Police: Virginia man killed family, took teenager

SHOTLIST: RESTRICTION SUMMARY: PART NO RE-SALE, RE-USE OR ARCHIVE; MUST CREDIT KTLA; NO ACCESS LOS ANGELES; NO USE US BROADCAST NETWORKS; PART MUST CREDIT RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT - MUST CREDIT RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT Location and date not given1. Still of Austin Lee Edwards, the suspect in a triple homicide and died in a shootout with police Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. ++MUTED++ +ANIMATED++ HEADLINE: Police: Virginia man killed family, took teenagerKTLA - NO RE-SALE, RE-USE OR ARCHIVE; MUST CREDIT KTLA; NO ACCESS LOS ANGELES; NO USE US BROADCAST NETWORKS++QUALITY AT SOURCE++++AUDIO PARTIALLY COVERED++Riverside, California - 25-27 November 20222. SOUNDBITE (English) Officer Ryan Railsback, Riverside Police Department:"He was in law enforcement in the state of Virginia. So our detectives are working closely with them to see if we can get much more into his background to figure out who exactly this person was and who he became to be."3.Exterior shot of the murdered family's house in Riverside 4. Close, exterior shot of the murdered family's house in RiversideANNOTATION: "The bodies found in the home were identified as the girl's grandparents and mother, as well as their 38-year-old daughter."5. Police on site6. Close, police on site7. People mourning at the house++AUDIO PARTIALLY COVERED++8. SOUNDBITE (English) Officer Ryan Railsback, Riverside Police Department:"Basically he was portraying to be someone younger and probably someone different and developed an online relationship with her. He ended up obtaining some personal information, her home address."++NIGHTSHOT++ANNOTATION: "Authorities believe Edwards parked his vehicle in a neighbor's driveway, walked to the home and killed the family members before leaving with the girl. Three adults were discovered lying in the front entryway after a possible structure fire that alerted dispatchers."9. Aerial shot of the murdered family's house in Riverside ++MUTE++10. Aerial shot of the murdered family's house in Riverside ++MUTE++11. Candles outside of the murdered family's house +MUTE++++CAMERA ZOOM AT SOURCE++12. Candles outside of the murdered family's house +MUTE++++AUDIO PARTIALLY COVERED++13. SOUNDBITE (English) Officer Ryan Railsback, Riverside Police Department:"This is you know, this is just a tragic reminder of the dangers of, you know, online activity and social media with our children."++NIGHTSHOTS++ANNOTATIONS: "An online fundraising campaign was launched Monday to help cover funeral expenses and support the victims' families."14. Police on site15. Police car ++ENDS OF SOUNDBITE++STORYLINE:The suspect in a Southern California triple homicide who died in a shootout with police was a Virginia law enforcement officer who investigators believe drove across the country to meet a teenage girl before killing three members of her family.Austin Lee Edwards, 28, also likely set fire to the family's home in Riverside, California, on the day of the shooting Friday before leaving with the girl, according to the Riverside Police Department. Deputies exchanged gunfire with and fatally shot Edwards after locating him with the teenager later that day, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and Riverside Police said in news releases.Until last month, Edwards was a Virginia State Police trooper and was recently hired as a sheriff's deputy in that state, spokespersons said. Edwards, a resident of North Chesterfield, Virginia, met the girl online and obtained her personal information by deceiving her with a false identity, known as "catfishing," Riverside Police said.The bodies found in the home were identified as the girl's grandparents and mother: Mark Winek, 69, his wife, Sharie Winek, 65, and their 38-year-old daughter, Brooke Winek. Police said the exact causes of their deaths remain under investigation.The teenager was unharmed and taken into protective custody by the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, Riverside Police said. Police in Riverside, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, received a call for a welfare check Friday morning concerning a man and woman involved in a disturbance near a car. Investigators later determined the two people were Edwards and the teenager, whose age was not released. Authorities believe Edwards parked his vehicle in a neighbor's driveway, walked to the home and killed the family members before leaving with the girl. Dispatchers were alerted to smoke and a possible structure fire a few houses away from the disturbance. The Riverside Fire Department discovered three adults lying in the front entryway.The cause of the fire was under investigation but appeared to have been intentionally set, police said.Riverside authorities distributed a description of Edwards' vehicle to law enforcement agencies and several hours later, police located the car with Edwards and the teenager in Kelso, an unincorporated area of San Bernardino County. Edwards fired gunshots and was killed by deputies returning fire, police said.Edwards was hired by the Virginia State Police and entered the police academy on July 6, 2021, Virginia State Police Public Relations Manager Corinne Geller told The Associated Press in an email. He graduated as a trooper on Jan. 21, 2022, and was assigned to Henrico County within the agency's Richmond Division until his resignation on Oct. 28.Edwards was hired as a deputy in Washington County, Virginia, on Nov. 16 and had begun orientation to be assigned to the patrol division, the sheriff's office said in a statement. During the hiring process, "no employers disclosed any troubles, reprimands, or internal investigations pertaining to Edwards," the statement said. The Washington County Sheriff's Office was assisting California agencies in the investigation. Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez called the case "yet another horrific reminder of the predators existing online who prey on our children." An online fundraising campaign was launched Monday to help cover funeral expenses and support the victims' families. ===========================================================Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.