Search for answers in US triple killing to focus on murky world of online predators

For parents of teenagers, Olsen suggested looking into restriction settings on devices like iPhones, which can allow parents to suspend access to certain websites and other content. He also noted that 'kids are not entitled to digital devices,' and that sometimes, removing a device may be the only solution and parents can consider relatively low-tech options, like flip phones without Internet access. — Photo by Gilles Lambert on Unsplash

Investigators seeking clues in the slayings last week of three members of a Riverside family are now navigating parallel crime scenes: one in a quiet neighbourhood where the horrific killings took place, and the other in the murkier domain of online predators.

On Wednesday morning, the scent of ash still hung in the air around the Winek family’s charred Price Court home where authorities said a 28-year-old ex-Virginia State trooper‘s online predation turned into real-life violence. In tandem, authorities worked to unravel a digital crime scene involving so-called catfishing and sextortion schemes tied to the now-deceased suspect, police said.