In a heartbreaking moment, Whitney Decker, mother of Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, the three sisters who were allegedly killed by Travis Decker, their father, broke her silence during a memorial service held for the girls.
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Shared by KING 5 Seattle, Whitney is shown walking on the stage at the memorial service that took place on Friday, June 20. While shedding tears, she thanked everyone present. Whitney added how Evelyn would have loved to see all the attendees and their outfits.
“I know Evelyn would have loved to ooh and aah over all your outfits,” Whitney said. She added that, no matter where, Evelyn would shower people with compliments, especially her.
“She was always telling me, ‘You look beautiful, Mom.'” Whitney added.
It was then that Whitney talked about her divorce from Travis, who is accused of killing the girls.
“After my divorce, there were a lot of feelings flowing through my house,” Whitney said. She added that the feelings were amplified due to her “three small, tiny women.”
The ‘Three Feelings’
Whitney revealed that she and the girls discovered, through therapy, the “three feelings.” During their bedtime routine, Whitney would ask the girls to name three feelings they felt during that day and “what was going on when they felt these feelings.
“For Paityn, she always had more than three,” the mother said. “For Ev, we would talk about her feelings one-on-one right at bedtime. And for Olivia, we were still working on how to describe all of her feelings,” adding that the 5-year-old said that one of her feelings was “always happy.”
Whitney, once again, thanked everyone who attended the memorial service. She hoped that everyone could do their own version of the “three feelings” with their loved ones.
“I’m so thankful for that time I had with the girls,” Whitney said. “I truly hope that the legacy of the girls’ lives lives in everyone’s heart forever. They were incredible.”
Whitney left the stage, with everyone standing and clapping for her courage and for the girls’ memory.
Alleged Murderer
According to the Wenatchee Police Department, the girls were reported missing after Travis Decker failed to return them to their mother following a “planned visitation” on May 30.
Days later, on June 2, tragically, Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia were found dead near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, as per Fox 13. Travis’ vehicle was found at the scene, but he remains at large. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping.
In a statement shared by Arianna Cozart, Whitney’s attorney, with PEOPLE, shared that Travis Decker suffered from multiple mental health illnesses. Cozart said that it was “his feelings of isolation, paranoia, and Borderline Personality Disorder” that led to their divorce.
Additionally, Cozart believes that Travis died by suicide after allegedly killing her daughters.
A GoFundMe set up to support Whitney Decker has raised over $1,2 million, with tens of thousands of donations.