The short version: Three friends of Nolan Wells — the Mississippi teen whose body was found on Horn Island after a July Fourth boat trip — are suing NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation. Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour say a Sept. 26 post Owens shared on X falsely accused them of murdering their friend and covering up the crime. Their lawyers, Tyler Cox and Edward Paltzik, say they intend to file several more lawsuits tied to the case.

The suit was filed in Jackson, Mississippi. It alleges defamation per se and false light invasion of privacy, and it asks the court to set compensatory and punitive damages. The complaint runs 44 pages.

The post at the center of the suit

According to the complaint, Owens's Sept. 26 post on X shared a video from Trent Hall's The Trent Out Loud Show Instagram account. The video's main image is of Hudson, Pitalo, and Seymour. In the video, Hall calls for the arrests of "the three white boys" and of District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, based on claims that information was deleted from Wells's phone.

Owens's own words on the post read, "ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!! LIKE YESTERDAY!!" His X account has 1.2 million followers.

The attorneys for the three men say that with that post, Owens falsely accused their clients of murder and of covering it up by tampering with evidence. The complaint argues those claims were shared as known falsehoods — particularly after a grand jury returned no true bill and no criminal charges were filed.

"Nolan Wells' accidental death at the Island was indeed a tragedy beyond measure. However, Warren, Jax, and Morgan played no role whatsoever in Nolan's tragic death. Any accusations or suggestions that they murdered their dear friend or took steps to cover up his murder are categorically false and now an intentional lie," the complaint reads.

The complaint also says the plaintiffs plan to file a separate suit against Hall, who has made several videos about the case.

A case that keeps generating lawsuits

The Owens suit is the latest in a wave of defamation actions tied to the Wells investigation. Cox and Paltzik have also announced suits — or threats of suits — against the Rev. Al Sharpton and The View co-host Sunny Hostin over statements about Hudson, Pitalo, and Seymour related to the case. Both received pre-suit demand letters asking for retractions. Sharpton has said he looks forward to seeing them in court and undergoing the discovery process.

Owens has been publicly involved in the Wells case since the summer. In July, he committed $25,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest or conviction. Another $150,000 has been offered by Sharpton and his National Action Network, Hollywood producer Tyler Perry, and Warren Hudson's father, Dr. Ben Hudson. No suspects have ever been named by law enforcement, and a total of $175,000 in private reward money remains available.

Owens played 15 seasons in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals before his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His reality series The T.O. Show ran for three seasons on VH1, and he co-hosts the Get TO The Point podcast.

What the investigation has — and hasn't — established

Wells, 18, was reported missing on July 4 after a boat trip to Horn Island with friends. His body was found near the last place he was seen on Monday, July 6. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said investigators had no reason to suspect foul play, though the investigation continued. The state's autopsy was sealed until the case went before a grand jury in September.

Both autopsies — the state's and an independent one commissioned by the family and conducted by Dr. Roger Mitchell — listed Wells's cause and manner of death as undetermined, meaning the pathologists could not definitively say what happened. Neither ruled out drowning, though the state autopsy found no water in Wells's lungs or stomach. Mitchell pointed to bruises on the back of Wells's skull, shoulder, and near his butt but did not imply the damage was fatal or life-threatening. The state autopsy found no bleeding in or around Wells's brain and no damage to his skull beneath the bruise.

The grand jury's report found that "the position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells' body is consistent with drowning." It returned no true bill, meaning no criminal charges will be filed. District Attorney McIlrath said there was no evidence to support allegations that the death was racially motivated.

The phone question has been central to the public debate. Wells's mother, Christine Wonsley, said early on that it looked like Snapchat messages had been deleted from her son's phone — a claim later misinterpreted and spread as a rumor that the phone had been completely wiped before it was returned to the family.

The family's attorney, Ben Crump, hired Garrett Discovery to conduct a forensic review of the device. Andrew Garrett, the firm's CEO, said at a news conference that content had been deleted, but clarified that other Snapchat users deleted or recalled messages — and that no one other than Wells unlocked the phone after the last time he used it himself. The phone report that Crump's team provided to McIlrath was reportedly presented to the grand jury.

A family still asking for answers

The grand jury's decision did not settle the matter for Wells's family. On Monday, they called for a federal investigation into his death. "Our son was found on federal land and we are asking the FBI to step in and do a full investigation," his father, Elmore Wonsley, said, according to Reuters.

Attorney Ahmad R. Smith, who is also representing the Wonsleys, had sent a letter to McIlrath before the grand jury met, saying the private investigation had not found additional witnesses with relevant information. The grand jury's report noted that if new evidence about Wells's death comes to light, it should be presented to a grand jury for further consideration. Mississippi has no statute of limitations on murder charges.

What remains is a case that has drawn national scrutiny — and, increasingly, courtroom action from both directions. The friends' attorneys have not said whom their promised additional lawsuits will target. For now, the Owens complaint asks a court to decide whether a share on social media, amplified to more than a million followers, crossed the line from commentary into defamation.