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DISTURBING new details have emerged about the background of the Washington father accused of killing his three young daughters.
Travis Decker’s brother said the 32-year-old military veteran “lost his identity” in the years before the alleged murders as his community issued a chilling warning in the wake of the tragedy.
Decker has been on the loose since his daughters — 9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia — were found suffocated to death at a campground in Washington state on June 2.
After the girls’ bodies were found, the question of Decker’s mental state quickly emerged as cops launched the manhunt for him.
His ex-wife, Whitney, previously shared that he had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was homeless when he allegedly kidnapped their daughters on May 30.
Whitney’s lawyer, Arianna Cozart, said the grieving mom believed “something broke” inside the veteran to allegedly commit the heinous act.
Now, more information has come to light about Decker’s mental struggles after getting out of the active reserves in 2021.
Cozart told NPR’s KUOW that after his service, Decker “suddenly felt very alone and was still facing a lot of ramifications of his combat that he saw: nightmares, insomnia, severe insomnia at times.”
Decker’s apparent instability following their divorce caused Whitney to request a change in their parenting plan in September 2024.
The custody case judge ordered Decker to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, an anger management evaluation, and therapy.
Cozart said she believed Decker had PTSD after serving as an infantryman in the Army between March 2013 and July 2021.
He was deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014.
However, Cozart said Decker was turned away from getting help by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Travis did contact me after the hearing and say, ‘How do I get these evaluations? What do I need to do?’” Cozart told KUOW.
“And I directed him to the VA, because I thought that they would help him.
“I know that he called the VA and said that he needed to get a psychiatric evaluation, and that they told him they couldn’t do that.”
Timeline of the missing Decker girls
Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 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:
May 29: Cell phone activity shows that the girls’ dad, Travis Decker, drove to the Rock Island Campground and left.
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.
May 31 : WPD issues an Endangered Missing Persons Alert.
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.
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.
June 8: Federal authorities take over search efforts.
June 9: Autopsy results confirm three girls were murdered by suffocation.
June 13: An affidavit revealed Whitney described Travis as having “recent mental health concerns.”
“She provided the examples of randomly leaving or waking her up by screaming at her in the middle of the night,” it read.
“She also said near the end of the marriage he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that she believes he currently does not take medications for.”
June 17: New audio of Travis in court fighting for custody of his daughters is released.
“I understand that my current position when I’m by myself isn’t ideal, but my daughters aren’t a part of that,” he said in September 2024.
“I only get to see them over the weekends and camping is something that the four of us have done since the three of them were in diapers.”
June 20: Memorial is held where Whitney speaks publicly about girls for first time.
July 5: A family spotted a man believed to be Travis Decker in the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho.
July 9: US Marshals call off the search in Sawtooth National Forest after locating and questioning the man believed to be Travis Decker and confirming it isn’t him.
She added, ” I know that that is incorrect — that they do them all the time, including locally.”
After Decker said he was turned down for an evaluation, he never got the mandated therapy.
The VA didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
BROTHER’S CONCERNS
Decker’s brother, TJ, told KUOW that he knew his brother was struggling because he stopped taking his calls.
“He was struggling with transitioning out of the military — trying to find work, trying to find his new role,” TJ, who is also in the military, told the outlet.
“It’s not just your day; this is my identity as well. When you get out of the military and take off that uniform, you lose your identity.”
He said he went with his dad to Wenatchee, where Decker and his family lived about 150 miles east of Seattle, to try to have an intervention to help get him back on track.
“We just tried to show up and talk to him and see what’s going on, what do you need,” TJ said.
“Obviously, it didn’t work. Everything fell on deaf ears.”
TJ previously said that Decker had a violent reaction to the confrontation, which further indicated his instability.
Besides at least one call to the veterans crisis hotline, Decker was not treated as his mental health declined.
“If we would have [had] the resources that Travis deserved, earned, needed, that could have saved these girls,” Cozart said.
“This really could have been prevented. It really could have, and that is part of what is so devastating.”
‘WE FAILED HIM’
Rob Bates, a mental health counselor for veterans, told KUOW that he saw Decker walking out of a veterans’ services office weeks before his daughters’ deaths.
“So he was trying to engage services,” Bates told the outlet.
“We just didn’t have the services that he needed.
“I think most of what I have is anger at the system, because the system failed him.
“We — we failed him. We failed Whitney, and mostly we failed those children.”
CHILLING WARNING
Bates issued an urgent warning for government officials to provide more resources to support veterans who might be facing mental struggles like PTSD after their service.
“I wish I had more capacity so I could [help] more people,” Bates said.
“If we don’t do that, we’re going to continue to see acts of violence.”
He said that without more mental health services for veterans, substance use disorders and veteran homelessness will increase.
“You know, we’re going to continue to see veterans struggle just to do the basic things.”
VETERANS CRISIS LINE
If you or someone you know is a veteran affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can alternatively dial 988 and then press one to access the Veterans Crisis Line, chat on veteranscrisisline.net or text 838255.
There are also many veterans-founded private organizations that provide support to America’s heroes:
The grueling search for Decker continues in the Washington state wilderness.
The Coast Guard in Astoria, Oregon, joined the manhunt last week.
Police vowed not to quit the search for the fugitive, despite no clear evidence as to whether he’s alive or dead.
