Virginia
Agreement with watchdog agency allows Virginia State Police to investigate itself
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Late last year, with the Virginia State Police under scrutiny after authorities said a former trooper kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl and killed three members of her family, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he had requested a full investigation by the state’s watchdog agency.
But due at least in part to a previously existing mutual agreement between state police and the watchdog, state police appear to have simply investigated the matter themselves, according to a policy document obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.
A memorandum of understanding between state police and the Office of the State Inspector General, the watchdog agency tasked with investigating waste and rooting out inefficiencies in state government, says that in nearly all cases, VSP retains responsibility for “the oversight and conduct of internal investigations of its personnel.”
The memorandum makes an exception for allegations against the superintendent or deputy superintendent of the state police, which would be handled by OSIG.
Questions about the investigation into the Austin Lee Edwards matter have swirled after reporting from the Virginia Mercury and Richmond TV station WRIC noted that OSIG never produced an official report. Instead, when media outlets sought the findings, the watchdog agency produced only a letter written by State Police Superintendent Gary Settle to the inspector general, leading to questions about what seemed to be an inconsistency in what Youngkin asked for and what was produced.
That Settle letter, which news outlets covered in early January, said a background investigator failed to check Edwards’ mental health history and missed a judge’s order that would have disqualified Edwards from state police employment. The letter characterized the “human error” in the case as an “isolated incident.”
Authorities have said Edwards — who had moved on to a job with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in southwest Virginia — posed online as a 17-year-old boy while communicating with the 15-year-old girl in California, a form of deception known as “catfishing.”
On Nov. 25, Edwards, 28, killed the girl’s mother and grandparents, then set fire to their home in Riverside, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to police. Edwards died by suicide during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies the same day. The girl was rescued.
On Wednesday, surviving relatives of the family filed a notice of intent to sue with Washington County and the Commonwealth of Virginia, documents that raised additional questions about the hiring process.
In the notice filed with the state, lawyers for an aunt and sibling of the teen allege Virginia State Police were “grossly negligent” in hiring Edwards as a state trooper in January 2022.
On his application to become a state trooper, Edwards disclosed that he had voluntarily checked himself into a mental health facility in 2016. In response to that disclosure, state police ordered Edwards to undergo a mental health evaluation, “which he failed,” the attorneys allege in the notice.
“The Virginia State Police deliberately buried the results of this mental health examination, did no further examination into this aspect of Edwards’ application, and hired him,” the notice states.
The attorneys also allege that at the time he was hired by state police, Edwards did not have the legal right to own or possess a gun because under Virginia law, anyone who is held on a temporary detention order and later admitted to a treatment facility is prohibited from buying or possessing a firearm until that right is restored by a court.
The attorneys say Edwards displayed his law enforcement badge and service weapon in order to get into the Riverside home by falsely claiming he was conducting a law enforcement investigation.
They also describe in graphic detail how the girl’s mother and grandparents were killed, saying Edwards slit her mother’s throat and asphyxiated the girl’s grandparents, who both were found hogtied and with bags over their heads.
A separate notice of intent to sue was filed with Washington County in late March by a Virginia firm representing the estates of the victims. The existence of the notices was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
With regard to the Virginia investigation, state officials in recent weeks have repeatedly declined opportunities to clarify the questions that arose about the probe or the final work product.
Youngkin’s office, which pledged transparency when the governor first said publicly that he’d asked for the probe, declined to answer questions from the Mercury, including about whether the governor did or did not formally ask for an investigation, the online outlet reported.
Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter later told AP that the governor “requested OSIG to look into the matter and under their purview they deemed the proper investigatory measures.”
State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller likewise did not respond to questions from AP, and OSIG officials refused to comment beyond the agency’s response to AP’s public records requests.
In an email earlier this year when AP first sought the Settle letter, the agency told AP that it had “coordinated the investigation with Virginia State Police” in accordance with the memorandum of understanding, which is mandated by state law.
“The investigation was independently and appropriately conducted in accordance with OSIG’s long-established procedures,” Michael Westfall, the state inspector general, wrote in that email.
Settle’s December letter did not address the issue of Edwards’ gun rights or any kind of failed mental health evaluation. Nor did a March 2 letter by Settle to OSIG, which reiterated changes VSP says it has taken to address the problems its own review raised, including updating its policy manuals and developing written training for background investigators pertaining to mental health histories.
Geller said she could not comment on pending litigation and did not respond to questions about what was known about the status of Edwards’ gun rights when he was hired or whether he failed a mental health evaluation ordered by state police.
It’s the final day of the Battle 4 Atlantis and the West Virginia Mountaineers are hoping to leave the Bahamas with a third-place finish in the event. Winning the whole thing would have been extremely impressive considering the field, but Darian DeVries’ squad has already notched a key resume-building win over Gonzaga and can do so again today against No. 24 Arizona.
Here are my picks for today’s game. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
1 Star – Not very confident
2 Star – A little confident
3 Star – Fairly confident
4 Star – Very confident
5 Star – Should be a lock to happen
3-star play on Arizona (-6.5): This is a really tough matchup for the Mountaineers playing its third game in three days. When these two meet later in the year, I believe WVU will put together a much stronger showing and potentially even win the game. Not there, though.
The Wildcats have a nine-man rotation, which occasionally will be a ten-man. WVU’s key players have logged a ton of minutes over the last two days, with both games going to overtime. As evidenced in yesterday’s game, if the Mountaineers face serious foul trouble, it impacts them more than most teams due to a lack of depth. Amani Hansberry should be able to produce a third straight big game, but if he starts picking up fouls left and right, WVU will be in trouble. Arizona’s guard-heavy lineup will attack and finish around the rim with ease.
I’ve got the Wildcats pulling away with a strong second half.
1-star play on the under: Arizona is a high-scoring team that likes to push the tempo. They’ve averaged 67 field goal attempts in this tournament, whereas WVU has attempted 59 and 63 in games that went to overtime. For West Virginia to win, they’re going to have to slow things down when they have the ball, much like they did in the opening-round game against Gonzaga.
I mentioned fatigue setting in as a possibility in the WVU-Louisville game yesterday, and although Darian DeVries isn’t using that as an excuse, you can tell it played a factor for both teams, especially in the first half. Both squads looked sloppy, slow, and disjointed. I seriously doubt WVU and Arizona will have an extra bounce in their step today, playing for the third time in three days and in a game deciding who takes home third place.
ATS: 3-3 (50%)
O/U: 4-2 (66%)
Overall: 7-5 (58%)
Odds Disclaimer
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A Virginia woman has been arrested and charged in connection with a murder-for-hire plot, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s office.
Gennevieve McGhee, 44, was allegedly captured via audio and video evidence in the meticulous planning of a murder for hire, the sheriff’s office said.
McGhee is accused of meeting with a confidential source at her residence in Ridgeway, Virginia. The source was acting under law enforcement direction and utilizing a recording device to capture evidence.
TEXAS INFLUENCER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT
Henry County Sheriff’s Office charged Gennevieve McGhee, 44, with criminal solicitation of murder following an investigation that revealed her alleged involvement in planning a murder for hire. (Henry County Sheriff’s Office)
She allegedly discussed detailed instructions on payment arrangements and instructions for carrying out a robbery and murder.
McGhee is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony.
INDIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL CHARGED IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT ON SIKH SEPARATIST LEADER IN NEW YORK CITY
Gennevieve McGhee, 44, is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony. (iStock)
McGhee was taken into custody by deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday and is being held at the Henry County Adult Detention Center with no bond.
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The case remains under review by the Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Additional information on the case is not available at this time, officials said.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (4-2) will meet the No. 24 Arizona Wildcats in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis midseason tournament for the sixth meeting between the two programs.
West Virginia vs. Arizona Series History
Arizona leads 2-3
Last Meeting: March 28, 2008 (NCAA Tournament) WVU 75-65
When: Friday, November 29
Location: Paradise Island, Bahamas, Imperial Arena (3,900)
Tip-off: 3:00 p.m. EST
Stream: ESPN2
Announcers: Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli
Radio: Tony Caridi (PBP), Brad Howe (analyst) Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College(Radio affiliates)
WVU Game Notes
– West Virginia was scheduled to play in the 2020 Battle 4 Atlantis. The tournament was moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., due to COVID, and the Mountaineers won the renamed Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.
– WVU is 45-16 in in-season tournaments since 2007.
– With a win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU defeated a Top 5 AP team for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Mountaineers downed No. 3 Kansas in Morgantown, 91-85.
– Prior to the overtime win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU had lost six straight overtime games.
– This is WVU’s fourth trip outside the United States and Puerto Rico to play a regular season game. WVU played in Cancun in 2013 and 2019 and opened the season in Germany in the 2017 Armed Forces Classic.
– West Virginia is the only team in the country that has two players on the same team who averaged more than 20 points per game from last season — Tucker DeVries (21.6 ppg) and Jayden Stone (20.8 ppg)
– West Virginia is 201-55 against nonconference teams in regular season games in the last 21 seasons.
– The Mountaineers have posted a winning nonconference record in 31 of the last 32 seasons.
– WVU is 265-99 in its last 362 games against unranked teams, including winners of 148 of its last 180 at the WVU Coliseum.
– This is the 116th season and 122nd year overall for WVU basketball, which began in 1903.
– Darian DeVries, who led Drake to six consecutive 20-win seasons and has a career .731 winning percentage as a head coach, was named the 23rd head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University on March 24, 2024.
– DeVries has a record of 154-57 (.731) in seven seasons as a head coach, including a 59-16 (.787) mark in the last two-plus seasons.
– This past August, the men’s basketball team went to Italy for a 10-day tour and won all three of its games against international competition.
– West Virginia returns just 2.8 percent of its scoring from last season’s team (Ofri Naveh).
– The Mountaineers are led by a pair of transfers in Tucker DeVries (Drake) and Javon Small (Oklahoma State). Last season, DeVries was named an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention selection, while Small earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
– In addition, Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois), Amani Hansberry (Illinois) and Jayden Stone (Detroit Mercy) will all see considerable action this season.
– Tucker DeVries was named to the 20-member Julius Erving Preseason Watch List, giving annually to the nation’s top small forward.
– Tucker DeVries was named to the preseason Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List.
– Tucker DeVries was named to the John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason Watch List.
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