On Friday, Aug. 7, attorneys Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik — who represent Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour — traveled to Horn Island, where Wells seems to have vanished in plain sight over a month earlier, as part of their own investigation. In a statement to PEOPLE on Aug. 9, Paltzik and Cox said their three clients “are completely innocent young men. Each of them loved Nolan Wells as a brother and each are haunted to the cores of their souls by Nolan’s tragic death.”

“Magnifying the tragedy, hordes of hustlers, opportunists and vultures have descended upon the beautiful community of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.” they added. “Their aim is to divide a town, fuel political agendas, and profit from this tragedy.”

“We, on the other hand, only deal in evidence, facts, and reality. We will never defame, guess, or speculate,” the statement continued. “And here is the truth: we don’t know how Nolan Wells died. But, what we do know beyond any doubt is this: Warren, Jax, and Morgan had nothing whatsoever to do with Nolan’s death.” Speaking with the Sun Herald on the island, Cox said, “Those three boys are good Ocean Springs people, and they do not deserve this.”

“They don’t deserve the credible threats, the physical threats, the in-person threats, online threats to them and their family that they have suffered through for the last 30 days, over 30 days,” Cox told the Mississippi newspaper, “and they had absolutely no involvement with the death of Nolan Wells, their best friend.” “They loved him like a brother, and they’re just as heartbroken, just as much or more than anybody,” the attorney added of the three friends, who have denied any wrongdoing in connection with Wells’ death.