Three TCU students each receive just five days in jail for lying about a fatal accident on the Texas lake
Three Texas Christian University students have each been jailed for just five days after one of them kissed their friend and then pushed him off their boat and into a propeller that killed him.
Delaney Brennan boarded the boat with Jack Elliott, 19, and ten others in October 2019 — just months after she started college — before the tragic incident.
All but one were drinking: Brennan and Elliott sat in the front of the boat as it sailed across Lake Travis, near Austin.
Brennan, of Huntington Beach, Calif., pushed Elliott, who went overboard, was “hit by the propeller several times and killed,” a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department report concluded.
The group spent just five minutes looking for Elliott before returning to the dock. Brennan and two others made up a story about how Elliott had gone overboard and lied about the events leading up to his death.
Jack Elliott, 19 (left), a freshman at Texas Christian University, was pushed off a boat by Delaney Brennan (right) in October 2019 while on a lake near Austin. He was hit by the boat’s propeller and died
Elliott and Brennan, both attending Texas Christian University, were reportedly kissing and flirting when she pushed him off the boat in October 2019
Police searched for Elliott’s body after the group of teens on the boat failed to find him the night of the incident
On Thursday, an Austin judge sentenced Brennan, Elle Weber and Carson Neel — whose father ran the marina — to five days each in jail.
Elliott’s younger sister, Ava, told the defendants she hoped their lives were joyless, just like her family’s now.
“I hope the guilt catches up with all of you and takes a little joy out of every happy moment, similar to what grief did to me and my parents,” she said in her victim’s statement. The Orange County Registry.
“Given that Jack is missing out on nearly 80 years of his life, the thought of you all spending 15 to 30 days in jail seems like a better end of the deal.”
Elliott’s father Brett said the trio had “zero integrity.”
The group lied about how he died and conspired to hide the truth.
“You did the wrong things over and over, and you lied over and over, and your parents supported the lies,” he said in court.
“Now here in this courthouse is where you end up – a convict going to jail.
“And yet the sad thing is that you still have no character and no integrity.”
Brett Elliott said he was disgusted by the trio participating in candlelight vigils as they lied about what happened.
Brett Elliott is seen (left) with his son Jack, who died in October 2019
Jack’s body was found near where he disappeared, ten days later more than 100 feet below the surface
Elliott, who was 19 at the time, had been partying and drinking with 11 other teens on the waters of Lake Travis, an artificial lake northwest of Austin.
“You all stood arm in arm and took pictures and smiled, knowing you killed Jack,” he said.
“You stood there lying and manipulating anyone basking in the sympathy. Then the truth came out.’
Weber, who had been drinking like nearly everyone else, was at the wheel of the boat when she saw Brennan give Elliott a “playful nudge,” and he fell into the water.
Neel jumped after him, but they couldn’t find him, and turned around after five minutes.
Weber then called 911, but listed her name as “Elle Macpherson.” She claims she had never heard of the supermodel.
According to her affidavit, Elle Weber (pictured) had been behind the controls of the boat that day. She originally said no one had a clear idea how they fell overboard, but her answer changed after a lawsuit in 2020
The boating expedition was led by Carson Neel whose father, Billy, ran the Northshore Marina
The group jettisoned the alcohol when they returned to the dock, letting the only one who hadn’t been drinking – Anthony Salazar, who was feeling unwell – take the wheel.
They told police that Elliott did a backflip off the boat and disappeared.
They then said he vomited off the side and fell.
The group even called Elliott’s parents back home in California and tearfully promised to tell the truth.
Weber told the Elliotts, “We don’t know how Jack fell off the boat. We don’t know if Jack got up to change 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.”
But shortly after their call, the Elliotts were contacted by the father of one of the teens who was also in the room at the time of the call.
He told them he had heard that Elliott had not fallen off the boat, but had in fact been pushed, the Register reported.