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AUSTIN, TEXAS: Speculation is rife that a serial killer, who is preying on men, is on the loose in Austin. The bodies of at least eight men were pulled from the city's Lady Bird Lake in just 10 months. While police have refuted claims that the deaths involved foul play, families of many of the victims strongly disagree. Many have slammed the Austin Police Department for inaction.
Randy Lexvold was 48 years old when he was found dead in Shoal Creek, which feeds into Lady Bird Lake. An autopsy report later claimed Lexvold drowned but blunt force injuries that were possibly caused by falling into the water from a bridge contributed to his death.
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For Lori Faber, Lexvold's sister, the recent deaths brought flashbacks of the horrifying time when she learned of her brother's death and reminded her that her fight for justice is far from over. Faber has now criticized law enforcement, accusing them of "not revealing the truth and telling the families and public that these water deaths are all accidents, and that none of the victims had any trauma."
"We did not know Randy had gone missing until the morning of December 7, 2018, when he did not respond to some texts," Faber, 53, told MEAWW. "At that time, we did not know he had been found dead in Shoal Creek because he had not yet been identified. He was found by the Shoal Creek Bridge on 6th St, and Shoal Creek feeds into Lady Bird Lake which isn’t far away. After he was discovered dead in the creek, APD later identified him and put out a bulletin with pictures and details of the clothing he was wearing and asked if anyone had seen him at any time during the night, and if so to report any information to their tipline. He was found around 8.30 am CST."
She added, "I got a call informing me of his death around 7.00 pm EST. One thing the APD did not do that was very upsetting to me is they did not contact my parents until ten days after Randy’s death. My family learned of his death from my brother’s wife. I guess I was wrong to think that the police would contact the victim’s parents right away to tell them what happened and possibly offer their condolences. Apparently, this detective thought it was not necessary to talk to Randy’s parents to offer condolences or to ask them questions to find out more about him."
What did Randy Lexvold's autopsy report say?
The Travis County medical examiner listed the official cause of death for Lexvold's death as drowning, according to Austin American-Statesman. Investigators reportedly could not determine how he ended up in the water but they believed he fell off the Sixth Street bridge.
The autopsy said he had several broken bones, and his head, torso, arms, and legs were full of scrapes and bruises. His lungs were filled with fluid, leading to the pathologist who conducted the autopsy to determine that Lexvold drowned.
It's unclear "whether he simply fell, was pushed, was hit by a car and knocked over, or whether he jumped," the autopsy says. "Thus the manner of death is undetermined," it adds. Austin police reportedly ruled out foul play, and investigators believed his death did not involve a robbery as his valuables were found on him.
'There were numerous errors in the report'
Faber, however, doubts the truthfulness of the autopsy report. "The first report we saw from APD on digital media was that the condition of his body was “bad,” and they “could not identify his age, race, or gender." After the autopsy report came out, it said he had drowned, and blunt force injuries were a contributing factor. We were also first told by the detective that Randy had a head wound that was hemorrhaging when he went over the bridge, and the head wound most likely caused him to go unconscious before he “fell” into the creek and drowned. The wound in his head turned out being a deep puncture wound that, according to the autopsy report, caused blood around one of the membranes of the brain. So my first question is how did he get that deep puncture wound that hemorrhaged and made him go unconscious before “drowning"? Faber said.
She added, "He also had other very bad injuries that do not match up with the narrative we were being told. He had a broken right collarbone, broken right thumb, broken ribs on both sides and also front and back, and a badly broken femur. A fall would not cause his ribs to be broken on both sides and front to back. His ribs in front were broken so badly that the autopsy report stated them as being “misshapen”, which was also very noticeable when our family viewed the body. Also, what was the “frothy” substance in Randy’s lungs? That is not something that is formed by air and water. The bridge is only 20’ high, and there was some water from rainfall the night before, but I can’t understand how his ribs would be broken so badly. They would also be broken on one side, not both sides, and front and back. Also, his femur bone was broken so badly that when our family viewed the body, that leg was bent at an angle from rigor mortis. I found out it takes 1000 lbs of force to break the femur bone, and I know a fall of 20’ into some water does not produce enough force to do that. The detective had also told us that due to the trajectory of the body, Randy was not a victim of hit and run. I also had another expert read the autopsy report, and it stated Randy’s eyes as being “translucent”. The expert told me that only happens when the eyes have been exposed to air after death, which couldn’t happen if he died face down in the water, like we were told."
"There were numerous errors in the report that can’t be overlooked. First, the date next to the medical examiner’s name had been wrong and was written over it to correct it. Not with whiteout first at all which didn’t seem very professional to me. Secondly, the wrong creek name was listed as the location of the incident, and it was later changed by an amendment to the report. The first creek name listed was Waller Creek which is actually where a previous victim had been located. Thirdly, it named the wrong arm for Randy’s only tattoo. With all of these mistakes so easily noticeable on the report, it really began to look like it had started out as a different victim’s autopsy report, and the medical examiner just copy and pasted some other details on it. It is my opinion, but it is partly based on facts. Is anyone policing the medical examiner’s office to make sure they are recording true and correct results?" Faber questioned.
'How do we know it wasn’t someone else texting from Randy’s phone?'
Faber said Lexvold did not live in Texas and had flown into Austin on December 6, 2018, for a business meeting. He was also there to watch his daughter in a swim meet. "Randy was a brilliant software engineer who did software development. He didn’t have a main desk location for his work and would travel a lot to different locations as needed, and one of the businesses he worked for was AgileCraft based in Austin. AgileCraft was a software development company for Artificial Intelligence, Homeland Security, and other well-known, high-end companies, so that meant Randy also had a high government security clearance," Faber said.
"I know Randy was supposed to meet a friend the evening before he disappeared, but that friend did not show up. Randy went To the Rooftop on December 6 for dinner and a couple of drinks. Their listed hours show that they don’t open until 9.00 pm, and Randy left there before 10.30 pm, according to his online credit card receipt. That was the last time he was seen anywhere, and he did not show up in any camera footage around the city or from any other establishments. He was found the next morning around 8.30 am face down in Shoal Creek. Someone working at a nearby location saw him in the water from the window of their office. The Shoal Creek Bridge is almost a mile from where Randy was last seen. We later learned that he apparently had texted a friend around 1.30 am, but how do we know it was really him that did the texting? How do we know it wasn’t someone else texting from Randy’s phone?" she added.
'There was also a smiley face sticker on the bridge'
On being asked what she believes may have really happened to Lexvold, Faber alleged, "I believe he was targeted, drugged, kidnapped, severely beaten, punctured above his eye near his brain for some unknown reason, and drowned before he was thrown over the bridge into the creek. The blood in his body was settled in the wrong place for someone who died with his face down."
"There was also a smiley face sticker on the bridge railing with a thick, red line drawn on it above the right eye, exactly where the puncture wound was in my brother’s head. His lungs had a frothy substance in it and were also hemorrhaging because his ribs were so badly broken," she added. Faber also revealed that a GoFundMe memorial page was being made by someone two days before her brother’s death, which proves that "he was being targeted."
'Do you genuinely not care about our family members?'
"I have been following and studying the details of many cases with very similar circumstances, and all are young men who are found dead in the water," Faber said on being asked about the recent bodies being found. "The thing is, the same thing is happening in many other big cities, too, so I know it is not just confined to Austin. There are cases in Chicago, Illinois, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Casnovia, Michigan, just to name a few. I believe it is an underground group of people with cells in different cities that obviously have some good connections. I do not think it is just one person."
Disappointed in law enforcement's role in the investigation, Faber said, addressing them, "I don’t understand why you keep saying there was no foul play when there is medical and physical proof showing otherwise. Do you genuinely not care about our family members? When it looks like the police and even the homicide department won’t investigate these cases further, it makes me lose respect for those departments. It has been 4-1/2 years, and my brother’s case is suspended, so that tells me you are not investigating it any further at this time. I tried showing you evidence that someone started a memorial page for my brother two days before his death, but you wouldn’t even look at it. Where is a family member supposed to go, and what are we supposed to do when the police won’t even look at hard evidence? The next step is the Attorney General’s office."
To the victims' family members, Faber said, "Have faith and determination. The only way to fight the bad is with good. So stick to the truth, and keep fighting for it because I believe that together and with the help of God above, the truth shall show itself. I know it is gut-wrenching to keep having to go over all of the details day after day, but we are starting to make a difference, so don’t stop now. Keep persevering."
'This has left a huge void in my heart'
"Randy is a very special person to me, and this has left a huge void in my heart. Randy was a happy Christian man who never did drugs, was a brilliant software developer, a co-author of a book, an owner of a patent, an advocate for good health and physical fitness who loved hiking, a daily runner, a former Ironman Triathlon competitor, and was often described as the nicest person you could ever meet. He had sharp wit and a kind and sincere heart that was topped only by his contagious smile. His family loved him dearly and still misses him and thinks about him every day," Faber said.
She added, "We were only 13 months apart in age, and we were inseparable as kids. We did everything together. We also looked very much alike, and people always thought we were twins, so that made us also want to dress alike sometimes. Adulthood took us to different parts of the country, but we always had a very special connection between us. After Randy died, I had a dream every night for a month. In my dream, Randy was in the water of the creek, and he told me to keep looking into this because “they are trying to make this look like something that it’s not.” That has proven to be true."
"It is so hard to publicly talk about my brother’s case because there are so many skeptics out there just waiting for a chance to criticize me. They think that if my brother was drugged, the medical examiner would have found the drug in his system, but the autopsy report shows they don’t test for those kinds of drugs. They also think if there was foul play, APD would say so, and yet, that is not the case. They think the police would never not tell the truth to the public, but that is exactly what is happening, and I have solid proof backing up what I am saying," Faber concluded.
