MISSISSIPPI — Two individuals have been charged with transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce as the investigation into the death of Nolan Wells continues. Michelle Francine Edwards of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce of Sacramento, California, face federal charges related to threats directed at officials and witnesses connected to the case.

Wells was an 18-year-old Black college freshman and a Southwest Mississippi Community College football player. He was found dead on July 6 following a boat trip to Horn Island with a group of friends. Horn Island is located several miles off the Mississippi Gulf coast.

Three friends who were with Wells on the boat trip were white. According to the mother of one of Wells's friends, Wells decided to stay on Horn Island while the others returned inland due to a mechanical issue with the boat.

The investigation has produced conflicting medical findings. An independent autopsy performed in July listed Wells’s cause and manner of death as "undetermined, pending investigation". The independent autopsy was paid for by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Wells's family, stated the independent autopsy found missing neck tissue and unexplained "red discoloration" on the back of Wells’s head. Connecticut chief medical examiner James Gill called the "undetermined" conclusion "a little misleading" because it was incomplete and lacked a toxicology report or police data.

The official state autopsy of Nolan Wells has been completed by the Mississippi state medical examiner’s office. The results of the state autopsy have not been released to the public or the family. The state autopsy results were sent to a grand jury investigating Wells’s case.

The state autopsy results were sent to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. State officials have stated that nothing in the evidence so far suggests foul play. Wells’s legal team sent letters to the families of his friends on July 20 instructing them to preserve evidence possibly pertaining to the case.

Court records allege Edwards used a blocked number to call the chancery clerk’s office in George County approximately 21 times in July. Court records also allege Edwards made several calls to the sheriff’s office in Jackson County, Mississippi. The alleged calls by Edwards prompted authorities to place the building on lockdown while canine units conducted a bomb sweep. If convicted, Edwards could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

Dumarce allegedly threatened Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole, whose son had been on the boat trip with Wells. Warren Hudson, the stepson of Judge Ashlee Cole, was on the boat with Wells. A Facebook account traced to Dumarce sent Judge Cole a message stating: "There will be a package coming to your guys office in the next few days. It’s gonna blow you away when you see it." The Facebook message from Dumarce included additional text describing violence and threatening the judge's family.

Judge Ashlee Cole posted on Facebook: "We realize that the truth will not stop the calls for the death of our small children … We also want to know what happened to Nolan. We will do everything within our power to assist Nolan’s family in their quest for answers."

The online fundraiser for some of Wells’s friends had collected about $94,000 as of Monday for the purpose of defending against potential litigation. The online fundraiser stated: "Instead of being allowed to mourn, what followed was an unprecedented online campaign of accusations, harassment, threats and defamation." Wells’s funeral was paid for by film-maker Tyler Perry. Rev Al Sharpton said at Wells’s funeral: "For an 18-year-old young man to no longer be with us, we want answers, not bias either way – just answers … I think that for the family, the closure can come if there is justice. He was not on that island by himself: somebody saw something and knows something."

The case has drawn national attention due to the racial dynamics involved and the severity of the threats made against judicial officials and witnesses. The federal charges against Edwards and Dumarce reflect the extent of the harassment campaign that emerged following Wells's death. The discrepancy between the independent and state autopsy findings remains a central point of contention for Wells's family and their legal representation.

The ongoing investigation involves multiple agencies, including the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and a grand jury. The unreleased state autopsy results and pending toxicology testing mean that a final determination on the cause and manner of death has not yet been made public. The legal proceedings against those accused of making threats proceed separately from the investigation into Wells's death.