As the Mississippi Coast awaits answers in the death investigation of Nolan Wells, some new details and people related to the case have emerged six weeks after the 18-year-old football star was found dead off Horn Island.
An attorney representing Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, said last week the family is ready to turn over the teen’s cell phone for a joint forensic inspection, according to a letter circulating online.
The announcement came after Mississippi attorney Tyler Cox — who, alongside Edward Andrew Paltzik, represents Wells’ friends — alleged that Wells’ family had yet to turn over his phone to investigators 40 days after his death.
“Our boys (Cox’s clients) had no reason to do anything with Nolan's phone, other than give it back to (Wells’ mother) and her friends later that night,” Cox said in the interview.
The letter to District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, however, said Wells’ family and attorneys “have been — and remain — ready and willing to cooperate in arranging a joint forensic inspection” of Wells’ phone,” attorney Ahmad R. Smith wrote.
“Our position has not changed,” Smith said. “We are prepared to coordinate a mutually agreeable date and procedure for the examination of the phone.”
The rising tension between both law firms comes as the high-profile case of Wells’ death has grown more complex since his body was found on Horn Island after a Fourth of July trip. The case has touched off rumors and speculation online, with some suggesting race as a possible factor in the death of Wells, who was Black and with white friends the day he died.
Ben Crump, the attorney and national figure representing Wells’ parents, has urged those following the case to withhold judgment until more information has become available. But he has also questioned why law enforcement was quick to dismiss the possibility of foul play and has frequently pointed to Mississippi’s history of racism.
As the investigation unfolds and questions arise, more people are continuing to speak out publicly for the first time, including Wells’ friends and their parents, Cox and Paltzik.
Here’s who they are and how they are tied to the case.
Wells’ friends
Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour, who were with Wells on the Fourth of July and later boarded different boats on the island, have maintained their innocence since speculation surrounding his death circulated on social media.
The friends , a police officer turned conservative influencer known as “The Officer Tatum” on his Youtube channel — for a rare, 27-minute long interview published Tuesday.
Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour said they now fear going out in public and have received “countless” death threats online, which was the reason they chose not to attend Wells’ funeral.
Pitalo and Hudson said some spectators and news outlets have pushed a narrative surrounding race that has put their lives and their family’s lives at risk.
“(Wells) is like a brother to us,” Hudson said. “Nolan’s no different from anyone else in our group.”
Hudson was to publicly speak out about the allegations with national outlets, including the New York Post and in another interview with Tatum. His father, Dr. Benjamin Hudson, also spoke to the Post and offered $50,000 to anyone with information that leads to an arrest. The reward matched the sums offered by Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist who’s advocated for transparency and justice surrounding the investigation.
Hudson’s stepmother, Ashlee Cole, a chancery court judge in Mississippi, has also posted about Wells’ case on social media, defending Hudson and sharing death threats her family has received.
Cole wrote in one Facebook post that she went to high school with Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, and mourns the loss of Wells with her. Still, Cole said, she “fears for the safety of my child and my children.”
“We realize that the truth will not stop the calls for the death of our small children,” Cole said in another post.
Tracestin Shepherd, who described Wells as his “best friend” and was with him on the Fourth of July, also about dealing with grief and speculation surrounding involvement in his death.
“I’m already trying to mourn my friend’s death as is,” Shepherd said, “and I’m blaming myself for it. To put that in my head is a next level of hurt that can’t be truly explained.
More attorneys involved
Cox and Paltzik, who are representing Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour, released a statement on the law firm’s Facebook earlier this month, saying they plan to sue “for the litany of slander and libel being spread.”
They blamed national news outlets, social media personalities and Crump for spreading “false narratives” that suggest the teens were involved in his death.
“They come to communities like the Gulf Coast under the guise of seeking justice,” the statement said, “But it has become painfully clear that their version of justice is stirring division, ruining lives, and then leaving when the money is dried up.”
Paltzik is a prominent lawyer in defamation and media law who has represented President Donald Trump in high-profile defamation lawsuits involving CBS and Paramount. He joined the teens in the interview with Tatum and said “there’s a zero percent chance they did anything wrong.”
“Here’s the thing: We don’t know how Nolan Wells died,” he said. "No one here is saying we know. But what we do know is that Warren, Jax and Morgan had nothing to do with Nolan Wells’ death and that’s what’s important.”
Meanwhile, Crump, Sharpton and Wells’ parents continue to ask for a transparent investigation at conferences across the country. On Thursday, they attended the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Atlanta, calling for federal review of the case.
“The only thing we want to know is what happened," Christine Wonsley said. "That's all we want to know, is what happened to our son. Because many parents out there, you still have your children. You still can hug them. You still can call them. You still can celebrate their life with them. And we do not have that anymore."
The investigation into Wells’ death remains under investigation, and evidence will remain sealed until grand jury review.