Marine hopeful found dead on roadside after holiday party may have been 'beat to death,' lawsuit claims
Noah Presgrove, 19, had attended a multi-day Labor Day party with friends that weekend before his body was found off U.S. Highway 81 in Terral on Sept. 4, 2023. Officials found teeth, a necklace and basketball shorts next to Presgrove's lifeless body.
While authorities initially speculated that Presgrove may have been struck by a car after the party, the lawsuit filed on June 23 seeking at least $75,000 in damages alleges that the 19-year-old's death "was not caused by being hit with a motor vehicle."
Fox News Digital reached out to the plaintiff's attorney for comment.
Presgrove had attended the Labor Day party that weekend, which allegedly involved underage drinking, hosted by defendants Avery Howard, Carter Combs, and Logan Jernigan, according to the lawsuit.
The party took place on a property owned by defendant Johnnie Trout Wilcoxson Jr. in a trailer owned by defendant Stevie Howard, the complaint states.
Some of the defendants did not have legal representation listed at the time of publication, and none of the defendants had responded to the lawsuit at the time of publication. Andrew Benedict, an Oklahoma-based attorney representing Wilcoxson and Howard, has not responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
The complaint alleges that defendant Jack Newton, despite being under 21, purchased the alcohol from Napoli's convenience store, operated by Val Petrol, LLC. Fox News Digital reached out to Val Petrol, LLC for comment.
Presgove's blood alcohol level was about twice the legal limit at the time of his death.
"Either intentionally or accidentally, the defendants killed the decedent."
Presgrove had apparently been drinking at a house party where he was involved in a rollover incident while riding an ATV that Newton apparently permitted Presgrove to ride even though he was intoxicated at the time, according to the medical examiner's full report, upon further investigation.
"The highway was poorly lit at night. There were no vehicle parts or debris observed on the scene. Further investigation revealed that the decedent was at a house party and drinking on September 3, 2023," the full report reads, in part. "Then he rode an ATV ranger vehicle with several men that had a roll over incident. … The decedent left the house party and was not found until the morning of September 4, 2023, on the side of the highway."
An investigation also revealed that Presgrove had returned to the party after the ATV incident. He was last seen in a "verbal argument" with Howard and Newton around 3:41 a.m. on Sept. 4, the lawsuit states.
The medical examiner ruled Presgrove's cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities.
"Decedent was beat to death by one or more of the defendants," the complaint says, though it does not include factual allegations demonstrating that Presgrove was beaten to death, adding that "two or more defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy to beat [Presgrove]."
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of duty of care violations, civil conspiracy, negligence and recklessness in connection with Presgrove's death.
Presgrove had graduated from high school three months early with plans to enlist in the military alongside his cousin.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
22 minutes ago
- CBS News
18-year-old dead, 2 teens injured after crashing into tree in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, police say
An 18-year-old woman is dead, and two teens were injured after their car crashed into a tree in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Bristol Township police said. The crash happened on Wistar Road near Armstrong Middle School just before 4 p.m., according to police. Police said a 17-year-old boy was driving a white 2002 Mustang eastbound on Wistar Road at a high rate of speed with two passengers inside, including the 18-year-old woman in the backseat, when he lost control and struck a tree. The 18-year-old was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, where she died from her injuries, according to police. The 17-year-old driver, who is from Levittown, Bucks County, and another 17-year-old boy sitting in the front passenger seat were both placed in stable condition at St. Mary, police said. The crash is under investigation. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the Bristol Township Police Department.
CBS News
22 minutes ago
- CBS News
Justice Dept. shuts down dark web child abuse sites that had 120,000 members and millions of files
When FBI agents arrived outside William Spearman's home in the quiet suburb of Madison, Alabama, in November 2022, they were prepared for danger. Their search warrant was so important to the bureau that it was approved by the FBI director himself. When the agents breached Spearman's door with tactical explosives, Spearman fought back, tussling with the agents as three of his handguns remained barely out of reach. The FBI managed to handcuff and arrest Spearman, a high-value arrest, in what a top Justice Department official called "one of the most successful" prosecutions of its kind. Spearman went by the nickname "Boss" and was labeled by the Justice Department as "one of the most significant" purveyors of child sex abuse material in the world. His arrest in 2022, his guilty plea a year later and his eventual life sentence were part of an unprecedented takedown of a prodigious child abuse network. Spearman is one of at least 18 people convicted so far of leading and utilizing the dark web to share hundreds of thousands of unlawful sexually exploitative images of children. The Justice Department calls the investigation and prosecutions Operation Grayskull; it helped secure those arrests and shutter four heavily trafficked dark web sites where violent and horrific images of child sexual abuse were traded and housed. The Operation Grayskull investigation launched in 2020, when law enforcement agents noticed a spike in traffic to a dark web site suspected of hosting child abuse material. The dark web child abuse sites eventually attracted more than 120,000 members, millions of files and at least 100,000 visits in a single day, according to an FBI official who spoke with CBS News. "Even for prosecutors, it is difficult to understand how pervasive this is," said Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department Criminal Division. "Because it happens on the dark web, people aren't aware of it. It's extremely troubling," he told CBS News. Spearman's case has parallels to many of the others unearthed by Operation Grayskull. Spearman was accused of helping lead a dark web site with thousands of users and members. A sentencing memo submitted to the court said it was "no wonder" that he had tried to resist the FBI, rather than surrendering. "The devices at his desk contained massive quantities of evidence proving that he was the lead administrator of Website A," the memo said. "Unsurprisingly, the defendant's devices also contained an enormous collection of images and videos depicting the rape and abuse of children." Selwyn Rosenstein was sentenced to 28 years in prison in 2022, for operating a dark website for unlawful exploitative images. Prosecutors said the platform "was not simply a website; it was a large, active community of pedophiles and (abuse material) enthusiasts. And it existed in part because of the Defendant's criminal acts." Rosenstein possessed such a large quantity of abusive images, he needed to store some on a server he used to run his business, according to the Justice Department. Speaking from a second floor conference room at Justice Department headquarters in Washington last week, Galeotti told CBS News the members of these dark web child abuse sites often "earn" membership by paying a fee, "helping moderate the site" or contributing child abuse images or material. Galeotti said, "We luckily have very sophisticated prosecutors and agents who work specifically on this kind of thing. These are people who have a more of a technical understanding." "The defendants in this case, as sadistic as they may be, are somewhat sophisticated," and make use of encryption, he added. Operation Grayskull also secured the conviction of Matthew Garrell of Raleigh, North Carolina, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for operating on a dark web site for abuse material. "Garrell engaged in an extremely complex and technologically sophisticated conspiracy that far exceeds the typical child-exploitation offenses," prosecutors said. They argued in a court filing that Garrell possessed a predator's "handbook," with "detailed instructions" for grooming children for future abuse. The takedown of dark web leaders and users also included the convictions of men from Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Texas, Washington, Arkansas, Michigan and Oklahoma. "They were part of an online community of hundreds of thousands of people, with leadership roles rules and a common dedicated purpose" said Chris Delzotto, an acting FBI deputy assistant director. Delzotto told CBS News, "Few people would have envisioned how (child abuse materials) would permeate the internet, the way it has today." The federal investigation which uncovered and shuttered the first dark web site, also led to the closure of three others. Abbigail Beccaccio, an FBI unit chief, told CBS News. "The leadership team that operated one of the sites also operated several of the others." The Justice Department is touting the shutdown of those sites as a victory to help deter future abuse or production of unlawful images. "This is one of the most successful of all time," Galeotti said. "We dismantled four websites that have not regenerated."
CBS News
22 minutes ago
- CBS News
Phone search by police at Corewell Hospital shooting leads to child sex abuse charges
A 21-year-old man faces six felony charges after police, while investigating the Corewell Hospital shooting in March, allegedly found child sexually abusive materials on his phone, the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office said Friday. Court records show Frederik Stolaj of Washington Township, Michigan, is charged with three counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime. According to the prosecutor's office, officers with the Troy Police Department were investigating the March 20 shooting at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital when they "came into possession" of Stolaj's phone. Officers, while examining the device, allegedly found images of child sexually abusive materials. Stolaj posted a $100,000 bond on Tuesday, according to court records. As a condition of his bond, Stolaj must wear a GPS tether and can not have contact with anyone under the age of 18. He's due back in court for a probable cause conference on Aug. 5. If convicted, Stolaj faces up to 60 years in prison.
