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Bodies Of Washington Couple Identified After Teens Making TikTok Discovered Their Remains On Beach
Police said the teenagers had been on the beach when they discovered a suitcase with a “foul odor” and called police.
Teenagers making a TikTok video discovered the remains of a Washington couple inside a suitcase they found at the beach.
A spokesperson for the King County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the identities of the bodies to Oxygen.com as Jessica Lewis, 36, and her boyfriend Austin Wenner, 27.
The remains were discovered the afternoon of June 19 by two teenage girls, according to PEOPLE.
Seattle Police Detective Mark Jamieson told Oxygen.com the teenagers had been on the beach when they discovered a suitcase with a “foul odor” and called police.
Jamieson said the call was initially considered a “low priority” but police officers arrived on the scene about an hour and half later.
“Officers did further investigation, determined that it was probable human remains, notified our homicide detectives who in turn notified the ME’s office,” Jamieson said. “We also had our harbor unit out there to assist.”
The bodies were discovered along the shores of Duwamish Head in West Seattle, wrapped in plastic bags and stuffed into suitcases, according to a police statement.
The video made by the teens shows one of the teenagers using a stick to open up one of bags.
Jamieson said authorities do not believe the video was staged.
“We’ve interviewed them and we’re actually glad that the video is out because it helps corroborate some of the information,” Jamieson said. “I can tell you that it’s accurate.”
The bodies were discovered June 19, but a spokesman for the medical examiner’s office told Oxygen.com authorities believe both Lewis and Wenner died on June 10.
Wenner’s cause of death has been listed as a gunshot wound to the torso, while authorities determined that Lewis died from “multiple gunshot wounds.”
Jamieson said he did not believe any missing persons reports had been filed for the couple before the bodies were found.
Police do not believe the homicides are connected to any other investigations in the Puget Sound area.
No arrests have been made in the homicides, but Jamieson said detectives are continuing the investigate the case.
Lewis’ aunt Gina Jaschke told local station KING-TV the family is trying to raise money for a reward to help convince potential witnesses to come forward.
“Somebody knows something,” she said.
She described her niece as a “ray of sunshine” who worked as a caregiver for those with developmental disabilities. Lewis had been the mother of four children.
