Seattle Police on Wednesday identified the bodies of two people who were discovered by a group of teenagers making TikTok videos last month. The two victims are a 35-year-old mother-of-four Jessica Lewis and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Austin 'Cash' Wenner. Their dismembered bodies were found inside a suitcase near a beach in Seattle. Both deaths have been ruled a homicide.
Police have been investigating the horrifying double murder for two weeks now but so far had remained tight-lipped about the progress. Upon the discovery of the bodies, the families of the victims started fundraising for a $10,000 reward to offer anyone with information leading to the arrest of the killers.
One Step Closer
According to the King County Medical Examiner's Office, Lewis and Wenner had been dating for eight years and were a happy couple. Medical examination and forensic tests of the bodies have revealed that both the victims were shot dead on June 16. However, the bodies were discovered by the teenagers while shooting TikTok videos only on June 19.
The King County Medical Examiner concluded that Jessica died from multiple gunshot wounds, while Wenner died from a single bullet injury to the torso. Police also believe that the killer could have been trying to make a statement by making the bodies discoverable in the suitcase.
A fundraiser for a reward of $10,000 to anyone with information leading o the arrest of the killers has been started by Lewis' aunt, Gina Jaschke. She said that Lewis used to work with adults with disabilities and was "the most caring person" and the families are in a state of deep shock.
A Discovery by Chance
The bodies of Lewis and Wenner were discovered at Duwamish Head in Seattle when a group of teenagers were making videos on TikTok using the exploration app Randonautica. On spotting the suitcase lying on beach rocks, they filmed the discovery and posted it on TikTok the next day.
The teens can be seen initially joking in the video about the bag containing cash but once they reach closer to the luggage they find and "overwhelming smell". One of the teenagers captioned the video: "Something traumatic happened that changed my life."
However, the police arrived at the scene after they received a call on 911 about a suspicious bag lying on the beach. On reaching the scene, they discovered a second bag in the water, Seattle Police Department said. The investigation is on and the family members of the victims are hopeful that the killers will soon be identified.
