Coworkers of Austin Lee Edwards, the Virginia cop who killed the grandparents and mom of a 15-year-old Riverside lady he “catfished” on-line, eliminated a sheriff’s truck and a black trash bag from Edwards’ property the evening earlier than it was formally searched, in accordance with an eyewitness and a video reviewed by The Occasions.
Two deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace, the regulation enforcement company that employed Edwards instantly earlier than his demise, arrived on the white Cape Cod-style residence with blacked-out home windows late on Nov. 25, the day of the killings.
Riverside Police, who’re main the murder investigation, didn’t know concerning the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace’s actions. “We aren’t conscious of any motion taken at his home previous to the Nov. 26 search warrant,” stated Riverside Police spokesperson Ryan Railsback. “We aren’t conscious of any extra searches.”
The eyewitness stated the officers arrived on the residence within the night hours of Nov. 25 — the identical day the murders in Riverside came about — and that they didn’t see the officers go inside however witnessed the deputies come from the again of the house with a trash bag earlier than leaving with a automobile from the property.
The 42-second video exhibits two individuals subsequent to the home, considered one of them holding what seems to be a flashlight in a single hand and the black trash bag in one other. Each of them then stroll away from the home. The eyewitness stated the 2 deputies drove off individually, one in a patrol automotive and the opposite in a Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace truck that had been parked in Edwards’ driveway for days.
Two former regulation enforcement officers in Virginia, who’re acquainted with the matter and have reviewed the video, confirmed that they acknowledged each of the officers within the video as deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace.
The Occasions has granted the eyewitness and the previous officers anonymity as a result of they concern retaliation for talking to the press.
Edwards, 28, began as a patrol deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace on Nov. 16.
Riverside police have stated that Edwards portrayed himself as a 17-year-old whereas speaking with the 15-year-old on-line. In November, he drove throughout the nation to her Riverside residence and killed three of her relations earlier than setting fireplace to the house and leaving with the lady.
San Bernardino County officers initially stated Edwards was killed in a shootout with police after officers stopped his automotive. However the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Division stated final week that Edwards died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The teenage lady was bodily unhurt.
Edwards’ tenure as a police officer was temporary. He entered the Virginia State Police Academy on July 6, 2021, and after he graduated on Jan. 21 of this yr, he was assigned to Henrico County, throughout the Richmond Division. He resigned from the Virginia State Police on Oct. 28. A Virginia State Police spokesperson advised The Occasions on Wednesday that “human error” within the company’s background verify course of led to Edwards’ hiring.
Neither the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace nor the Smyth County Commonwealth’s Legal professional instantly responded to a request for remark.
