Following the murder of a Texas Christian University freshman in 2019, five Texas college students are facing criminal charges.
Jack Elliott fell from the bow of a 22-foot boat while out on a Texas lake in October 2019, but the specifics of how he ended up in the water remain unknown after the other youths aboard the boat reportedly created a tale to conceal the truth from police.
Jack, who was 19 at the time of the tragedy, was one among 12 university students out for a day of drinking and wakeboarding.
Almost everyone in the party had been drinking vodka and beer on the open waters of Lake Travis, a man-made lake northwest of Austin.
Carson Neel, whose father, Billy, operated the Northshore Marina, led the boating adventure.
According to the OC Register, Carson informed everyone where the life jackets were stored but offered no more safety recommendations to his companions.
The gang spent their bright autumn day drinking and dancing on the boat’s deck, sometimes diving into the ocean for a swim or wake surfing.
When the boat ran out of beer, they went back to the marina to get another case before setting sail again.
However, around an hour and a half after nightfall, the boat trembled as if it were rumbling over something. Meanwhile, Jack was not to be located aboard.
Carson turned the boat around and went back to where he thought Jack had gone overboard. In a panic, individuals aboard shined their smartphone lights into the sea in the hope of locating Jack.
‘A lot of individuals were freaking out, weeping, and not communicating effectively,’ Carson stated in a written declaration obtained by the Orange County Register. ‘I tried to remain cool since I knew it was serious and that screaming out would make things worse.’
Carson dove into the water, inspecting the boat’s propeller while looking for Jack.
With no sign of him, the party decided to return to shore after five minutes.
Following Jack’s abduction, ‘the youngsters devised a strategy to conceal the facts from authorities and even Jack’s family in Newport Beach,’ according to police documents obtained by the Orange County Register.
According to a Texas Parks and Wildlife investigation, on the way back to the marina, all of the remaining alcohol was quickly tossed overboard. According to the OC Register, although Carson and another female, Elle Weber, were behind the wheel on the boat that day, the group convinced another student, Anthony Salazar, who had not been drinking because he was feeling ill, to claim he was behind the wheel at the time of the accident.
Jack’s corpse was discovered more than 100 feet below the surface ten days later.
Throughout the judicial procedures, the youths used their Fifth Amendment right not to testify against themselves, but rumors spread and the narrative slowly but steadily became public.
Travis County Sheriff’s Office officers questioned the youths individually once the group returned to dry ground, but their tales did not match.
Amy and Brett Elliott, Jack’s parents, were presented many options as to what may have happened to their kid.
According to one story, Jack executed a back flip off the boat into the sea. Another claim was that Jack fell in while puking over the side of the ship.
Two days later, several of the youngsters reassembled in a hotel room in Fort Worth, near Dallas, when they contacted Jack’s parents, who were distraught back home in California.
According to the OC Register, Elle did the most of the talking. She expressed regret for their son’s death and apologized for “all the tales you’ve heard.” She said that no one knew exactly how Jack went overboard.
‘We have no idea how Jack went from the boat. We don’t know whether Jack got up to change positions and fell or if he was straightening his hair; we don’t know what he was doing.
‘These are the most honest answers we have right now,’ Elle said.
A father of one of the kids who was there in the room at the time of the phone conversation called Jack’s parents shortly after the call.
He informed them that he had heard that Jack was forced off the boat rather than merely falling off.
Brett said on Jack’s Facebook tribute, ‘My heart is crushed into a million pieces.’ ‘However, with each month that passes, you give me more and more strength to keep going on and fighting for TRUTH and ACCOUNTABILITY. I’m not going to quit. You’ve earned it.’ Two months later, in December 2019, Ben Echelson, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, submitted a report detailing what they suspect happened.
‘Delaney Brennan shoved Jack Elliott from the front of a wakeboard boat… Elle Weber is in charge of the operation, which is overseen by Carson Neel.
‘Jack Elliott was murdered after being hit many times by the propeller… the alcohol on board was flung overboard,’ Echelson reported.
‘False statements were made to authorities attending to the accident about the circumstances leading up to the push and the way in which Jack Elliott went into the water.’
The Elliott family filed a wrongful death action against Carson, Delaney, and Elle in January 2020, hoping to compel them to testify and uncover the real circumstances that led to their son’s death.
The lone witness was Elle, who had seen Jack sitting on the rails at the front of the boat.
‘Delaney and Jack were flirting and kissing in the front of the boat. Elle recounted in a sworn declaration that she gave Jack a “playful little nudge” and he fell from the boat.
‘What transpired startled and shocked me.’ I wish that hadn’t occurred, and I wish I’d told cops everything the first time.’
She described how, in the aftermath of the tragedy, Delaney said, ‘He fell!’ I had no intention of pushing him!’
Delaney testified in her deposition that she had tattooed Jack’s initials into her wrist.
‘I did it because I wanted something to remember him by.’ When I glanced down, I wanted to remember how much he loved life, and it served as a reminder to me to always live my life to the fullest and to do all I could to live up to what he would have done.’
‘I’m still screwed up by this, and my parents are here with me now, but we don’t know anything,’ she said on social media. I simply feel guilty… and I don’t believe I’ve ever felt this depressed. I was the last one to have contact with him.’ The lawsuit was resolved confidentially, but a Travis County grand jury ruled late last year that individuals involved faced criminal charges, especially for any suspected cover-up.
Delaney Brennan has already been charged with criminal tampering with evidence after assisting in the deletion of a smartphone recording.
Carson Neel was charged with criminal tampering with physical evidence after pouring the booze overboard.
The couple may face up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Elle Weber has been charged with presenting false information to a police officer, a misdemeanor.
Joshua Evans of Aliso Viejo, another of the adolescents aboard the boat, was charged with misdemeanor providing alcohol to a child.
Anthony Salazar was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of perjury.
‘If you don’t speak the truth… it comes back to bite you in the ass,’ said one of the dads who attended the meeting days after the disaster.