Edward James Porter, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce and Michelle Francine Edwards have been charged in three separate instances involving alleged threats — and the details show exactly why this case has become so visceral. This isn’t just about an 18-year-old found dead on a Mississippi island on July 6. This is about what happens when a high-profile death involving a Black teen and his white friends spirals into rage, fear, and a breakdown of trust in the system.
Nolan Wells disappeared on July Fourth from Horn Island, a remote barrier island about 10 miles off the Mississippi coast while visiting with high school friends. While those friends returned to the mainland, Wells’ body was found days later in the water. The case exploded immediately. Many looked at photos of Wells, where he appears to be the only young Black man in group pictures, and sensed danger – a reminder of Mississippi’s fraught racist past many argue is still alive today. A statement from the sheriff on July 6 that “no foul play was suspected” in Wells’ death seemed to only fuel frustration and anger on social media.
Now we’re seeing the fallout. Edward James Porter of Berwyn, Illinois, made multiple threatening phone calls to two witnesses on July 31. Per the probable cause affidavit, Porter said he would kill them and their families and that he knew where they lived, and sent one witness a text message containing that person’s Mississippi address. He allegedly told the second witness he would dismember them and place their remains in a suitcase. Porter threatened two members of the family of Bart Edminston Jr., a 21-year-old who knew Wells and provided aid to the boat the group used on July Fourth, said family attorney Russell Latino. Latino said that one of the family members who Porter threatened is a witness in the investigation into Wells’ death.
52-year-old Michelle Francine Edwards of Cincinnati placed nearly 30 bomb-related calls on July 23 to two Mississippi government offices involved in the case. She’s accused of using a blocked number while repeatedly phoning the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly warning employees not to go outside, saying “the clock is ticking,” and telling them they would die. She told the person who answered the phone, “[Y]’all got a bomb outside, don’t come outside, b—.” She allegedly called back to ask, “[Y]’all still in there?”
Then there’s Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, charged on July 14 for allegedly sending a threatening Facebook message to a Jackson County Chancery Court judge with ties to the Wells investigation. Messages from the “yaeyae962” account read: “There will be a package coming to your guys office in the next few days. It’s gonna blow you away when you see it lol.” “Once that package is opened the timer will start. And then you have maybe 10 seconds or less to ask god forgiveness.” Cole is a Jackson County judge, and the victim was identified as having initials “A.C.” Cole has since posted screenshots of Instagram and Facebook messages from “yaeyae962” showing the same threatening messages that were included in the court documents.
Here’s what cuts deep: None of the three appear to know Wells, his family or the boating group, or be part of the investigation. These aren’t people tied to the case. They’re strangers who saw the same speculation, conspiracy theories, and raw pain flowing through social media and responded by threatening judges, law enforcement, and witnesses. The threats came amid rampant speculation and scrutiny of the investigation, deepened in part by uncertainty surrounding Wells’ final hours, distrust of law enforcement and the state’s long history of racist violence.
What we’re watching is a crisis of legitimacy in action. An independent pathologist described Nolan Wells’ manner of death as undetermined pending further investigation, released July 22. Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said Wells’ parents requested an independent autopsy because “it is not adding up.” Crump has challenged the notion that Wells may have drowned — saying the teen was a strong athlete and knew how to swim. When official channels fail to satisfy, when race and history are intertwined with doubt, people turn to rage. That rage doesn’t care about the law.
The 16BARS take: The real story isn’t that three strangers made threats — it’s that a nation still can’t trust its institutions to tell the truth about a dead Black kid. Until Mississippi (and America) fixes that, expect more of this.
