Oklahoma authorities 'hesitant' to rule teen's death a homicide, famed pathologist suggests

As mystery surrounds the 2023 Labor Day death of Oklahoma teen military hopeful Noah Presgrove, a forensics expert broke down the medical examiner's most recent findings and shared his theory on what caused the 19-year-old's death. 

Dr. Michael Baden, an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths, told Fox News Digital that Presgrove's death is a terrible case and that the medical examiner's report revealed many details surrounding the night he died.

"He had a lot of internal bleeding. So, his heart kept pumping for a little bit after he was struck. But if there's a possibility that in an ATV accident, he might have a punctured lung and was bleeding slowly. And then, as he's walking along the highway, the bleeding gets worse, and he collapses, and then a truck hits him and causes all the injuries, on that account. But that would a lot depend on what his condition was when he gets back to the party," Baden said. 

Presgrove was found dead along a rural stretch of US-81 in Jefferson County on Labor Day in 2023. He was last seen alive at a party he attended with a group of friends that night, but nearly a year later, the family says that no one has come forward and told them how he ended up along the highway. 

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Nearly eight months after the death of Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove, the family is still searching for answers about this death. (Robyn Smith)

"My family is strong, but today is hard. We all miss him deeply. No one new has stepped out with different information, so it’s a waiting game," Noah's sister, Madison Rawlings, told Fox News Digital.

According to the medical examiner's full report, after further investigation, it was determined that Presgrove was drinking at a house party where he was involved in an ATV rollover incident. The investigation revealed that Presgrove returned to the party where he got into an argument with his girlfriend after the ATV incident.

"No one new has stepped out with different information, so it’s a waiting game."

— Madison Rawlings

"That is the only part of the party-goers' stories that match. Each one that we have had the opportunity to talk to claims that a wreck did happen, but he was completely fine; still not sure on who the girlfriend is," Rawlings said.

"I don’t know what to believe, honestly. Do I think they intentionally killed him? No. Do I think they were drunk and got into a fight with him? Yes …," Kristen Smith, the mother of Noah's best friend, Hayden, told Fox News Digital. Smith shares a birthday with Noah, who would turned 20 on Tuesday.  

Baden said that due to the level of alcohol in Presgrove's system, he may not have even been aware that he was severely injured. 

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Noah Presgrove's body was found along an Oklahoma highway on Labor Day in 2023, and the manner of his death is still unknown. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)

"The issue would be if he had any significant injuries from the ATV, such as internal bleeding. And he's too intoxicated to think of going to a hospital or a doctor or something," Baden said.

With the amount of alcohol believed to have been consumed at the party, Baden said the others at the party may not have even realized Presgrove was hurt when he returned, since his injuries were mostly internal.

"They assumed whatever differences of appearance he had was because he was drinking and not because of the ATV injury, which would not have caused him to collapse or anything until enough internal bleeding had occurred, since it was a small leak, a small laceration to the lung," Baden said.

"Because the only thing that could cause the extent of the injuries to his head and spine would be a car wheel coming over him, you know, or a truck, more likely a truck and probably on the ground. And I think either he was internally bleeding and intoxicated, walking along the highway, and he collapses, and he's lying there, and the vehicle comes and hits him in the head while he's on the side of the road."

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Noah Presgrove, 19, was wearing only his shoes when his body was discovered on a desolate stretch of US-81 near Terral, Oklahoma, on Labor Day of 2023. (Kristen Smith)

Baden added that Presgrove may not have even realized how hurt he was based on his blood alcohol level. 

"So, the one thing alcohol does, it's an anesthetic agent. And it can cover up pain caused by broken bones or a lacerated lung," Baden said. 

He said after reading the full medical examiner's report, he believes an auto incident contributed to Presgrove's death. 

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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)

Authorities classified Presgrove's manner of death as "undetermined," though Baden says he believes the circumstances surrounding the teen's death are "consistent with a hit-and-run." 

"If somebody struck him, stopped, looked at him and didn't do anything about it and took off ... that's a hit-and-run. That could be a homicide kind of thing. So, they're hesitant to classify it either as an accident or a homicide," Baden said. "It's a very sad case … but it's consistent with a hit-and-run situation being that somebody hit him and didn't stop."

Presgrove had recently graduated from high school three months early with plans to enlist in the military alongside his cousin. 

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Baden, the host of HBO's "Autopsy" series, was the chief medical examiner of New York City from 1978 to 1979. He has also been involved in some of the most high-profile civil rights and police brutality cases in U.S. history, from the government’s 1976 re-investigation of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to the 2014 death of Michael Brown, whose case sparked the initial Ferguson protests that grew into the Black Lives Matter movement.

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