Decker sisters' cause of death revealed as father faces allegations
The autopsy results of the Decker sisters, whom the police claim were killed by their father, have been revealed.
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office in Washington, U.S., revealed that Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, died due to suffocation, the autopsy results showed.
"The cause of death was determined to be suffocation and the manner of death was determined to be homicide," the authorities said in a release.
The children were found dead on June 2 near the Rock Island Campground, three days after they were last seen by their father, Travis Decker. They were located after the authorities found Travis' pickup truck, where investigators have collected a "large amount of evidence," including many of his personal items.
"The suspect’s dog was recovered and turned over to the humane society for safe care," the CCSO added. "Blood samples taken from the scene have come back positive for belonging to a male, and another was not human blood. Further DNA and fingerprint analyses are still being conducted."
Travis is yet to be located by the authorities and is wanted on charges of murder, kidnapping, and custodial interference, per a PEOPLE Magazine report.
"We had reached a point where we need to rest our local resources. Our command staff continues to be engaged with the search command while we give our teams time off to rest and recuperate and be ready to rejoin the search for, and capture of, the suspect," they said.
Prior to this, the authorities have been calling the public for leads in finding Travis, sharing photos of him for reference.
Meanwhile, Arianna Cozart, the attorney for Decker's ex-wife, Whitney Decker, said "there were no red flags" on Travis before the girls disappeared.
She also noted that Travis, who was a member of the military, has been struggling with mental health issues, including not receiving help through veterans' resources.
"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," Cozart told ABC News.
"The courts didn't fail these girls. It wasn't the judge and it wasn't Whitney; it was our system," Cozart 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."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the girls' mother with expenses and legal costs amid the tragic loss of her three daughters. It has raised more than $1 million in donations as of this writing.
