Federal authorities have arrested a third person accused of threatening witnesses connected to the investigation into the death of Mississippi college freshman Nolan Xavier Wells, expanding a growing series of criminal cases tied not to the 18-year-old’s death itself, but to intimidation and threats directed at people involved in the investigation.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Edward James Porter, of Berwyn, Illinois, is charged with transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce after prosecutors say he made phone calls and sent text messages threatening to kill two witnesses and their families.
The charges mark the latest development in a case that has attracted national attention and fueled intense online speculation since Wells disappeared during a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island.
Man Threatens to Kill Witnesses
As reported by the Sun Herald, investigators allege Porter contacted one witness by phone and warned that he was going to “come kill” the witness and members of the witness’s family.
Authorities say he later texted the person’s home address, suggesting he knew where they lived. According to court documents, Porter also allegedly threatened a second witness, saying he would kill the individual, dismember the body and place the remains inside a suitcase.
Federal investigators traced the phone number and internet protocol address used to make the calls and send the messages through records obtained from Boost Mobile. In addition to his Berwyn residence, authorities also connected Porter to an address in nearby Maywood, Illinois.
Porter is now the third person to face federal charges for allegedly threatening people connected to the Wells investigation.
Ohio Woman Arrested for Threats
Earlier, as reported by the Guardian, federal prosecutors charged Michelle Francine Edwards, of Cincinnati, Ohio, with transmitting threatening communications after authorities said she repeatedly called government offices in Mississippi during July.
Edwards allegedly placed approximately 21 calls to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office using a blocked telephone number. During those calls, she allegedly warned employees, “Do not go outside,” told them “the clock is ticking,” and said, “die.”
Authorities also allege Edwards called the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and falsely claimed there was a bomb outside the building.
“Y’all got a bomb outside, don’t come outside b—h,” Edwards allegedly said before later asking, “Y’all still in there?”
The threats prompted law enforcement to place the government building on lockdown while bomb-sniffing dogs searched the property.
California Man Arrested
Federal prosecutors have also charged Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, of Sacramento, California, with sending violent online threats to Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole, whose stepson, Warren Hudson, was among the friends who accompanied Wells to Horn Island on July 4.
According to court filings and screenshots shared publicly by Cole, a Facebook account investigators linked to Dumarce allegedly warned that a package would soon arrive at the judge’s office.
“It’s gonna blow you away when you see it,” one message allegedly read before escalating with threats that referenced bloodshed and claimed not even the FBI could prevent the attack.
Cole later responded publicly, writing that while the threats had become increasingly serious, they would not stop efforts to determine what happened to Wells.
“We also want to know what happened to Nolan. We will do everything within our power to assist Nolan’s family in their quest for answers,” she wrote.
Authorities have also confirmed that Bart Edmiston Jr., one of Wells’ friends, received what his attorney described as a credible death threat targeting both him and his family. Edmiston has said he intends to pursue a defamation lawsuit after online accusations linked him to Wells’ death following the release of a Mississippi Department of Marine Resources report that included GPS data from his boat.
Edmiston, 21, was among the friends who helped tow the boat Wells had traveled on after it experienced mechanical problems involving a malfunctioning bilge pump, according to reports.
Wells disappeared after his friends returned to the mainland without him, telling investigators he chose to remain on Horn Island. They also returned carrying Wells’ cellphone. His body was later recovered, launching multiple state and independent investigations.
Investigation in Wells’ Death Continues
Since then, Wells’ parents, Elmore and Christine Wonsley, have retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump to conduct an independent review of their son’s death.
Crump has said an independent forensic pathologist classified both the cause and manner of death as undetermined pending further investigation and could not rule out foul play. The independent examination, funded by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, also identified missing neck tissue and unexplained red discoloration on the back of Wells’ head, according to Crump.
The case has also drawn support from civil rights leaders. During Wells’ funeral, which filmmaker Tyler Perry paid for, the Rev. Al Sharpton called for transparency.
“For an 18-year-old young man to no longer be with us, we want answers, not bias either way — just answers,” Sharpton said. “He was not on that island by himself: somebody saw something and knows something.”
Wells’ Grandfather Speaks Out
As the investigation continues, members of Wells’ family have also spoken out about the public reaction to his death and the growing tensions surrounding the case. In a Facebook post, Wells’ grandfather lamented that his grandson was denied the chance to live out the future he envisioned for him.
“Nolan Xavier Wells deserved to have a life, a career, a family and the opportunity to be great,” he wrote. “He was robbed of that.”
He also criticized what he described as people exploiting the tragedy for attention while fueling racial division. “I hate that the clout chasers are using what happened to Nolan to add income streams and stoke racial division in this State, and the country,” he wrote, emphasizing that the family’s focus has remained on learning what happened to Wells. “My daughter and her husband along with all of our family want to know what happened to Nolan.”
He concluded the emotional message by urging people to remember his grandson for the life he could have lived, writing, “Say his name Nolan Xavier Wells… he would have been a great man, my grandson gone too soon.”
New Report Sheds Light on the Last Moments of Wells’ Death
Meanwhile, Mississippi officials have completed the state’s official autopsy, but the findings have not yet been released publicly because they were first submitted to a grand jury reviewing the case.
New questions also emerged this week after TMZ published portions of the United Cajun Navy’s investigative report into Wells’ disappearance. According to the report, a photograph taken on Horn Island shows the three boats involved in the July 4 outing anchored together before Wells vanished.
The report states the Triton—the boat Wells and his friends had used—departed the island at 4:31 p.m., consistent with earlier accounts that friends urged Wells to leave with them but said he declined.
Investigators also cited a witness who reported that Wells was “nowhere in sight” when her group left the island around 7:30 p.m. The report identifies the last independently corroborated sighting of Wells as occurring sometime between 3:23 p.m. and 4:27 p.m., a window investigators say remains central to unanswered questions about his disappearance.
As previously reported, the fallout surrounding Wells’ death has extended well beyond the investigation itself. Friends who were with the 18-year-old before he disappeared on Mississippi’s Horn Island launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser that has raised nearly $90,000, saying they have become targets of an “unprecedented online campaign of accusations, harassment, threats, and defamation” since Wells’ death.
The group says the money will help cover anticipated legal expenses, including defending against potential wrongful death litigation and pursuing defamation claims against those they believe falsely accused them online.
