The lawsuit includes the teen’s account of what happened after she was forced into a car with the man who killed her mom and grandparents — a state trooper who pretended to be a 17-year-old boy online.
New details have emerged in the Black Friday triple-homicide of the family of a teenage girl who was terrorized by a 28-year-old man she only knew as a 17-year-old boy she met online.
The Los Angeles Times obtained a new lawsuit filed by the unnamed teen and her foster mother against the estate of her family’s murderer, Austin Lee Edwards, as well as the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, the county’s Sheriff Blake Andis and a detective who reviewed Edwards’ employment application.
At the time of the incident, Edwards had recently worked for the Virginia State Police and Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia. They’re seeking at least $50 million in damages.
The victims in the case are the teen’s mom, 38-year-old daughter Brooke Winek, and her grandparents, 69-year-old Mark Winek and 65-year-old wife Sharie Winek. Their bodies were found inside a burning residence in Riverside, California the day after Thanksgiving in 2022.
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Per the Times, Edwards and the teen met on Instagram that summer, she reportedly thought he was 17 at the time and the two even spoke over Discord. She broke up with him after he became too pushy and asked for nude photos.
According to the lawsuit, Edwards pretended to be a detective to gain access to the Wineks’ home — before making Sharie call her daughter Brooke and tell her to come to the house with the teen. Brooke told her daughters there was simply a phone issue that needed to be fixed at the home.
The teen said she was told to wait in the car by her mom, noting that her mom’s dog didn’t come to the window when they arrived — which she found odd. Eventually, the girl went to the front door — and was pulled inside the house by Edwards. At first, she didn’t know who he was — until he told her to “Stop screaming” and she recognized his voice as being the same as the person she met online.
She said she also saw the bodies of her mom and grandparents, bound with duct tape with bags over their heads. The teen said she watched as Edwards allegedly doused the home in gasoline and set the house on fire, before forcing her into his Kia Soul.
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After he said he was taking her back to Virginia, she said she asked why he killed her entire family. Edwards responded by saying if he didn’t, they’d “report it” and he wouldn’t be able to escape. She also said he told her to pretend to be his daughter.
She claimed he told her he was a police officer who “lied” during the hiring process, adding that agencies “need to do better” background checks. The teen said Edwards held onto her hand when they stopped twice to use the restroom, while he held firmly onto his gun while driving. She was made to stay the backseat.
Neighbors were able to ID the car and provided footage to authorities, who were then able to track the vehicle down in the Mojave Desert. Police previously said he began firing at them during the pursuit, before the car went off the road. In the lawsuit, the teen said, at that point, he told her to get out of the car, before he shot himself.
“The Washington County’s Sheriff’s office gave Austin Lee Edwards a gun, a badge and cloaked him with the authority of the law,” the teen’s lawyer told the Times in a statement. “He used these things to gain access to the Winek home and commit these atrocities. We will prove that an adequate investigation of Edwards’ background would have prevented this tragedy.”
The Washington County Sheriff’s office hasn’t commented on the lawsuit.
At the time of the murders, the Washington County Virginia Sheriff’s Office released a statement confirming he was hired by the agency on November 16 and had just begun orientation to be assigned to the patrol division.
“Past employers and the Virginia State Police were contacted during the hiring processing; however, no employers disclosed any troubles, reprimands, or internal investigations pertaining to Edwards,” they said.
“It is shocking and sad to the entire law enforcement community that such an evil and wicked person could infiltrate law enforcement while concealing his true identity as a computer predator and murderer,” said Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis — who is named in the lawsuit — at the time. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Winek family, their friends, officers, and all of those affected by this heinous crime.”
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