- READ THE BACKSTORY: Everything we know about Noah Presgrove's death
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A teen mysteriously found dead by a lonely highway was beaten and chased down on an ATV in a premeditated plot, his family claims in an explosive new leaked file.
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family → read → file
Noah Presgrove, 19, was discovered by the side of US-81 near Terral, Oklahoma, on September 4, 2023, hours after attending a 22nd birthday party a mile away.
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Presgrove → discover → party
He was found naked with his teeth knocked out and had suffered massive head and upper body injuries that led him to die from internal bleeding, but the cause of those injuries still remains a mystery three years later.
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cause → find → injuries
Presgrove's family lost patience after years of near-silence from police and sued four of his friends and three parents for wrongful death in June last year.
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family → lose → June
The $75,000 lawsuit claimed the teenager was 'beat to death by one or more of the defendants' and dumped on the road, but did not specify who allegedly did it.
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who → claim → it
Now a major update to the lawsuit has leaked, revealing startling new allegations and dragging two additional people into the mystery.
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update → leak → mystery
The first amended complaint is yet to be made public, but the leaked first page, obtained by the Daily Mail, includes a huge change to the existing alleged narrative.
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page → amend → narrative
'On the morning before Noah's death, defendant Avery made one or more statements about harming of killing him,' the document claimed.
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document → make → him
A leaked court document obtained by the Daily Mail has alleged that there was a plot to kill Noah Presgrove (right) on the night he was found dead on a quiet Oklahoma road next to his teeth
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
Avery Jo Combs, now 25, was one of Presgrove's closest friends, whom he was said to be sleeping with, and was hosting the party at her isolated property off a gravel road just outside Terral.
The updated complaint's claim about Avery's statement may be a reference to a police interview with another of Presgrove's friends who was there that night, Kaden Pressy.
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who → leak → friends
Noah fell asleep on the ground with Logan [Jernigan] on Saturday night – they didn't do anything, but when I woke up I remember Avery saying to Logan "if you did anything, I was gonna kill y'all" but they laughed it off,' Pressy told investigators.
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Pressy → fall → investigators
The first page of the amended complaint claimed her statements foreshadowed Presgrove being beaten as part of a premeditated plot to kill him.
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Presgrove → amend → him
'Hours later, defendants provided Noah with alcohol past the point of intoxication.
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defendants → provide → intoxication
Then defendants stood by as multiple boys jumped him,' it continued.
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it → stand → him
'The defendants pursued Noah on a side-by-side off-road during the period before he was found near Highway 81.
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he → pursue → Highway
Who the 'multiple boys' who supposedly attacked Presgrove were is not explained in the first page of the amended complaint.
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were → attack → complaint
Avery previously denied allegations made against her in the initial lawsuit.
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Avery → deny → lawsuit
The Daily Mail has contacted her lawyers for further comment on the leaked filing.
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Mail → contact → filing
The updated lawsuit, filed by Presgrove's sister Madison Rawlings on behalf of his estate, also has three new people listed as defendants.
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people → update → defendants
Avery Jo Combs was named in the lawsuit as she allegedly hosted the party, which was to celebrate her 22nd birthday.
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which → name → birthday
The update accuses her of making 'statements about harming of killing' Presgrove the morning before his death
Presgrove was a high school football player until his graduation in May
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Presgrove → accuse → May
The first amended complaint is yet to be made public, but the leaked first page, obtained by the Daily Mail, includes a huge change to the existing alleged narrative
One is Presgrove's friend Brylan Sweat, who was seen in a video filmed during the party on the night the teen died.
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teen → amend → night
The video showed Presgrove repeatedly daring him to slap him across the face, Sweat eventually only giving him a light tap before sprinting away in playful fear of retaliation.
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Sweat → show → retaliation
The video was posted at 1.42am and is the last known footage of Presgrove alive.
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video → post → Presgrove
Another of Presgrove's friends, Jasmine Millan, was also included in the updated complaint.
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Another → include → complaint
Millan posted a selfie to Snapchat the night Presgrove died with the caption 'well, Noah's missing' and tagged at 3.41am – two hours before his body was found.
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body → post → 3.41am
Truck driver Christopher Payette is the third new defendant added to the list, and like Sweat and Millan there is no explanation in the first page as to why.
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Payette → add → why
Payette was driving along US 81 and passed where Presgrove's body was found about 5.30am – minutes before another truck driver called 911 at 5.43am.
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driver → drive → 5.43am
Missing from the latest the list of defendants is Caleb Newton, father of Presgrove's best friend Jack Newton, 21.
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Newton → miss → friend
Caleb has repeatedly denied he was at the party and said he first learned of Presgrove's death at 6.05am when Jack called him and he quickly drove to the scene.
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he → deny → scene
Caleb confirmed to the Daily Mail that he was removed from the lawsuit, but he wasn't told why.
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he → confirm → lawsuit
'I guess they finally figured out, after the first round of discovery, that I didn't have anything to do with it from the beginning,' he said.
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he → guess → beginning
'It was strange that I was dragged into it, but I'm just anxious for it to all be settled.'
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it → drag → it
Jack was also named in the lawsuit along with Avery, her sister Carter, 22, their mother Stevie Howard, 44, and friend Logan Jernigan, 21.
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Jack → name → Avery
Brylan Sweat, another close friend of Presgrove who went with Kaden, Issack, and Mikey to the scene soon after Presgrove's body was found
Presgrove daring Brylan Sweat to slap him across the face as they partied under an outside patio at the house.
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they → go → house
Kaden posted it at 1.42am and it is the last known video of Presgrove alive
Avery, Carter and Logan were included because they hosted the party, and Howard because she owned a trailer on the property.
Carter has since welcomed a baby girl, Nobie Tate Newton, with Jack Newton.
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Carter → post → Newton
The leak of the first page of the updated complaint followed months of legal wrangling between Presgrove's family and local police.
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leak → update → family
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which is leading the investigation, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation both refused to hand over their files.
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which → lead → files
Eventually they agreed to let the parties and their lawyers see the evidence under the condition that none of it was made public.
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none → agree → it
That meant the first amended complaint was to be filed under seal, until the first page leaked onto Facebook in recent weeks.
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page → mean → weeks
Presgrove's family lawyers petitioned the court to be allowed to file the document publicly, since key details were already out there.
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details → petition → document
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
