A federal lawsuit alleging gross negligence against a Virginia law enforcement agency for hiring a deputy who went on to kill a Riverside couple and their daughter in order to abduct the youngest member of the household before killing himself is gradually proceeding toward trial, the plaintiffs said Friday.

The estate of Mark James Winek and his wife, Sharie Anne Winek, filed suit against the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in 2023 over alleged deficiencies in the hiring of 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards of North Chesterfield, Virginia.

“This case matters because it’s about more than one family’s tragedy — it’s about police accountability and whether we accept a system where law enforcement can ignore red flags, skip basic background checks and face no consequences when their systemic

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