A former Virginia police officer suspected of murdering the family of a teenage girl in Riverside, California, following falsely identifying himself online, has been killed in a shooting as he tried to flee from authorities.
According to CNN, the ex-police officer has been identified as 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards of North Chesterfield, Virginia. Detectives said they believe Edwards met the teenager through ‘catfishing’, a form of online deception in which someone pretends to be a different person.
CNN reports that Riverside Police officers were called to check on the well-being of a young woman who appeared upset while in the vehicle of a man driving a red vehicle.
While officers were responding to the call, 911 dispatchers began receiving calls regarding a fire in the same neighborhood, just a few houses away from the origin of welfare control.
Firefighters discovered three adult victims lying in the front entrance of the burning home. When they pulled them outside, it was determined that they had been victims of homicide.
CNN has learned that a preliminary investigation by Riverside police determined that the young woman described in the initial call was a teenage girl who lived where the fire and homicides occurred.
According to police, Edwards had developed an online relationship with the teenager and obtained her personal information. He then traveled from Virginia to Riverside, where he parked his vehicle in a neighbor’s driveway and walked to the teenager’s home. Authorities believe Edwards murdered the teenager’s grandfather, grandmother and mother before returning to his vehicle with the young woman and leaving the scene.
Several hours following the bodies were found, Edwards was spotted driving with the teen in San Bernardino County.
According to the City of Riverside statement, Edwards allegedly exchanged fire with San Bernardino County police officers trying to arrest him, was shot by them, and later pronounced dead at the scene.
The teenager was not injured and was later taken into custody by the Riverside County Department of Public Human Services, police told CNN.