A funeral director was hired to help a grieving family bury their loved one. Investigators say she later appeared in court claiming to be his common-law wife — and the sole heir to an estate worth more than $2.2 million.

In this episode of No Tears For Black Girls: The Cases They Ignored, we examine the allegations surrounding Houston funeral home operator Unique Green and the estate of 78-year-old Lawrence Gammon.

Prosecutors allege forged documents, a falsified death certificate, millions of dollars transferred from Lawrence’s accounts, and a funeral home raid that uncovered dozens of boxes of cremated remains. The case also raises troubling questions about prior complaints, licensing problems, and how much trust families place in funeral professionals during the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

Green has denied wrongdoing and has not been convicted. The criminal case remains pending.

Listen now as we break down the timeline, the evidence authorities say they uncovered, and the question at the center of it all:

How did the person hired to handle Lawrence’s funeral allegedly become his “wife” — and heir to his $2.2 million estate?

Eighteen-year-old Nolan Wells left for a Fourth of July celebration on Mississippi’s Horn Island with people he considered friends.

The boats returned to the mainland. Nolan did not.

But somehow, his phone and keys made it back without him.

Two days later, Nolan’s body was found in the water. Authorities initially suggested he may have drowned, but his mother, Christine Wonsley, says too many questions about his final hours remain unanswered.

Why would Nolan stay behind on a remote island without his phone? Why do accounts of when he was last seen differ? What happened between the boat emergency and the late-night call telling Christine her son was missing? And why did parts of Nolan’s phone appear strangely empty when it was returned?

Told through the eyes of a Black mother who raised her son with cultural pride, survival lessons and one important rule—everyone who leaves together comes home together—this episode follows Christine’s transformation from grieving mother to determined advocate.

An independent autopsy listed Nolan’s cause and manner of death as undetermined. Now, the circumstances surrounding his death are expected to be presented to a Mississippi grand jury.

This is the story of Nolan Xavier Wells—and the mother refusing to let unanswered questions become silence.

In 2023, we told you about Ruthey Smith, a 19-year-old mother who disappeared from Los Angeles on March 2, 2022. Four years later, Ruthey is still missing—and her family is still fighting to bring her home.

In this update and rewind, we revisit Ruthey’s original story, examine what has been publicly verified since our first report, and separate confirmed facts from the rumors that can derail a search. Authorities have treated Ruthey’s disappearance as a suspected human-trafficking case, but there is still no verified public confirmation that she has been found. Claims placing Ruthey in Las Vegas remain unconfirmed.

Ruthey may also use the names Grayson or Winter. Please listen, share, and help keep her name visible until she is safely home.