Travis Decker, the father who was accused of killing his three daughters near the Washington camp, did not have mental health resources and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorders, his ex-wife’s lawyer told ABC News.
Paithyn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; And Olivia Decker, 5, died after they left home for “planned visits” with Decker around 5 pm on May 30, officials said. Around 3 pm on Monday, officials found a decker vehicle without being inhabited near the Rock Island camp in Chelan County, Washington, and the bodies of the three girls, but “Decker was not,” said the police.
On Thursday, Decker might travel along the famous Pacific Crest Trail, officials said.
The authorities urged residents to keep the windows and doors locked and leave the lights at night, the Sheriff Office of Okanogan Regency said Thursday night.
The photo was not dated from Travis Caleb Decker, the police asked for help from the public in finding the State Father of the Washington who was sought for murder after his three daughters were reported missing and were then found dead.
Wenatchee Police Department through AP
Arianna Cozart, a lawyer for Whitney Decker, a former wife suspected of being a murderer, told ABC News that Decker-who was a former member of the military-Menjangan with mental health problems, including PTSD, and could not receive assistance through veteran resources.
“The court did not disappoint these girls. It was not a judge and it was not Whitney; that was our system,” Cozart said. “[Whitney] Feels like a system really disappointing Travis. If someone gives travis for the help he needs, the girls will live. “
But before the girls disappeared last week, “there was no red flag,” said Cozart.
“He has some mental health problems and some instability in his life that really caused restrictions as far as the visit last night or he took them out of the area, but besides that, he really loved the girls and he and Whitney were able to communicate regularly, not only as co-Parents, but as friends,” Cozart said.
Three young sisters in Washington, Olivia Decker, 5, Paithyn Decker, 9, and Evelyn Decker, 8 who have not been seen since they left home for a visit scheduled with their father had been found dead, according to the Wenatchee Police Department.
Wenatchee Police Department
The couple, who married for 10 years, met online when Travis Decker was placed at the joint army troops in Washington and “never spent one day apart after they met,” Cozart said. Because Decker’s transfer while in the military, the two lived in Italy for two years and Georgia for two years before moving to Wenatchee Valley, said Cozart.
PTSD Travis Decker is something he “always brought with him” throughout their marriage, but did not start to “spin” until he came out of active reserves in 2023, said Cozart. All the time they were together, Cozart said Travis Decker would shout in the middle of the night, soak the bed and only sleep for one or two hours.
Travis Decker who initiated ended his marriage to Whitney Decker in 2023, because he “felt inappropriate,” Cozart said.
Arianna Cozard, the lawyer of the ex -wife of father who was accused of killing three daughters in Washington, spoke to ABC News about the marriage agreement and detainees of the couple.
ABC News
Then in September 2024, Whitney Decker – who had full custody of children – decided to seek legal advisers and submit a petition to the court to “impose restrictions on his care” because of “factors regarding the health and mental stability of Travis,” Cozart said.
The court gave a visit to the father to visit children for three hours on Friday and eight hours every weekend, as long as he remained at Wenatchee Valley with the girls, said Cozart.
Cozart said the parenting agreement “worked very well, until now.”
“Something came out of this man and he went bankrupt, that’s all. When the man picked up the girls, the baby, he had no plans to kill them; no one showed that he did it,” Cozart said.
According to Cozart, Travis Decker picked up the girls on May 30, spoke with his ex-wife for about 15 to 20 minutes and then left: “He said, ‘Hey, I will see you at 8 o’clock [p.m.]”And he left, and he never returned,” said Cozart.
Cozart said Whitney Decker emphasized that her ex-husband had never committed violence against her daughter, said that she was an “active father” who was always present in the dance class of her children, theater production, and soccer games.
In the past week, Travis Decker began to tell his ex-wife that he “had nothing but you and the girls,” but that did not cause worries for Whitney Decker, Cozart said.
Although her ex -husband was on an escape for killing their daughter, Cozart said Whitney Decker had “Lots of love and empathy for Travis and who she was in essence.”
“He is a loving man, but something bankrupt and whatever monster that comes out of him, is something he trains to be done in the military,” Cozart said.
Whitney Decker and Cozart are now advocating for changes in mental health resources that can be accessed by veterans and also work with law enforcement officials to produce reforms for the amber warning system – because nothing is issued when the girls initially disappeared last week.
“When there are parents with limited visits that have a history of this mental health problem and is a military veteran with the training needed to kill 100 different ways, that Amber Alert should be issued,” Cozart said.
Cozart, who previously spent time with three sisters, described them as “full of light” and as “small and loving little girls.”
Travis Decker, which is depicted as high as 5 feet, 8 inches with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen wearing a bright shirt and dark shorts, according to the police. Decker’s father flew to talk to detectives, officials said.
Officials say anyone who has information about Decker or knows its whereabouts must immediately contact 911.