statement. “We took on this high-risk, high-reward challenge and are proud of the milestones we reached along the way. We have already learned a tremendous amount, and now our job is to turn those lessons into something durable — building a repeatable playbook to inform future rendezvous and proximity operations and satellite servicing.”Filling the gapThe Swift observatory, which has no established observational replacement waiting in the wings, has served as an astrophysics multitool in low-Earth orbit since it launched nearly 22 years ago, quickly pivoting to observe celestial objects and cosmic events.But atmospheric drag, intensified by solar activity, exerted its forces on the observatory, leading NASA to predict that Swift would reenter Earth’s atmosphere once it dips below an optimal altitude of about 185 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth.Katalyst designed, built, tested and launched LINK in nine months. The robotic satellite lifted off on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was released midair by the company’s modified L-1011 aircraft, Stargazer.Before the satellite’s launch, members of the Swift and LINK teams both acknowledged that the path to boosting the observatory was full of risks that could cause the mission to fail.“We were all hoping for more science from Swift,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. “But we knew the takeaways from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained so much through the series of accomplishments up to this point.”The agency will rely on the rest of its fleet of active observatories to fill Swift’s gap and “will continue to prioritize finding new options to react rapidly to cosmic events,” according to NASA.“Building, testing, and operating this mission has already strengthened America’s space industry pipeline, advancing in-space servicing capabilities in completely new ways,” Domagal-Goldman said. “NASA is committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they take on difficult tasks with the agency, to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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