The mystery surrounding the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells has spilled far beyond Mississippi’s Horn Island, unleashing a torrent of threats, harassment and accusations that have engulfed nearly everyone connected to the case.
As Wells’ grieving parents say they have been targeted with racist attacks, hate mail and even negative reviews at the mother’s workplace, the young men who were with him before he disappeared have now launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser claiming they, too, have become victims of an “unprecedented online campaign of accusations, harassment, threats, and defamation.”
As of Monday morning, they have raised more than $87,000.
The escalating hostility has already resulted in multiple federal criminal cases against people accused of making bomb threats and sending violent messages tied to the investigation.
Friends Say They Have Been Branded Villains
The fundraising campaign says Wells’ friends, including Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour, have been “inundated with death threats, threats of violence, and defamation” since Wells disappeared during a Fourth of July outing to Horn Island and was later found dead.
The organizer, who is listed as Benjamin Hudson, says the young men have been “falsely and wrongly blamed by individuals online and in the media of either directly or indirectly having a hand in Nolan’s death.”
“Most of them could not even attend their own best friend’s funeral,” the fundraiser states.
Benjamin Hudson is reportedly Warren Hudson’s father.
According to the campaign, the friends “cooperated with authorities, turned over all the information they had, and provided an overwhelming number of witnesses accounting for their whereabouts.”
The page also claims “there have been bomb threats, packages sent, and credible threats of which arrests have been made,” adding that “parents have feared for their children’s safety.”
Hudson says the fundraiser has two goals: helping pay legal expenses to defend the friends against anticipated wrongful death litigation and funding potential defamation lawsuits against individuals and organizations they accuse of spreading false information.
The funds will be delivered to the Mississippi-based firm Taylor and Cox Law Firm, PA.
The campaign argues that the case should be decided through “truth, due process, and accountability” rather than “trial by internet.”
The page also criticizes civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the Rev. Al Sharpton, media outlets and social media influencers, accusing them of fueling false narratives surrounding the case. It claims Crump and Sharpton have been “continuing to invent and spread false narratives and lies with no accountability.”
The fundraiser further alleges that Crump plans to pursue wrongful death litigation against the friends, though no lawsuit has yet been filed.
Supporters Commenting Take Things Left
“It’s time to fight for true justice — putting it back in the courtroom, not on social media. I’m sorry your community is dealing with this hatred, and I thank you for taking on this battle for us all,” one commenter wrote.
Another added, “Time for our people to wake up to the hatred. They want to tear these boys just because they are white. None of it would happen if it was any other race. We need to stick together and fight against growing racism towards us.”
Federal Charges Follow Escalating Threats
The increasingly volatile online atmosphere has already spilled into the real world.
Federal prosecutors recently charged a California man, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, with allegedly sending violent threats through Facebook Messenger to Ashlee Cole, Warren Hudson’s mother.
Authorities allege Dumarce sent multiple threatening messages, including one warning of a package that would “blow you away” and promising, “Blood, so much blood everywhere.”
Investigators said the messages also included photographs of Cole’s children. Hudson was the friend who contacted Wells’ mother to report that Wells was missing.
Separately, an Ohio woman, Michelle Francine Edwards, has been federally charged after investigators say she placed dozens of bomb threat calls to Mississippi government offices in the weeks following Wells’ death.
According to court documents, authorities say Edwards repeatedly called the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office using a blocked number, making statements including “Do not go outside,” “the clock is ticking,” “die,” and “y’all got a bomb outside.”
Officials said the threats forced a building lockdown and prompted bomb sweeps by K-9 units. Edwards faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted.
Wells’ Family Says They’re Being Targeted Too
The fundraiser comes just days after Wells’ parents publicly described enduring their own campaign of harassment while continuing to seek answers about their son’s death.
During an interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, Christine and Elmore Wonsley said they have been subjected to online abuse since speaking publicly about the investigation.
“We can’t grieve the way we need to because we’re being disrespected, we’re being called all kind of racist, bad parents — we were not raised like and we did not raise our children like that, so we just want the truth,” Elmore Wonsley said. “Any parent would want that, any father would want that, any mother.”
Crump said the attacks have extended beyond social media.
“Christine has been a nurse for years, and she hasn’t ever gotten negative reviews. But since she has been advocating to find out what happened to her 18-year-old son after he was washed up dead on Horn Island, sick people have been going on her company’s website giving her negative reviews,” Crump said.
“Can you all imagine anything worse than that? They are just sick, evil people who would attack this mother and this father for simply saying, ‘We want to know what happened to our child.'”
Christine Wonsley vowed the family would continue pressing for answers despite the backlash.
“Please understand that all of these distractions, these other questions, attacks that people have sent our way, just know, we will not be distracted,” she said. “We are ready to do whatever we need to do as his parents to continue advocating for him because Nolan is not here.”
“So again, we will not rest until we get answers.”
“And if you know something, you need to let us know,” she added. “Please do not be afraid.”
Investigation Continues
Wells disappeared after traveling to Horn Island with friends on July 4. His body was recovered two days later.
Authorities have said they believe he likely drowned, noting the area is known for dangerous rip currents. Wells’ family disputes that conclusion and commissioned an independent autopsy, which listed both the cause and manner of death as undetermined pending further investigation.
Mississippi’s official autopsy has been completed but remains under seal pending presentation to a grand jury, which will determine whether any criminal charges are warranted. Both the official investigation and an independent investigation remain ongoing.
