Update: Christine Wells Wonsley said in a Facebook post late Wednesday afternoon that the Mississippi Board of Nursing has closed the professional misconduct case. “Thank you to all of those who have constantly kept us in your prayers. This definitely has added more hurt to an already devastating time because I love my job and I love my patients,” she wrote.
The original story is below.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss.—Christine Wells Wonsley, the mother of Nolan Wells, has learned that the Mississippi Board of Nursing opened a professional misconduct investigation against her, the family’s lawyer said in a statement on Wednesday.
Attorney Ben Crump said that the investigation was based on an anonymous complaint and described it as a “warning shot” meant as an act of “intimidation” against a grieving mother.
A park ranger found Wells’ body on Horn Island, south of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, two days after Wonsley and a friend reported him missing to authorities on the evening of July 4. Authorities have not concluded whether any foul play led to Wells’ death.
An independent autopsy conducted in Washington, D.C. last month found Wells’ cause of death was “undetermined” pending the results of the official state autopsy. Jackson County District Attorney Angel My McIllrath announced on July 23 that results of Wells’ official state autopsy will be withheld from the public until presented to a grand jury.
Crump says that Wonsley, who works as a family nurse practitioner in Ocean Springs, has cared for patients in Mississippi throughout her career without a single complaint against her to the Mississippi Board of Nursing.
“As she continues to grieve her son and seek answers about what happened to him, she is now also forced to defend her professional record,” Crump said in a statement. “No family should accept that, and no institution should tolerate it.”
The Mississippi Free Press reached out to Mississippi Board of Nursing Executive Director Phyllis Johnson for comment early on Wednesday afternoon. She said she was not yet familiar with the complaint and could not provide comment at the time. Later in the afternoon, though, Johnson sent a written statement.
“Pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated § 73-15-31, all investigations are confidential and not subject to subpoena or record request,” the Board of Nursing statement said. “The Board is legislatively charged with protecting the public and is complaint driven. As such, the Board is required by law to investigate any and all complaints filed with the Board.”
As Christine Wonsley and her husband, Elmore Wonsley, have used the media to push for answers about their son’s death, they have faced significant criticism, including racist attacks.
The fallout from Nolan Wells’ death has also resulted in the arrests of multiple people accused of intimidating and threatening witnesses who saw or were with Wells on Horn Island on July 4.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of Nolan Wells’ death and read past stories here.
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