Travis Decker’s manner and time of death may never been known due to the condition of the skeletal remains found, a coroner has revealed.
Decker became the focus of a nationwide search when investigators accused him of murdering his three daughters – Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 – during a court-mandated custody visit on May 30.
The girls’ bodies were found on June 2 near Decker’s deserted truck in a secluded area outside Leavenworth, Washington, with no sign of Decker.
After an extensive search, human remains were located on September 18 in a remote forested area south of Leavenworth. On September 24, the US Marshals Service officially declared Decker deceased in a court filing, based on DNA results from clothing discovered close to the skeletal remains.
However, Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris’ latest findings cast a shadow over the case’s resolution.
Harris mentioned that because of the condition of the skeletal remains found, investigators cannot determine how or when the 32-year-old father passed away.
Critical parts of Decker’s body, such as his torso and skull, are still missing, preventing any identification of injuries, confirmation of a fall, or the possibility of conducting toxicology tests.
‘There were only a few leg bones, a couple of arm bones, some vertebrae, some ribs, and a foot, scattered across five different locations at an elevation of around 4,200 feet,’ Harris explained to KIRO Newsradio, according to MyNorthwest.com.
Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris revealed that due to the condition of the skeletal remains discovered earlier this month – believed to be Travis Decker’s – investigators are unable to determine how or when the 32-year-old father died. Pictured: Travis Decker
Decker was at the center of a nationwide manhunt after investigators said he murdered his three daughters – Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 (pictured) – during a court- ordered custody visit on May 30
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison (pictured) previously said that Decker succumbed to injuries obtained after allegedly killing his daughters at the Rock Island Campsite
Harris continued: ‘Unless another hiker finds a cranium and the forensic anthropologist can examine it and determine that he may have fallen, or if there is a bullet hole in his skull.’
When asked if Decker had suffered any injuries, Harris said: ‘Without any further bone parts that we can look at, no, we have no idea.’
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison had previously said that Decker succumbed to injuries obtained after allegedly killing his daughters at the Rock Island Campsite.
But Harris’s report now confirms there is no way to determine if Decker suffered any injuries at all.
Further speculation has also swirled around the possibility of an animal attack, potentially by Decker’s dog, which was rescued from the area and taken to a local humane shelter.
However Harris said that conclusion is unlikely.
The 32-year-old’s remains were discovered earlier this month deep in the Washington wilderness
Further speculation has also swirled around the possibility of an animal attack, potentially by Decker’s dog, which was rescued from the area and taken to a local humane shelter. Pictured: A tent pitched near where the young girls bodies were found
But Harris’s report now confirms there is no way to determine if Decker suffered any injuries at all. Pictured: Chelan County Sheriff’s Office surveillance grabs of Travis Decker
‘The anthropologist did look at the few bones he had, and he could not see any fractures in them, didn’t see any animal activity, like any teeth marks in the bones,’ he said.
Despite the inconclusive cause of death, Morrison said investigators believe Decker likely died within hours or days of the girls’ murders.
‘Based off the information we have, it appears that the potential of him going directly up Grindstone Mountain shortly after the event or within that day would be pretty consistent,’ he said.
His remains were found on Grindstone Mountain, just 0.74 miles from the Rock Island Campground crime scene.
As of now, Decker’s remains will be released to his family at a later date, MyNorthwest.com reported.
Morrison said the hope is that this development brings some peace to the victims’ mother, Whitney.
‘If anything, we hope she will sleep better at night, she wouldn’t be looking over her shoulder,’ Morrison said. ‘But we understand nothing we do is going to reverse this travesty and bring her daughters back.’
