The parents of Nolan Xavier Wells and families of two other Black teenagers who died this year under unclear circumstances say they will not stop until they have answers and justice.
Christine and Elmore Wonsley traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, and stood Thursday with the family of Daniel Erving, who died in Texas in April, and Tyler Smith, who died in Kentucky on July 4 – the same day Wells went missing from Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Their attorneys say each teen was in the company of mostly white groups before they died.
“Nobody in all three of the questionable deaths of these 18-year-old young Black kids, nobody has been held accountable in any way,” said attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wells’ parents and helped bring the families together at the National Urban League’s annual conference.
Wells traveled by boat with white friends to Horn Island on July 4, but he did not return with them to Ocean Springs. A park ranger found his body in the water off the island two days later.
Preliminary findings from an independent autopsy released last week list Wells’ manner and cause of death as undetermined. The pathologist said more investigation is needed to rule out foul play and drowning. Results of the first autopsy, conducted by the state medical examiner’s office, have not been released.
On Thursday, attorneys for Wells’ family said they have hired an audio engineer expert to review a dispatch call made by his friends when their boat was taking on water, and an oceanic expert to look more into how the tides were moving when Wells went missing.
While Wells’ death has attracted national attention, Crump said few people outside of Texas or Kentucky likely know about Erving and Smith and what happened to them. He also said there are similarities between Erving’s and Wells’ cases.
Tameca Erving, second from left, holds a photo of her son Daniel Erving, a member of a swim team whose death at Lake Ray Hubbard outside Dallas was rule an accidental drowning. She appeared at a news conference Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Nashville with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, fifth from left. Credit: Screen shot from news conferenceTameca Erving remembers how her son left on April 13 to hang out with two white friends. She thought they were staying around the neighborhood, but they left to go fishing at Lake Ray Hubbard outside Dallas.
She reported him missing around midnight after he didn’t return. Days later, Daniel Erving’s body was pulled from the lake and his death was ruled an accident from drowning from jumping off a bridge, according to the state autopsy.
Erving said she does not believe her son drowned because he was healthy and a member of the swim team. An autopsy report found he had an unobstructed airway, she said, which is not a sign of drowning.
During the press conference, Crump said the two white people Erving was with threw away his clothes and phone, deleted messages from Erving’s phone and chose not to go to authorities.
Erving said her son was set to graduate in May but did not because of what was done to him.
Months later, a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old were arrested and charged with tampering with evidence but not with Erving’s death, which his mother called offensive. She is calling for murder charges and her legal team is working to have Erving’s case presented to a new grand jury.
In Kentucky, Smith went to a Fourth of July house party in Lexington, where he died of a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities said his death was accidental and the shot was self-inflicted.
His family also disputes the finding about this death, which they say relied on party attendees who said Smith shot himself while playing Russian roulette, his grandmother Necee Anderson said at the Thursday press conference. The family has pushed police to test the gunshot residue on Smith’s hands, which she said did not happen.
Days later, police arrested a 20-year-old and charged him with tampering with evidence, as happened after Erving’s death in Texas.
“I’m not afraid to go to hell and sit with the devil,” Anderson said about her family’s continued pursuit of answers and justice.
Christine Wonsley, mother of Nolan Xavier Wells, is consoled by her husband, Elmore Wonsley, right, during a press conference after their son’s funeral at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs on Monday, July 20, 2026. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi TodayOn Thursday, Wells’ parents said his loss has been one of the most difficult things they have navigated. On top of grief and unanswered questions, they said they are dealing with having their characters attacked.
Christine Wonsley, Wells’ mother, said those attacks will not stop her from advocating for her son.
“All of these distractions, other questions, the people, the attacks people have sent our way. Just know, we will not be distracted,” she said.
She and her husband were asked about potential defamation lawsuits people may face for public speculation about their son’s death. Crump said he is aware of that effort and also called it a distraction.
On Wednesday, a 20-year-old former teammate who was by Horn Island the day Wells went missing announced he was suing anyone involved in spreading misinformation about him that has compromised his safety.
In a statement, the family of Bart Edmiston Jr. said he had nothing to do with Wells’ death. He said he drove his own boat to the island and helped Wells’ friends fix their boat when it took on water. It is internet personalities and sleuths who have wrongly implicated him in the death, the family said.
“We grieve for the loss of Nolan, but as a family, we are also concerned for the lives of our children and the safety of others being “convicted” in a court of public opinion without facts — indeed contrary to known evidence,” the family said in its statement.
Cease and desist letters have begun to go out in anticipation of a defamation suit, and more letters are expected, Edmiston’s attorney, Russell Latino, who is also publisher of the Magnolia Tribune site, wrote on Facebook.
Rep. Jeffrey Hulum III, D-Gulfport, speaking at a meeting of the Education Freedom Select Committee at the State Capitol, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 in Jackson, cautioned people against threatening elected officials and others as the investigation into Nolan Xavier Wells’ death proceeds.. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayIn a statement Thursday, state Rep. Jeffrey Hulum, a Democrat from Gulfport who is running for a U.S. House seat, said private citizens have threatened elected officials on the Coast with defamation lawsuits. He said when elected officials promise to hold people accountable for threats, that promise should cover everyone.
Hulum mentioned the two autopsies that have been performed.
“Those are the public facts, and they do not support anyone saying that Nolan Wells drowned or that Nolan Wells was murdered,” Hulum said. “The honest answer today is that no one outside that process knows exactly what happened to him, and anyone claiming otherwise is replacing the judicial process with a false narrative.”
Hulum said premature statements cause damage.
“This is not a red herring and it is not a political football. It is about the tragic death of a bright young man who lost his life far too soon,” he said. “It is about the fact that every mother should know, to the fullest extent possible, what happened to cause the death of her child.”
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