ABINGDON, Va. — The Virginia police officer who “catfished” a 15-year-old California girl online and killed three of her family members was detained for psychiatric evaluation in 2016 after threatening to kill himself and his father and experiencing relationship troubles with his then-girlfriend, according to a police report obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
The 2016 incident, which has not been previously reported, raises new questions about how Austin Lee Edwards became a law enforcement officer and offers new details about his life. Authorities in Virginia have said they were shocked by the California rampage and that they knew of no red flags in Edwards’ background.
The 28-year-old Edwards, a former Virginia state cop who had just been hired as a deputy for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, portrayed himself as a 17-year-old while communicating with the girl online, according to Riverside police. Last month, he drove across the country to her home in Riverside, where he killed her mother and grandparents on the day after Thanksgiving before setting fire to the house and driving away with the girl.
