WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A relative of a Riverside, California family who was murdered last year has filed a lawsuit against the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia and the accused killer — a former State Police trooper and Washington County Sheriff’s deputy.
Riverside Police said Austin Lee Edwards — then 28-years-old, a former Virginia State Police trooper and Washington County Sheriff’s deputy — murdered a teen’s mother and grandparents in Riverside County, California.
Authorities said that Edwards engaged in a deceptive relationship online with a teen girl by ‘catfishing,’ — or pretending to be someone else online — and received personal information from her before traveling thousands of miles from Virginia and killing her mother and grandparents.
According to the Riverside Police Department, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 — the day after Thanksgiving — officers were dispatched to check on the welfare of a teenage girl who appeared distressed while getting into a car with a man in the La Sierra South neighborhood of Riverside.
Once on scene, officers found three adult victims lying on the ground in the front entryway. Authorities said that their bodies were pulled outside, where it was determined that they were victims of an apparent homicide.
The victims were identified as Mark Winek, 69 — the teen’s grandfather — his wife, Sharie Winek, 65 — the teen’s grandmother — and Brooke Winek, 38 — the teen’s mother.
A lawsuit was filed by a relative of the slain family on Nov. 16, 2023 — a week before Thanksgiving Day and almost one year after the Nov. 25, 2022 incident.
Court documents state Mychelle Blandin — the aunt of the teen who suffered emotional and physical distress in the incident — is suing both the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia and the accused killer for the damages of allegedly violating the fourth amendment, battery (wrongful death and survival action), violation of the Bane Act and negligent hiring, supervision or retention (wrongful death and survival action).
Authorities said Edwards had been posing as a 17-year-old teen and developed a personal relationship with the Riverside teen — who was then 15 — and obtained her personal information.
Police confirmed Edwards traveled from Virginia to Riverside, California at the teen’s home where he posed as a law enforcement officer and used his police badge and firearm to enter into the come and conduct false questioning.
During the encounter, court documents filed by Blandin state that Edwards slit the teen mother’s throats and hogtied the grandparents of the teen with bags over their heads. Before running away in his car with the teen, Edwards set the house on fire.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Deputies reportedly found Edwards driving with the teen in the area of Kelso where they surrounded him and a shootout ensued. It was then Edwards used his own firearm to kill himself, according to lawsuit filings.
8News reached out to private investigator and former law enforcement officer Jeff Pike, who is the president and CEO of Complete Surveillance and Investigative Services. Pike told 8News this incident sends a scarce notion to communities around the nation.
“The message it sends is, you know, ‘what kind of a psychopath are we putting out on the street with a gun and a badge?’” Pike said.
Pike added that there is a lack of accountability, as there were many overlooked steps in the process of hiring Edwards, as he was admitted into a mental psychiatric facility in 2016 after a violent night of threatening to harm himself and his father, police records say.
“What happened to the polygraph examiner and what you passed? What happened to the guy who did the background check? You didn’t check anything,” Pike said, “If you had them, you would have found this out, according to State Police documents that I have.”
Virginia State Police told the Los Angeles Times that during Edwards’ 15-month tenure, he “never exhibited any behaviors to trigger any internal administrative or criminal investigations. During his background and psychological tests, there weren’t any indicators of concern.”
When asked about past employment checks of Edwards, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said, “past employers and Virginia State Police were contacted during Edwards’ hiring process, but that no troubles, reprimands, or internal investigations pertaining to him were disclosed.”
“This individual, early on in the hiring process with the State Police, revealed that he had been committed to a mental institution that in of itself would just throw horrendous red flags up,” Pike said.
In December of 2022, Virginia State Police issued a statement, saying, in part, “the department’s administrative review is complete and has revealed that human error has resulted in an incomplete database query during Edwards’ hiring process.”
Though state law enforcement has admitted to their error, Pike hopes agencies are vigilantly looking at the intake process of future candidates.
“I would hope that these agencies would start looking closer at how they do things. And again, I would rather see them work shorthanded then they would cut corners and put somebody on the street that’s capable of not only doing something to this level, but, you know, just not being able to do the job, correctly,” Pike said.
In regard to the use of technology by young adults, Pike said parents should use this tragic day as an example of why it is necessary to monitor children’s social media usage for safety.
“I think I think the key is, you know, the parents have to stay on top of the kids with their phones and social media. I think educationally, you know, and this is a good example,” Pike said.
8News reached out to all involved law enforcement agencies and were met with Virginia State Police stating the department had no comment.
Riverside Police Officials have said there are no updates on the investigation and 8News has not heard back from authorities at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
