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The Latest Breaking News from Austin Lee Edwards

California family sues sheriff's office after deputy kidnapped girl, killed her mother, grandparents

A California family is suing a Virginia sheriff’s department for hiring a deputy who sexually extorted and kidnapped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint and killed her mother and her grandparents before setting fire to their home

The Independent UK

Family of Southern California victims killed by ‘catfish’ cop to sue Virginia police agencies

Relatives of three Riverside, California, family members slain last year by “catfish” cop Austin Lee Edwards plan to file a lawsuit next month seeking more than $100 million in damages from two Virginia law enforcement agencies that hired him even though he failed a preemployment mental health screening.

The Orange County Register

Relatives of Calif. family slain by ‘catfishing’ Virginia cop plan to sue over his hiring

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.

Los Angeles Times

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Police never searched ‘catfish’ cop Austin Lee Edwards’ second home

CHESTERFIELD, Va. — Police never searched a Richmond-area apartment belonging to Austin Lee Edwards, the Virginia cop who killed three relatives of a 15-year-old Riverside, California, girl whom police say he “catfished” online.

Los Angeles Times

Background check missed deputy's red flags before killings

A background investigator erroneously failed to check a would-be trooper’s mental health history, allowing him to be hired for the Virginia State Police the year before he kidnapped a 15-year-old girl and killed three members of her family in California

The Independent UK

Why Virginia police hired ‘catfish’ cop Austin Lee Edwards

LOS ANGELES — In a previously unreported letter obtained by The Times, the head of the Virginia State Police detailed errors in his agency’s hiring of Austin Lee Edwards, the now-deceased “catfish” cop who killed three people in Riverside in late November.

Los Angeles Times

'Catfish' cop used his father as a reference to get job as deputy

WASHINGTON — Austin Lee Edwards, the cop who “catfished” a 15-year-old Riverside, California, girl and killed her grandparents and mother before taking his own life, used his own father as one of three character references on his application for a job as a sheriff’s deputy.

Los Angeles Times

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Virginia probes hiring of trooper who killed teen's family

The Virginia Office of the State Inspector General is investigating the state police hiring of a man who drove across the country, kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl and killed her mother and grandparents

The Independent UK

Virginia governor asks for probe into hiring of ‘catfishing’ cop who killed 3 in California

LOS ANGELES — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has asked the state’s inspector general to investigate the Virginia State Police’s hiring of Austin Lee Edwards, the now-deceased cop who killed three family members of a 15-year-old Riverside girl he “catfished” online.

Los Angeles Times

‘Catfishing’ cop told Virginia police he was treated at mental health facility, records show

LOS ANGELES — Austin Lee Edwards, the now-deceased cop who “catfished” a 15-year-old Riverside girl and killed her grandparents and mother last month, disclosed during his application to become a Virginia state trooper that he had voluntarily checked himself into a mental health facility several years earlier, according to records…

Los Angeles Times

Virginia sheriff defends removal of items from deputy’s home after California triple homicide

WASHINGTON — A Virginia sheriff says that he ordered two of his deputies to search the home of a colleague who killed three people in California, and insists they acted to protect the public.

Los Angeles Times

Deputy in California slayings killed self with service gun

Authorities say a Virginia sheriff’s deputy who they believe traveled to California to kill three family members of a 15-year-old girl he tried to sexually extort online killed himself with a government-issued firearm

The Independent UK

'Catfishing' cop shot himself with service weapon after killing California girl's family, officials say

LOS ANGELES — The Virginia sheriff's deputy who killed three family members of a Riverside teenager he had allegedly been "grooming" used his service weapon to fatally shoot himself at the end of a chase with law enforcement, authorities said Friday.

Los Angeles Times

Co-workers of cop who killed 3 in California removed items from his home before official search

ABINGDON, Va. — Co-workers of Austin Lee Edwards, the Virginia cop who killed the grandparents and mother of a 15-year-old Riverside, California, girl he “catfished” online, removed a sheriff’s truck and a black trash bag from Edwards’ property the night before it was officially searched, according to an eyewitness and…

Los Angeles Times

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Los Angeles Times

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

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.

Los Angeles Times

Virginia police blame ‘human error’ in hiring of man who later killed 3 in California

ABINGDON, Va. — Virginia State Police now blame “human error” for the agency’s hiring of Austin Lee Edwards, the cop who killed the grandparents and mother of a 15-year-old California girl he “catfished” online.

The Independent UK

Deputy who killed teen's family was on psych hold in 2016

A Virginia sheriff’s deputy who killed the family members of a 15-year-old California girl he tried to sexually extort online had been detained in 2016 for a psychiatric evaluation over threats to kill himself and his father

Los Angeles Times

‘Catfishing’ Virginia cop who killed California family was detained in 2016 after violent threats

ABINGDON, Va. — The Virginia police officer who “catfished” a 15-year-old California girl online and killed her mother and grandparents was detained for psychiatric evaluation in 2016 after threatening to kill himself and his father and experiencing relationship troubles with his girlfriend, according to a police report obtained by the…

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The Independent UK

Virginia police officer who catfished teen and killed family had threatened to kill his father and himself in 2016

Austin Lee Edwards died outside of Los Angeles after driving cross country to meet 15-year-old

Los Angeles Times

‘Catfishing’ Virginia cop who killed California family was detained in 2016 after violent threats

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…

Los Angeles Times

Catfishing cop pretended to be 17, ‘groomed’ California girl before killing her family, then himself

LOS ANGELES — The 28-year-old Virginia cop who killed three family members of a Riverside teenager had posed online as a teen to “groom” the 15-year-old girl, the Riverside Police Department said Wednesday.

Los Angeles Times

Catfishing cop pretended to be 17, ‘groomed’ California girl before killing her family, police say

The Independent UK

Relative of teenage ‘catfishing’ victim whose family were killed by deputy speaks out

‘Catfishing led to the deaths of the three most important people in my life,’ Mychelle Blankin said at emotional press conference on Wednesday

The Independent UK

Virginia cop posed as teen to groom, extort California girl

A Virginia sheriff’s deputy posed as a 17-year-old online to groom and sexually extort a teenage girl in California before he killed her mother and grandparents and set fire to their home

Los Angeles Times

Horrifying scene at Riverside home where police say 'catfishing' of teen led to 3 killings

LOS ANGELES — Neighbors described a horrifying scene as a man who police say catfished a teenage girl arrived at her family’s home in Riverside on Friday, killing three relatives, and then leaving with her and the home on fire.

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