THE mom of three young girls who were found murdered at a campground revealed details of the last time she saw them with their alleged killer.
Travis Decker, 32, was quieter than usual when he picked up his three daughters from his ex-wife on Friday, she told police.
Hours later, the girls were reported missing when Decker didn’t return Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, to Whitney Decker after the scheduled visitation.
After a four-day search, the three siblings were found murdered on Monday at a remote campsite about 20 miles northwest of where they lived with their mom in Wenatchee, Washington.
Police believe the girls died from asphyxiation and reported that each girl was found with a plastic bag over her head and with their wrists zip-tied, court documents said.
Decker is still on the loose after cops found his white truck abandoned with bloody handprints on the tailgate about 75 to 100 yards away from where the girls’ bodies were found.
Before the devastating crime scene was discovered, the girls’ mom told cops that Decker’s mental health had been declining and that he was struggling financially.
Decker was reportedly “quieter than usual” when picking up his daughters for the planned visit on Friday, which she noted was “out of character” for him, court documents said.
The former military member also spoke about getting rid of his dog due to financial struggles caused by child support and a traffic ticket.
Despite the warning signs of his mental instability, Whitney said the handover went over with no issues until he didn’t drop them off hours later.
After the three-hour visit was over, Whitney said Decker didn’t call her to let her know he was running late, which was out of the ordinary for him.
Her calls to his cell phone went straight to voicemail.
She then called the police and reported her daughters missing at around 9:45 pm.
Whitney told detectives that Decker had never done this before and is “currently experiencing some mental health issues.”
When Decker didn’t go to work on Monday, court documents said his boss noted some recent mental health concerns.
Decker was homeless at the time and often sleeping at motels and campgrounds, Whitney reported.
Whitney and Decker had been divorced since 2022 after being married for seven years.
In September, they set a parenting plan in place so Decker could see the three girls every other weekend.
Court documents show Whitney claimed Decker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and didn’t take medication for it, despite treatment being part of the parenting plan.
“Travis has really struggled since he left the military and his mental health can be hard sometimes,” Whitney told Seattle CBS affiliate KIRO on Monday before the girls’ bodies were found.
“I think this is an effect of that, and I don’t personally think that he’s dangerous.”
She added, “I think that he is impulsive and he loves his children very much.”
Whitney told cops that the girls have a “good relationship with Decker and enjoy their time with him,” the affidavit said.
In a declaration filed in September, Whitney wrote that her ex-husband’s instability was affecting their daughters, according to the Seattle Times.
She wrote that the girls would scream or cry when getting dropped off for their visits with him.
The girls would sometimes be forced to sleep at the armory while Decker was in the National Guard, despite their mom’s objections.
She said Decker sometimes had “outbursts” and would come into her home yelling for the girls.
Whitney recalled one instance where Olivia called her mom crying during a visit and said she couldn’t find her dad.
Evelyn came home with welts between her legs after that visit, the declaration said.
“I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all. To the contrary I have bent over backwards to facilitate that relationship,” Whitney wrote in the filing.
“But I cannot have our girls staying in what is essentially a homeless shelter, at times unsupervised, with dozens of strange men, or staying in a tent or living in his truck with him both in extreme temperatures and unknown areas for their safety.”
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