The best friend of a teenager found dead on a lonely highway is expecting a child with his girlfriend who is also at the center of the baffling mystery.
Noah Presgrove, 19, was wearing only shoes when his body was discovered on a desolate stretch of US-81 near Terral, Oklahoma, on September 4, 2023.
He was last seen alive about a mile away at a four-day 22nd birthday party with friends over the Labor Day weekend that was heavily documented on social media.
Presgrove suffered massive head and upper-body injuries that led him to die from internal bleeding, but the cause of those injuries remains a mystery.
His cadre of close pals still raging well into that Sunday night consistently claimed they had no idea how he died, if they were even awake when he did.
Two of them were Jack Newton, 20, and Carter Combs, 21, who were 18 and 19 when Presgrove died and key parts of his inner circle.
Carter is the younger sister of Avery Jo Combs, who hosted the party at her grandfather’s isolated house off US-81.
Jack and Carter announced on the weekend that they were expecting a baby next March with social media posts including a tiny onesie.
Noah Presgrove, 19, was wearing only his shoes when his body was discovered on a desolate stretch of US-81 in Terral, Oklahoma, on September 4, 2023
‘This was one of the hardest secrets to keep, we are beyond excited and grateful. We loved each other so much god knew we needed 3 hearts,’ Carter wrote.
Included was the obligatory strip of photos showing Carter’s ultrasound of the unborn child.
Jack and Carter were on-again, off-again for much of the almost two years since Presgrove’s death – getting engaged, calling it off, and getting back together.
Much suspicion fell on the couple from Presgrove’s family, friends, and true crime enthusiasts around the world who are convinced his death was foul play.
They were, along with Avery and Logan Jernigan, the four friends at the party sued by Presgrove’s family for wrongful death and negligence.
‘My parents are becoming real parents. Can’t wait for future story times,’ Logan wrote in a comment to Carter’s Facebook post.
Stevie Howard, also a defendant in the lawsuit added: ‘That baby is gonna b loved more than any baby in the history of babies.’
Jack Newton, 20, and Carter Combs, 21, announced on the weekend that they were expecting a baby next March
Social media posts included a tiny onesie and the obligatory strip of photos showing Carter’s ultrasound of the unborn child
Much suspicion fell on the couple from Presgrove’s family, friends, and true crime enthusiasts around the world who are convinced his death was foul play
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is not investigating his death as a murder, but his family has long believed he was beaten to death and his body dumped on the road.
Almost two years after his death, and with barely a peep from cops, they filed a $75,000 wrongful death lawsuit in June.
‘[Presgrove] was beat to death by one or more of the defendants,’ the lawsuit claimed, without specifying who they believed did it.
The lawsuit left open the possibility that the alleged beating wasn’t meant to kill him, and included ‘unidentified individuals’ among the defendants.
‘Either intentionally or accidentally, the defendants killed [Presgrove],’ the lawsuit claimed.
‘Although the death may have been unintended, hosting the party and beating of [Presgrove] was intentionally, malicious, and in reckless disregard of [his] rights.’
OHP didn’t explicitly rule out manslaughter in its statement last year.
The six-page complaint offered no evidence Presgrove was beaten to death, let alone by anyone at the party, and none has emerged since his body was found – other than the nature of his injuries.
Presgrove’s body was found about a mile north along the highway from the small street where the party was held
Logan Jernigan, one of the girls who was at the party whom Presgrove fell asleep with earlier on the weekend, and was there the night he died. She is named as a defendant in the lawsuit
Presgrove disappeared after arguing with Avery Jo Combs (pictured) after he asked to sleep in her bed, but she refused. Avery was named in the lawsuit as she allegedly hosted the party
But legal experts told the Daily Mail this didn’t matter as much as it appeared, as even if the lawsuit never saw the inside of a courtroom it could still blow open the case.
That is because well before a trial, the legal process of discovery and compelling witnesses to give depositions could reveal key evidence.
Presgrove’s family’s lawyers, Austin Vance and Ryan Sailors from All Rise!, said this was a big part of why the lawsuit was brought in the first place.
‘As we get more evidence through discovery and depositions in addition to what we already have, the story of what really happened to Noah will become more clear and people can actually be held accountable,’ Sailors told the Daily Mail.
Vance believed some of Presgrove’s friends were keeping what happened to him to themselves and aimed to force them to talk.
‘How can so many people attend a party and no one have come out and said what happened to him in almost two years?’ he said.
‘It seems unbelievable that someone didn’t see or know something that would explain his death, and we hope this lawsuit will lead to them revealing key information.’
The complaint named four of Presgrove’s close friends who were at the party, one of their fathers, and the owners of the party house.
Presgrove’s body was found between the two chalk lines, and teeth within the circles. In the background is a memorial set up for the teenager
Confronting photos of police chalk outlines showed where his body, marked by the white line, and at least one of his teeth, marked by the circle, were found
Jack was singled out as who allegedly bought the alcohol Presgrove drank, which the complaint argued made him partly culpable for his death.
He allegedly bought the booze from Napoli’s convenience store in Marlow, Oklahoma, also named as a defendant and accused of selling alcohol to a minor.
Only the liquor store has filed a defense so far, giving broad procedural denials and asking for a dismissal.
‘The party was a civil conspiracy… to furnish alcoholic beverages to underaged and intoxicated individuals, such as [Presgrove], over the course of several days,’ the lawsuit claimed.
They were accused of providing Presgrove with alcohol ‘even after he was already intoxicated’ and breaching their duty of care by doing so.
Presgrove’s autopsy report found he had a blood alcohol level of 0.14.
Jack’s father Caleb Newton was accused in the lawsuit of allowing Presgrove to drive or ride on an ATV, which flipped and allegedly injured him.
Newton has long maintained he was never at the party and the ATV has in the past been referred to as belonging to Jack.
Jack claimed he happened upon the scene of Presgrove’s body about 6am as he left to go fishing with his father Caleb, whom he called at 6.05am
Presgrove (left) poses with Jack during the party
Avery and Carter’s mother Stevie Howard was named in the suit because she owned a trailer next to the house that was used in the party, as was her father Johnnie Trout Wilcoxson, who owned the property but was not present.
The lawsuit demanded at least $75,000 in damages for funeral expenses, pain and suffering, and lost earnings and companionship, plus punitive damages.
Dr Stuart Fischer, an internist doctor with extensive experience in emergency medicine, agreed with the premise of the lawsuit when he reviewed Presgrove’s autopsy report for the Daily Mail last year.
He concluded the injuries Presgrove suffered were so catastrophic and varied that him being mortally wounded in a severe beating was the most likely cause.
The inclusion of ‘unidentified individuals’ in the lawsuit admitted the possibility that Jack, Avery, Carter, and Logan played no direct role in his death.
The seven-page complaints includes some of the known facts in the case, including the ATV accident, and an argument just before Presgrove vanished.
‘Toward the end of the party, defendants Jack Newton and Avery Howard were seen verbally fighting with [Presgrove],’ it claimed.
Jack’s father Caleb Newton (pictured with his wife) was accused in the lawsuit of allowing Presgrove to drive or ride on an ATV, which flipped and allegedly injured him
Avery and Carter’s mother Stevie Howard (pictured) was named in the suit because she owned a trailer next to the house that was used in the party
A rough series of events emerged over the year since his death as the case was investigated, texts were leaked, and the details intensely discussed online.
The generally accepted narrative includes Presgrove being dirty after the ATV accident and being helped to shower by Carter and another partygoer, Jasmine Milan, because of how drunk he was.
Presgrove soon after argued with Avery, whom some friends claim he was hooking up with at the time, after he asked to sleep in her bed and she refused and told him he had to sleep on the floor.
‘She told him he couldn’t sleep in her bed because he messed with her friend the night before,’ Jack told a friend last year.
The argument upset Presgrove, and he wandered off into the night ‘to cool off’, never to be seen alive again.
Jack in Facebook messages explained to a friend his own argument with Presgrove: ‘We argued about girls for a second then ended up holding each other crying telling each other how much we meant to one another.’
Presgrove’s aunt Robyn Smith (center) and grandmother Deborah Smith (right) appealed for answers more than seven months after his death
Presgrove (center) with his father Victor (left) and mother Kasey (right)
Jasmine Milan posted this selfie to Snapchat at 3.41am with the caption ‘well, Noah’s missing’, which continues to fuel condemnation a year later
The lawsuit added that ‘at least some partygoers’ realized Presgrove was gone at 3.41am.
The 3.41am timing is a reference to a selfie Jasmine posted to Snapchat with the caption ‘well, Noah’s missing’.
Presgrove was found at 5.43am, according to both police and the lawsuit, naked and with some of his teeth scattered around his body.
He was spotted by an Oklahoma Petroleum Allies hauler driver and Gulfmark Energy field supervisor Tyler Hardy, both of whom called 911 minutes later.
Jack claimed he happened upon the scene about 6am as he left to go fishing with his father Caleb, whom he called at 6.05am.
‘I figured maybe he got a ride or something, Noah’s done that before – got mad and left,’ he told the Daily Mail last year.
‘He was not one you usually worry about. I wasn’t really thinking about it.’
This timeline is disputed by another partygoer, Kaden Pressy, who claimed he was woken up at 5.15am by Jack bursting through he door at 5.15am.
The official timeline is disputed by another partygoer, Kaden Pressy, (pictured) who claimed he was woken up at 5.15am by Jack bursting through he door at 5.15am
Gulfmark Energy field supervisor Tyler Hardy (pictured with his wife Mallory) was the first known person to find Presgrove’s body, and called 911 at 5:48 am
‘Jack Newton bursts through the door saying ‘Noah is dead’. Like, frantic, tearing up,’ he told detectives in a leaked recording of a June 21 interview.
Pressy also claimed when he followed Jack to the body, Presgrove had black shorts on, in contrast to being naked with a pair of white shorts on the road nearby.
Since the Daily Mail’s initial coverage of Presgrove’s death last April incited global media attention, thousands of true-crime enthusiasts have flocked to three Facebook groups and Reddit to endlessly discuss the case.
Many of them are convinced Presgrove was murdered and his body dumped on the road, especially given the lack of blood at the scene.
They have hailed the lawsuit filing as a huge step towards justice for Presgrove, despite its lack of evidence of foul play so far.
