And Policeman Virginia, who, according to detectives, traveled California For the killing three members of family A 15-year-old girl, whom he attempted to sexually assault online, committed suicide with his service weapon, authorities said Saturday.
Austin Lee Edwards, 28, drove across the country and on November 25 killed the girl’s mother and grandparents and set fire to the family’s home in Riverside, a town about 50 miles from the center. angel, The officials elaborated.
That same day, Edwards committed suicide in the midst of a shootout with San Bernardino police officers. teenagers He was saved.
“Our detectives determined that the weapon used was Edwards’ semi-automatic service pistol provided by his department,” it said. Gloria HuertaPolice spokesman, in a statement.
department of river bank policeWhich is probing the murder of the minor’s relatives, has not revealed details about the crime.
Austin Lee Edwards, a Virginia state police officer, kidnapped a 15-year-old girl after catfishing her online and killed her family—her mother and grandparents—by setting their home on fire before abducting her.
He was killed during an encounter with the police. pic.twitter.com/hZ36w7ZFRR— alma (@glumirror) December 1, 2022
Edwards, a North Chesterfield, Virginia resident, allegedly posed as a 17-year-old teenager Internet According to the police, for establishing a romantic relationship with a minor and obtaining her personal information through a fake profile.
Officers indicated the teen stopped talking to him after he asked her to send him nude photos.
At the time of the murders, Edwards was a Washington County, Virginia, police officer and former Virginia state trooper.
Both law enforcement agencies claim they found no red flags before hiring Edwards.
but a police report Police Department Of Abingdon, Virginia, reveals he was taken into custody in 2016 for psychological evaluation for threatening to kill himself and his father, several years before joining the police.
On Thursday, a day after the Los Angeles Times broke the story about the mental health incident, the Virginia State Police reported that a recently completed review revealed that “human error” may have contributed to the incompleteness of the database during the hiring process. The reason for the query was
The Washington County Police Department has not responded to calls seeking comment about the 2016 incident.
