Nathaniel Harrison "Hunter" Nelson was born on March 17, 2002, in Natchez, Mississippi, to Beauregard "Beau" and Lindsay Nelson, members of one of Natchez's most prominent families.

The Nelson family tradition can be traced to the very beginnings of the town, the oldest civilized settlement on the Mississippi River. Due to the incredible fortunes being made in the cotton industry in the early 1860s, only New York, Boston, and Philadelphia had more millionaires than Natchez, Mississippi, and the Nelson family patriarch was one of those millionaires.

After the Civil War, the Nelson family business interests expanded into non-agricultural areas, including banking and law. Today, the family is still firmly entrenched in Natchez society. Hunter's father, Beau, is a lawyer with a vast real estate portfolio.

Former Nelson household staff members claim that young Hunter showed a voracious desire for almost everything, including toys, clothes, and food, and his parents did little to curb his appetites. Nearly everyone has stories of Beau and Lindsay ignoring Hunter's temper tantrums, and several Natchez residents allege that Hunter's parents were so numbed by alcohol, prescription drugs, and arrogance that they never even realized his behavior was unacceptable.

You couldn't do anything," said Lori Jacobsen, who used to teach Hunter in an exclusive Natchez private school. "He wouldn't pay attention, smarted off all the time, and generally ran amok—but you couldn't discipline him. I finally had enough and threw him out of my class. But Beau Nelson was on the school's board, so about a week later, I was told my contract wouldn't be renewed." Many of Hunter's teachers refused to speak on the record, but all confirmed their inability to control him.

Socially, Hunter attracted a large group of male friends, all members of the Natchez elite. He also dated a string of the most beautiful girls in Natchez, which made most men in town either envious or irate.

"He's a good-looking kid. I'll give him that much, but if he didn't have those parents and that last name, that punk would be dead right now. The way that snot-nosed brat carries on in this town is ridiculous," said one Natchez resident who would only identify himself as the father of one of Hunter's peers. 

High school records show that Hunter graduated with a 2.75 GPA and was admitted to the University of Mississippi in 2020. Sources say he was registered for a room at the Stockard-Martin dormitory but actually lived in a Warren Street apartment, despite the requirement that first-year students live on campus.

Since he started at Ole Miss, Hunter has become well-known to the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department. Although he has never been charged with anything, most members of the force know his Lexus on sight and have at least stopped him for traffic violations.