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THE brother of the man accused of killing his three daughters has revealed years of his worrying behavior before the alleged murders.
Travis Decker, 32, was estranged from his family after exhibiting aggressive behavior during a staged family intervention and failing to keep up with child support payments. His brother mentioned that Travis no longer seemed like the sibling he once knew.
Travis is currently at large following the tragic discovery of his daughters, 9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia, who were found suffocated at a campground in Washington state on June 2. This tragic event occurred three days after Travis did not return the children to their mother, Whitney, after a scheduled custody visit.
Authorities have initiated an extensive search for Travis, which has been ongoing for over a week. The public has been advised to be cautious as they look for him, described as a veteran with both combat experience and survival skills.
Travis’s older brother, Thomas Decker, has issued a public plea for Travis to “stop this evil” and turn himself in, as he told the Daily Mail his brother has become unrecognizable from his younger years.
Thomas, 35, said the two brothers used to be inseparable and “best friends” growing up so close in age.
They even went down the same path of joining the Army once they were 18. While stationed at different bases, they didn’t see each other, but still remained close as they became adults.
However, Thomas said he was forced to cut Travis out of his life in recent years after mental instability that culminated in him “spreading lies” about his brother.
“To cut him off was tough,” Thomas told the Daily Mail.
“We grew up together, he is my baby brother, we did a lot of things together, and I thought we were going to be a big happy family, take our kids on trips, be uncles and dads.
“It’s tough now knowing that will never be the case.”
Thomas said everything changed three years ago when he discovered he would be stationed just three hours away from Travis, Whitney, and their three daughters in Wenatchee, Washington.
“I was excited, I have young kids, and Travis had three young girls. I thought we all could reconnect,” Thomas told the Daily Mail.
He said Travis seemed excited to be close to his brother again at first, but suddenly became “distant and uninterested.”
“Then all of a sudden he changed – I don’t know what changed or why, it is something I have been trying to figure out these past three years,” Thomas said.
After being put off by his brothers’ cold demeanor, Thomas then learned that his brother and Whitney were planning on getting a divorce after seven years of marriage.
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:
Monday, May 26
Travis Decker searches online for “how does a person move to Canada,” a Canadian job website, and “how does a person move to Canada.”
Thursday, May 29
Decker’s cell activity shows that he drove to and from the Rock Island Campground.
Friday, May 30
5 pm – The three girls are picked up from their mom’s house by their dad.
8 pm – Decker is supposed to return the girls but doesn’t. Their mom’s calls to him go straight to voicemail.
9:45 pm – Whitney Decker calls the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing.
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 – Decker’s truck is found empty with bloody adult-sized hand prints at Rock Island Campground.
5 pm – Cops search the area and find the bodies of the three girls.
Tuesday, June 3
9:30 am – WPD notifies the public that they are still searching for Decker.
2 pm – WPD tells the public that the three girls were found dead and that Decker is still on the loose.
Friday, June 6
The girls’ autopsy report confirms that they died by suffocation.
Sunday, June 8
6 pm – Chelan County Sheriff’s Office hands the search for Decker to the federal authorities.
Travis’s unusual behavior continued as Thomas noted that he seemed aloof and disinterested in anything as his marriage fell apart.
“He was still living at the house, but every time I spoke with him… it’s hard to explain, but you couldn’t communicate with him,” Thomas said, adding, “He listened but wasn’t listening.”
Thomas said he learned Travis was abandoning his relationships with his three daughters, which upset him even more.
The guy on the wanted poster for murdering my three nieces is not the brother I know.”
Thomas Decker
“I told him, ‘You can’t leave your family like this. People get divorced all the time, if you are not happy in your marriage, that’s okay,'” Thomas told the Daily Mail.
”But your kids do not deserve this, just because you are getting a divorce doesn’t allow you to forgo your parental obligations.”
BOTCHED INTERVENTION
Thomas said he and his dad staged an intervention in an attempt to help Travis, but it went horribly wrong.
“We were trying to help him,” Thomas said.
“We had hoped to have a good conversation with him – to ask him if he needed anything, any help, financial or otherwise. We are family, we want to help him and see what we could do to get him back on track.”
However, Thomas said Travis was caught off guard because they showed up at his house while Whitney had taken the girls out for the afternoon.
“But things did not go well, he tried to resort to violence, because we were not supposed to be there and we just showed up unannounced,” Thomas said.
He later clarified there was no physical violence involved and wouldn’t elaborate further.
Contrary to Thomas’ claims of abandonment, Whitney has maintained that Travis was an active dad up until the alleged killings and that they had never had issues with their custody plan before.
Whitney previously said in court documents that her marriage with Travis disintegrated partly because of his mental issues, including PTSD from his time in the service, along with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.
BPD can manifest with symptoms like unstable relationships, a fear of abandonment, and impulsive behavior.
Thomas said that a week before the tragedy, his family met up with Whitney and the girls for a brief family reunion as Thomas and his wife passed through the Wenatchee area.
NO SAFETY CONCERNS
Travis said Whitney didn’t point out any unusual behavior from Travis.
“Whitney told my wife that she still wanted Travis to find help,” Thomas said.
“But she never mentioned that she was concerned about her and her daughters’ safety around Travis.”
Thomas noted that Travis was still attending the girls’ sporting events, but wasn’t financially providing for his daughters.
Whitney previously said that Travis spoke about having financial issues when he picked the girls up on May 30.
He had been homeless and living out of his truck for months, causing Whitney to file a change to their custody plan, asking that the girls not be allowed to stay on overnight visits with him.
The veteran’s financial instability also prompted him to consider getting rid of his dog, he told Whitney during the handoff.
‘DEVASTATED BEYOND BELIEF’
Travis’ dog was found at the campground where the girls’ bodies were left after being bound with zip ties around their wrists and plastic bags over their heads, police said.
Investigators are now searching for Travis near the Enchantments area of the Washington wilderness after a lone hiker was recently spotted on a trail, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
Travis is wanted for three counts of kidnapping and three counts of murder.
Thomas said he’s not sure if Travis will surrender when cops confront him after the intense manhunt.
“I honestly do not know,” he said.
“We have been so disconnected for the last three years.”
He added, “The guy on the wanted poster for murdering my three nieces is not the brother I know.
“I can’t even comprehend what is going on. I am in complete shock that he would do something like this.
“He loves his daughters – at least I thought he did. And Whitney is devastated beyond belief.”
A GoFundMe page for Whitney has raised over $1.2 million as of Friday afternoon.
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.
