MILLE LACS COUNTY, Minn. (KFGO) – The discovery of human remains in a tote on the shore of Mille Lacs Lake has led to murder charges against a man and his girlfriend.
Bradley Weyaus, 21, faces one count each of second-degree murder and fleeing a police officer, and two counts of interference with a dead body or scene of death. Weyaus could spend 40 years in prison if convicted.
Alexis Elling, 21, faces felony charges of aiding an offender and accomplice after the fact. If convicted, she could spend 20 years in prison.
The tote was discovered by a public works crew clearing the area, bound with bungee cords and industrial tape. When it was too heavy to move, the container was opened.
Inside, the crew found various human remains, including a severed foot.
The medical examiner’s office identified the victim as 25-year-old Rodney Pendegayosh Jr., of Isle, whose family reported him missing the day before his body was found.
As authorities were responding to the scene when the tote was discovered, they encountered a vehicle that refused to move aside for the emergency vehicles and, instead, sped up.
According to authorities, the vehicle was driven by Weyaus, who was eventually found hiding in a building on a rural property he had been staying at. He was arrested.
Inside the vehicle that Weyaus was driving were duffel bags containing a hacksaw, a hammer and industrial tape, according to the criminal complaint. A spent shotgun shell was also found in the car.
Authorities said pellets were found in Pendegayosh’s throat that could have come from buckshot shotgun shells.
Investigators also found a number of items pertaining to the investigation in the trash of the residence Weyaus had been staying at, including pieces of carpet with what appeared to be blood stains on them and Pendegayosh’s identification card cut into two pieces.
The charges against Elling indicate that she admitted to being in a relationship with Weyaus. Elling’s roommate said Weyaus contacted her and asked for help moving a storage container, and Elling was present while the container was moved to the roommate’s residence.
When contacted by police, Elling admitted that, while she did not help place Pendegayosh’s body in the container, she did help move it knowing that his body was inside. She also admitted to moving a gun case, and said that the fake fingernail that was found inside the storage container did belong to her.
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