WASHINGTON — Attorneys for relatives of the Riverside, California, family slain by “catfish” cop Austin Lee Edwards have notified Virginia officials of their intent to sue, citing gross negligence by the state and local law enforcement agencies that hired him.
Edwards killed Sharie Winek, 65; Mark Winek, 69; and Brooke Winek, 38, in their Riverside home on the morning of Nov. 25 and kidnapped Brooke’s then-15-year-old daughter. Police have said that Edwards, 28, catfished the girl online, telling her that he was 17.
Edwards, a former Virginia state trooper then employed by the Washington County, Va., sheriff’s office, drove into the Mojave Desert, where he died in a confrontation with authorities. Police initially said he was killed in a shootout but later said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot with his service weapon. The girl was found physically uninjured.
