Attorneys representing friends of the late Nolan Wells are speaking out after they say their clients have received bomb and death threats following controversy surrounding allegedly deleted Snapchat messages. In a Friday statement, lawyers Edward Andrew Paltzik and Tyler Cox said Nolan’s friends Jax Pitalo, Warren Hudson and Morgan Seymour “refuse to be intimidated” by the threats.
According to the attorneys, the threats came from people outside the community after Nolan’s family lawyer, Ben Crump, raised questions about messages that were allegedly deleted from Nolan’s phone. Crump’s team claimed messages from the period between Nolan’s last use of the phone and when it was handed over to his family had been deleted. Paltzik and Cox accused Crump of fueling speculation and sensationalism surrounding the case.
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath has disputed the interpretation of the Snapchat activity, saying the user action referenced by Crump’s team involved other Snapchat users rather than someone physically accessing Nolan’s phone. Paltzik and Cox have previously said they intend to sue Crump for defamation and ended their latest statement with a warning that “consequences are coming.” The competing claims remain part of an ongoing legal dispute.
