While a manhunt is underway for a Washington state father accused of murdering his three daughters, divorce documents reveal he had recently lost rights to overnight custody of the children over concerns about his mental stability.
Police are hunting for 32-year-old Travis Decker after the bodies of Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found Monday afternoon near their father's abandoned truck.
The girls left with Decker late Friday afternoon for a "planned visitation" and did not return, nor could their mother reach them. The girls were found each with a plastic bag over her head and zip ties binding their wrists.
Decker's Wife Filed for Change in Custody Agreement in November 2022 Over Concerns About His Anger Issues, Abusive Behavior
According to documents obtained by local news outlets, Travis and Whitney Decker's divorce had begun amicably enough in November 2022, but less than two years later, she was seeking a change in their custody agreement, asking that the children's father be evaluated for anger management/domestic violence.
The proposed changes to the custody arrangement said that Travis Decker "neglected his parental duties towards a child" and that he "has a long-term emotional or physical problem that gets in the way of his ability to parent."
"Since our separation, it has become increasingly clear that Travis has been struggling to maintain stability in his life," Whitney Decker wrote in a declaration filed in September 2024. That "lack of stability" had caused a "negative impact on our children," leaving them with "heightened emotional stress."
Decker Had Become Homeless, Lost Overnight Custody Rights and was Ordered to Undergo Mental Health Evaluation
"This is demonstrated through screaming/crying bouts at drop off or when they get off a phone call," she wrote. She asked that overnight visits be stopped, particularly after learning that Decker, a veteran, had become homeless and was staying at a National Guard Armory with the girls sleeping on mattresses. Overnight visits could resume once his homelessness was resolved.
Whitney Decker details some "outbursts where he has burst into my home against my objections and yelled for the girls" and other incidents she said that left the girls walking "on eggshells."
"Travis just keeps getting more and more unstable," she wrote. "He has made huge sacrifices to serve our country and loves his girls very much but he has got to get better for our girls. I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all." Decker fought the changes to the custody arrangement, but the judge took away his overnight custody rights. He was also ordered to have the anger management/domestic violence evaluation as well as a complete psychiatric evaluation.
Decker was initially charged with custodial interference when he failed to bring the girls home, and paperwork for those charges say that he refused to sign the custody modification form last year and did not seek any of the counseling ordered by the court.
Decker is now facing three counts each of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. A report submitted to the Chelan County Superior Court suggests the likely cause of death for all three children was asphyxiation.
