By admin 
The death of 18-year-old Ocean Springs student-athlete Nolan Xavier Wells on Horn Island has spawned federal arrests, threats against witnesses, defamation lawsuit plans and an investigation of his own mother. Here is a roundup of the past week’s key developments in the case.
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Here are key takeaways:
- SECOND ARREST: A Cincinnati woman, Michelle Francine Edwards, was charged in federal court with making roughly 21 threatening calls to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and about eight to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on July 23, including a bomb threat that placed the sheriff’s office on lockdown. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for transmitting threatening communications; investigators traced the calls through C Spire records and online accounts.
- FUNDRAISER FOR TEENS: Two teens who were with Wells on July 4, Warren Hudson and Jax Pitalo, launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser to cover legal fees for anticipated wrongful death and defamation lawsuits, later adding a third friend, Morgan Seymour, as a beneficiary. Dr. Benjamin Hudson said the fund will defend the teens against actions filed by attorney Ben Crump’s team and support suits over “slander and libels” spread online.
- THIRD ARREST: Edward James Porter of Berwyn, Illinois, became the third person arrested on federal charges of threatening witnesses in the Wells investigation, accused of telling Bart Edmiston Jr. and a family member he would “come kill” them and describing dismembering a body into a suitcase. Homeland Security Investigations traced the threats through Boost Mobile records.
- ATTACK ON WONSLEY’S JOB: Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced that the Mississippi Board of Nursing opened — then closed — a professional misconduct investigation of Christine Wonsley, Wells’ mother, based on an anonymous complaint. Wonsley, a family nurse practitioner at Memorial Health System with no prior complaints on her record, called the case “frivolous” and remains employed.
- DEATH THREATS: Dr. Benjamin Hudson shared audio recordings with the Sun Herald showing the profanity-laced death threats and racial slurs directed at his family and Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole. Callers accused Warren Hudson of murder — which he denies — with one saying, “Son for a son.” The family has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Wells’ death.
- JUDGE’S RULING: U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. in Mississippi ordered Porter jailed pending a detention hearing after an Illinois magistrate had granted him bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter McCreight argued Porter “poses a significant risk to the victims” and has no known ties to Mississippi.
- COACH SPEAKS: University of Wyoming head football coach Jay Sawvel publicly addressed the connection between his punter, Bart Edmiston Jr., and the case, stating Edmiston has never been a suspect in Wells’ death. Edmiston, a preseason all-conference selection, has retained attorney Russell Latino to fight defamation claims; he helped tow Wells’ boat after a bilge pump malfunction.
- TEENS, ATTORNEYS VISIT HORN ISLAND: Attorneys Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik traveled to Horn Island on Friday and vowed to file defamation lawsuits on behalf of Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour. Paltzik, who has represented President Donald Trump, said the team has identified two “very recognizable” individuals as initial defendants and will begin drafting suits immediately.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
Read more Person dies after getting hit by SUV’s mirror then another vehicle, SC cops say