特拉维斯·德克尔(Travis Decker)的前妻的律师告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，被指控在华盛顿野营地附近谋杀三个年幼女儿的父亲缺乏心理健康资源，并与创伤后应激障碍作斗争。
派廷·德克尔，9岁;伊芙琳·德克尔，8岁;和5岁的奥利维亚·德克尔在5月30日下午5点左右离家去看望德克尔时遇害。周一下午3点左右，官员们在华盛顿州车兰县的岩岛露营地附近找到了德克尔无人驾驶的汽车，以及三名女孩的尸体，但“德克尔没有找到，”警方说。
官员们说，截至周四，德克尔仍下落不明。
谋杀嫌疑人的前妻惠特尼·德克尔的律师阿里安娜·科扎德告诉美国广播公司新闻，德克尔是一名前军人，他与精神健康问题斗争，包括PTSD，并且无法通过退伍军人资源获得帮助。
“法院没有辜负这些女孩。不是法官也不是惠特尼。这是我们的系统，”科扎德说。“[Whitney]感觉这个系统真的让Travis失望了。如果有人向特拉维斯提供了他所需要的帮助，那些女孩就不会死。”
但是在女孩们上周失踪之前，“没有危险信号，”科扎德说。
“他有一些精神健康问题和生活中的一些不稳定，这真的导致了限制，至于夜间探视或他带他们离开该地区，但除此之外，他非常爱那些女孩，他和惠特尼能够定期交流，不仅仅是作为共同父母，而是作为朋友，”科扎德说。
科扎德说，这对结婚10年的夫妇是在特拉维斯·德克尔驻扎在华盛顿陆军-空军联合基地时在网上认识的，并且“他们认识后从未分开过一天”。科扎德说，由于德克尔在军队期间的调动，两人在搬到韦纳奇山谷之前，分别在意大利和格鲁吉亚生活了两年。
科扎德说，特拉维斯·德克尔的PTSD是他在整个婚姻中“一直带在身边”的东西，但直到他在2023年离开现役后备队后才开始“螺旋上升”。在他们在一起的整个时间里，科扎德说特拉维斯·德克尔会在半夜尖叫，弄湿床，只睡一两个小时。
科扎德说，是特拉维斯·德克尔主动提出在2023年结束与惠特尼·德克尔的婚姻，因为他“觉得自己不值得”。
科扎德说，然后在2024年9月，惠特尼·德克尔(Whitney Decker)决定寻求法律顾问，并请求法院“对他的育儿行为进行限制”，因为“担心特拉维斯的精神健康和稳定性”。
科扎德说，法院允许父亲在周五探视孩子三个小时，每隔一个周末探视八个小时，只要他和女儿们留在韦纳奇山谷。
科扎德说，育儿协议“到目前为止，效果非常好。”
“这个人身上有东西出来，他打碎了，就是这样。当那个男人抱起那些女孩，他的孩子时，他并没有计划杀死她们;没有任何迹象表明他这样做了，”科扎德说。
根据科扎德的说法，特拉维斯·德克尔在5月30日接了这些女孩，与前妻聊了大约15到20分钟，然后离开了:“他说，'嘿，我们晚上8点见'，然后他就离开了，他再也没有回来过，”科扎德说。
科扎德说，惠特尼·德克尔强调，他的前夫从未对她或她的女儿施暴，称他是一个“积极的父亲”，总是出席孩子们的舞蹈课、戏剧演出和足球比赛。
科扎德说，在过去的一周，特拉维斯·德克尔开始告诉他的前妻，他“除了你和女儿们，一无所有”，但这并没有引起惠特尼·德克尔的担忧。
尽管她的前夫因杀害他们的女儿而在逃，但科扎德说惠特尼·德克尔“对特拉维斯以及他的本质充满了爱和同情。”
“他是一个有爱心的人，但一些东西打破了，不管他是什么怪物，这是他在军队里接受的训练，”科扎德说。
惠特尼·德克尔和科扎德现在倡导改变退伍军人可以获得的心理健康资源，并与执法官员合作，提出安珀警报系统的改革——因为上周女孩们最初失踪时，安珀警报系统没有发布。
科扎德说:“如果有一位父母有精神健康问题史，并且是受过100种不同杀人方式训练的退伍军人，那么就应该发出安珀警报。”。
科扎德之前曾和这三个小姐妹相处过，她形容她们“充满阳光”，是“善良、富有同情心的小女孩”。
据警方称，特拉维斯·德克尔身高5英尺8英寸，黑色头发，棕色眼睛，最后一次出现时穿着浅色衬衫和深色短裤。官员们说，德克尔的父亲正乘飞机来与侦探谈话。
官员们表示，任何人如果知道德克尔的任何信息或者知道他的下落，都应该立即拨打911。
Father who killed 3 daughters was 'active dad' but the 'system failed' him, ex-wife's attorney says
Travis Decker, the father accused of murdering his three young daughters near a Washington campground, lacked mental health resources and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, his ex-wife's attorney told ABC News.
Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were killed after they left home for a "planned visitation" with Decker at approximately 5 p.m. on May 30, officials said. At approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, officials located Decker's vehicle unoccupied near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, and the bodies of the three girls, but "Decker was not located," police said.
As of Thursday, Decker has not been located, officials said.
Arianna Cozard, the attorney for Whitney Decker, the ex-wife of the suspected murderer, told ABC News that Decker -- who was a former member of the military -- struggled with mental health issues, including PTSD, and was unable to receive help through veterans' resources.
"The courts didn't fail these girls. It wasn't the judge and it wasn't Whitney; it was our system," Cozard said. "[Whitney] feels like the system really let Travis down. If somebody would have provided Travis with the help that he needed, those girls would be alive."
But before the girls disappeared last week, "there were no red flags," Cozard said.
"He had some mental health issues and some instability in his life that really led to the restrictions as far as overnight visitation or him taking them out of the area, but other than that, he loved those girls very much and him and Whitney were able to communicate on a regular basis, not just as co-parents, but as friends," Cozard said.
The couple, who were married for 10 years, met online when Travis Decker was stationed at the joint army-air force base in Washington and "never spent a day apart after they met," Cozard said. Due to Decker's transfers while in the military, the two lived in Italy for two years and Georgia for another two years before moving to Wenatchee Valley, Cozard said.
Travis Decker's PTSD was something he "always carried with him" throughout their marriage, but did not begin to "spiral" until he got out of the active reserves in 2023, Cozard said. Throughout their time together, Cozard said Travis Decker would scream in the middle of the night, soak the bed and only get one or two hours of sleep.
It was Travis Decker who initiated ending his marriage with Whitney Decker in 2023, because he "felt like he wasn't worth it," Cozard said.
Then in September 2024, Whitney Decker -- who had full custody of the children -- decided to seek legal counsel and petitioned the court to "put restrictions in place on his parenting" due to "concerning factors regarding Travis' mental health and stability," Cozard said.
The court granted visitations for the father to visit the children for three hours on Fridays and eight hours every other weekend, so long as he remained in Wenatchee Valley with the girls, Cozard said.
Cozard said the parenting agreement was "working really well, until now."
"Something came out of this man and he broke, that's it. When that man picked up those girls, his babies, he did not have a plan to kill them; there's nothing that indicates that he did," Cozard said.
According to Cozard, Travis Decker picked up the girls on May 30, talked to his ex-wife for about 15 to 20 minutes and then left: "He said, 'Hey, I will see you at 8 [p.m.]' and he left, and he never came back," Cozard said.
Cozard said Whitney Decker emphasizes that his ex-husband never was violent toward her or her daughters, saying that he was an "active dad" who was always in attendance at his kids' dance classes, theater productions and soccer games.
In the past week, Travis Decker began telling his ex-wife that he had "nothing except for you and the girls," but that did not raise concern for Whitney Decker, Cozard said.
Despite her ex-husband being on the run for killing their daughters, Cozard said Whitney Decker has "a lot of love and empathy for Travis and who he is in his core."
"He was a loving man, but something broke and whatever monster came out of him, it's something that he was trained to do in the military," Cozard said.
Whitney Decker and Cozard are now advocating for change in the mental health resources accessible for veterans and are also working with law enforcement officials to come up with reforms for the Amber Alert system -- as one was not issued when the girls originally went missing last week.
"When there is a parent with limited visitation that has this history of mental health issues and is a military veteran with the training necessary to kill 100 different ways, that Amber Alert should have been issued," Cozard said.
Cozard, who had previously spent time with the three young sisters, described them as "full of light" and as "kind, compassionate little girls."
Travis Decker, who is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen wearing a light shirt and dark shorts, according to police. Decker's father is flying in to speak with detectives, officials said.
Officials said anyone who has any information on Decker or knows of his whereabouts should call 911 immediately.
