Adoptive parents of Orrin West (4) and Orson West (3) have been charged with murder, while both Orrin and Orson are still missing. They reported the brothers missing from their family's backyard in the desert town of California City, California on December 21, 2020. Multiple searches have been completed in the surrounding areas with negative results.
With Direct evidence and circumstantial evidence that was presented to the Grand Jury, it is clear that there is enough information to believe both of the boys are deceased.
Zimmer said that a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence was presented, and the grand jury was convinced that the boys were dead. Both of the adoptive parents are being held without bail. Trezell and Jacqueline West have been charged with two counts of second degree murder, two counts of willful cruelty to a child and one count of false report of an emergency. There were four other children in the family, two of whom were also adopted, and are all now in protective custody.
It is now believed that these two boys lives were taken prior to the report being made and prior to the searches that were conducted by the FBI and other agencies. They believe they had been murdered three months prior to the official report.
Originally the parents stated the boys were playing outside while the Trezell moved firewood and Jacqueline was inside the residence wrapping gifts with the other children. He said he saw them go in the house while he came outside. He said he left the gate open which made him panic. He then began searching the house and notified Jacqueline when their search began for the boys. He said he searched the street in his van until it was cold, dark and wet outside, then called the police. Police are not stating if they believe the boys were ever even in California City, as they had just moved there from Bakersfield, California (60 miles away).
the boys' biological father, Charles Pettus has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against child protective services, the county and the state. He claims that they were negligent in removing the boys from their family in 2018, stating that the Wests were not properly vetted, putting the boys in a dangerous environment, ultimately leading to their disappearance.
COURT
As of now, delays in the court room continue. The next jury trial is set for January 30, 2023, both of them facing thirty years to life in prison if found guilty.
Both of the boys are still missing.
