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Left: Travis Decker (Chelan County Sheriff’s Office). Right: (from left to right) Evelyn, Paityn, and Olivia Decker (Facebook).
A man from Washington, accused of allegedly murdering his three young daughters, is reported to have pleaded with a judge for additional time with them during custody hearings.
In newly obtained audio recordings, 32-year-old Travis Decker is heard presenting his case to a judge concerning the custody of his daughters — 9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia. At the time, Travis Decker and his ex-wife Whitney Decker were undergoing a divorce, and she sought a revision of their custody arrangement.
According to court documents related to their divorce, Whitney Decker portrayed her estranged husband as “unstable” and claimed he was leading a transient lifestyle without reliable or permanent housing.
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Travis Decker is the main suspect in the triple homicide of all three girls, who were found dead on June 2, days after he picked them up for a scheduled visit and never brought them back to their mother. Police believe that the ex-military trade worker allegedly suffocated the three girls on May 30 then fled, possibly for the Canadian border.
In the audio from a Chelan County court hearing on Sept. 27, 2024, obtained by local news outlet The Wenatchee World, Travis Decker can be heard making his case to be granted more time with his daughters. Whitney Decker had been given nearly full custody with scheduled visitations with their father every other weekend. However, Whitney Decker believed her estranged husband’s mental health was beginning to deteriorate and it was believed by her that he was not seeking court-ordered treatment.
Travis Decker was also reportedly living a transient lifestyle, including living out of his truck, an RV, various campsites and motels, and an armory in Wenatchee, Washington. Whitney Decker reportedly stated in court documents that the girls could be heard crying over the phone while staying in the armory. Out of concern for their safety and emotional state, Whitney Decker requested that the girls not be subjected to overnight visits with their father.
In his plea to the judge, Travis Decker stated that he was taking the girls camping, which he had been doing “since the three of them were in diapers.” He said, “I don’t believe that my weekends should be completely taken away since I have been gone. Every time I’ve had the girls, we have been in campsites and National Forests, and paid campsites that have campers.”
KCPQ, a local Fox affiliate that also obtained the audio, reported on Travis Decker’s defense for exposing his daughters to his lifestyle: “I also think it’s important for [the girls] to understand a little bit about the world.”
He added, “We’ve never done anything that was unsafe or anything that I wouldn’t want to put myself in.” He also admitted, “I understand that my current position when I’m by myself isn’t ideal, but my daughters aren’t a part of that.”
Arianna Cozart, the attorney representing Whitney Decker, stated, “[W]e’re not trying to take these children away from Mr. Decker.” KCPQ reported that Cozart added that the girls’ mother “just doesn’t want the children living out of a truck or in a tent in somebody’s backyard.”
Judge Robert Jourdan stated that while Travis Decker may have good intentions, his living situation was “not stable.” He granted Whitney Decker’s request to change the parenting plan.
KCPQ reported that when asked to sign a document agreeing to the new parenting plan, Travis Decker was heard saying, “And then nothing can change that? Nothing, my signature doesn’t matter anyway, right? So if I don’t sign it, then …” It was not clear if Travis Decker agreed to sign off on the plan.
In the latest update on the search for Travis Decker, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office stated that officials believed they had tracked him to the Blewett Pass area near Highway 97. Several agencies have joined the manhunt for the triple murder suspect, including the U.S. Border Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Guard, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Travis Decker is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection to the deaths of his daughters.
