Travis Decker’s ex-wife has revealed that he attempted to mend their broken relationship just a week before the tragic deaths of their three daughters, for which he is the prime suspect.
The three girls were discovered lifeless at a secluded campsite, only days after their mother, Whitney Decker, reported them missing.
Travis collected the children—Paityn, aged 9, Evelyn, aged 8, and Olivia, aged 5—around 5 pm on May 30 for a planned three-hour custody visit, but did not return them as expected.
Court documents revealed that in the days before the girls’ deaths, Decker, 32, tried to save his marriage.
The pair was married for seven years but had been divorced for several years, as per court documents seen by the ABC affiliate KSFN-TV.
“Last week he tried to reconcile our marriage and had even made comments to the girls about him moving back in, and I rejected his advancements,” she said.
Whitney also claimed she received a chilling call from his boss, who expressed concern about his welfare.
“His boss told him or told me that he had talked to Travis on Friday and he seemed he was on the brink of something really extreme,” she claimed in court documents seen by the ABC affiliate KXLY-TV.
Whitney claimed that he would scream during the night, causing her to wake up.
She revealed that Decker suffered from personality disorders and said it was “obvious something broke him.”
“He’s a broken human, like anybody who could commit such a heinous act is, you know, I don’t know the better way to put it,” she said.
She said his mental health had deteriorated from September last year.
Court documents also claimed that Decker warned his children that he would be locked up.
He was reportedly involved in a car accident just days before the kids were found dead.
Decker has been charged with murdering the children and two bloody adult-sized handprints were found on the tailgate of his truck.
The siblings had plastic bags over their heads and their wrists were bound with zip ties.
The bloody truck was found just 75 yards from where the bodies were found in the Washington campground.
Cops believe the siblings died from asphyxiation.
Decker is still on the run and a manhunt is underway.
Police were searching the Pacific Crest Trail – a route that spans 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada.
It passes through Chelan County – the area where the bodies were found.
‘FIGHT FOR JUSTICE’
Cops have urged him to turn himself in and warned that he may be armed and dangerous.
“We’re not going to rest, and we’re going to make sure we find you. You will be brought to justice, those young ladies deserve it,” Mike Morrison, the Chelan County Sheriff, warned.
Investigators have uncovered that Decker, a US Army Veteran and member of the Washington National Guard who previously served in Afghanistan, researched plans on how to move to Canada.
Timeline of the missing Decker girls
Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead at a campground after they were last seen on a custody visit to their dad.
Below is a timeline of events:
Thursday, May 29
Cell phone activity shows that the girls’ dad, Travis Decker, drove to the Rock Island Campground and left.
Friday, May 30
5 pm – Travis Decker picks the three girls up from their mom, Whitney Decker.
8 pm – Travis Decker is supposed to return the girls but doesn’t. Whitney Decker calls him and it goes to voicemail.
9:45 pm – Whitney Decker calls the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing.
Travis Decker’s truck is seen driving westbound on Highway 2.
Washington State Patrol is contacted for an Amber Alert but said the situation didn’t match their criteria.
Saturday, May 31
WPD issues an Endangered Missing Persons Alert.
Monday, June 2
3:45 pm – Travis Decker’s truck is found empty at Rock Island Campground with two bloody handprints and items inside.
5 pm – Cops search the area and find the bodies of the three girls.
Tuesday, June 3
9:30 am – Cops notify the public that they are still searching for Decker.
2 pm – WPD tells the public that the three girls were found dead and that Travis Decker is still on the loose.
Decker made the Google searches four days before he collected the girls for the custody visit.
Police have warned that Decker’s military service could give him an advantage in surviving in the wilderness.
They believe he could spend weeks in the wilderness.
Decker was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 before being transferred to the Washington National Guard seven years later.
But there were disciplinary plans in place for him to be discharged from the National Guard.
They revealed he’s trained in mountainous and woodland terrain, and survival techniques.
“We are searching anywhere and everywhere for him,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said.
More than 100 cops are part of the search effort.
Members of the public have been urged not to approach him, but police released a series of new images.
One image showed Decker with a ponytail and wearing a T-shirt that had the number 59 on the sleeve.
They also released pictures of his distinctive tattoos on his arms and ankle.
Locals have been urged to keep their doors locked as the search continues.
Decker has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
He has also been hit with three kidnapping charges and a slew of custodial interference charges.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page to help Whitney has raised more than $1.1 million.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
