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Five Texas college students are facing criminal charges following the 2019 death of a Texas Christian University freshman.
Jack Elliott fell from the bow of a 22-foot boat while out on a Texas lake in October 2019 but mystery has surround the circumstances of how he came to end up in the water after the other teens who were present on the boat allegedly concocted a story to coverup the truth from authorities.
Jack, who was 19 at the time of the tragedy, was one of 12 teens from the university who were enjoying an afternoon of drinking and wakeboarding.
Almost all of the group had been enjoying vodka and beers while out on the open waters of Lake Travis, a manmade lake, northwest of Austin.
Jack Elliott, 19, a Texas Christian University freshman fell off a boat while out on a lake near Austin in October 2019 but the true story as to what led to his death has only just come out
Jack had been partying and drinking together with 11 other teens on the water when it appears he was pushed into the lake by another student. He was struck by the boat’s propellor and died
The boating expedition was led by Carson Neel whose dad, Billy, ran the Northshore Marina.
Carson told everyone where the life jackets were stowed but gave no further safety instructions to his friends, according to the OC Register.
The group spent their sunny fall afternoon drinking and dancing on the deck of the boat while occasionally dipping into the water for a swim or to go wake boarding.
When the boat ran out of beer, they sailed back to the marina to fetch another case before venturing out onto the water once again.
But about an hour-and-a-half after sunset, the boat shook as it appeared to rumble over something. Jack, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found onboard.
Carson turned the boat back and headed towards the spot where he believed Jack might have gone overboard.
The boating expedition was led by Carson Neel whose dad, Billy, ran the Northshore Marina
In the panic, those onboard shone the lights from their cellphones into the water in desperate hope of finding Jack.
‘A lot of people were freaking out and crying and not communicating well,’ Carson said in a sworn affidavit seen by the OC Register. ‘I tried to stay as calm as possible because I knew it was serious and freaking out would make it worse.’
Carson dived into the lake and checked the boats propeller as he searched for Jack.
With no sign of him, five minutes later, the group decided to head back to shore.
Following Jack’s disappearance, ‘the teens hatched a plan to hide the truth from authorities and even Jack’s family in Newport Beach,’ reports the Orange County Register having seen police records.
On the way back to the marina, all of the alcohol that was remaining was immediately dumped overboard, a Texas Parks and Wildlife report wrote.
Elle Weber had been behind the controls on the boat that day according to her sworn deposition. She had told Jack’s parents that nobody had any clear idea how their fell overboard
Elle later wrote in a sworn deposition that she had in fact been the only eyewitness and saw another girl push Jack into the lake
While Carson and another girl, Elle Weber, had been behind the controls on the boat that day, the group persuaded fellow student, Anthony Salazar, who had not been drinking because he was feeling unwell, to say that he had been behind the wheel at the time of the accident, according to reporting by the OC Register.
Jack’s body was not recovered for another 10 days, found more than 100 feet below the surface.
Throughout legal proceedings, the teens invoked their Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate themselves, but rumors abounded and the story slowly but surely came out.
Once the group returned to dry land, Travis County Sheriff’s Office investigators questioned the teens separately, although their stories did not match up.
Jack’s parents, Amy and Brett Elliott were given a number of scenarios as to what may have happened to their son.
One tale suggested Jack did a back flip off the boat into the water. Another alleged how Jack fell in while vomiting over the side of the vessel.
Two days later, some of the group gathered in a hotel room in Fort Worth near Dallas where the teens called Jack’s parents who were grieving at home in California.
Elle did most of the talking, according to the OC Register. She said that the group were sorry for their son’s death and for ‘all the stories you’ve heard.’
Texas Parks and Wildlife wrote in a report that Jack Elliott was pushed by Delaney Brennan
Following the accident panic ensued with Delaney stating: ‘He fell! I didn’t mean to push him!’
She acknowledged that nobody had any clear idea how Jack fell overboard.
‘We don’t know how Jack fell off the boat. We don’t know if Jack stood up to change his position and he lost his balance or if he was fixing his hair, we don’t know what he was doing.
‘These are the most honest answers we can give you right now,’ Elle said.
Soon after the phone call, Jack’s parents were contacted by a father of one of the teens who was also in the room at the time of the call.
He told them how he had heard that Jack did not simply fall off the boat but was in fact pushed.
‘My heart is broken into a million pieces,’ Brett wrote on Jack’s Facebook memorial. ‘But, with each passing month, you give me more and more strength to keep pushing forward and fighting for TRUTH and ACCOUNTABILITY. I won’t stop. You deserve it.’
The Elliott family filed a wrongful death suit in January 2020 against Carson, Delaney and Elle in the hope that it might force them to testify and reveal the true events leading to their son’s death. The suit was settled privately and confidentially
Two months later, by December 2019, Ben Echelson, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden filed a report that contained details of what they believe really occurred.
‘Jack Elliott was pushed by Delaney Brennan from the front of a wakeboard boat … operated by Elle Weber under the supervision of Carson Neel.
‘Jack Elliott was struck by the propeller multiple times and was killed … the alcohol on board was thrown overboard,’ Echelson wrote.
‘False statements were given to the officers responding to the accident concerning the events preceding the push and the manner in which Jack Elliott fell into the water.’
The Elliott family filed a wrongful death suit in January 2020 against Carson, Delaney and Elle in the hope that it might force them to testify and reveal the true events leading to their son’s death.
Some details emerged with the only witness being Elle who had seen Jack sitting on railings at the front of the boat.
‘Delaney and Jack were at the front of the boat, flirting and kissing. She gave Jack a ‘playful little shove’ and he fell off the boat,’ Elle detailed in a sworn statement.
‘I was scared and in shock about what happened. I wish it had not happened and I wish I’d told police everything the first time,’ she added.
She recalled how following the accident panic ensued with Delaney stating: ‘He fell! I didn’t mean to push him!’
In her own deposition, Delaney revealed how she had tattooed Jack’s initials onto her wrist.
‘I did that because I wanted to always have something to remember him by. When I looked down I wanted to remember how much he loved life and it kind of gave me a reminder to always live my life to the fullest and to do everything in life to basically live up to what he would have done.’
Posting onto social media, she wrote: ‘I’m still messed up from this and my parents are here with me now, but we don’t know much still. I just feel like guilty … and I don’t think I have ever been this sad. I was the last person to touch him.’
The Elliott family filed a wrongful death suit in January 2020 against Carson, Delaney and Elle in the hope that it might force them to testify and reveal the true events leading to their son’s death. Jack is pictured with his dad, Brett
The lawsuit was settled privately but late last year a Travis County grand jury decided that those involved had a criminal case to answer – particularly in respects to any alleged cover-up.
Delaney Brennan has since been indicted on a felony charge of tampering with evidence by aiding in the deletion of a cellphone video.
Carson Neel was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence for allegedly dumping the alcohol overboard.
The pair could face up to 10 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Elle Weber has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge of giving false information to a police officer.
Another of the teens onboard the boat, Joshua Evans of Aliso Viejo, was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Anthony Salazar was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of perjury.
One of the fathers who attended the meeting days after the accident had some words of advice for the teens: ‘If you don’t tell the truth … it comes back to bite you in the ass.’