At an August 19 online vigil for what would have been Wells’ 19th birthday, Sharpton again raised questions about what the friends allegedly knew.
“What the friends knew, when they knew it, why they didn’t hand over the cellphone over right away when it was clear he was not back with them, the keys, all of that needs to be litigated,” he said.
The attorneys said those comments falsely implied that Seymour, Pitalo, and Hudson were involved in Wells’ death, withheld or altered his phone, concealed his keys, or obstructed the investigation.
They also claimed none of the three pals ever possessed, accessed, or erased data from Wells’ phone. One of Wells’ closest friends told conservative YouTuber Brandon Tatum that Wells left the items behind because he didn’t want them to get wet in the water.
“No one even was in contact with his phone until it was moved from the boat to the truck, and none of us have access to Nolan’s password to get on his phone and delete anything,” said Hudson. “We had no reason to delete anything. There’s nothing to hide here.”