Former police officer accused of killing 15-year-old's family was pretending to be teen online

The girl's mother, grandmother and grandfather were killed in her home.

November 29, 2022, 2:53 PM

A former Virginia police officer allegedly "catfished" a 15-year-old girl online before traveling to her home in Riverside, California, and killing her family, according to police.

Riverside police said they determined the suspect, 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards, met the girl online through "catfishing," where someone pretends to be a different person than they actually are. Police believe he was pretending to be a teenager, according to Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback.

Austin Lee Edwards, the suspect in a triple homicide in Southern California who died in a shootout with police on Nov. 25, 2022, in a photo provided by the Riverside Police Department.
Riverside Police Department via AP

After Edwards developed a relationship with the girl online, police said they believe he drove from Virginia to California, parked in a neighbor's driveway, went to the girl's home and killed her family. Edwards then allegedly took the teen and drove away, according to police. The girl has since been rescued.

The murders were discovered on Friday after authorities received a report of a girl "who appeared distressed" while getting into a car with a man, Riverside police said.

As officers responded to that report, they received calls of a fire at a nearby house.

Firefighters and Riverside Police gather outside a burned home in Riverside, Calif., on Nov. 25, 2022, following a house fire. Three bodies were found in the house which police are investigating as a homicide.
Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG via AP
Firefighters and Riverside Police gather outside a burned home in Riverside, Calif., on Nov. 25, 2022, following a house fire. Three bodies were found in the house which police are investigating as a homicide.
Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG via AP

Police said three family members were found dead in the house from apparent homicides: 69-year-old Mark Winek; his wife, 65-year-old Sharie Winek; and their daughter, 38-year-old Brooke Winek.

The Wineks "were loving people who didn’t deserve this," the family said in a statement.

The fire appears to have been intentionally set, police said, adding that the causes of death were still pending.

PHOTO: Brooke Winek, 38, is shown in a photo released by the Riverside Police Department. Winek was found inside the house in Riverside, CA, by firefighters, and it was determined she was a victim of an apparent homicide alongside her parents.
Brooke Winek, 38, is shown in a photo released by the Riverside Police Department. Winek was found inside the house in Riverside, CA, by firefighters as they were extinguishing the fire, and it was determined she was a victim of an apparent homicide alongside her parents.
Riverside Police Department
PHOTO: Sharie Winek, 65, and her husband Mark Winek, 69, are shown in a photo released by the Riverside Police Department. The couple was found inside the house in Riverside, CA, and it was determined they were victims of an apparent homicide.
Sharie Winek, 65, and her husband Mark Winek, 69, are shown in a photo released by the Riverside Police Department. The couple was found inside the house in Riverside, CA, by firefighters as they were extinguishing the fire, and it was determined they were victims of an apparent homicide alongside their daughter.
Riverside Police Department

Authorities said the teen lived at that house and the victims killed were her mother and grandparents.

Several hours after the three bodies were found, authorities said they spotted Edwards driving with the teen.

Edwards -- who had worked for the Virginia State Police -- allegedly led deputies on a chase and fired shots at them, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said. Edwards lost control of his car and drove off the road, pointing a gun at a sheriff's helicopter, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies then fired at Edwards who was declared dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

The girl was rescued and wasn't hurt, according to police.

First responders are shown at work at the site of a fire where three homicide victims were found, in Riverside, Calif. on Nov. 26, 2022.
KABC

Edwards was hired by the Virginia State Police in July 2021 and quit on Oct. 28, 2022, the agency said.

Edwards passed the state’s background check, state police said.

"As a probationary employee, Edwards was also given monthly performance evaluations, in accordance with department policy. During Edwards' short tenure with the department, he never exhibited any behaviors to trigger any internal administrative or criminal investigations," the state police said in a statement.

Edwards was hired by the Washington County, Virginia, Sheriff's Office on Nov. 16, 2022, and had started orientation with the department, according to the sheriff's office.

"Past employers and the Virginia State Police were contacted during the hiring processing; however, no employers disclosed any troubles, reprimands, or internal investigations pertaining to Edwards," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis added in a statement: "It is shocking and sad to the entire law enforcement community that such an evil and wicked person could infiltrate law enforcement while concealing his true identity as a computer predator and murderer. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Winek family, their friends, officers, and all of those affected by this heinous crime."

ABC News' Beatrice Peterson, Jenna Harrison and DeMarco Morgan contributed to this report.