More details on former trooper who killed 3 in California and more Va. headlines

The State Capitol. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)

• Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office reportedly took items from the home of co-worker Austin Lee Edwards without the knowledge of authorities leading the official investigation into Edwards after he killed three people in California and died by suicide. The sheriff’s office declined to comment, but experts said they saw no good reason for the deputies to be there.—Los Angeles Times

• Edwards, a former Virginia State Police trooper, had apparently traveled to California to visit a longtime girlfriend, according to people who knew him who say they’re baffled about why he killed three relatives of a teenage girl he had been communicating with online.—NBC News

• An image on the Patrick County GOP’s website that seemed to show subtle KKK hoods in the legs of an elephant was a “mistake,” according to Southwest Virginia delegate Wren Williams, who represents the county.—Roanoke Times

• A state watchdog investigation found no wrongdoing after looking into how Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political ad firm got a contract to produce a publicly funded tourism ad featuring Youngkin.—Washington Post

• The Virginia Beach Mass Shooting Commission has lost half its members amid concerns the panel is failing to deliver a thorough investigation into the 2019 shooting by a disgruntled city employee. “I think there are people on the commission who do not want to be aggressive in investigating,” said one frustrated commission member.—Virginian-Pilot

by Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

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