Family in California Murdered by a “Catfish”

A former Virginia police officer has been accused of murdering a young girls family in California after allegedly “catfishing” her online. The ex cop is 28 year old Austin Lee Edwards of North Chesterfield Virginia. Police were called to the scene on Friday about a wellness check for a young girl who had gotten into a car with an older man. Officers later were called just down the street to a house that was on fire.

Firefighters found three deceased adult victims in the entryway of the home, whom police later identified as victims of homicide. Edwards had allegedly developed a relationship with the young girl and drove from Virginia to Riverside, California to the girl’s home where he killed her grandparents and mother before taking her away in his car. Edwards was found with the girl unharmed in his car just hours after the body was found, and he was killed in a shootout with police.