Headlines for the Week of June 2

The bad news keeps coming — but for once, there’s a small win worth mentioning.

Father Still at Large After Killing His Three Daughters After Custody Exchange

As of Friday, Washington state police were still searching for 32-year-old Travis Decker, suspected of killing his three young daughters: Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5. The girls’ bodies were found around 3 p.m. Monday near Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Wash. with plastic bags over their heads and zip-ties around their wrists. They had left home the previous Friday around 5 p.m. for a planned visitation with their father. Their mother, Whitney Decker called police around 10 p.m. saying they had not turned at their agreed upon time of 8 p.m. and was a “cause for alarm." At the time, officials said Whitney’s report did not meet Amber Alert criteria.

Family annihilation, also known as familicide, is when a person kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often their spouse and children. Sometimes these individuals kill other family members, known people, strangers or themselves, after murdering their partners and children. In fact, most mass murders are perpetrated by men who have practiced their violence and intimidation on their families. The Indy Star newspaper did a thorough investigation of family annihilations in 2023, with data from the Gun Violence Archive, and found that one occurred every five days in the U.S. since 2020.

Whitney filed for divorce from Travis in Nov. 2022. Court documents show she noted no protection order was needed. In Sept. 2024, Whitney proposed a change to their parenting plan, noting Travis “neglected his parental duties towards a child.” Whitney claims that her ex-husband, a Sergeant in the Army National Guard, struggled to “maintain stability in his life” leading to a “negative impact on the children.” She says Travis had borderline personality disorder and narcissism, which had led to the end of their marriage. In court documents, she stated that “Travis just keeps getting more and more unstable.” 

Advocates advise that survivors and others take an abuser’s threats of suicide seriously. Suicidal threats communicate an abuser’s violent intent. It has been found that women whose partners threatened or attempted suicide were 133 percent more likely than other abused women to be killed by those partners. 

In 2022, Travis began struggling with homelessness, at times sleeping on a mattress in the armory of his local Guard base before living in his RV, which later got repossessed. In court documents, Whitney recorded several frightening incidents when Travis had custody of the girls. She claims that her daughters said they had to “walk on eggshells because of how he reprimands the dogs” and that her daughter once FaceTimed her screaming and crying because she had accidentally gotten hurt while playing with her sisters and couldn’t find her father anywhere. It was discovered they had been sleeping at the armory with Travis, a fact unknown to Whitney. Her attorney requested Travis receive a domestic violence evaluation and psychiatric assessment and should not be allowed to be alone with the children. 

While the court limited Travis’ visitation with his daughters to a three-hour period on Fridays, they also allowed him visitation from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, and did not require he have supervision. 

Many advocates warn that co-parenting with a parent who may abuse their ex-spouse or children is not a viable option. Yet historically, most judges default to ruling in favor of fifty-fifty custody, even when domestic abuse is present. “They are usually compelled by evidence that says this arrangement, in divorces, is better for the children, even though the research was looking at families where there was no violence, and [because of] a sense that parents are entitled to parent their children, regardless of the risks they pose to the children's non-abusive parent or the trauma they created in the past,” says Eryn Jane Branch, program director with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, who oversees the FCEP.

Currently, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshal’s Office is helping with the manhunt for Travis. He is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a light shirt and dark shorts. Anyone who sees him or knows his whereabouts should call 911 immediately. 

Sources: NBC News, KIRO7.com

Domestic Violence Survivor Rescued After Leaving “Help Me” Note in Restaurant Bathroom

It was revealed this week that a Navarre, Fla., Jersey Mike’s sandwich shop employee helped rescue a domestic violence survivor from her abusive wrestler boyfriend last Tuesday after finding a crumpled up note in the bathroom. Jordan Blake Williams, 34, a professional wrestler known in the ring as Jayden Steele, was arrested May 27 after the Jersey Mike’s employee found a note indicating a woman was being held captive. Eleanor Coffee, the employee who found the paper, called the local sheriff’s office after finding the note, which read “Please help me get home! HELP!” and included a woman’s name, phone number and address.

After obtaining a search warrant for the home, deputies found the woman who confirmed she left the note. She had visible injuries and was taken to a hospital to be treated for suspected broken bones and other trauma. The woman detailed to deputies repeated assaults, threats involving weapons and being held in isolation by Williams for several months. Williams, who has been in trouble previously for domestic violence incidents, has been charged with multiple felonies including kidnapping and battery by strangulation. 

“My heart goes out to her and her family,” Coffee told local media. “I’m just hopeful that really does happen again.”

Abusers often isolate their victims to assert their power and control. They may forbid survivors from leaving the house, speaking to friends and family, using social media—even depriving them of sensory stimulation by keeping them trapped in a dark house with shades constantly drawn. Sometimes, they even cut off their partners emotionally and verbally, ignoring their words and mere presence. This tactic can drive a survivor to feel like they’re going crazy and may result in severe psychological effects, like contemplating suicide, imagining they’re hearing voices, or even begging for interaction with the abuser who is holding them hostage. 

Abusers almost always escalate their power and control. When a survivor begins seeing red flags of abuse from a partner, it’s vital they reach out for support before the abuser’s tactics turn deadly. If a survivor is being held in isolation, they can consider tactics like this brave survivor’s choice to leave a note in a public place. They may also say they need to see a doctor and ask for privacy at the appointment where they can ask for help or a private space to call a domestic violence hotline.  

Source: The Guardian

Domestic Violence Nonprofit Cofounder Arrested for Strangulation 

In what appears to be the ultimate case of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a Henderson, Ky., man who founded a domestic violence nonprofit in 2020 was arrested last Friday on charges of strangling one of his family members. Michael “Jay” Randolph, 55, cofounded the nonprofit The Chloe Randolph Organization with his wife, Kristie, after their daughter Chloe Randolph, was murdered. At 20 years old, Chloe was killed by her estranged husband, Mohamud Abdikadir, in 2020. Abdikadir admitted to hitting Chloe with an object, rendering her unconscious, before slitting her throat. The two had a child together who was 9 months old at the time of his mother’s death. Abdikadir was sentenced in 2021 to 20 years in prison. 

Jay, who has stepped down as President of the organization, told local media that his arrest happened after an altercation with one of his sons and that his wife was not home at the time. 

While we most often think of domestic violence as occurring in an intimate relationship, domestic violence is any pattern of abusive behavior toward another person in an effort to gain and maintain power and control. This includes the abuse of one’s child, regardless of the age of that child. Abusers most often escalate their violence over time, with strangulation being one of the deadliest tactics of abuse. Strangulation is also the number one indicator that an abuser is capable of homicide. 

Whether a victim feels like they suffered injuries from the strangulation or not, experts agree that it’s always safest to get checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible. They should record any signs or symptoms they have in the days following and note if they increase in severity. The after-effects of strangulation can include changes in one’s voice, neck pain, difficulty swallowing or breathing, ear pain, vomiting blood, vision changes, tongue swelling, bloodshot eyes, lightheadedness, petechial hemorrhages (small red spots on the neck, face or head), even traumatic brain injury or TBI. 

Kristi insists the nonprofit in her daughter’s name will not stop helping survivors of domestic violence in the community with shelter and other basic needs, like clothing. 

“We’re not going away because that means that her death was in vain,” insists Kristi. “The organization is still going to carry the role that it does. The death of [Chloe] didn’t break me, and neither will this.”

Source: 14News.com