Lawyers for three friends of Nolan Wells say the teenagers have been unfairly swept into a wave of public suspicion and harassment following Wells’ death, arguing that the scrutiny they have faced is undeserved.
Mississippi attorney J. Tyler Cox and defamation attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik are representing Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour. The three were reportedly with Wells at a Fourth of July gathering on Horn Island before the 18-year-old went missing.
“Those three boys are good Ocean Springs people, and they do not deserve this,” Cox told The Sun Herald. He said the teens and their families have endured “credible threats,” including physical, in-person and online threats, for more than a month, while maintaining that they had “absolutely no involvement” in the death of Wells, whom he described as their best friend.
In a joint statement provided to Oxygen, Cox and Paltzik described Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour as “completely innocent young men.”
The attorneys said each of the three “loved Nolan Wells as a brother” and remains deeply shaken by his tragic death. They also accused outsiders of exploiting the case, saying “hordes of hustlers, opportunists and vultures” have descended on Ocean Springs, Mississippi, with the goal of dividing the community, advancing political interests and profiting from the tragedy.
“We, on the other hand, only deal in evidence, facts, and reality. We will never defame, guess, or speculate,” the statement continued. The lawyers said they do not know how Wells died, but insisted that one thing is certain: Warren, Jax and Morgan “had nothing whatsoever to do with Nolan’s death.”
The legal team also warned that they are prepared to file defamation lawsuits against individuals they believe have made false and damaging statements about their clients.
“To all those who have defamed these good Ocean Springs people, we recommend in the strongest possible terms that you immediately apologize and retract your lies,” Cox and Paltzik said in the statement to Oxygen. “Otherwise, we will see you in court faster than you can say ‘rush to judgment.’” They further cautioned anyone considering what they called frivolous legal action against the young men, saying such claims would fail, could lead to sanctions and may result in the accusers being ordered to pay attorneys’ fees.
What Happened to Nolan Wells?
Wells traveled to Horn Island—an uninhabited area known to locals as a popular party spot—with a group of friends on July 4, however, his friends later decided to leave the island after experiencing boat trouble.
“They left around 4:30 p.m. when the boat was taking on water and they had an issue with the bilge pump,” Hudson’s mom Ashlee Cole wrote in a July 7 post on Facebook. “Nolan made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.”
Wells’ family reported him missing around 11 p.m. that night after receiving a call from one of his concerned friends, according to CNN.
His body was discovered two days later on the northwest end of the island. Though the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department noted in a July 6 statement, per CNN, that “no foul play was suspected” the results of state medical examiner’s autopsy have not yet been made public.
In the wake of his death, Wells’ family has questioned the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and has retained attorney Ben Crump, who has launched his own independent investigation into the college football player’s death.
