Friends of Noah Presgrove, a teenager found dead by a highway in Oklahoma, have retained attorney Clark Brewster, who previously represented Stormy Daniels in her legal battles, to defend them against a wrongful death lawsuit.
Presgrove, 19, was discovered on the side of US-81 near Terral, Oklahoma, on September 4, 2023. He had sustained massive head and upper body injuries, resulting in internal bleeding, but the exact cause of these injuries remains undetermined nearly three years later. His body was found naked, with his teeth knocked out, according to the lawsuit.
Presgrove's family filed a $75,000 wrongful death lawsuit in June of the previous year against four of his friends and three parents. The suit alleges the teenager was "beat to death by one or more of the defendants" and subsequently dumped on the roadside, though it does not identify a specific perpetrator. The named defendants, including party host Avery Jo Combs, 24, her sister Carter, 22, their mother Stevie Howard, 44, and friend Logan Jernigan, 21, have all denied liability.
Clark Brewster and Thomas Reese of the Tulsa-based firm Brewster & De Angelis now represent the defendants. Brewster is known for his representation of Stormy Daniels during Donald Trump's criminal trial. He has a 45-year career specializing in medical malpractice, personal injury, and criminal defense.
The lawsuit is currently in the discovery phase, with both sides awaiting case files from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. A primary objective of the lawsuit is to obtain deposition testimony from defendants and witnesses to clarify how Presgrove died. The accused parties have asserted affirmative defenses, claiming Presgrove was responsible for his own death.
Avery, Carter, and Logan were named because they hosted the party on Labor Day weekend in 2023 at Avery and Carter's home. The lawsuit claims the party involved the "civil conspiracy... to furnish alcoholic beverages to underaged and intoxicated individuals, such as [Presgrove], over the course of several days." Presgrove's autopsy revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit for driving.
Carter's boyfriend, Jack Newton, 21, who was Presgrove's best friend, is also named in the lawsuit and accused of providing Presgrove with alcohol. Newton and his fiancée, Carter, have since welcomed a child.
While the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is not investigating Presgrove's death as a homicide, his family maintains he was beaten to death. The lawsuit, however, offers no evidence to support this claim beyond the nature of his injuries.
A sequence of events described in the lawsuit and online discussions suggests Presgrove was involved in a late-night ATV accident on the party grounds. He then reportedly showered and changed into borrowed shorts. An argument allegedly ensued between Presgrove and Avery when he requested to sleep in her bed and was refused. Friends have claimed the argument stemmed from Presgrove interacting with Avery's friend the previous night.
One witness, Kaden Pressy, recalled Avery Combs making a statement to Logan Jernigan regarding Presgrove's actions, which was then dismissed as a joke. Following this argument, Presgrove reportedly wandered off into the night and was not seen alive again.
Social media posts indicate that some partygoers realized Presgrove was missing around 3:41 a.m. His body was discovered at 5:43 a.m. by a passing truck driver, who alerted authorities. Newton has stated he discovered the body around 6 a.m. while on his way to go fishing.
However, Pressy has disputed this timeline, claiming Newton informed him of Presgrove's death at 5:15 a.m. and that Presgrove was wearing black shorts, contradicting other accounts that he was naked with white shorts nearby. These claims have gained traction among Presgrove's family and supporters who believe he was murdered, though they conflict with other witness statements and initial police findings.