Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 2

California Man Charged Over Bomb Threat to Mississippi Judge in 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells Case

Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 2

California Man Charged Over Bomb Threat to Mississippi Judge in 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells Case

Q: What hidden details in the unreleased Horn Island photos sparked a cross-country cyber threat against a Mississippi judge?

No hidden details in unreleased Horn Island photos have been publicly identified as the trigger for the threat. What is known is that the threats against Judge Ashlee Cole grew out of the intense online speculation surrounding Nolan Wells’ death and her family’s connection to people who were with him that day. Investigators and local authorities have said they are specifically seeking original, unedited photos and videos from Horn Island because such media may contain critical evidence, including possible altercations, sightings of Wells, or other activity near the island’s northwest tip. But those materials have not been released publicly, and no court document says Dumarce had access to any secret images or acted on verified photographic evidence. Instead, the record points to a social-media-fueled reaction. Dumarce allegedly sent bomb and violence threats days after Wells’ body was recovered, during a period when rumors, viral videos, race-related allegations, and conflicting accounts of Wells’ last hours were spreading widely online. Some reports also referenced an alleged beach argument video and investigators’ interest in deleted phone content, but neither has been established in court as the reason for the threats. So the answer is that there is no confirmed “hidden detail” from unreleased photos behind the cross-country cyber threat. The threat appears to have been driven by public outrage, misinformation, and unresolved questions in a still-open death investigation.

3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 2

Federal prosecutors charged 27-year-old Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce with sending threats to Mississippi Judge Ashlee Cole, including a Facebook message warning of a bomb package and a follow-up call to her court office.
The complaint says the messages were sent days after 18-year-old Nolan Wells' body was recovered on July 6; the FBI traced the Facebook account yaeyae962 to Dumarce.
Cole's son, Warren, was among the friends on Horn Island with Wells on July 4, a link that has drawn scrutiny as authorities continue investigating Wells' death as a suspected drowning.
Cole posted screenshots of the threats on July 9 and said her family has faced calls for their small children's deaths while still trying to help Wells' family find answers.
Wells vanished after a boat trip to Horn Island, about 10 miles off the Gulf Coast; his state autopsy is complete, but results have not been released.