Hey y’all, it’s Julie Mattson, and this week on Pushing Up Lilies, we’re covering a heartbreaking and truly tragic case: Travis Decker, a man who committed the unthinkable act of taking the lives of his three innocent children. As a death investigator, cases involving children are always the hardest, and this one is no exception. In this episode, I’ll walk you through what we know about the crime, the timeline leading up to this horrific event, and the chilling details of what happened that day. We’ll also talk about red flags, how these tragedies can sometimes be prevented, and the importance of mental health awareness, especially when it comes to family dynamics and domestic situations. It’s a tough one, y’all, but these little lives deserve to be remembered. Let’s talk about it. * Listener discretion is advised.
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00:06
Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I'm your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine tingling, unusual and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.
00:24
Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey y'all, hopefully this thing is working. It is a busy week already. My coworker texted me this morning and said she had a homicide. So we have had quite a few this year already.
00:43
It's only June, but the year has gone by really quickly. We've had a lot of suicides, just a lot of deaths. We've been super busy, unfortunately. I had a treadmill death yesterday, and I'm just going to say that's another reason not to work out.
01:06
I mean, all the energy drinks and people at the gym. I mean, kudos to you if you do it every day. I do not. I mean, I've wasted so much money in gym memberships over the years that I would go by myself and get bored after about 10 minutes and end up leaving and not get a good workout whatsoever.
01:30
So I just canceled all my memberships. I know me and I know I'm not going to go unless I have a workout buddy and we have a plan and we go on a regular basis. There was a time when I had a personal trainer and I was working out six days a week and I did love it because I felt, I don't know, I felt good.
01:50
My shoulders were, I mean, I was just in good shape. I don't think I'm in bad shape now, but I definitely do not work out. Anyway. And kind of one thing I wanted to discuss today is the difference between a collapse and a fall, and I think I've mentioned this before.
02:12
It's somewhat important when we get a phone call, everyone who is standing and has a heart attack is going to collapse. In that case, they're not going to brace themselves. They're not going to try to stop themselves from getting hurt or stop themselves from hitting their head.
02:33
They're more likely to have an injury because they're not conscious and not able to brace the fall, if that makes sense. Now someone who falls is most likely going to not die suddenly, and they're going to try to brace themselves.
02:53
They're going to stiffen their muscles. They're more likely to get hurt. like an injury or a fracture especially if it's an elderly person or of course someone on blood thinners you know we have a lot of people that hit their head when they're on blood thinners and end up with head bleeds but those people are going to brace their fall and are more likely to have an injury that requires surgery or rehabilitation or things like that. Very seldom is someone going to fall from a standing position and hit their head and die suddenly now don't get me wrong if you fall from a roof and land on your head, you could die suddenly but in a standing position or just from that position. It's not likely that you're going to die suddenly so this guy was on the floor in front of a treadmill and had a little bit of an abrasion on his forehead but that's going to indicate to me that he was probably unconscious when he collapsed and then hit his head either on the floor or on the treadmill. There's a little bit of a difference. It's funny because when the police call me, they always say he fell, and I mean, I hate that word because when someone says fall to me, I automatically think trauma, subdural head bleed, fracture. And collapse just sounds so much better, it sounds so much better. But I always try to educate the officers when they call me because it's like everyone's going to collapse if they have a cardiac event while they're standing or if they suffer a stroke. While they're standing, they're obviously not going to stay upright, they're going to collapse, that's different than a fall, like I tripped and fell and hit my head, or I lost my balance and fell. You know you learn these little terms and how much of a huge difference it can make in which way our calls go.
05:00
Anyway, that was my yesterday. Other than that, I've already had two calls this morning, nothing I had to go on, just a couple of hospices, but I wanted to talk a little bit about triple murderer Travis Decker.
05:17
They have updated his Wanted poster. It shows close-ups of his tattoos to kind of help people identify him. I don't know if y'all are familiar. I personally don't watch the news. I get most of my news off the internet.
05:34
We watch a lot of Netflix and Hulu and those types of things, so I don't know. I see bad things all day at work, so sometimes I don't want to come home and watch the news and see what's going on in the world.
05:46
Try to distance myself somewhat. Travis Decker is the father who was accused of kidnapping and murdering his three young daughters at a campsite in Washington State. Authorities have released these new photos, just to kind of show these close ups of his tattoos to help people maybe identify him.
06:07
He has yet to be located after more than two weeks despite an intensive manhunt. Law enforcement believes that he was possibly cited in the Blue It Pass area, but they are asking residents to be alert.
06:24
So Decker has been incognito since the evening of May 30th. After his ex-wife, Whitney, alerted police that their three daughters, Olivia, who was five, Evelyn, who was eight, and Peyton, who was nine, had not returned after a planned visit with him.
06:45
On June 1st, his empty vehicle was discovered near a campground in central Washington State, along with the bodies of his three daughters. Decker, who is 33, was nowhere to be found. This reminds me a lot of the Chris Watts case.
07:06
It breaks my heart that someone would do this to their children. The search has grown and now involves state, local, and federal law enforcement. The US Marshals are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, and residents are urged to check.
07:27
Trail cameras, doorbell cameras, any cameras that they have around the residents for suspicious activity in that area, and report anything suspicious or anything missing to kit calm, and that number is 5099258534.
07:45
Again, it looks like he has, I'm looking at the wanted poster now. He's got tattoos on his left arm and on his left ankle. Oh, and right arm, he's got a lot of tattoos. But they can't find him. I don't know if he has killed himself or not.
08:02
I mean, I've been wondering, it sounds like, from what I've read, he's a former military member. He's got extensive tactical training. He is known to be well versed in wilderness survival, and he's capable of spending long periods of time in the wilderness with very little equipment.
08:21
We know that he's probably able to sustain and find food or whatever he needs to do to stay alive. Is he going to eventually commit suicide? If he does, no doubt, he'll be found. But I know that they're looking for this guy.
08:39
It's unclear if he's armed, but he definitely should be considered dangerous. People who live, again, like I said, in that remote area in cabins or in areas surrounding the county where he murdered his children, have been advised to lock their doors and keep their blinds open.
09:00
Keep the lights on even at night. I don't know if I'd want my blinds open though. I'd be kind of freaked out. I want somebody looking in at me. Kind of weird about that. My husband always opens the blinds and I'm like; I want them shut.
09:13
I don't know. I like the dark. I don't want people looking in. They're also being asked to, again, review the doorbell and security camera footage just to see if he has been seen anywhere around homes that are in secluded areas.
09:30
Now, the police have gotten a lot of tips. More than 500 tips came in from the public. He was an infantry man in the army from March of 2013 till July of 2021 and actually served in Afghanistan from March to July of 14.
09:49
And then he left active duty and apparently was a staff sergeant after that. Now, his ex-wife Whitney said that she and Decker were married, I think for almost 10 years, but they actually divorced several years ago.
10:04
And many of you divorced moms, and I went through this as well, struggle with visitation. And when your ex comes and gets your child or when you drop them off, it's scary. Even if you do trust your ex, it's scary.
10:20
As a mom, and especially with three little girls, I can imagine how hard it was for Whitney when they were gone for the weekend. I mean, every once in a while, I would always kind of appreciate the time off and the break, but I was always, I don't know, a little bit nervous.
10:36
Not that I thought that they would do anything wrong, but I just didn't know where they were, didn't know what they were doing, they were young. Now, Whitney and Travis had followed a court ordered parenting plan.
10:48
And that actually allowed him visitation every other weekend. So, it wasn't abnormal for him to come and get the kids. He actually reported. had a good relationship with the girls. And there hadn't really been any recent issues with visitation or communication.
11:09
Whitney originally expressed concern because Decker had always brought the girls back when he was supposed to, had never been late returning them home. And she knew that he'd been experiencing some mental health issues.
11:25
He was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder toward the end of their marriage and wasn't taking his medications. He was considered homeless, and he had stayed at hotels and motels and in the campground and probably in his truck.
11:44
After he lost housing, this parenting plan actually prohibited overnight stays. So obviously, then with girls spending the night with him, he doesn't have a home and going back and forth to hotels. is not a good lifestyle.
11:59
So, the overnight stays were prohibited at that point, but he seemed quieter than usual during his interaction with Whitney on May 30th. He was considering getting rid of his dog due to his financial concerns and also the fact that he didn't have a home.
12:21
Now the abandoned vehicle and bodies of the three girls were found in an area of Oknogen Wenatchee National Forest near Leavenworth. And pardon me if I say that wrong, I am not good at pronouncing, but that's as close as I can get.
12:39
The truck that they found actually contained blankets, car seats, food, a wallet, and some other items, but there also appeared to be two bloody handprints on the tailgate. The three children's bodies were found down a small embankment about 100 yards from the truck.
12:58
There were zip ties and plastic bags kind of strewn around the area. The girls had plastic bags over their heads and their wrists were either zip tied or showed signs of having been zip tied. More than a week later, the Chelling County Sheriff's Office actually tested the blood samples from the scene, and it was positive for belonging to a male and some of the blood samples were not human blood.
13:29
The dog was actually found and turned over to the Humane Society. I don't know if it had the injuries or not, but it sounds like some of the blood, I don't know, could have been an animal, could have been his dog.
13:40
I'm not quite sure. So, and I will also say that in some areas, death investigators will actually do the evidence collection. I have met some investigators who have mentioned to me that they actually do blood draws and that kind of thing on scene.
13:58
our office does not. We send the body to Tarrant County and that is done there. To me that would be kind of a chain of custody issue if I'm drawing the blood or I'm collecting samples and I'm giving it to my transport and then it goes to the ME's office and whoever gets a hold of it before it gets to the doctor.
14:19
So, for that reason all of our evidence off the body is kind of collected at the medical examiner's office. Any evidence like these blood samples would be collected by the police department. I always say the scene is theirs, the body is ours.
14:36
So that's the best kind of way to remember whose job is whose, and of course we're very respectful of one another when it comes to that. Before I do something involving the scene I'll ask the officers.
14:50
Every once in a while, I'll be like I really want to look in that drawer and see if there's any drugs and I'll be like do you mind if I look in the drawer and I ask I mean they don't care. But I don't want to step on their toes, and they don't ever want to step on mine.
15:02
Cause of death of the girls was suffocation, and the manner of death was ruled homicide. He's wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Again, he is 5'8", about 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
15:20
And was last seen in a light-colored shirt and dark shorts. He kind of began to spiral after he got out of the active reserves. According to Whitney in 2023, he would scream in the middle of the night and soak the bed with sweat and only get a couple hours of sleep.
15:40
And I know this is common sometimes as people with PTSD. Travis actually ended the marriage in 2023 because he felt, and this is his words, it wasn't worth it. He was allowed three hours with the girls on Fridays and then eight hours every other weekend after the restrictions were placed in September of 2024 regarding the overnight stays because of his lack of housing.
16:11
He picked up the girls on May 30th. And at that time, he actually talked to Whitney for about 15 or 20 minutes and left. And he said, I'll see you at eight. She doesn't really believe that this is planned from what I've read.
16:25
He actually voiced his intention on bringing the girl’s home. She doesn't think that it's something that he had been planning out for a long period of time. And actually, about a week prior to this happening, he mentioned to Whitney that he had nothing except her and the girls.
16:45
And Whitney has love and empathy for Travis despite the killings. I think she understands PTSD and saw the struggles that he was going through mental, health-wise before the marriage ended. She is now advocating for change in mental health resources accessible for veterans.
17:08
She's also working with law enforcement to develop reforms for the Amber Alert system because it was not issued when the girls went missing. I'm not sure why, but I love, love, love that she is using her voice to try to make changes to prevent this from happening to other moms.
17:28
I always love to see that. I mean, you see so many people who face an adversity and just kind of lie down and die, basically. I always love when people use their past to advocate, to do something, to try to keep it from happening to someone else, or to better the system.
17:48
I mean, we've all always heard that mental health resources are not good. And I'm not just talking about for veterans; I'm talking about across the board. It's difficult for people to get the help they need.
18:03
Sometimes they may not have jobs, and they may not be able to afford the medications they need. And we see that struggle every day at our office. And I know I've talked to you a lot about the homeless people here in Denton.
18:15
Many of them can't afford their medications, and they have mental health issues. And that's probably one reason why they can't hold a job, or they can't work, which results in them not being able to get housing.
18:29
And it's just a spiral. So, I love that she's advocating for this change. Again, this manhunt is nearing its third week. It's received national attention since June 2. They've been looking for him after they found his truck and the bodies.
18:49
Now, June 20, so three days, they are planning a memorial at Rocky Reach Park for the three girls. Attendees are asked to wear purple, pink, or green colors that represent the girls and to bring candles or glow sticks.
19:08
As of June 13, their GoFundMe campaign has raised more than 1.2 million. And so, I'm looking at it now, and there's actually, yeah, over $1.2 million raised. So sad, so much shared grief, loss, love, and support for this community.
19:30
It's always sad to lose a child. And I can only imagine losing all three of my children, especially at the hands of another person. You know, a homicide is just devastating for any family. So anyway, they're still looking for him.
19:47
So, I'm kind of curious. I'm kind of curious if they're going to find him dead or alive. They Again, don't know if he has any weapons, so they're not 100% sure. But if he has them, he knows how to use them because of his background.
20:02
He is considered dangerous, obviously. Mental health status is not good. And sometimes that can be a weapon in and of itself. But headed to work this morning, super excited. If y'all have not seen, I have used Eventbrite to go through and post my first annual Pushing Up Lilies murder mystery.
20:27
Now, this is going to take place at Prairie House Restaurant. It's in Crossroads, Texas, kinda between Denton and McKinney on Highway 380, if you live in the area. I would love for you to log onto my Facebook page and buy tickets.
20:44
There's only a limited number of tickets left due to space. And it's kinda weird. But the company that's doing the acting that's actually doing the murder mystery needs like four by eight space for the victim to die.
21:00
So, they're like, okay, save us the space. So, I couldn't like fill it to the… ram with people, because I have to have a place for my actor to die. But it's such a cool restaurant. I actually worked there when I was in nursing school.
21:15
And I think it'll be a fun place. We're going to do chicken and beef fajita buffet. And I believe we've decided that it's a masquerade ball attire, just because I think that's going to be the theme for the murder mystery.
21:33
So, I believe I think that's what I've decided. But I'll let everyone know for sure. Super excited. I just listed it last night. I've already sold tickets. I have so much interest. I do anticipate this selling out.
21:47
I'm hoping that it does. I didn't want to set my sights too high on the number of people that could buy tickets. If I do sell out, I'll probably use a larger venue next year and open it up to more people.
22:01
But again, I didn't want to set my expectations too high. I know that when you start things like this, it's like baby steps. You don't want to be disappointed. It's kind of like a birthday party. You know how last minute people don't show up.
22:15
Anyway, tickets are on sale now. They're on sale on my website. And if you go to my Facebook page, which is pushing up Lily's, and also my personal Facebook page, Julie Mattson, you can actually see the Eventbrite link so that you can go on and book.
22:33
You're able to pay through the link and then it automatically reserves your tickets. If you get there at six, the very first hour is going to be mingling. So that's going to be where the actors actually visit with everybody and kind of try to pick out who might be the best actors to actually take part in the murder mystery.
22:54
They're going to choose who the victim is, but the victim will not know. So, you may be taking part in it and you're not even going to know that you're actually the killer or the victim. It's going to be kinda cool.
23:07
I am going to sit back and not take part in that because I kinda want to be able to relax and just enjoy the night and watch everybody. I've already had several people tell me that they actually want to be in the murder mystery.
23:22
So, I will point those people out to the actors so that they know kinda who's interested and who's down to play the game. I did put 16 and over on the invites. The main reason for that is they did mention that there could be talk of sex and drugs during the play.
23:41
I don't want anybody to freak out if their young child is there and they start talking about drugs and sex because I don't know. I just... I guess there's a time and place but it's Saturday night, so use that evening, if you can, to get away from your kids and actually enjoy a night out with your husband or your best friend or your group of friends or whoever.
24:02
So super excited. Again, tickets are on sale on Eventbrite on my website www.pushinguplilies.com or again you can go to my Facebook page. Patreon members are rising. I appreciate you very much even if you just pay five dollars a month to buy me a diet Dr.
24:22
Pepper or a cup of coffee. Love you guys for helping out. So, so, appreciated. A lot of time goes into the podcast and not a lot of money comes out of it if you know what I mean. So again, don't forget the murder merch store is online.
24:39
I'm about to add new things to that and the cereal box is available. Some of you had mentioned that you had a hard time when you were logging in to try to make payment on the cereal box. They changed the format for payments and so we went in and fixed it last night.
24:57
One of my listeners had mentioned that she could not make payment it wouldn't let her. So, we fixed that last night that should work now. You should be able to log in and I'm going to shoot her an email and let her know today that that is fixed.
25:13
Sorry about that. They did not tell us, so we had no idea that payments were not going to work. So, we had to go back in and set it back up, but it's all done. Anyway, I hope that y'all have a great week.
25:23
Again, I know that I've started with two calls already and one of my co-workers had a homicide this morning. I don't know anything about it but we have a staff meeting this morning. So hopefully it is a good day for everyone, and I hope that y'all have an amazing week.
25:40
I'll be going on vacation soon so I'm going to pre-record some of these so that you can continue to listen even when I'm gone. And I hope that you have an amazing day. I look forward to talking to you all next week.
25:54
Bye, y'all. Thank you so much for joining me today on Pushing Up Lilies. If you like this podcast and would like to share with others, please do me a quick favor and leave a review on Apple Podcast. This helps to make the podcast more visible to the public.
26:11
Thanks again for spending your time with me and be sure to visit me at PushingUpLilies.com for merchandise and past episodes.