Nolan Wells’ Friends Sue Terrell Owens in Defamation Case

Three friends of Nolan Wells, the college student who vanished during a Fourth of July gathering on a Mississippi island and was later found dead, have filed a defamation lawsuit against former NFL star Terrell Owens.

Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour allege that the Hall of Fame wide receiver defamed them in a post on X that stated: “ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!!”

The young men’s fathers filed the federal lawsuit on their sons’ behalf Monday. All three friends are younger than 21 and are considered minors under Mississippi law.

Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour were part of a large group that traveled by boat with 18-year-old Wells to Horn Island on July 4. The three friends said Wells did not return with the group to the Mississippi mainland because he was speaking with a girl, though Wells’ family has disputed that account. His body was recovered from the waters off the island two days later.

Photos of Wells, who was Black, alongside his white friends spread widely across social media after his disappearance. Some users interpreted the case through a racial lens and directed suspicion at the three friends.

Owens added to the criticism in a Sept. 26 post that is still visible online. His message shared an Instagram reel from content creator Trent Out Loud, which accused the young men of deleting Snapchat messages from Wells’ phone after his death and suggested they could have been involved in killing him.

Andrew Garrett, a digital forensics specialist retained by attorney Benjamin Crump, examined Wells’ phone and found no evidence that anyone accessed it between 2:18 p.m. on July 4, when Wells last unlocked the device, and 3:14 a.m. on July 5, when his parents accessed it.

Garrett also explained that Snapchat messages may disappear from a recipient’s phone when the sender deletes them remotely.

The lawsuit claims that Owens, 52, promoted a false account of events and accused the three friends of crimes they did not commit.

“The Defamatory X Post also placed Warren, Jax, and Morgan before Owens’ audience in a false light, as murderers and participants in a murder coverup who had escaped justice,” the lawsuit states. “There was absolutely no evidence to prompt an arrest of the Plaintiffs because they had done nothing wrong, and there was no probable cause to arrest Plaintiffs because they had not committed a crime.”

News Media contacted Owens for comment through his social media accounts and SMAC Entertainment, which identifies him as a client on its website.

On Sept. 22, several days before Owens’ post, a grand jury concluded that Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning” and declined to recommend criminal charges against anyone.

The grand jury noted, however, that both the state autopsy report, which has not been released publicly, and an independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family identified bruising on the back of his head.

Roger A. Mitchell Jr., the family’s forensic pathologist, classified Wells’ death as “undetermined.” Mitchell said he could not exclude non-accidental causes, noting that Wells did not appear intoxicated enough to be unable to swim and had “apparent acute blunt force injuries to the head and body prior to his death.”

On Monday, Wells’ family called for a federal investigation into his death after the grand jury declined to recommend charges.

“Our son was found on ​federal ⁠land and we are asking the FBI to step in and do a full investigation,” said Elmore Wonsley, Wells’ father.