The Washington man who is accused of murdering his three girls looked so different on the day he picked them up for a visit that a neighbor barely recognized him.
"Is that you Travis?" neighbor Binh Nguyen said he asked when he saw Decker picking up his daughters for a visit, according to PEOPLE.
The outlet reported that Nguyen barely recognized the army veteran, who was described as being skinny, with long hair and a beard. "It was kind of weird," Nguyen told PEOPLE. "He had a sad face."
Nguyen said Decker had previously been an active dad, taking the girls on camping trips and after the divorce regularly for visits. "They loved him a lot, and he loved them too," the neighbor told PEOPLE.
The bodies of Olivia, 5, Evelyn 8, and Paityn, 9 were found June 2. Police began searching for the girls after they did not return with their father, Decker, 32, from the May 30 visitation.
Police have said the girls were asphyxiated. They were found near the Rock Island Campground, and since then a massive manhunt has been launched to find Decker, a veteran with survivalist skills.
Arianna Cozart, an attorney who represents the girls' mother Whitney Decker, had previously discussed Decker's mental health struggles in recent years. Cozart told PEOPLE that the couple divorced in 2022 amidst Decker's mental health decline which included "his feelings of isolation, paranoia, and Borderline Personality Disorder."
PEOPLE reported that Decker had served in Afghanistan and seemed to suffer from PTSD as a result of combat. Cozart also told PEOPLE that despite his struggles, Decker had never been physically abusive to the girls or his wife.
"His issues seemed to spiral once he was out of what Whitney calls the bumpers of the military that kept him in line. He tried to get help — he went to the VA, he called the Veterans Crisis Line," Cozart told PEOPLE.
