The Virginia trooper who drove across the country after catfishing a 15-year-old girl in California has used his own service weapon to kill himself.
The Virginia trooper who catfished a 15-year-old girl also murdered three members of her family.
Austin Lee Edwards, 28, took his own life during a shootout with deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department after a cross-country drive to the girl’s Riverside, California home where he shot and killed three members of her family before setting the house on fire.
It was previously reported that Edwards had been killed by California deputies.
The latest revelation about Austin Lee Edwards, 28, comes as it’s also revealed that coworkers took items from his home before an official search began.
Edwards’ colleagues allegedly removed a sheriff’s truck and a black trash bag from the man’s Abingdon, Virginia, home on November 25, the same day the murders took place in California.
Officials from the Riverside Police Department told the Southern California outlet they were not privy to the removal of the items.
Edwards had made the 2,500-mile journey to the girl’s home after he deceived her with a false identity, claiming he was a 17-year-old boy. Upon arrival at the girl’s residence, he killed Mark Winek, 69; his wife, Sharie Winek, 65; and their daughter Brooke Winek, 38, before setting fire to the home and leaving with Brooke Winek’s 15-year-old daughter.
It was originally reported that Edwards died during the shootout with police, seemingly at the hands of officers returning gunfire.
A SWAT team had attempted to pull over Edwards’ vehicle, which also had the 15-year-old girl inside, but he refused to stop and a chase ensued. SWAT team members fired numerous shots at the vehicle which they believed to be the man’s cause of death.
Initially, officials said the chase ended when the man swerved off the road and was shot after exiting the vehicle.
Virginia State Police said this week that Edward’s hiring was the result of human error after it was revealed that he had been detained in 2016 for a psychiatric evaluation over threats to kill his father and himself.
