(Trends Wide) — A woman whose parents and sister were killed last week in a suspected triple homicide in Riverside, California, urges families to talk to their children about online safety.
Michelle Blandin, whose father, Mark Winek, 69; her mother, Sharie Winek, 65; and her sister, Brooke Winek, 38, died on November 25, warned parents to monitor their children’s online behavior.
“Parents, please be aware of your child’s online activity, ask questions about what they are doing and who they are talking to. Anyone can say they are someone else and you could be in this situation,” Blandin said at a news conference.
Austin Lee Edwards, a former Virginia police officer believed to have killed all three family members, was killed in a shooting while trying to flee from authorities, according to a Riverside Police Department news release.
Detectives said they believe Edwards, 28, of North Chesterfield, Virginia, had met a teenage relative of the victims through “catfishing,” a form of online deception in which someone impersonates another person. .
Edwards had an “inappropriate online romance” with his 15-year-old niece, Blandin said.
“He swore to protect and yet he didn’t,” he continued. “Instead, he preyed on the most vulnerable.”
Blandin thanked his community for its vigilance, noting that a longtime neighbor called police about a suspicious vehicle on the street near his parents’ home, and pleaded for continued support.
That call “saved my niece’s life,” she said. “And that neighbor for us is a hero.”
Blandin broke down in tears as he said it was “too late” to save his father, mother and sister. She described her sister Brooke as a “doting single mother who did everything she could to raise her two teenage daughters with love.”
“For my two young nieces who are now motherless, we hope this community can put their arms around them and lift them up,” she said. “They have the most difficult road ahead of them since they are minors and do not understand everything that has happened.”
Michelle Blandin speaks during a press conference in Riverside, California on November 30. Credit: KABC
What we know about the brutal triple homicide
Edwards met the 15-year-old online, where he posed as a teenager, Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said at the news conference. The authorities still do not know how long their relationship lasted or what platforms the suspect used to communicate with the minor.
The former police officer traveled from Virginia to California, where the teenager lived with her family. He then parked her car in a neighbor’s driveway and walked to her home, according to police. Sometime on Friday morning, police believe he murdered her mother, the girl’s grandfather and grandmother.
The victims are Mark Winek, 69, and his wife Sharie Winek, 65. Credit: Riverside Police Department
Edwards then returned to his car with the teen. Police began searching for him after receiving a call for a welfare check Friday morning about a distraught young woman who had gotten into a red car with a man, as well as a call about a house fire a few houses down the street. welfare check.
When firefighters arrived at the burning home, they found the three murder victims lying in the driveway.
The exact cause and manner of his death are still pending.
Related Post
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(605x417:607x419)/Alabama-Woman-Forced-to-Attend-Jury-Duty-011725-tout-b-2583e44b563f4d4fbeec46beb0a5ee35.jpg "Alabama Mom Says She Was Forced to Attend Jury Duty While Breastfeeding")
A few hours after the bodies were found and the welfare check was received, the former officer was seen driving with the teen through San Bernadino County, according to the statement. He exchanged fire with sheriff’s deputies trying to stop him and was shot dead by the deputies.
The teen was uninjured and was taken into protective custody at the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, according to police. She is currently undergoing extensive medical treatment, Alison Saros, a lawyer and longtime family friend, said at the press conference.
“This is going to be the most traumatic event of your life, I’m sure,” Riverside Police public information officer Ryan Railsback told the conference.
The victim, Brooke Winek, 38. Credit: Riverside Police Department
“We don’t know yet if she was threatened, coerced. We are not reporting it as a kidnapping at this time,” he said, noting they have no reason to believe she was complicit in the arson and killings. It is unknown if they had previously met in person.
Agents are conducting a digital investigation to better understand the relationship between the suspect and the victim, but this “will take quite some time,” he added. Interviews with the teen are also taking place, but “we can’t overwhelm her with everything,” she said.
Police are not aware of any other victims at this time, Railsback said.
Robert Olsen, a Riverside police detective assigned to the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team advising on the investigation, told Trends Wide the crime was more serious than just catfishing.
“This is online sexual solicitation of a minor. It is a federal crime, a state crime and murder,” he explained.
Olsen agreed with Blandin’s comments and urged parents to “pay attention” to their children’s online activity.
“I think you’d be surprised how many parents don’t pay attention to their children’s Internet activity,” Olsen said. “I think you have to start from a young age: as soon as you put a smart device in the hands of a child, whether it’s four or five years old, you have to start monitoring that device.”
“That way, when they become teenagers and are involved in something similar to this, they will feel comfortable telling it,” he said.
Edwards had resigned from the Virginia State Police in October, according to the agency. He entered the police academy in July 2021 and most recently worked with the Washington County sheriff’s office in Virginia, California detectives say.
“It is shocking and saddening for the entire law enforcement community that such an evil and perverse person could infiltrate law enforcement while hiding his true identity as a predator and murderer,” Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis said in a statement. a press release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Winek family, their friends, the officers and all those affected by this heinous crime.”
Amanda Watts and Tina Burnside contributed to this reporting.
