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Travis Decker cause of death: After DNA match, officials issue first update on child-killer
Travis Decker was suspected of murdering his daughters Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia after DNA evidence linked only him to the crime scene.
The manhunt for Travis Decker has come to an end with federal authorities saying he's dead, TMZ reported. The publication obtained legal documents where the United States Marshals Service said that Decker is ‘deceased’.
The publication further cited sources to state that the human remains found last week in Washington belonged to Decker, and federal agents reportedly got a positive DNA match to confirm that it was him. The cause of death is yet to be determined.
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Meanwhile, local reports said that the Chelan County Sheriff's Office (COSO) investigators are awaiting results to confirm if the remains belong to Decker. The discovery of the corpse, by a police dragnet, near Washington's Leavenworth, was reported on September 19.
Travis Decker case: All that happened
Travis Decker was suspected of murdering his daughters Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia after DNA evidence linked only him to the crime scene.
The bodies of the three sisters, aged 5,8, and 9, were discovered on June 2, 2025, near Rock Island Campground along Icicle Creek. They had plastic bags over their heads and their wrists were zip tied. The sheriff's office had said that two of the victims had two separate bags over their heads, and the third had three separate bags over hers. Authorities also found many cable ties on the ground in the immediate area of the bodies.
The medical examiner, in June, had determined the manner of death to be homicide and said the cause of death was due to suffocation. Decker had emerged as the lead suspect in the killings, and in August the Chelan County Sheriff's Office reaffirmed that he was the sole suspect as DNA tests of the evidence was carried out.
As per the sheriff's office, Washington State Crime Lab had found DNA profiles which matched Decker's on the plastic bags covering the girls' heads. His DNA was also found on cable ties collected at the scene. There was no other DNA evidence, apart from that of the girls, found on any of the evidence there.
However, months after the crime, Decker's whereabouts had remained unknown, even as authorities launched a massive manhunt.
