Three charged for threats against individuals tied to Nolan Wells case

The investigation into the death of Nolan Wells continues to draw national attention and scrutiny. Wells, who was Black, traveled on a boat with friends to Horn Island on Mississippi’s Gulf coast to attend a beach party celebrating July 4. Most, but not all, of Well’s friends and other attendees at the party were white. According to witnesses, the boat Wells and his friends had traveled on experienced mechanical difficulties, forcing them to return to the mainland. The friends day Wells chose not to return with them because he want to continue spending time with a woman he met on the island. When Wells did not return that night, a search was launched. He was found deceased two days later on the northwest shore of Horn Island.

What happened between the time Wells’ friends left the island and the time his body was discovered remains a mystery. Two different autopsies (one by the state and one privately commissioned by his family) have so far yielded no firm cause of death.

While no evidence of foul play has been publicly revealed, the unanswered questions have led many to suspect that something sinister occurred. Friends of Wells, including some who attended the party with him, have spoken public to share their accounts of what happened. Several of them reported receiving death threats.

Threats and social media accusations

Three people, all from out of state, have now been charged with threats to witnesses and officials tied to the case. An Ohio woman has been charged with making bomb threats to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Separately, a federal indictment accuses an Illinois man of targeting two unnamed witnesses with death threats by phone.

An attorney for the family of 21-year-old Bart Edmiston has revealed that the Illinois man’s threats were directed at members of the Edmiston family. On the day of the party, Edmiston brought his own boat to assist Nolan’s friends when their boat started taking on water as they returned to the mainland.

Edmiston has also received unwanted attention from an online influencer with about 200,000 followers. The influencer, Kymbra Li, referred to Edmiston as a “suspect,” despite investigators never having referred to him or anyone involved in the case as a suspect. Li also made statements implying that Edmiston had been misleading about his whereabouts or his involvement in the incident. Edmiston is now suing Li for defamation and alleges that she and others helped spread misinformation on social media that lead to the death threats against him and his family.

A California man was also charged with sending a threatening Facebook message to a Jackson County Chancery Court judge implying that a bomb would be sent her office. The AP story does not identify the judge. However, Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole recently revealed that she had received bomb threats. Cole is the stepmother of Warren Hudson, a high school friend of Wells who was among the group of friends that traveled with Wells to Horn Island on July 4, although they were not riding in the same boat.

An Ocean Springs resident who purchased a home from Cole three years ago also spoke out recently saying he fears for his family’s safety after images of their home were shared hundreds of times on Facebook.