Remember the dismembered bodies of a young couple found in suitcases on a Seattle beach by kids filming TikTok videos earlier this Summer? (If you were watching, will you EVER be able to forget it??)
Well, it looks like the case may have been solved, and it did not go in the direction many expected… While many speculated this was a gang murder, something to send a message, the charges have been filed against just one man: the couple’s landlord.
On Monday, Michael Lee Dudley was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lewis and Austin Wenner, Casey McNerthney of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirmed with People.
As you’ll recall, their bodies were discovered by a group of teens using the app Randonautica, which took them on an adventure alright — one from which they may never emotionally recover.
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Dudley was arrested on Wednesday around 8:30 p.m. local time in his home about 10 miles south of Seattle, The Seattle Times reports. He was questioned and booked into the King County Jail, with bail set at $5 million.
As we previously reported, the couple’s remains were in garbage bags stuffed inside suitcases that had washed up on the rocky shore of Duwamish Head in West Seattle, and were found on June 19.
According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, the 35-year-old mother of four was shot several times, and her 27-year-old partner died of a single gunshot wound. Both were also beaten prior to being shot and dismembered. It is believed that the killings took place on June 9, ten days prior to their bodies being found.
Per charging documents obtained by People, the couple of eight years were renting a room in Dudley’s home and struggling to pay the $1,500 monthly rent. Prosecutors have not determined a clear motive, but say a likely cause is “for bringing potential criminal activity to the Ambaum home.”
Family members of Wenner told authorities that he had been recently “assaulted” by men who showed up to Dudley’s home with guns to beat him and Lewis. One family member informed police that he was not aware of what prompted the attack, but it was potentially related to “criminal fraud activity.”
On the evening of June 9, he allegedly got into a loud argument with them because he wanted them to move out. Neighbors could also hear a male voice pleading: “Please don’t do this. Just let me leave,” before gunshots were fired shortly after
Dudley currently remains held in the King County Jail and is expected to enter a plea at his arraignment on September 8, though it is unclear whether he has retained an attorney to assist in his defense.
We’re sending our deepest condolences to the family of Jessica and Austin.
[Image via @ughhenry/TikTok & King 5/YouTube.]
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