BREAKING NEWS / UPDATE Best Friend of Mississippi Football Star Nolan Wells Skips Funeral After Receiving Thousands of Death Threats

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi — The closest friend of 18-year-old college football player Nolan Wells has revealed why he stayed away from the teenager’s funeral, citing a flood of death threats against himself and his family.

Warren Hudson, who was with Wells during the July 4 boat trip to Horn Island where the young athlete later vanished, spoke on The Officer Tatum podcast. He said he chose not to attend the closed-casket service at Center Pointe Church on Monday for two main reasons: he did not want to draw attention away from Wells and his grieving family amid intense online speculation, and he had received thousands of death threats.

“I’ve gotten thousands of death threats. My family’s got thousands of death threats,” Hudson said. “For my own safety, I’m not going to put my own health and safety at risk… It breaks my heart that I can’t go. I wish I could have been there.”

Wells, a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, disappeared after a group of friends traveled by boat to the remote barrier island to celebrate Independence Day. His body was recovered on July 6 near the shoreline.

An independent autopsy commissioned by the family (and funded by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick) listed the cause and manner of death as undetermined, pending further investigation. The official state investigation remains active and ongoing.

The funeral, attended by high-profile figures including Spike Lee and Terrell Owens, was a closed-casket service. Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, spoke emotionally, saying the family would “continue to fight” for answers.

Hudson has maintained that the group repeatedly urged Wells to leave the island with them and that he had no involvement in his friend’s death. Authorities have not announced any charges, and the case continues to generate intense public attention and online speculation.