Deputy who killed teen’s family was on psych hold in 2016

By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia sheriff’s deputy who killed the family members of a 15-year-old California girl he tried to sexually extort online had been detained in 2016 for a psychiatric evaluation over threats to kill himself and his father. The incident raises new questions about how the man was hired by the Virginia State Police and later by a Virginia sheriff’s office without raising any red flags. The 2016 episode was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. It is described in a police report released by Abingdon police. Virginia State Police said Thursday that “human error” resulted in an incomplete database search during the hiring process.