Former State Trooper Killed In Shootout After He Catfished A Young Girl, Murdered Her Family

On Nov. 25, 2022, former Virginia state trooper Austin Lee Edwards, 28, of North Chesterfield, Virginia, died in a shootout with police in Riverside, California, after allegedly deceiving a teenage girl and killing her family.

Edwards met the teenage girl online, and he assumed a false identity to trick her into sharing her personal information, which is commonly called catfishing. Police believe he then traveled from Virginia to Riverside. He parked his car in a neighbor’s driveway and walked to the teenage girl’s home. Then it’s believed that he killed three of her family members before setting fire to the house and leaving with the girl.

When the Riverside Fire Department arrived to fight the fire, they discovered the bodies of three homicide victims on the ground in the front entryway, according to a statement from the Riverside Police Department. The murder victims were identified as the teenage girl’s mother and grandparents — 38-year-old Brooke Winek, and Brooke’s parents, 69-year-old Mark Winek and his wife, 65-year-old Sharie Winek. Their exact cause and manner of deaths are to be determined.

USA Today reported that Riverside police were initially called to the girl’s home for a welfare check after she had been in distress while getting into a Red Kia Soul with a man. Police later tracked the two of them down as Edwards was driving through San Bernardino County with the teenager.

After Edwards fired gunshots at deputies, they fired back, and he was ultimately pronounced deceased at the scene. According to The Associated Press, Edwards was a Virginia State Police trooper until late October, and he recently worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Virginia.

The teenage girl was unharmed, and she was later placed into the protective custody of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services.

Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez shared, “Our hearts go out to the Winek family and their loved ones during this time of tremendous grief, as this is a tragedy for all Riversiders. This is yet another horrific reminder of the predators existing online who prey on our children. If you’ve already had a conversation with your kids on how to be safe online and on social media, have it again. If not, start it now to better protect them.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money for the victims' family.