Three people have been charged with threatening a judge, a witness, and local officials during the investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells.
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. The teenager, who was Black, traveled to an uninhabited island with a group of white friends and failed to return to the mainland. His body was discovered two days later off the coast. Authorities have not yet made any arrests or named suspects in the death of Nolan Xavier Wells. An independent autopsy commissioned by his family found the cause of death to be undetermined. The charges against the three defendants appear to be unrelated to the investigation itself, as none of the three appear to know the family or the boating group. Edward James Porter of Illinois was charged for allegedly threatening to kill a witness and their family. Michelle Francine Edwards was charged for allegedly placing bomb threats at local offices. Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce was charged for allegedly sending a threatening Facebook message to a judge with ties to the investigation.