Key Takeaways
- Terrell Owens demanded the arrests of Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour in an X post that accused them of involvement in 18-year-old Nolan Wells’ death.
- The three friends sued Owens for defamation, seeking unspecified damages after his post allegedly caused emotional distress, humiliation, safety fears, and threats against their families.
- Owens posted five days after a Mississippi grand jury found “not a scintilla of evidence” of criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing and concluded Wells’ body was consistent with drowning.
Terrell Owens is being sued by three of Nolan Wells’ friends after allegedly calling for their arrests days after a Mississippi grand jury unanimously declined to indict anyone and found no credible evidence of criminal conduct connected to the 18-year-old’s death.
According to The Associated Press, Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour filed the federal defamation lawsuit through their fathers in Mississippi, accusing the Pro Football Hall of Famer of defamation over a Sept. 26 post on X. The post included a photograph of the three young men and the message, “ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!! LIKE YESTERDAY!!”
That post came five days after a Jackson County grand jury cleared Wells’ friends of criminal wrongdoing following an investigation that included witness testimony, physical and digital evidence, GPS records and cellphone data.
According to the lawsuit, Owens shared an Instagram video from social media personality Trent Out Loud that accused Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour of murdering Wells, tampering with evidence and deleting messages from his phone.
The complaint argues Owens went beyond merely reposting someone else’s allegations by independently demanding the three be arrested.
The young men are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and have requested a jury trial. They allege Owens’ comments caused mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation while increasing fears for their safety after they and their families received threats.
All three have consistently denied involvement in Wells’ death.
Their lawsuit revisits the July 4 trip to Horn Island, which became the center of a case that drew national attention. According to the complaint, roughly 30 people traveled to the Mississippi barrier island aboard three boats. Wells was part of the group, although Hudson, Pitalo, and Seymour were not on his boat during the trip there.
Hudson later called Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, at approximately 11:07 p.m. after realizing Wells had not returned and told her the group still had his phone. He subsequently contacted the U.S. Coast Guard to report Wells missing and describe what he had been wearing.
Wells’ body was discovered July 6 near Horn Island.
Questions about his cellphone, conflicting accounts of his final hours, and viral videos quickly turned his death into a national story. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family listed his cause and manner of death as “undetermined,” while attorney Ben Crump continued pressing authorities for answers.
Owens himself became publicly involved in the case early on. He attended Wells’ July 20 funeral in Ocean Springs, where Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and Wells’ family and supporters continued demanding a full accounting of what happened.
But in September, the Jackson County grand jury reached a sweeping conclusion: there was no evidence of criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing. The panel found the location and condition of Wells’ body were “consistent with drowning” and said there was “not a scintilla of evidence” contradicting the friends’ account that Wells voluntarily stayed behind.
The grand jury did leave the door open to considering new evidence if any emerges suggesting Wells’ death was not accidental.
