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mahatmakanejeeves

(60,969 posts)
Mon Nov 28, 2022, 02:27 PM Nov 2022

Online 'catfishing' led to California girl's abduction, killings of her family, police say

Last edited Mon Nov 28, 2022, 03:01 PM - Edit history (2)

THIS IS A DUPE. THE SAME STORY IS IN EDITORIALS & OTHER ARTICLES

CALIFORNIA

Online ‘catfishing’ led to California girl’s abduction, killings of her family, police say

BY LAURA NEWBERRY, SUMMER LIN, GRACE TOOHEY
PUBLISHED NOV. 27, 2022 UPDATED NOV. 28, 2022 9:38 AM PT

The deaths of three people found Friday in a burning home in Riverside are thought to be connected to the attempted abduction of a teenage girl.

As police were en route to the 11200 block of Price Court for a welfare check on a man and a young woman who were having “some type of disturbance” outside a residence, dispatchers received calls from motorists of smoke pouring from a home in the same block, said Officer Ryan Railsback, a spokesman for the Riverside Police Department.

Firefighters responded and were extinguishing the fire when they discovered the bodies of a man and two women inside the house, Railsback said. The victims were identified as Mark Winek, 69; his wife, Sharie Winek, 65; and their daughter Brooke Winek, 38.

Investigators have determined that the woman involved in the outdoor disturbance was a teenager who lived in the house, Railsback said. The man she was with — Austin Lee Edwards, 28, of North Chesterfield, Va. — was identified as the main suspect in the three deaths, he said. Edwards was tracked Friday evening to San Bernardino County, where he was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies near Needles after firing a gun at officers, law enforcement officials said.

{snip}

Laura Newberry
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Laura Newberry is a reporter with the mental health initiative at the Los Angeles Times and writes Group Therapy, a weekly newsletter. She previously worked on The Times’ education team and was a staff reporter at both the Reading Eagle in Eastern Pennsylvania and MassLive in Western Massachusetts. She graduated from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2018 and is currently pursuing her master of social work.


Summer Lin
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Summer Lin is a reporter on the Fast Break Desk, the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news team. Before coming to The Times, she covered breaking news for the Mercury News and national politics and California courts for McClatchy’s publications, including the Sacramento Bee. An East Coast native, Lin moved to California after graduating from Boston College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In her free time, she enjoys hikes, skiing and a good Brooklyn bagel.


Grace Toohey
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Grace Toohey is a reporter at the Los Angeles Times covering breaking news for the Fast Break Desk. Before joining the newsroom in 2022, she covered criminal justice issues at the Orlando Sentinel and the Advocate in Baton Rouge. Toohey is a Maryland native and proud Terp.

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Online 'catfishing' led to California girl's abduction, killings of her family, police say (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Nov 2022 OP
Man met California girl online, killed her mom, grandparents before abducting her, police say ItsjustMe Nov 2022 #1
I thought that story looked familiar, but I couldn't find it. Thanks. mahatmakanejeeves Nov 2022 #2
Dupes are fine ItsjustMe Nov 2022 #3
Two rather important points left out of the summary... regnaD kciN Nov 2022 #4
Virginia law enforcement worker killed in shootout with deputies after murdering family of teen ... sl8 Nov 2022 #5

mahatmakanejeeves

(60,969 posts)
2. I thought that story looked familiar, but I couldn't find it. Thanks.
Mon Nov 28, 2022, 03:00 PM
Nov 2022

Sorry for the dupe. I'll move the post over there when I get a chance.

ItsjustMe

(11,695 posts)
3. Dupes are fine
Mon Nov 28, 2022, 03:10 PM
Nov 2022

As long as they are not within 20 minutes of each other.

I only posted my thread because I know that people like to read the comments, as I do.

regnaD kciN

(26,593 posts)
4. Two rather important points left out of the summary...
Mon Nov 28, 2022, 04:33 PM
Nov 2022

1) The teen girl was unharmed.

2) The kidnapper/murderer was a Virginia cop.

sl8

(16,245 posts)
5. Virginia law enforcement worker killed in shootout with deputies after murdering family of teen ...
Mon Nov 28, 2022, 07:14 PM
Nov 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virginia-law-enforcement-worker-killed-shootout-deputies-murdering-fam-rcna58903

Virginia law enforcement worker killed in shootout with deputies after murdering family of teen he had catfished, police say

The suspect, Austin Lee Edwards, 28, was killed in a "deputy-involved shooting" after he opened fire on authorities with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, police said.

Nov. 28, 2022, 5:54 AM EST / Updated Nov. 28, 2022, 6:56 PM EST
By Chantal Da Silva and Tim Stelloh

A Virginia law enforcement worker was killed in a shootout with deputies in California after he allegedly killed the mother and grandparents of a teenage girl he had catfished online, police said Sunday.

The worker had driven off with the girl after the killings, police said.

Officers were initially called to the La Sierra South neighborhood in Riverside, California, on Friday just after 11 a.m. to check on the welfare of a girl who appeared distressed while getting into a red Kia Soul with a man, the Riverside Police Department said in a news release.

While officers were responding, police began to receive calls about a structural fire just a few houses away from where the welfare call was reported, they said.

[...]

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