The mother of three missing sisters who went missing from Wenatchee last week and were found dead on Monday (June 2) has spoken out.
Whitney Decker called the police last Friday (30 May) when her three daughters, Olivia, 5, Evelyn, 8, and Paityn, 9, failed to return home from a planned visitation with their father.
Her ex-husband, Travis Decker, was due to drop their daughters back at their home in Wenatchee, Washington State, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Police later confirmed the tragic news all three of the little girls were found dead at Rock Island Campground, around 40 miles away from their home, at around 3.45pm on Monday.
The girls’ bodies were also found near to their father’s white 2017 GMC Sierra truck, with Decker being charged with three counts of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, Wenatchee Police Department have confirmed.
Murder suspect Travis Decker is still at large (Fox13 Seattle)
However, the father remains at large, so officials are at work trying to locate the suspect.
Now, Whitney is calling for reforms to Washington State’s Amber Alert system, with the grieving mother suggesting it may have been a different outcome if Washington State Patrol issued an Amber Alert for the sisters last week.
Arianna Cozart, Whitney’s attorney, told KING of Seattle: “It’s very important to Whitney to get that fixed.”
An Amber Alert aims to ‘instantly galvanize communities to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of an endangered missing or abducted child’, according to the State.
UNILAD has contacted the Washington State Patrol for comment.
After Whitney contacted the police in concern for her daughters’ safety, she told cops her frantic calls to Decker went straight to voicemail after he was due to return them home.
A large scale search operation remains in the town of Leavenworth, the location where Decker’s truck was seen.
The bodies of sisters Olivia, five, Evelyn, eight, and Paityn, nine, were found earlier this week (GoFundMe)
Upon searching the vehicle, personal items such as blankets, food, car seats and a wallet were found, as well as two bloody handprints were found by police, reports The NY Post.
Law enforcement has urged the public not to approach Decker if they see him, stating he poses a ‘significant risk’ amid his military background.
It remains unclear if the suspect is or was armed.
However, police are appealing for assistance to help locate him, describing Decker as being 5 feet 8 inches tall, 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and dark shorts.
“If you see, or believe you have seen, Mr. Decker please call 911 immediately and do not attempt or contact or approach him,” Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released on Thursday (June 5).
Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe
Callum Jones
Heartbreaking update in case of missing three sisters last seen with their father
The three young girls were first reported missing on Friday, May 30
Police have issued a devastating update in the case of three missing girls from Wenatchee.
Five-year-old Olivia, eight-year-old Evelyn and nine-year-old Paityn were picked up by their father Travis Decker last week for a planned visitation.
When Decker failed to return his children to his ex wife Whitney Decker as promised, the concerned mother reported the three girls as missing on Friday (May 30). The family lived in Wenatchee, Washington.
In an extremely sad update, the three sisters have now been found deceased, having been discovered at Illinois’ Rock Island Campground around 40 miles away from their home on Monday (June 2).
While the girls have been located, Decker is still at large and has been charged with first-degree murder and one count of first-degree kidnapping.
While Decker wasn’t at the scene, his truck was. Inside the vehicle there were personal items such as blankets, food, car seats and a wallet on the center console, Fox 13 Seattle reports.
Wenatchee Police Department (WPD) have expressed their condolences to the family following the heartbreaking news.
“The [WPD] is saddened to report that the three missing girls have been found deceased,” police said in a social media statement. “We want to express our sincere and deep heartfelt condolences to the family at this time.”
Law enforcement added: “We have been in close communication with the family at each step of the investigation.”
Police have urged the public not to approach Decker, 32, if they see him as he poses a ‘a significant risk’ with his military background in mind. It is unknown if he is armed.
The Decker sisters, who were reported missing on May 30, have sadly been discovered deceased (Wenatchee Police Department)
According to his ex wife, Decker has been showing signs that he was struggling with his mental health.
He is believed to currently be unhoused and has been living in his vehicle and various motels or campgrounds.
While urged not to approach Decker, police are appealing to the public in helping them locate him.
He is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall, 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and dark shorts.
Should a member of the community see Decker, they should call 911.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
Or, if you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
Featured Image Credit: Family Handout
Topics: Crime, US News, News, Parenting, Illinois, Washington, Police
Niamh Shackleton
Heartbreaking final words mom heard from daughters over phone before dad murdered them
John David Battaglia brutally murdered his own two daughters in 2001
Warning: This article contains details some readers may find upsetting
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: Hearing your children in distress and not being able to do anything about it.
This very terror became a reality for one mom in 2001 after her estranged husband put their two daughters on the phone on loudspeaker before he murdered them in cold blood.
John Battaglia and Mary Jean Pearle had divorced a year earlier, and they shared two daughters together: 9-year-old Faith and 6-year-old Liberty.
On May 2, 2001, Mary Jean received a phone call from ex-husband John, which would destroy her life forever.
Earlier that day, she had dropped the two little girls off with their father as he had promised to take them for dinner at the mall. Instead, Battaglia took the girls to his apartment in Adam Hats Lofts, Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas, where he phoned Mary Jean and forced her to listen to her terrified daughters.
John Battaglia murdered his two daughters in cold blood while forcing their mother to listen (Dallas Police Department)
He had learned earlier that there was a warrant out for his arrest for harassing his ex-wife, so he made little Faith ask her mom: “Why do you want Daddy to go to jail?”.
The little girl was then heard screaming: “No, Daddy! Please don’t! Don’t do it!”
Mary Jane begged her daughters to run, but it was too late, and she heard Battaglia fatally shooting the girls multiple times.
He then said “Merry f**king Christmas” to Mary Jean, in just one of his many taunts to her.
It is believed he was referencing an incident which took place at Christmas back in 1999, where he assaulted Mary Jean and she went to the police about, leading to their divorce.
A terrified Mary hung up and called 911 for help.
Battaglia then called back and left a voicemail on the answering machine, saying: “Hi, girls. I just want to tell you how very, very brave you were, and I hope you are resting in a better place now. I wish that you had nothing to do with your mother. She’s evil and vicious and stupid!”
“Goodnight, my little babies,” he went on. “You were very brave girls.”
Battaglia left a cruel voicemail for their grieving mother Mary Jean to hear (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
After murdering his daughters, Battaglia went out to a bar with his girlfriend before going to a tattoo parlour, getting two roses inked dedicated to the children he just killed.
It took jurors just 20 minutes to find him guilty, and he was sentenced to death in 2002.
The killer was eventually executed in 2018, despite several pushbacks from his legal team who questioned his sanity. His legal team submitted a new appeal the morning that he died, saying that the state’s last two executions had gone wrong.
The appeal was unsuccessful, with the U.S. Supreme Court issuing a final denial at around 9pm.
Battaglia never expressed remorse for the murders and still continued to blame his ex-wife. Even as he was facing death, he found time to torment the grieving mother.
Asked if he had any last words, Battaglia said no, the Dallas Morning News reports, but he then changed his mind, saying: “Well, hi Mary Jean,” who stood behind the glass pane watching the execution.
“See y’all later. Go ahead please,” he added.
He was then injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital 9:18 p.m. It took twenty-two minutes for him to be pronounced dead.
Featured Image Credit: Dallas Police Department / Handout
Topics: Crime, Gun Crime, True crime, World News, Death Row
Jen Thomas
Chilling words of teen girl after she killed mom and boyfriend following disapproval of their relationship
Julia Egler waited for her mom to get home before killing her and her mom’s boyfriend, a chilling 911 call has revealed what she said
The chilling words of a teenage girl have been revealed after she killed both her mom and her mom’s boyfriend following a row over their relationship.
Julia Grace Egler, aged just 16, faces two counts of first-degree murder charges after her 38-year-old mom Kelley McCollom and her 22-year-old boyfriend Matthew Szejnrok were found dead at her home in Palm Bay, Florida.
It was Egler who reported their deaths to Palm Bay Police Department in floods of tears, but instead of handing herself in, she claimed an intruder broke into their home before executing the pair, according to the force.
The incident took place at around midnight on Sunday, July 7, and when police arrived at the home their discovered they had both been shot – something the teen never mentioned to the dispatcher during the 911 call.
Kelley McCollom with her daughter Julia Egler. (Facebook/Kelley McCollom)
According to officials, Egler told them how ‘an unknown male intruder had entered the residence through a back sliding glass door’.
Adding: “Egler admitted to obtaining a .38 special revolver from [McCollom’s] bedroom, waiting for the victims to return home, and then shooting them multiple times.”
They added that Egler had ‘cited longstanding conflicts’ with her mom over the teen’s gender transition, as well as her relationship with a man 16 years her senior.
Officials reported that Szejnrok’s body was found in bathroom, and he had been shot and stabbed, meanwhile McCollom’s corpse was found in the living room.
A sworn statement, otherwise known as an affidavit, read: “When they walked through the front door, [the suspect] told them ‘welcome home’.”
This is when the crazed teen shot McCollom more than once, before repeatedly unloading on Szejnrok ‘as he pleaded’ with her to stop.
Their Florida home where the pair were tragically killed. (Google)
The affidavit reported how ‘Egler then followed Matthew into the bathroom where he retreated and began stabbing him repeatedly’, before reloading after he asked her to put him ‘out of his misery’ and shot him in his head.
But it was the chilling words she said to the dispatcher after killing her mom and her mom’s boyfriend that was really hair-raising.
The dispatcher said: “You still have your dogs with you?” to which she replied: “They’re still in my room. I didn’t let them out because I didn’t want them getting blood all over their paws.”
The shocked dispatcher then said: “Wait, did you say blood all over their paws? Is there blood inside your house?” before adding: “Whose blood is it? Do you know if anyone is hurt at your house?”
Egler then replied in floods of tears: “They’re dead.”
Egler, who has been named due to the circumstances of the crime, was arrested and transferred to the Juvenile Detention Center.
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Kelley McCollom Egler / Google
Joe Yates
Mom of OpenAI whistleblower found dead in his apartment shares new CCTV images from ‘day of his death’
Suchir Balaji had criticised the makers of ChatGPT before he was found dead in his San Francisco apartment
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The grief-stricken mom of the OpenAI whistleblower who was found dead last year has shared new CCTV images said to be the moments before he died.
Suchir Balaji was just 26 years old when he was discovered dead by police in his San Francisco apartment on November 26. They had called on the tech pro for a welfare check.
Balaji was a researcher at the artificial intelligence company, OpenAI, for four years, having completed a computer science degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
The last CCTV image of Suchir (Twitter/@RaoPoornima)
However, the young man left the AI tech giant and came out as a whistleblower on some of the methods it was allegedly using to train its intelligence system.
He alleged that OpenAI had violated US copyright law while developing its popular ChatGPT online chatbot, which creates text-based conversations with human users, in a tell-all New York Times article.
A month after the piece was published, Balaji was found dead in his apartment.
The medical examiner’s office ruled out any foul play and determined he had died by suicide.
However, his family have refused to accept the verdict with his mom, Poornima Ramarao, alleging a deeper murder conspiracy at play.
Now, she has raised more questions about the investigation by posting CCTV footage of Balaji.
Another pic of Suchir coming back home after back packing trip, same day he was killed. Does he look stressed ?
The footage shows the man had bought dinner and was getting in the elevator at 7.30pm.
Ms Ramarao says that despite the medical examiner’s office seeing the video, it ‘still concluded he was depressed and called it suicide’.
She also hinted at concerns over pending toxicology results, believing her son was perhaps sedated, as well as alleged issues with the CCTV in his building.
The mom continued: “Another cover by OCME (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner): they stated to our attorney that GHB is endogenous 3 days after death. But we found out that level of endogenous GHB is less than 5000ng/L.
“A line in autopsy report says that toxicology report will include GHB only if it is more than 50000 Ng/L. Combined with alcohol this is a sedative. With this combination he will be losing muscle control or possibly unconscious.
Parents, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, have said they want another investigation (ABC 7 News)
“We are waiting for toxicologist to give a written report.”
She also claims the inside elevator camera was ‘disabled’ at the time Balaji was using it.
In another Tweet, Ms Ramarao wrote: “One more suspensions finding CCTV in garage of Suchir’s apartment and neighbors stopped working. One of the elevator CCTV also stopped working. This m*rder conspiracy is executed over long term planning and watching Suchir.”
A third still image of her son showed Balaji in his apartment block with a large bag, which his mom said was of him coming home from a packing trip the ‘same day’ she claims he ‘was killed’.
She asked: “Does he look stressed?”
Balaji’s parents have since hired an expert to conduct an independent autopsy as they do not believe their son died by suicide.
Remarking that her son was ‘happy’ and ‘not depressed’, she previously told ABC 7 News: “He went into his apartment and never came out. How can anyone believe that there was no suicide note left?
“And there was nobody else on the scene, that doesn’t mean they can just come to conclusion. And we have seen the blood shots in the bathroom, signs of fight in the bathroom.”
Ms Ramarao had also told Business Insider that her late son had confessed to her that he felt ‘AI is a harm to humanity’.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741. You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
Featured Image Credit: SUCHIR BALAJI/Twitter
