Three people charged with threatening judge, witness and officials tied
to Nolan Wells investigation
[August 06, 2026]
By JOSH KELETY
Three people have been charged with threatening a judge, a witness and
local officials connected to the investigation into the death of Nolan
Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after a July Fourth boat trip
with friends to an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
None of the three appear to know Wells, his family or the boating group,
or be part of the investigation. The threats came amid rampant
speculation and scrutiny of the investigation, deepened in part by
uncertainty surrounding Wells' final hours, distrust of law enforcement
and the state's long history of racist violence.
The teenager, who was Black, had traveled to the uninhabited island with
a group of friends from high school, all of whom were white. He did not
return with his friends to the mainland that evening. His body was found
two days later off the island’s coast.
Authorities have not made any arrests or named any suspects. An
independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family found the
18-year-old’s cause of death to be “undetermined” pending further
investigation.
Attempts to reach the defendants for comment were unsuccessful. Phone
numbers listed for some of the defendants in affidavits weren't active
and a call to another number went unanswered. Emails sent to addresses
listed in an affidavit for one of the defendants went unanswered. It is
unclear if they have attorneys.
One of the defendants, Edward James Porter of Illinois, allegedly called
an unnamed witness on July 31 and threatened to kill them and their
family, according to an affidavit. Porter also allegedly told another
person in Mississippi in a phone call that he would cut them up and put
them “into a suitcase.” Porter was charged on July 31 in federal court
for the Southern District of Mississippi for the threat.
Porter threatened two members of the family of Bart Edminston Jr., a
21-year-old who knew Wells and provided aid to the boat the group used
on July Fourth, said family attorney Russell Latino. Latino said that
one of the family members who Porter threatened is a witness in the
investigation into Wells’ death.
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Christine Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, mother and step father of
Nolan Wells, stand on a stage with a photo of their son as they
appear at the National Urban League's annual conference to share
updates on his death, as well as Daniel Erving, and Tyler Smith,
Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
An Ohio woman was also charged with allegedly placing bomb threats
at the George County Chancery Clerk's Office and the Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office on July 23. The woman, Michelle Francine Edwards,
allegedly called the clerk's office 21 times and said, “the clock is
ticking,” according to an affidavit.
A California man, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, was charged on
July 14 for allegedly sending a threatening Facebook message to a
Jackson County Chancery Court judge with ties to the Wells
investigation. According to an affidavit, a Facebook user believed
to be Dumarce sent a message to the judge's account that constituted
a “threat that a bomb would be mailed to the judge's office."
Judge Ashlee Cole posted a screenshot of Dumarce's threatening
message on Facebook on July 9. Cole wrote in an earlier Facebook
post that her son last saw Wells on July Fourth around 3 p.m. and
decided to “stay on the island and return inland later with another
group of friends.” Cole wrote that she deactivated her Facebook and
that she fears for the safety of her children.
“No one in our family is trying in any way to impede with the
investigation by law enforcement or to otherwise hamper the family
and law enforcement’s quest for answers,” Cole wrote, adding that
her son “cooperated fully” with the sheriff's investigation. ___
Kelety reported from Phoenix. Associated Press journalist Sophie
Bates in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed.
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