Timeline: What investigators say happened in case of Mille Lacs body found in tote
MILLE LACS COUNTY, Minn. -- This week, authorities in central Minnesota issued a potential motive in the case of human remains found near Mille Lacs Lake last week. This comes after the body was found inside a tote along the shoreline of Mille Lacs Lake.
Here is a timeline of events as shared by investigators. Details sourced from the Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office, and criminal complaints filed against the two suspects:
Monday, March 20
- Family members of 25-year-old Rodney Pendegayosh Jr., of Isle, report him missing to authorities.
Tuesday, March 21
- Highway maintenance workers find a tote bound with bungee cords and industrial tape near the 14200 block of Twilight Road in Kathio Township. Upon opening it, they find human remains and immediately contact police. Bradley Allen Weyaus, 21, is a person of interest.
- Shortly after the tote is discovered, an investigator driving to the scene observes a white Saturn, like the one associated with Weyaus, heading in the same direction. The driver refuses to pull over for the investigator and allegedly accelerates away at a high rate of speed.
- Law enforcement later locate the white Saturn at a rural property with several buildings near Southport Road in Mille Lacs County. A resident of the property tells officers the Saturn had been driven by Weyaus.
- Investigators find a number of items pertaining to the investigation in the trash of a 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.
- Officers arrest Weyaus, who was hiding in one of the buildings on the property, and recover two duffel bags containing items such as a hammer, a hacksaw and industrial tape consistent with the tape on the tote.
Wednesday, March 22
- A medical examiner publicly confirms the identity of the human remains as Pendegayosh.
Thursday, March 23
- Weyaus is charged with second-degree murder and fleeing an officer. The complaint says that, among other findings, the storage container contained a severed human foot. It also says that Pendegayosh's throat area contained "several pellets of a type found in buckshot shotgun shells." The complaint says, inside the Saturn, officers discovered a spent shotgun shell.
Friday, March 24
- Charges are also filed against 21-year-old Alexis Elling, of Rochester. Elling, who the complaint says admitted to being in a relationship with Weyaus, says 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. She is charged with aiding an offender and acting as an accomplice.
Tuesday, March 28
- The Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office presents more details from their investigation, and says they're are actively looking into the possibility that the murder was committed as an act of retribution against Pendegayosh. Sheriff Kyle Burton says that it's possible the victim was likely involved in Elling's brother Brandon Ellling's overdose death, and that's why the couple killed him. "This whole thing was truly bizarre. The body was moved in multiple places, definitely not a typical homicide case," Burton says. "In 23 years of law enforcement, I've never seen anything like this." Burton suggests more charges may be forthcoming.
