“If You Lied, You Won’t Be Able To Hide.”

If you’ve followed the Nolan Wells case, you’ve probably heard about the audio.

People online have taken the Sea Tow call, enhanced it, created their own transcripts, and claimed they can hear all kinds of things in the background.

Some claim they hear Nolan.

Some claim they hear screaming.

Some claim they hear the young men discussing Nolan’s death.

These interpretations have been presented online as some kind of smoking gun.

So in Part Two of my conversation with Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, Morgan Seymour, and their defamation attorney Ed Paltzik, I wanted to ask them directly about it.

Their response was simple:

They say the narrative surrounding that audio makes absolutely no sense.

One of the boys brought up something that I think deserves consideration.

Why would a group of people who had allegedly just committed a murder voluntarily start making calls that could bring outside attention directly to them?

“Why would we call Sea Tow if we have a dead body on the boat?”

He also pointed to video I’ve previously shown from the boat around the time of the call.

According to the young men, Nolan isn’t on that boat.

Nobody appears to be hiding a body.

Nobody appears to be reacting to someone dying.

Instead, you see young men dealing with a boat that had been taking on water and trying to figure out how they’re getting home.

That’s their account.

Morgan made another point.

He believes some people have already decided what they hear before they listen.

And that’s a very real phenomenon.

If somebody gives you an unclear recording and tells you exactly what you’re supposed to hear, suddenly your brain starts looking for those words.

That’s why we have to separate what can actually be established from what somebody believes they hear in enhanced audio.

Warren expressed frustration with something I’ve noticed throughout my reporting on this case.

When one claim gets challenged, another one seems to take its place.

He specifically mentioned earlier claims involving a pool party, which he says actually occurred on June 27, not after Nolan’s death.

Now, he says, the focus has shifted to the audio.

“Thousands of lies. And now, oh, the audio comes back, and all of a sudden we can hear Nolan yelling in the background screaming.”

Warren called that interpretation a “complete lie.”

Again, these are the young men’s responses to allegations made about them.

But that’s exactly why I wanted to have this conversation.

You shouldn’t only hear accusations.

You should hear the response to those accusations too.

Then I gave each of them an opportunity.

Forget the lawyers.

Forget social media.

Forget everybody yelling at each other online.

If you had 30 seconds to speak directly to the people accusing you, what would you say?

Morgan’s answer was straightforward.

Do your research.

He argued that people are making damaging statements without evidence and that much of the information needed to challenge those claims is already publicly available.

Jax echoed the same sentiment.

His frustration was obvious.

These guys aren’t talking about some random internet rumor anymore.

They’re talking about accusations that they murdered one of their closest friends.

And Warren made something very clear.

“I don’t know what happened to Nolan. My friends don’t know what happened to Nolan.”

That’s important.

They’re not claiming to have solved Nolan Wells’ death.

They’re saying they didn’t cause it.

There’s a difference.

When I gave Ed the same opportunity, he had plenty to say.

First, he returned to Warren’s actions after coming back from Horn Island.

According to Paltzik, Warren contacted the Coast Guard and asked a federal agency to help locate Nolan.

Ed’s argument was simple.

If Warren had just murdered his friend and was trying to cover it up, why would he voluntarily call the Coast Guard and direct attention back toward the place Nolan was last seen?

Paltzik told me he views Warren’s actions, along with the actions of Jax and Morgan, as consistent with innocence.

And once again, he left absolutely no ambiguity about his position.

“They are categorically, completely and totally innocent.”

That’s his position as their attorney.

But then he issued another warning.

Ed said it twice.

“If you lied, you won’t be able to hide.”

According to Paltzik, his legal team has already identified people they believe are among the worst offenders in spreading false accusations against his clients.

And he says lawsuits are coming.

Not maybe.

Not possibly.

He told me:

“There are going to be lawsuits.”

His argument is that people may have received immediate attention, views, followers, or money from pushing sensational accusations online, but the consequences could last much longer than that temporary attention.

He called it a “sugar high.”

And his message to those people was pretty simple.

The sugar high eventually wears off.

A lawsuit doesn’t.

I also wanted to ask Ed about something I’ve discussed repeatedly in my coverage of this case.

Race.

From almost the beginning, the Nolan Wells story was framed by some people as a racial story.

A young Black man.

Young white friends.

Mississippi.

And before many of the basic facts were even established, people began filling in the blanks themselves.

So I asked Ed whether that racial component matters when looking at potential defamation.

His response was fascinating.

He called what he believes has happened:

“Racism for profit.”

According to Paltzik, outrage can generate attention, and attention can generate money.

He was careful not to assign a specific motive to any particular individual during our interview.

But he argued that profit, animus, ignorance and other motivations can all contribute to people spreading damaging claims.

And he said his legal team isn’t interested in speculation.

They’re interested in evidence.

That’s another phrase Ed used that stood out to me.

“We have the receipts. We have the goods.”

Paltzik says the evidence his team has reviewed is precisely why he’s so confident in these young men.

And according to him, that evidence isn’t just going to be discussed in interviews.

He intends to present it in court.

That is where this entire situation could become very interesting.

Because social media is easy.

You can make a video.

You can speculate.

You can throw a theory out there.

You can get millions of views.

A courtroom is different.

There are rules.

There is discovery.

There are depositions.

There is evidence.

And eventually, somebody has to prove what they’re saying.

I’ve also seen discussions online about possible lawsuits against Warren, Jax, and Morgan.

So I asked Ed directly whether he believes those lawsuits have merit.

His answer couldn’t have been stronger.

“Anybody who sues Jax, Warren or Morgan, they’re going to end up paying our attorney’s fees.”

Paltzik said anyone contemplating such litigation would lose, arguing that his side has the evidence necessary to defend the young men.

Then he gave me a poker analogy.

According to Ed:

“We have a pair of aces and you have two-seven offsuit.”

Again, that’s Paltzik speaking as their attorney.

Whether future litigation ultimately proves his position is something the courts would determine.

But nobody can accuse this man of lacking confidence in his clients.

With everything negative surrounding this case, I wanted to talk about something else.

The support.

Because there has been a lot of it.

The young men told me the messages, prayers, videos challenging misinformation, and financial contributions to their legal defense have helped them tremendously.

Morgan said he personally went through the prayers people submitted online.

Jax called the support a blessing from the Lord.

Warren said knowing there are people willing to stand behind them and look at the evidence has helped them mentally as they deal with everything happening around them.

Whatever you believe about this case, remember that these are real human beings.

Nolan was a real human being.

His family is real.

His friends are real.

And the consequences of what people say online can become very real too.

Toward the end of our conversation, I wanted to explain something myself.

I’m not an investigator in the Nolan Wells case.

I’m a journalist.

And I wasn’t willing to put these young men in front of my audience simply because they asked.

I needed to see evidence.

I needed to evaluate their credibility.

I needed to hear their explanations.

And based on what they showed me and the conversations I’ve had with them, I believe they are presenting their side of this story in good faith.

That doesn’t mean I know exactly what happened to Nolan.

I don’t.

They say they don’t either.

But journalism isn’t supposed to be about picking your preferred conclusion and then silencing everybody who challenges it.

It’s about hearing people out.

Looking at evidence.

Asking uncomfortable questions.

And following the facts wherever they lead.

This was Part Two of my exclusive conversation with Ed Paltzik, Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour.

And we’re not finished.

There is still more to this conversation and more to this case.

WATCH PART TWO OF MY FULL INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE HERE: