Terrifying new particulars about “catfish killer” Austin Lee Edwards are coming to mild because the investigation continues…
As you understand, the 28-year-old Virginia policeman catfished a 15-year-old pretending to be a young person himself. When he lastly bought the younger girl’s handle, he trekked throughout the nation to California to kidnap her final month — and killed her household within the course of. He left the useless our bodies of the teenager’s mother Brooke Winek and grandparents Mark and Sheri Winek inside the house and set it ablaze. Firefighters wouldn’t discover the our bodies till after the hearth was managed — and the younger woman was nowhere to be discovered.
Related: Woman Allegedly Killed Stepfather After Finding Her Nude Photos On His Computer
Thankfully, a involved neighbor known as the Riverside Police Department when she observed the woman trying distressed as she entered a automotive with Edwards and so they drove off, which very nicely might have been the decision that saved her life. The teen was discovered along with her kidnapper and there was a shootout with police, leaving the person useless and his hostage unhurt.
Horrifying. But his future plans could also be much more chilling…
He had simply modified jobs — he left the Virginia State Police in Richmond in late October, scoring a brand new gig as a deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office — and acquired a brand new dwelling within the small city of Saltville. The very first thing neighbors observed about Edwards was that he instantly added darkish tint to all of the home windows, making it unimaginable to see inside. It provides us a fairly clear trace he appeared to consider he might carry the woman to this dwelling and hold her as his sufferer the place nobody would ever see her once more…
Luckily the woman is in protected palms as soon as once more, however new particulars rising have modified the narrative of what occurred throughout the police altercation she was concerned in. At first it was reported Edwards was shot by legislation enforcement, however that doesn’t appear to be the case in spite of everything. According to Gloria Huerta, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, it seems Edwards died by suicide throughout the shootout:
“Our detectives determined the gun used was Edwards’ department-issued semi-automatic service pistol.”
He used his personal department-issued weapon to take his personal life. The gun he was given to him for his new job as deputy — a job he bought solely days earlier than the crime. He already had a plan to do a cross-country kidnapping, and nobody raised an eyebrow, not even throughout all his background checks and examinations. But it solely will get worse from there. Because there’s one thing which completely ought to have been present in his background verify!
Apparently years in the past Edwards had threatened to kill himself and his personal father! That hints at some very deep-seated points…
VSP spokesperson Corinne Geller beforehand instructed KTLA Edwards handed all “physical, psychological and written testing, as well as a lie-detector test.” But data obtained by The Sun from Abingdon Police Department present he was as soon as detained for a psychiatric analysis in 2016 attributable to threats of murder and suicide. He would have been about 22 on the time. And they nonetheless employed him as a cop and gave him a weapon only a few years later??
VSP shortly launched a press release after the Los Angeles Times broke the information about Edwards’ psychological well being file, saying a lately accomplished evaluation of the scenario confirmed “human error” in reviewing his background. Yeah, you suppose?!
The investigation remains to be ongoing, and who is aware of what will likely be uncovered subsequent. Right now no extra data has been launched, however we’ll make sure to hold you up to date. Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Riverside Police Department/WTVR CBS 6/YouTube]
Discussion about this post