What is Randonautica?
Randonautica is an app released in late February of 2020. According to the official Randonautica website, the app is "a tool created to enhance the human experience with novelty by mindfully exploring the world." To break that down for you, Randonautica is a cross between geocaching and manifestation.
When opening the app, the user is shown some safety warnings before actually opening into the main part of the app. The user is meant to answer a couple of questions and provide an idea as to what they're looking for. For a deeper, in-depth description of what Randonautica is check out their website and this NY Times article.
Randonautica quickly gained popularity on social media during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, primarily on TikTok and Youtube. With a quick search on either video platform, you can find various videos of people going on their Randonautica adventures. I myself did a quick Google search and found a Buzzfeed article with a list of different Randonautica finds.
Many are skeptical of the app, but then go on adventures and find some creepy or coincidental stuff. One user had the intention of something "red" and came across a red sofa near some railroad tracks. Another user manifested "closure" and was led to some of her deceased sister's birth flowers - of which she had previously never seen before in real life.
On a spookier note are the users who set their intentions for something supernatural, peculiar or downright creepy. The idea of this leads us to our main story for today: on June 19th, 2020, a group of teenagers were Randonauting in Seattle and ended up at the beach.
This adventure to Alki Beach led them to a black suitcase on some rocks near what appears to be a boardwalk, dock or little overlook into the water. Out of curiosity, using a stick, they unzipped and opened the suitcase.
Inside the Suitcase
The inside of the suitcase revealed an overwhelming and foul odor, and a couple of black garbage bags. At this time, they called the police, who quickly showed up.
Police confirmed that the garbage bags contained human remains. It was later confirmed that a duffel bag and other garbage bags were found in the area. In these were the dismembered remains of two adults. According to this recent Westside Seattle news article, some parts of their bodies have yet to be recovered.
Using fingerprints, investigators identified the two victims as Jessica Lewis, age 35, and her boyfriend Austin Wenner, age 27.
The Investigation
After the two bodies were identified, police contacted the families of the two victims. This is when they learned that neither Lewis or Wenner had been seen since early June. Investigators also learned that the couple was staying at a house just west of the Seattle airport.
Further investigations led to the discovery that the couple was renting out the house from landlord Michael Lee Dudley.
A week and a half before the bodies were discovered, neighbors heard gunshots and yelling coming from the household. On June 9th, the police were called. However, nobody answered the door and there was no follow-up for this incident.
One woman who claims she was in the household on June 9th says she saw a bloody hand protruding from underneath a pile of laundry. This gives the idea that one or both victims were murdered on the 9th.
According to the medical examiner, both Lewis and Wenner died on June 16th, the former suffering multiple gunshot wounds and the latter suffering one to the torso.
When police entered the Berien household after the discovery of the bodies, they found bullets and bullet holes, as well as blood in the room that Lewis and Wenner were renting out from Dudley. It is said that he had no explanation for any of this.
Michael Lee Dudley
Through further investigations, it was later found that Dudley has more than just a violent past - he is a sick individual.
Even his daughter, whose name is unavailable for her safety, says he sexually assaulted her for years during her childhood. In 2016, Dudley assaulted his now ex-girlfriend and was charged with assault for this.
In regards to his tenants, Jessica Lewis and Austin Wenner, their murder does not seem to be a spur-of-the-moment incident. It has been said that there were previous arguments between tenants and landlord over rent.
Lewis' aunt, Gina Jaschke, says that Dudley had previously broken or damaged their car so the couple could not leave. She also says that during any dispute he would tell them to leave and then locked them in so they couldn't leave.
Jaschke also says that at one point, Dudley beat a dog to death with a hammer in front of the couple and then left it to lay there for days.
With this information in mind, blood and bullets in the room of the couple, as well as reports of yelling and gunshots, it didn't take police long to arrest Michael Lee Dudley on a double homicide charge.
Dudley was questioned and then help on a $5 million bond. To date, he has not been convicted but has been charged with second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Lewis and Wenner.
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