Gruesome details of final moments of three girls murdered by homeless dad

News.com.au

3 days ago

WARNING: CONFRONTING
The bodies of three young sisters killed, allegedly by their dad, in Washington state were found with plastic bags over their heads and their wrists zip-tied, investigators said.
The gruesome new details were laid bare in court papers as cops continued the manhunt for their homeless father, 32-year-old Travis Decker, on Wednesday, KOMO reported.
The bodies of the Decker sisters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — were discovered in an embankment near the Rock Island Campground in Wenatchee, roughly three hours east of Seattle, on Monday evening.
A preliminary report found the girls were likely asphyxiated.
In addition to the bags and zip-ties, the girls' bodies were found in the same outfits they were wearing when they vanished Friday.
Their bodies were found close to their father's white 2017 GMC Sierra truck, which allegedly had two bloody handprints smeared on the back, the papers state.
Their father had collected the three girls from their mother's house for a planned visitation on Friday — then went missing with them in his truck.
Decker is described as a military veteran with extensive training.
Hours before the bodies were found, a warrant was issued for Decker's arrest on three counts of first-degree custodial interference.
On Tuesday, the charges were updated to three counts each of kidnapping and first-degree murder, police confirmed to Fox13.
Decker, who is homeless and divorced from his children's mother, was known to stay at campgrounds and hotels in the local area with his dog, according to police.
After picking up the girls Friday, Decker and his truck were seen later that weekend in the west end of Leavenworth, triggering a police search in the wooded areas around the town, NCWLIFE reported.
The bodies were found on Rock Island Campground, about 30km west of the town of Leavenworth, at around 5pm on Monday.
SWAT teams and federal agencies — including Homeland Security and the US Forest Service — then descended on the area and began the search for Decker.
The girls' mother, Whitney Decker, had issued a heartbreaking appeal for their safe return Monday, hours before the bodies were found.
'I just want the girls back home safe and sound — that is the most important thing to me,' she said in the emailed statement sent to NCWLIFE.
'I am concerned about the safety and wellbeing of my girls and their dad. This is an unimaginable situation.
'I am pleading for everyone to look out for them.'
She said she had never had problems before when her ex had the kids — and didn't think his battles with mental health would make him 'dangerous'.
'Travis has really struggled since he left the military and his mental health can be hard sometimes,' she told Kiro7 before her daughters turned up dead. 'He is impulsive and he loves his children very much.'