The mother of the three young girls allegedly murdered by their homeless dad gave a moving tribute to her “incredible” daughters in her first public comments more than three weeks after they were found suffocated and bound.
Whitney Decker spoke through tears at a memorial Friday as the huge hunt continued for her troubled ex, Travis Decker, who had the girls for a custody visit when they were slain at a Washington state campground.
“I truly hope that the legacy of the girls’ lives lives on in everyone’s heart forever,” the grieving mom told thousands of mourners of her murdered daughters, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5.
“They were incredible,” she said.
Whitney recalled how she and her daughters learned how to express their feelings with one another before bed after she and her husband divorced, King 5 News reported.
“After my divorce, there were a lot of feelings flowing through my house — especially with three small, tiny women,” she said.
“When the world slowed down, it gave me an inside look at their day,” she said.
“I believe doing this with them allowed them to come into the world with open hearts and kindness,” Whitney added.
She ended her remarks by thanking all those who attended the service at Rocky Reach Park in Wenatchee for their “outpouring of love.”
Travis, a 32-year-old homeless Army veteran, and Witney split in 2022 due to Travis’s ongoing struggles with mental health — including paranoia and borderline personality disorder, Whitney’s attorney Arianna Cozart told People Magazine.
He was last seen when he took the girls on Friday, May 30 for a “planned visitation.” They were reported as missing when Travis never returned with the girls that night.
The sisters were discovered on June 2 with plastic bags on their heads and zip ties around their wrists near Rock Island Campground, not far from Travis’ abandoned truck.
Officials later determined they had died from suffocation.
While a massive manhunt for Travis approaches its fourth week, Cozart said she believes that he’s likely taken his own life. Federal authorities have joined the search.
Chelan County Sheriff Michael Morrison said last week he is concerned fears that “misguided” sympathizers might try to help the fugitive stay on the run.
“I mean, he’s accused of murder — not just once, but three times — and he is a danger,” the sheriff stressed of the troubled dad.
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