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Marine hopeful found dead on roadside after holiday party may have been 'beat to death,' lawsuit claims
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A Marine hopeful from Oklahoma who was found dead and naked on the side of a road in 2023 may have been beaten to death, a new wrongful death lawsuit states.
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.
FAMILY OF OKLAHOMA TEEN NOAH PRESGROVE SPEAKS OUT 2 YEARS AFTER MYSTERIOUS DEATH
Noah Presgrove’s body was found along a Oklahoma highway on Labor Day of 2023, and the manner of his death is still unknown. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)
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.
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What led to the death of 19-year-old Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove is still not known nearly a year later. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)
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.
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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.”
Noah Presgrove had recently graduated from high school and had plans to join the U.S. Marines when he was found dead on the side of a road in September 2023. (Justice for Noah Presgrove)
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.
CAUSE OF DEATH DETERMINED FOR OKLAHOMA TEEN MILITARY HOPEFUL FOUND ON SIDE OF ROAD
Two years after the death of Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove, the family is still searching for answers in this death. (Robyn Smith)
“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].”
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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.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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A Los Angeles County man was convicted by a jury of trafficking, exploiting and physically abusing a woman he was dating.
Jalen Amir Yoakum, 25, of Lancaster, was also a documented gang member, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.
Yoakum met the victim through Instagram in July 2024 and soon after, they began dating. Initially, he presented himself as caring and respectful, but after moving in together, he became increasingly controlling and physically abusive, prosecutors said.
He began isolating the woman from her friends and family and had repeatedly assaulted and strangled her during their time together.
Yoakum eventually pressured and coerced the woman into commercial sex work despite her objections, prosecutors said. She complied out of fear of additional violence.
Using photos of the victim, Yoakum created online advertisements, hoping to find prospective sex buyers, court documents said.
He would arrange commercial sex appointments, dictate where the woman would go and what services she would perform, and demand she hand over nearly all of the money she earned.
He had threatened to assault her if appointments took longer than expected or if she failed to satisfy his demands.
In January 2025, the victim planned a trip to Camarillo. Before arriving for an appointment, Yoakum struck the woman multiple times, leaving visible injuries to her face and body.
While she attended the appointment, Yoakum drove away in her car and was accused of stealing merchandise from a Target store. When deputies located the vehicle that day, he was accused of ramming into an undercover law enforcement vehicle before leading deputies on a high-speed chase.
He was eventually taken into custody after crashing into two vehicles and leaving four people injured, authorities said.
As deputies investigated the case, the woman reported the abuse she was experiencing.
“Search warrants uncovered digital evidence, including online advertisements, text messages, and location data that corroborated the trafficking operation and Yoakum’s control over the victim,” court documents said.
On June 29, 2026, Yoakum was convicted by a jury of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, pimping, pandering by encouragement, corporal injury to a cohabitant and dissuading a witness by force or threat.
Several special allegations and aggravating factors were found true, including that Yoakum has a prior strike conviction, engaged in violent conduct, targeted a particularly vulnerable victim and involved another person in the commission of the crimes.
“This verdict recognizes the victim’s courage and the brutality she survived,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Rikole Kelly, who prosecuted the case. “Human trafficking does not always look like chains or locked doors. In this case, it hid under the guise of a relationship and was enforced through violence, fear, shame, and control.”
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 21, where he faces up to 46 years in state prison
Yoakum also faces separate charges in the Camarillo case involving the high-speed pursuit that left multiple victims injured. A trial is scheduled for early July 2026.
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