RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KTLA) — A 28-year-old man who used to be employed by the Virginia State Police has been identified as the suspect in a triple homicide in Riverside, Calif.
Austin Lee Edwards was shot and killed by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies Friday after exchanging gunfire with them. He was declared dead at the scene.
A teenage girl with him was unharmed after the shootout and was later placed into protective custody of the Riverside County Department of Public and Social Services.
“Detectives determined Edwards had met the female teenager through the common form of online deception known as ‘catfishing,’ where someone pretends to be a different person than they actually are,” authorities said in the release. “It is believed Edwards had developed an online relationship with the teen and obtained her personal information. He traveled from Virginia to Riverside where he parked his car in a neighbor’s driveway and walked into the teen’s home.”
Police say Edwards murdered the teen’s grandfather, grandmother and mother at the home.
“Detectives learned Edwards had worked for the Virginia State Police and was until recently employed at the Washington County Sheriff’s office in Virginia,” the release noted.
Police said that around 11 a.m. on Nov. 25, officers were dispatched for a welfare check of a young woman who appeared to be in distress while getting into a red Kia Soul and leaving with a man, later identified as Edwards.
While officers were responding,...
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