Former VA state trooper 'catfished' teen girl before murdering family in CA, according to police

A former Virginia state trooper was killed in a shootout with deputies after he traveled across the country and allegedly killed the mother and grandparents of a teenage girl he "catfished" online, police said.

Police say the suspect, 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards of North Chesterfield, Virginia, may have also set the family's home on fire after killing them.

Officials said Edwards had worked for the Virginia State Police and until recently was employed at the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Virginia. The Virginia Police Department has since released a statement saying Edwards was hired and entered the academy July 6, 2021. He graduated Jan. 21, 2022 as a trooper and was assigned to Henrico County, which is within the Richmond Division, the department said. Edwards resigned on Oct. 28, 2022, according to Virginia PD.

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