Travis Decker Wenatchee dad rapid mental health decline. The warning signs were there in the months leading up to the military vet dad murdering his three daughters. Warnings and signs that divorced mom, Whitney Decker decided to push aside cause she knew how much he loved their 3 daughters. Where did it all go wrong?
The warning signs were there, but Whitney Decker, knowing how much her ex husband and highly trained military vet husband, Travis Decker now homeless and broke and living in his car ‘treasured’ their 3 daughters, was reticent about cutting off the girl’s father.
So the Wenatchee, Washington state mom agreed to let their dad have another ‘unsupervised’ custodial visit on Friday, never expecting or daring to imagine what would follow next. But had she ignored the warning signs at her and her children’s own peril?
In the months leading up to the dad allegedly suffocating the couple’s three daughters to death, Travis Decker, 35, had increasingly been exhibiting signs of a mental health crises.
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Travis Decker may have faced mental health issues murdering his three young daughters from Wenatchee.
Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 were found with bags over their heads, wrists zip-tied.😢🙏 pic.twitter.com/2QoYEV023u— Joni Job (@jj_talking) June 4, 2025
Wenatchee dad descent into mental crises
In the last two years, she documented a number of bizarre and troubling incidents allegedly involving Decker, including barging into her home, leaving the young girls crying unattended and hitchhiking over to the house three hours late. By now, the girls’ father was prescribed medication for ‘bipolar personality disorder,’ but was he getting the necessary counseling and treatment he needed, let alone whether the ‘broke’ dad who lived in the wilderness was even re-filling his drug medication.
‘Since our separation, it has become increasingly clear that Travis has been struggling to maintain stability in his life,’ Whitney Decker told authorities according to court documents seen by KIRO 7 News.
Decker’s ‘lack of stability’ was blamed for leading to a ‘negative impact on their children,’ by Whitney, documents stated.
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The three girls were ‘deeply affected,’ which led to ‘heightened emotional stress,’ the concerned mom added.
‘This is demonstrated through screaming/crying bouts at drop off or when they get off a phone call,’ the mom stated.
‘Travis also has some emotional/mental health issues that were the primary catalyst to the end of our marriage. His borderline personality disorder and narcissism became rampant,’ the mom wrote.
Whitney first filed a petition of divorce on November 14, 2022, in Chelan County Court, but at that time, Whitney noted that no protection order or restraining order was needed.
She also noted no concerns of abuse, neglect or violence with regards to her estranged husband, who was a member of the National Guard facing disciplinary measures for not showing up to drills, court documents stated.
But all that changed in the two years between the first petition and their official separation according to court documents, KIRO reported.
Decker was listed as a ‘transient’ in the Sep. 2024 parental schedule modification filed by Whitney’s attorney.
He first moved out of the family home in Oct. 2022 and into the armory in Wenatchee, moving into an apartment of his own in the town a few months later, Whitney said in the court documents.
When his lease was up, he bought an RV, briefly moving to Idaho, only for the vehicle to soon be repossessed.
Other incidents included when Decker ‘had some outbursts where he has burst into my home against my objections and yelled for the girls,’ Whitney wrote.
She recounted how, six days before Christmas Day 2023, ‘Olivia FaceTimed me screaming, crying, Travis was nowhere in sight,’ the mom wrote.
Olivia and Paityn were ‘crying uncontrollably’ while Decker wasn’t comforting either of them, she wrote.
On another occasion, Decker ‘Hitchhiked to my house and asked to stay in the basement with the girls,’ Whitney wrote, noting that he was ‘3 hours late.’
Recalled Whitney Decker, ‘Travis just keeps getting more and more unstable. 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.
Added the mom, ‘I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all.’
And even during Friday’s drop off, Whitney Decker noticed a substantial change in her husband’s demeanor. He seemed sullen, withdrawn and hardly his excited self in the presence of his daughters. Had Travis Decker finally snapped? What did the father have in store in the days ahead?
Decker faces three charges of murder and kidnapping. A $20,000 reward has been issued for any information that leads to military vet dad’s capture as the manhunt for the wanted man intensified.
