Photo: National Center for Missing & Exploited ChildrenThe adoptive parents of two little boys in California City, CA, were charged with their murder Tuesday, more than a year after the children were first reported missing.Trezell and Jacqueline West — who told police in December 2020 that their adoptive children, Orrin and Orson West, disappeared from the backyard — are charged with two counts of second-degree murder, wilful cruelty to a child, and filing a false report, according to Kern County Superior Court records,The couple appeared on local media in the early days after the reported disappearance to raise awareness. On Dec. 29, 2020, California City Police Chief John Walker toldKGET.comthat authorities suspected foul play and that the Wests' four other children had been placed in protective custody.According to Walker, police visited the West household and performed another search soon after the disappearance of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3.“I cant comment on whether I think they’re alive or not,” Walker told KGET at the time. “I do suspect foul play. We haven’t been able to put together how the boys got out of the yard, or where they’ve gone.“Bakersfield Police, which led the case, and the FBI were also part of the investigation.Charles Pettus, the biological father of the two toddlers, is suing Kern County on the grounds that officials were negligent to remove Orrin and Orson from their birth parents' custody and place them with the Wests.“I don’t want my kids to be deceased. I want them to come back,” Pettus told 17 News in December 2021. “My kids is all I got. After my parents pass it’s just me and my kids.“A lawyer representing Pettus told KGET in December 2021 that police had found human remains during another search of the home in November.“They recently found human remains it looks like they were found in early-November,” Castillo said. “So the children’s father, Mr. Pettus, went in to allow DNA to be collected to see if there was a potential DNA match.“It was not immediately clear whether the Wests had legal representation on Wednesday. They are being held without bail.
Photo: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The adoptive parents of two little boys in California City, CA, were charged with their murder Tuesday, more than a year after the children were first reported missing.Trezell and Jacqueline West — who told police in December 2020 that their adoptive children, Orrin and Orson West, disappeared from the backyard — are charged with two counts of second-degree murder, wilful cruelty to a child, and filing a false report, according to Kern County Superior Court records,The couple appeared on local media in the early days after the reported disappearance to raise awareness. On Dec. 29, 2020, California City Police Chief John Walker toldKGET.comthat authorities suspected foul play and that the Wests' four other children had been placed in protective custody.According to Walker, police visited the West household and performed another search soon after the disappearance of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3.“I cant comment on whether I think they’re alive or not,” Walker told KGET at the time. “I do suspect foul play. We haven’t been able to put together how the boys got out of the yard, or where they’ve gone.“Bakersfield Police, which led the case, and the FBI were also part of the investigation.Charles Pettus, the biological father of the two toddlers, is suing Kern County on the grounds that officials were negligent to remove Orrin and Orson from their birth parents' custody and place them with the Wests.“I don’t want my kids to be deceased. I want them to come back,” Pettus told 17 News in December 2021. “My kids is all I got. After my parents pass it’s just me and my kids.“A lawyer representing Pettus told KGET in December 2021 that police had found human remains during another search of the home in November.“They recently found human remains it looks like they were found in early-November,” Castillo said. “So the children’s father, Mr. Pettus, went in to allow DNA to be collected to see if there was a potential DNA match.“It was not immediately clear whether the Wests had legal representation on Wednesday. They are being held without bail.
The adoptive parents of two little boys in California City, CA, were charged with their murder Tuesday, more than a year after the children were first reported missing.
Trezell and Jacqueline West — who told police in December 2020 that their adoptive children, Orrin and Orson West, disappeared from the backyard — are charged with two counts of second-degree murder, wilful cruelty to a child, and filing a false report, according to Kern County Superior Court records,
The couple appeared on local media in the early days after the reported disappearance to raise awareness. On Dec. 29, 2020, California City Police Chief John Walker toldKGET.comthat authorities suspected foul play and that the Wests' four other children had been placed in protective custody.
According to Walker, police visited the West household and performed another search soon after the disappearance of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3.
“I cant comment on whether I think they’re alive or not,” Walker told KGET at the time. “I do suspect foul play. We haven’t been able to put together how the boys got out of the yard, or where they’ve gone.”
Bakersfield Police, which led the case, and the FBI were also part of the investigation.
Charles Pettus, the biological father of the two toddlers, is suing Kern County on the grounds that officials were negligent to remove Orrin and Orson from their birth parents' custody and place them with the Wests.
“I don’t want my kids to be deceased. I want them to come back,” Pettus told 17 News in December 2021. “My kids is all I got. After my parents pass it’s just me and my kids.”
A lawyer representing Pettus told KGET in December 2021 that police had found human remains during another search of the home in November.
“They recently found human remains it looks like they were found in early-November,” Castillo said. “So the children’s father, Mr. Pettus, went in to allow DNA to be collected to see if there was a potential DNA match.”
It was not immediately clear whether the Wests had legal representation on Wednesday. They are being held without bail.
source: people.com
