Found Deceased Olivia 5, Evelyn 8 & Paityn Decker 9, found dead, manhunt on for father, Travis Decker 32, wh 2017 GMC Sierra PU, Wenatchee, 30 May 2025 #2

[Snoop Sister]

I just want to mention again there is a difference between family annihilation and filicide. Although there are some commonalities, filicide is strictly a parent killing their children, not all family members.

“What are the classifications of filicide?
The act of filicide has been researched and categorized into five primary characteristics. The characteristics were determined based on the parent’s motives. The characteristics of filicide are:

1. Altruism filicide occurs when the parent is motivated to kill the child to relieve the child of actual or imagined suffering. This classification of filicide is often associated with the parent attempting or committing suicide.
2. Acute psychosis filicide happens when a parent kills their child due to a severe mental health condition.
3. Unwanted child filicide occurs when a parent kills their child because he/she no longer wants to be a parent.
4. Accidental filicide commonly occurs when a parent kills their child by accident. This type of filicide may occur when a parent disciplines their child, and it goes too far.
5. Spousal revenge filicide often happens when a parent kills the child to seek revenge against the other parent.”

Which would apply to TD?

Filicide: A Brief Overview of Child Homicide by Parent(s) | Vienna Psychological Group​

 

[tlcya]

Travis Decker – now missing in Washington state's wilderness after allegedly murdering his three daughters – had a history of escalating violence, according to his brother who revealed Travis' 'violent' reaction when his family attempted to hold an intervention.
Brother of killer dad reveals his violent reaction during intervention

 

[Snoop Sister]

DBM

 

[justtrish]

While I agree that there needs to be more mental health assistance available etc I believe those aspects are a little beside the point here. TD had medication but he stopped taking it. He refused the court mandated mental health evaluation. He stopped the counselling sessions he had. What was desperately needed here was more flexibility within the family court system to pivot and amend parenting agreements when there are (imo extremely obvious) red flags. No one who refused their evaluation and stopped taking their meds should have been allowed continued unsupervised visitation, and the courts should have acted when Whitney applied to amend the agreement due to these changes.

A lot of things here indicate the known symptoms of family annihilator behaviour before the act is carried out. With the account of his brother added to the mix, even more so. By his brother's account, TD withdrew from his family and avoided child support and parenting obligations. He was looking into starting a new life elsewhere (looking for a 'clean slate', as these types of people are wont to fantasise about). He threatened violence when his own family attempted intervention. He had financial problems that were compounded by his child support obligations (I have known absent fathers who have purposefully left jobs and moved around a lot specifically to keep evading the child support garnish). By multiple accounts he was self-pitying and by the grandfather's account, he was the type of person to avoid taking responsibility for his issues. He attempted reconciliation with Whitney and was rebuked, and stopped seeking any help for any mental health issues he may or may not have had. The signs were there.

And not all family annihilators also kill themselves; studies detail that on many occasions, the perpetrator does plan on suicide, but then finds that after committing the initial acts of violence the urge (or rage) they felt is sated, and they find themselves wanting to stay alive and suddenly have to run or turn themselves in instead. In my opinion, that's also what happened here, and why the running aspect seems strangely unplanned in comparison to the careful, systematic consideration of the method of death for the poor girls.

100% this.

I typed up something very similar and then deleted it before I posted. I don't want to seem insensitive to those that really do have issues with the VA system because I know there are flaws and much could be improved there. I am married to a soldier, the daughter of a soldier, the granddaughter of a sailor, my sister and brother-in-law were Air Force, and both my sons now serve too. I'm surrounded by active duty and veterans. So, I have seen firsthand various levels of care and lack of.

It is also the responsibly of the person to do what is required. If you don't take your meds, do therapy, or whatever else is offered, you really can't say you didn't get good care. The VA isn't perfect by any means, but they can only help as much as a person wants to help themselves. If they say don't drink, take these meds, follow up with us, or offer group therapy, individual therapy, or other programs and someone doesn't do the work, they can't make them.

Also, getting angry with his family for trying to help him and hold him accountable for his actions is a sign he didn't want to face his issues. It is very possible he told his family he wasn't getting help at the VA because he didn't agree with the diagnosis and didn't want to face it or do the work to get better. I am not saying that is what is going on, but IMO it is a possibility since he didn't want to do the court ordered evaluation either. He was running from something and that doesn't mean he didn't have care accessible to him, it might mean he was refusing the help.

 

[Snoop Sister]

DBM

 

[Snoop Sister]

100% this.

I typed up something very similar and then deleted it before I posted. I don't want to seem insensitive to those that really do have issues with the VA system because I know there are flaws and much could be improved there. I am married to a soldier, the daughter of a soldier, the granddaughter of a sailor, my sister and brother-in-law were Air Force, and both my sons now serve too. I'm surrounded by active duty and veterans. So, I have seen firsthand various levels of care and lack of.

It is also the responsibly of the person to do what is required. If you don't take your meds, do therapy, or whatever else is offered, you really can't say you didn't get good care. The VA isn't perfect by any means, but they can only help as much as a person wants to help themselves. If they say don't drink, take these meds, follow up with us, or offer group therapy, individual therapy, or other programs and someone doesn't do the work, they can't make them.

Also, getting angry with his family for trying to help him and hold him accountable for his actions is a sign he didn't want to face his issues. It is very possible he told his family he wasn't getting help at the VA because he didn't agree with the diagnosis and didn't want to face it or do the work to get better. I am not saying that is what is going on, but IMO it is a possibility since he didn't want to do the court ordered evaluation either. He was running from something and that doesn't mean he didn't have care accessible to him, it might mean he was refusing the help.

I tend to agree with you regarding his responsibilities. But, I think he needed more support getting him to that point. Pastoral support counselling was definitely not enough for him if I am understanding his issues correctly. He needed much more intensive interventions with more qualified therapists. Although I don’t know the qualifications of the the Pastor, it is very unlikely he has a psychiatric background.
All in my opinion.

The VA put him on a waiting list according to his wife he did try to get treatment there. Whitney also stated that she was unsure whether he was taking his medication.

 

[NuttMegg]

A small list of FA...stay away from dudes named Chris Only 33% killed themselves also

John List - Accountant - Started a new life because of financial crisis - Gunshot
Chris Watts - Engineer - Wanted to start a new life with another woman - Strangling, Drowning
Josh Powell - Business Mgr. - Murdered wife first and later 2 sons and himself in explosion
Chris Benoit - Pro Wrestler - 3 Day double murder/suicide - Asphyxiation
Chris Coleman - Head of Security for Televangelist - Affair - Strangulation
Christian Longo - Starbucks - Financial problems - Fled to Mexico - Asphyxiation
Andrea Yates - Stay at home Mom - murdered all five children - Mental Health issues - Drowning
Humistan - 15 yo boy - Murdered parents and 3 siblings (one sibling escaped) - Gunshot
Jennifer and Sarah Hart - Murdered 6 adopted children and themselves driving off a cliff

JMO/FYI

Added by Me: Only 2 used guns here = 22%

Just a technicality, Watts wasn't an engineer. He attended a Nascar-oriented 2 year school, but failed to get a job in that industry. Later, after murdering his family, he told LE that he liked his oil field job because all he had to do was show up to get paid.

 

[Nikynoo]

I am not the OP but
----------------------------
According to an affidavit filed last week in Chelan County Superior Court
[snip]
She said Decker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder toward the end of their marriage and did not believe he was taking medication for it.
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5429550/travis-decker-daughters-murder-manhunt-washington
Whitney told police that near the end of their marriage, her ex-husband was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and she did not think he was taking his medication, according to the police affidavit.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/08/us/travis-decker-daughters-washington-manhunt

Around a month before the murders, the accused killer abruptly ended his daily counseling calls he had been holding with a Georgia pastor — some of which included conversations which lasted several hours, the documents reveal.
https://nypost.com/2025/06/07/us-news/travis-decker-was-on-brink-in-weeks-before-murders-docs/

The document reveals Decker had received daily counseling from a Georgia pastor for months, speaking several hours each day.

Four weeks before the murders, he abruptly ended these phone calls.
https://www.kxly.com/news/wenatchee...cle_99427a8d-8561-4c59-9108-c804ed0dce21.html

Judge grants motion, but Travis Decker refuses psychiatric evaluations
At the end of the almost 30-minute hearing, Judge Jourdan granted Whitney Decker’s motion and temporarily amended the couple’s parenting plan. However, Travis Decker refused to sign any court documents.

The judge told Travis Decker signing the documents was up to him, but his order would be legally binding with or without his signature. Travis Decker also refused to attend any domestic violence psychiatric evaluations and assessments. Seven months later, Chelan County deputies found the bodies of his children at a campground 18 miles west of Leavenworth.
https://mynorthwest.com/crime_blotter/custody-issues-travis-decker/4095731

1 - This does not confirm that medication was actually prescribed though does it? Just that there was a belief that TD was not taking medication.
2. The Georgia Pastor - is this counselling for mental health illnesses (PTSD & BPD) or is it counselling more akin to mentoring/assisting with the situation TD finds himself in? I would suggest it is the latter rather than the former (unless of course, the Pastor holds a relevant qualification to provide thereapy for PTSD and/or BPD - again, there is no direct confirmation from the Pastor as to what this 'counselling' involved).
3. If there was a refusal to sign the documents, then IMO this is not a court ordered evaluation - as there is no sanction (e.g. visitation was not subject to TD undertaking either of those assessments). Again, if this was a major concern for WD, there would have been further changes to the parenting plan and there was not. It seems to me that the first sign of a red flag WD had, was when TD didn't return the girls as planned.

I'm standing by WDs statements atm. I believe that no one saw this coming (and in relation to FA's - people rarely see it beforehand). I guess we will find out more as time passes.

 

[tlcya]

1 - This does not confirm that medication was actually prescribed though does it? Just that there was a belief that TD was not taking medication.
2. The Georgia Pastor - is this counselling for mental health illnesses (PTSD & BPD) or is it counselling more akin to mentoring/assisting with the situation TD finds himself in? I would suggest it is the latter rather than the former (unless of course, the Pastor holds a relevant qualification to provide thereapy for PTSD and/or BPD - again, there is no direct confirmation from the Pastor as to what this 'counselling' involved).
3. If there was a refusal to sign the documents, then IMO this is not a court ordered evaluation - as there is no sanction (e.g. visitation was not subject to TD undertaking either of those assessments). Again, if this was a major concern for WD, there would have been further changes to the parenting plan and there was not. It seems to me that the first sign of a red flag WD had, was when TD didn't return the girls as planned.

I'm standing by WDs statements atm. I believe that no one saw this coming (and in relation to FA's - people rarely see it beforehand). I guess we will find out more as time passes.

the second link suggest he had been prescribed it but had not been taking it.

"she did not think he was taking his medication"

I personally am torn up about this case. I believe TD was devolving and spiraling quickly after the end of his marriage (he ended it btw not her which surprises me a bit). I believe he was in serious need of help. As the parent of a mentally ill adult child I also believe necessary mental health services and other key resources are very difficult for people to access.

I also believe that a big part of certain mental illnesses can involve a skewed view of self and own wellness. Often, when ill people begin to feel "better" they decide there is nothing wrong with them, they no longer need the counseling, no longer need the meds. And it becomes a cycle of seeking help and running from it. Just my own life experience with mental illness.

The judge apparently advised TD that whether TD signed the order (which would make it an agreed order) or not, that was the order. Period. So I take it to mean it was meant to be an agreed order but with TD's refusal to sign it became a plain old Order from the court.

Do I wish WD had continued to follow up in court to try to insist on an emergency hearing about TD's lack of compliance with the mental health evaluation and anger management? Sure. But TD wasn't paying child support (allegedly and believably if homeless) and lawyers cost money. Money a single mother with three girls to support alone probably didn't have. I believe WD did not want to believe he would harm their children. Even as his behaviors, as described by WD, were signaling he was spiraling. She was trying with all her might to allow her ex to be a father and her girls to have their father in their lives. Is she to blame for this? Absolutely not.

This case is tragic all around. JMO

 

[Glowing Chicken]

@Nikynoo

In the Daily mail article about the brother, linked multiple times as in this post:

Travis Decker – now missing in Washington state's wilderness after allegedly murdering his three daughters – had a history of escalating violence, according to his brother who revealed Travis' 'violent' reaction when his family attempted to hold an intervention.
Brother of killer dad reveals his violent reaction during intervention

Toward the end is this quote:

“Whitney told Thomas that Travis had been going to a therapist and trying to get help. Once he started doing better, she told Thomas, he stopped going.”

 

[Nikynoo]

@Nikynoo

In the Daily mail article about the brother, linked multiple times as in this post:

Toward the end is this quote:

“Whitney told Thomas that Travis had been going to a therapist and trying to get help. Once he started doing better, she told Thomas, he stopped going.”

The Georgia Pastor? Giving pastoral support or psychotherapy?

 

[Glowing Chicken]

The Georgia Pastor? Giving pastoral support or psychotherapy?

I took that to mean a professional therapist. Calling a pastor a therapist is a stretch, imo.

Somebody diagnosed him with BPD and PTSD, as stated in the family court documents.

But I could see a narcissist stopping treatment as soon as a slight improvement occurs. And instead thinking they’re better off getting divine guidence. And near the end he stopped that as well.

JMO

 

[Nikynoo]

I took that to mean a professional therapist. Calling a pastor a therapist is a stretch, imo.

Somebody diagnosed him with BPD and PTSD, as stated in the family court documents.

But I could see a narcissist stopping treatment as soon as a slight improvement occurs. And instead thinking they’re better off getting divine guidence. And near the end he stopped that as well.

JMO

No, it was allegedly the Georgia Pastor who gave 'counselling' and not a professional therapist. I would imagine that therapy needs to be paid for in the US and is not available at no cost?

 

[sasha17]

No, it was allegedly the Georgia Pastor who gace 'counselling' and not a professional therapist. I would imagine that therapy needs to be paid for in the US and is not available at no cost?

It's available through the VA at no cost but IIRC, TD was on a wait list for help from the VA so it seems this Georgia pastor was providing some kind of counseling-type support in the meantime.

 

[TMich6811]

Hypothesizing here...have to wonder if he had this delusional idea that he could sneak himself and the girls into Canada without a fight from the girls.

Maybe he had this grandiose idea they could start a new life and that plan went sideways if the girls were crying or getting hysterical when he told them this (he seemed to say a lot of things to them that realistically weren't happening).

Perhaps his intent was to kidnap with the zip ties, force them to be with dad and drive close to the border and somehow get them across. If the girls panicked/started really screaming, things escalated and he in that point saw NO light at the end of his tunnel made a heinous decision.

I don't know why, but at my core I guess I'm hoping this wasn't premeditated for revenge and was a spontaneous snap/panicked choice. Either way, outcome is the same I guess.

I actually really feel this theory could be accurate

 

[TMich6811]

Just here to pop in and say that not taking medication, not engaging in classes or therapy or any help is a symptom of the mental illness. One has to be well enough for compliance. Whether this applies here or does not I don’t know but there is a very, very thin line between too mentally ill to agree and self responsibility.

That’s why we have systems that mandate services, inpatient holds, etc. sounds like some of that was missed here when it should have been used. But I (we) don’t know enough here to accurately say

 

[RedHaus]

The Amber Alert thing is so darned tricky. We have heard it both ways.
Too many alerts, people start to ignore. Too few, something very critical gets missed (mostly in hindsight, but still!).
How to fine-tune it? I don't know.

So true. And hindsight seems to shed so much light on some denied Amber Alert requests.

There is a very sad example, just two nights ago, where an AA was triggered under false pretenses in northern Delaware by a lying murderous Mother from Maryland.

Here is recent press on this tragic case.

 

[tlcya]

Just here to pop in and say that not taking medication, not engaging in classes or therapy or any help is a symptom of the mental illness. One has to be well enough for compliance. Whether this applies here or does not I don’t know but there is a very, very thin line between too mentally ill to agree and self responsibility.

That’s why we have systems that mandate services, inpatient holds, etc. sounds like some of that was missed here when it should have been used. But I (we) don’t know enough here to accurately say

IME, even getting mandated holds and forced services is very very difficult. It took me two years to get my son into a setting where he could even be evaluated enough to receive a diagnosis. He is currently med compliant. When he is not, I cannot force him to comply. My hands are tied. Unless he is adjudicated an IMMINENT threat to self or others. And as soon as he is not, the authority to force the issue is gone.

Mentally ill people have rights. Those rights are important to prevent the sort of imprisonment and warehousing without treatment that was used so prevalently in the past to "handle" mentally ill persons.

But those laws protecting the rights of the mentally ill mean it is extremely difficult to force someone to receive treatment, whether it be counseling or meds, if they do not want it.

Just my own. Experience of others may vary.

 

[K9Enzo]

I have no doubt that the nice men and women of the USMS are going to locate Travis Decker. imo

 

[TMich6811]

IME, even getting mandated holds and forced services is very very difficult. It took me two years to get my son into a setting where he could even be evaluated enough to receive a diagnosis. He is currently med compliant. When he is not, I cannot force him to comply. My hands are tied. Unless he is adjudicated an IMMINENT threat to self or others. And as soon as he is not, the authority to force the issue is gone.

Mentally ill people have rights. Those rights are important to prevent the sort of imprisonment and warehousing without treatment that was used so prevalently in the past to "handle" mentally ill persons.

But those laws protecting the rights of the mentally ill mean it is extremely difficult to force someone to receive treatment, whether it be counseling or meds, if they do not want it.

Just my own. Experience of others may vary.

Absolutely - it’s a very very hard line. And just so important to acknowledge all the aspects