A Washington state judge on Thursday found a landlord guilty of killing two tenants and stuffing their bodies in suitcases.
The jury’s verdict came after 64-year-old Michael Dudley killed both Jessica Lewis and her boyfriend, Austin Venn. The couple’s bodies washed ashore in suitcases at Seattle’s Alki Beach in 2020. Fox 13.
A neighbor reported shots fired and a man pleading for his own life on June 9, 2020 in Burien, Washington, but officers were unable to find anyone at the home. When questioned by police, Dudley could not explain to police why he would not answer the door.
Using cell phone records, authorities learned that Lewis had stopped sending texts the night of the alleged shooting. The homeowner, Dudley, was identified using cell phone records to be near Alki Beach the day before authorities found the suitcase with the bodies inside.
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The jury’s verdict came after 64-year-old Michael Dudley killed both Jessica Lewis and her boyfriend, Austin Venn. According to FOX 13, in 2020, the bodies of a couple washed ashore in suitcases at Alki Beach in Seattle.
(FOX 13)
Prosecutors did not have witnesses to directly link the homeowner to the murders, but they relied on evidence that pointed to Dudley’s guilt, pointing to a neighbor.
Lewis and Venn were Dudley’s tenants.
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Prosecutors said Venne was stabbed at least once and Lewis at least twice, and the pair were put in suitcases.
The homeowner’s lawyers argued that the 62-year-old man was incapable of solving the crime.
Lewis’ aunt, Gina Yaschke, said she had a hard time looking after Dudley.
“I hope his reign of terror ends,” Yaschke said. “I look at him and I can’t imagine what he did to them. It’s very difficult, very difficult.”