According to a newly filed lawsuit, the family of a teenager who was discovered dead by the roadside after a Labor Day weekend party claims he was “beaten to death” by one or more people.
Noah Presgrove, 19, was discovered on September 4, 2023, curled in the fetal position, wearing only a pair of mismatched shoes and surrounded by his teeth.
Nearly two years after the high school graduate’s death, his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against seven people, including four of the boy’s friends, one of their fathers, and the two house owners who hosted the party.
Presgrove reportedly spent four days drinking and partying with his friends for his 22nd birthday at a property a mile away from where a truck driver discovered his body.
The medical examiner’s report stated that Presgrove died from “multiple blunt force injuries” to his head, neck, torso, and extremities.
The cause of the injuries has long been a mystery. In May of last year, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol announced that Presgrove’s death was not being investigated as a murder.
The civil lawsuit, filed on Monday, seeks at least $75,000 in funeral expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and companionship, as well as punitive damages.
According to the Daily Mail, the teen “was beat to death by one or more of the defendants,” according to the lawsuit. However, the complaint contained no evidence that the beating had occurred.
In the filing, the family did not specify who they believed was responsible for the alleged attack. The lawsuit does not explicitly state that the beatings were intended to kill Presgrove.
“Although the death may have been unintended, hosting the party and beating of [Presgrove] was intentionally, malicious, and in reckless disregard of [his] rights,” according to the complaint.
The filing named several defendants, including Presgrove’s best friend, Jack Newton, and girlfriend, Carter Combs.
Newton allegedly purchased alcohol for the victim from Napoli’s convenience store in Marlow, which is also named as a defendant in the filing, and the plaintiffs argue that this makes him liable for his death.
Pregrove’s autopsy report revealed that he was intoxicated at the time of death, with a blood alcohol level of 0.14.
“The party was a civil conspiracy… to furnish alcoholic beverages to underaged and intoxicated individuals, such as [Presgrove], over the course of several days,” according to the complaint.
Newton’s father, Caleb Newton, was accused of giving Presgrove access to an ATV that had flipped earlier that day. The elder Newton claimed he never attended the party.
According to the preliminary medical examiner’s report, Presgorve and his girlfriend, Carter, fought after the accident.
Carter and two other girls, Avery Combs and Logan Jernigan, were accused of throwing the party.
The lawsuit also named the Combs’ father, Johnnie Wilcoxson, who owned the property where the party was held, and their mother, Stevie Howard, who owned a trailer next to the house.
