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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
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Robin Abcarian

Robin Abcarian: Those killings linked to a man 'catfishing' a teen girl? A reminder that kids are easy prey

Austin Lee Edwards Manti Teo Snapchat TikTok Brad Paisley Kimberly WilliamsPaisley Roblox

I'm raising a middle schooler who spends too much time on Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, so I'm already on guard about the dangers that social media present to adolescents.

But the internet-driven mayhem unleashed on a family in Riverside the day after Thanksgiving has shaken me and every parent I know.

What authorities have said so far is that a 15-year-old girl was "catfished" online, hooked by a man posing as a 17-year-old boy. The man, 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards, showed up at her home, and apparently killed her mother and grandparents, set the home on fire, then fled with the girl.

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