CA ORRIN WEST & ORSON WEST: Missing from California City, CA - 21 Dec 2020 - Age 3 & 4 *GUILTY*

Adoptive parents of missing 3 and 4 year-old California City kids speak out for the first time

New details emerge about the night the toddlers Orson and Orrin West disappeared. Wednesday night we hear from their adoptive parents for the first time.

www.turnto23.com

MEDIA - ORRIN WEST & ORSON WEST: Missing from California City, CA since 21 Dec 2020 - Age 3 & 4

 

[GrandmaBear]

Recap from the first week of the trial:

WEST TRIAL: First week’s testimony featured details previously kept under wraps, push back on investigators

After months of anticipation, the trial of Trezell and Jacqueline West kicked off last week with a prosecutor laying out the evidence that resulted in murder charges against the couple in the death…

www.kget.com

Thanks for this. This case is on my mind too but hadn't had a moment to even look into today nor to keep up with the other two.

 

[Kimster]

Defense attorneys continued Monday to attack police officers’ accusations that the California City toddlers’ parents murdered their adoptive children by suggesting key pieces of evidence in the case were contaminated.

California City Police officers previously testified they immediately suspected Trezell and Jacqueline West in the disappearance of their adoptive children Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3, after the Wests reported the brothers missing in December 2020 from their California City home.

Clues such as the lack of small children footprints, dirty diapers and sippy cups in the house led them to accuse the parents of murder, according to testimony. Both Wests have pleaded not guilty to two second-degree murder charges, an involuntary manslaughter charge, conspiracy, willful cruelty to a child and falsely reporting an emergency in the death of the boys.

Defense weaves doubt into Cal City police investigation of missing toddlers

Defense attorneys continued Monday to attack police officers’ accusations that the California City toddlers’ parents murdered their adoptive children by suggesting key pieces of evidence in the case were contaminated.

www.bakersfield.com

 

[Summer_Breeze]

UPDATED: Cal City police chief testifies about defendant's demeanor, investigation into missing adoptive toddlers

One visit changed everything for law enforcement officers investigating the disappearance of two California City toddlers who were reported missing by their adoptive parents, according to a police chief who

www.bakersfield.com

• By ISHANI DESAI idesai@bakersfield.com
• 10 hrs ago

One visit changed everything for law enforcement officers investigating the disappearance of two California City toddlers who were reported missing by their adoptive parents, according to a police chief who testified Tuesday in Kern County Superior Court.

Then-California City Police Lt. Jesse Hightower said he directed Officer Brian Hansen to pay a visit to Orrin and Orson West’s grandmother, who was taking care of the brothers’ other siblings. That’s when Hansen interviewed the siblings and learned “information” — Hightower didn’t elaborate on what it was — that he testified changed the focus of the investigation into adoptive parents Trezell and Jacqueline West and their report that Orrin and Orson had gone missing from their California City home.

<snip>
Chief Trial Deputy Eric Smith has said Orrin and Orson’s brother recalled seeing signs suggesting the two toddlers died. One child reported Orrin’s face changed color and that he saw him vomiting before the family moved to California City from Bakersfield. The same child reported hearing a thud one night in Orson’s room while the family resided in their California City home, and after that never saw Orson again, Smith said.

<snip>
Hightower also testified under direct examination about his investigation on Dec. 21, 2020, the day the Wests reported the boys missing.

The police chief said he noticed that something was missing — that Jacqueline West didn’t appear anxious, frustrated or angry.

“She just seemed neutral,” Hightower testified.

Judge Charles Brehmer overruled a defense objection to this statement, and he told jurors Hightower was testifying about his observations and that didn’t mean Jacqueline West didn’t feel these emotions.

There were issues with body-worn camera footage turning on and off unexpectedly, coupled with displaying the wrong dates and times, Hightower testified.

Cadaver dogs sniffed the Wests’ yard to see if they could uncover any human remains, and they couldn’t find anything, he testified. Hightower said police re-created a path Trezell drove in the neighborhood searching for the boys and had dogs retrace those steps. But nothing of importance was found, he added.

<snip>
Jacqueline would video-chat with Martinez after she moved away to California City, but Jacqueline rarely showed her children on the video, she added.

“It was weird that she wouldn’t show them,” Martinez testified.

Martinez is scheduled to resume testifying Wednesday.

 

[GrandmaBear]

From the article:

Jacqueline’s mother, Maria Martinez, testified through a Spanish-speaking interpreter that she has three children, all adults, and adopted three young children in 2019. She lived in Bakersfield prior to moving away and resided in the same apartment complex as Jacqueline and Trezell.

As a foster parent for 15 years, Martinez testified she helped Jacqueline with the process of becoming a foster parent.

Jacqueline would video-chat with Martinez after she moved away to California City, but Jacqueline rarely showed her children on the video, she added.

“It was weird that she wouldn’t show them,” Martinez testified.

Martinez is scheduled to resume testifying Wednesday.

I had heard these things but they were never confirmed to my knowledge but now shows it was right on--that she lived in same complex with them, that she also adopted, that she also fostered, that she helped them do the same...

There was more speculation and rumor as well...

Both grandma and mom adopting and fostering and keeping how many kids in some small apartment barely big enough to hold a small family...

ONE of the moms of Trezell and Jackie was also rumored to work or have worked for the county... All else has turned out true so I almost don't doubt that that is as well...

 

[Kimster]

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — When California City Police Chief Jesse Hightower first spoke with Jacqueline West, he believed her demeanor seemed “neutral.” A lieutenant at the time, Hightower testified that he believed she showed no frustration, anxiety, or anger over Orson and Orrin’s disappearance.
During the fifth day of testimony, Hightower spent most of the day describing the initial search for the boys on December 21, 2020, and what eventually made them change their course.

Trezell and Jacqueline West initially reported the boys missing, telling police they believed Orrin and Orson had been in the backyard playing before they disappeared. Hightower said police canvassed with neighbors, looking for surveillance video, and aerial search units where called in. However, he said the initial interviews with Jacqueline didn’t sit well with him.
“What I've noticed, is basically it was what wasn't there. No frustration, no anxiety, no anger,” Hightower told the prosecution.
Prosecuting attorney Eric Smith played body-camera footage from Hightower’s initial search of the West home on Aspen Avenue on Dec. 21, 2020. In the video, Hightower is speaking with Jacqueline and questioning her about the boys. When asked their birth dates, Jacqueline had paused before answering and was unsure the years. She reiterated they were three and four years old.
During that first night, Hightower said he also sent Officer Hansen to interview the other West children at their grandmother’s house. He said after hearing from Hansen about the interviews they changed the course of their investigation.

CCPD Chief testifies to Wests' demeanor on first night

During the fifth day of testimony, Hightower spent most of the day describing the initial search for the boys on December 21, 2020, and what eventually made them change their course.

www.turnto23.com

It's interesting to me to learn how quickly LE realizes something isn't quite right. While we're speculating this and that on the internet, they are quickly getting down to business in most cases.

 

[Kimster]

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Latoya Sanders became teary-eyed, her voice trembling as she identified a photo of Orrin and Orson West in court Wednesday morning.


Sanders fostered the boys for about a year. She didn’t give birth to them, but said she loved them as if they were her own.


“I have thousands of pictures of them,” Sanders said. “Every picture that you see out there is from me.”


Orrin and Orson were removed from her home after an unfounded accusation regarding her biological daughter, Sanders said. They were eventually adopted by Trezell and Jacqueline West.


The boys are now presumed dead, and the Wests are on trial on charges including second-degree murder. It’s alleged Orrin and Orson were killed three months before the Wests reported them missing Dec. 21, 2020. The Wests have pleaded not guilty.


During her testimony on the sixth day of trial, Sanders said her biological children accepted Orrin and Orson. She fostered Orrin from the age of 4 months, and Orson 11 days.


Orrin, who arrived at her house Dec. 12, 2017, needed extra care because of an injury to his leg, Sanders said. Orrin was removed from his biological mother after suffering a broken leg, and when the mother gave birth to Orson he was removed, too.


Despite his injured leg, the other children immediately took to the “happy little baby,” Sanders said.


“They were family,” she said. “My children were accepting of him.”


And Sanders bonded with him. When Orson arrived she bonded with him, too.


“I was his mom,” she said.


Then one day Child Protective Services agent Fernando Rocha arrived at her home, Sanders said. Her daughter, then 6, had gone to school with a scrape on her leg, and school officials contacted CPS, she said.


Sanders said Rocha showed up at 2:15 p.m. She said she raised her voice to him. He left, and at 5 p.m. Sanders said she was told Orrin, Orson and a third foster child were being removed.


“I fought the county to have them returned to me until the day they were adopted out,” she said.


Sanders testified she never faced criminal charges and no allegations of abuse were substantiated. She said Rocha thought she was overwhelmed and removing the foster children would help.


She had begun the process of adopting Orrin and Orson at the time they were removed, Sanders said.


Her testimony will continue at 1:30 p.m. To view this morning’s live tweets click here.

West Trial Day 6: Former foster mother testifies

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Latoya Sanders became teary-eyed, her voice trembling as she identified a photo of Orrin and Orson West in court Wednesday morning. Sanders fostered the boys for …

www.kget.com

 

[Kimster]

https://twitter.com/KGETnews
@KGETnews


-John Ryan, a Bakersfield police officer, has taken the stand. He's a liaison officer with the FBI, working hand-in-hand with both agencies.
-On Dec. 22, 2020, Ryan went to California City regarding Orrin and Orson going missing.
-Ryan testified he went to the Aspen Avenue, where the boys' home is located, and was there for about an hour. He canvassed the area, knocked on doors to try to turn up leads.

-Shown video of his interview with Jacqueline West, Ryan has identified the other officers in the room, including an FBI agent. (Video being played in court now).

 

[Kimster]

@KGETnews (Twitter)

-The agent asks her to walk him through the night the boys were reported missing. She says Trezell was gathering wood and came inside then they couldn't find the boys. She says she was wrapping gifts at the time.
-It was around 5 p.m. when the kids were playing outside. She said they were playing about 15 minutes before Trezell came inside.
-Trezell had been gathering wood for a fire in the fireplace, Jacqueline West says.
-She says they first started looking for the boys in the bedrooms, then cabinets and the garage and back and front yards.
-John Ryan enters the interview room, asks to speak with a Cal City police officer, and the two of them then leave the room. The FBI agent continues to question Jacqueline West.
-Jacqueline West says the kids are "stubborn" and give a little chuckle. The FBI agent asks about favorite toys, TV shows.
-The boys are never let out in the front yard because there's no fence, Jacqueline says. The backyard is completely fenced in.
-Jacqueline West says the side gate in the backyard had been open because her husband was gathering wood.
-Jacqueline West says the boys were adopted April 2019. She says she and her husband have fostered and adopted children before.
<spaces mean I skipped a tweet or two>
-She tells Detective Ryan she also has two biological children. They're the oldest of her six.

-"We wanted to get away from everybody," she says of moving to Cal City. She heard an ad about Cal City being a good place to live to start your own business. They also didn't want contact with the boys' biological family.

It's looking interesting, but I have to sign off! See Twitter for the latest.

 

[Guess Who]

Defense attorneys continued Monday to attack police officers’ accusations that the California City toddlers’ parents murdered their adoptive children by suggesting key pieces of evidence in the case were contaminated.

California City Police officers previously testified they immediately suspected Trezell and Jacqueline West in the disappearance of their adoptive children Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3, after the Wests reported the brothers missing in December 2020 from their California City home.

Clues such as the lack of small children footprints, dirty diapers and sippy cups in the house led them to accuse the parents of murder, according to testimony. Both Wests have pleaded not guilty to two second-degree murder charges, an involuntary manslaughter charge, conspiracy, willful cruelty to a child and falsely reporting an emergency in the death of the boys.

Defense weaves doubt into Cal City police investigation of missing toddlers

Defense attorneys continued Monday to attack police officers’ accusations that the California City toddlers’ parents murdered their adoptive children by suggesting key pieces of evidence in the case were contaminated.

www.bakersfield.com

I would have a problem with them coming to this conclusion IF it was only the lack of diapers and sippy cups for kids ages 3 and 4. They wouldn't have found them at my house when my kids were that ahe either. Both out of diapers for quite some time by then and they hated sippy cups.

 

[kdg411]

Thus far, these two statements give me pause





If you want to listen to the audio only stream of the trial here is the link;

Metro Division Dpt 4 Audio Streaming | Superior Court of California | County of Kern

Metro Division - Department 4 Audio Streaming Users of the Court’s audio streaming service are reminded of the general prohibition against the photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings (including those held by telephone or videoconference). See California Rule of Court

www.kern.courts.ca.gov

 

[GrandmaBear]

Thus far, these two statements give me pause





If you want to listen to the audio only stream of the trial here is the link;

Metro Division Dpt 4 Audio Streaming | Superior Court of California | County of Kern

Metro Division - Department 4 Audio Streaming Users of the Court’s audio streaming service are reminded of the general prohibition against the photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings (including those held by telephone or videoconference). See California Rule of Court

www.kern.courts.ca.gov

So only having a few minutes before heading to work, just wondering is this still all in an interview with her they are referring to or is she on the stand?

Adopted four at once. Unreal. So any judge knew they were making a family of eight with little to no resources other than income from the children and as far as i know, a 2 bedroom apartment.

It seems to me she said if I recall above somewhere that they moved to California City to like get out of the city or to a better area, etc., or something on that order. So the court or the agency didn't REQUIRE them to get a larger home for EIGHT people and a more stable one (owning for instance) before adopting nor based on that they would?!

To my knowledge, they'd never adopted before but a judge and agency would let them adopt FOUR (from different families and I believe different ethnicities) at once instead of allowing the adoption of one or two brothers before approving the adoption of children from another family as well and see HOW they do with them. NOT that anything is checked after adoption as to how it is going...

I'd really like to know what the story is with the other two boys (pretty sure it was boys and I think brothers too). Were they taken out of someone else's foster care to go to the Wests? Was their bio family properly notified, etc.?? We are unlikely to ever know these answers until the agency is publicly taken to task and investigated (won't happen).

 

[Kimster]

So only having a few minutes before heading to work, just wondering is this still all in an interview with her they are referring to or is she on the stand?

Adopted four at once. Unreal. So any judge knew they were making a family of eight with little to no resources other than income from the children and as far as i know, a 2 bedroom apartment.

It seems to me she said if I recall above somewhere that they moved to California City to like get out of the city or to a better area, etc., or something on that order. So the court or the agency didn't REQUIRE them to get a larger home for EIGHT people and a more stable one (owning for instance) before adopting nor based on that they would?!

To my knowledge, they'd never adopted before but a judge and agency would let them adopt FOUR (from different families and I believe different ethnicities) at once instead of allowing the adoption of one or two brothers before approving the adoption of children from another family as well and see HOW they do with them. NOT that anything is checked after adoption as to how it is going...

I'd really like to know what the story is with the other two boys (pretty sure it was boys and I think brothers too). Were they taken out of someone else's foster care to go to the Wests? Was their bio family properly notified, etc.?? We are unlikely to ever know these answers until the agency is publicly taken to task and investigated (won't happen).

I agree with you guys! They didn’t demonstrate any history of being able to adopt and yet they were able to adopt four at one time? What in the world?

I once worked with a profitable mortgage loan officer in California, who wanted to adopt a friends great niece. The friend was much older and didn’t really want to parent full time, and my friend couldn’t have children. Her husband was a correctional officer. She could not adopt that little girl. But they ended up letting the aunt adopt her and the aunt moved next-door so my friend could take care of her. True story.

 

[kdg411]

So only having a few minutes before heading to work, just wondering is this still all in an interview with her they are referring to or is she on the stand?

Adopted four at once. Unreal. So any judge knew they were making a family of eight with little to no resources other than income from the children and as far as i know, a 2 bedroom apartment.

It seems to me she said if I recall above somewhere that they moved to California City to like get out of the city or to a better area, etc., or something on that order. So the court or the agency didn't REQUIRE them to get a larger home for EIGHT people and a more stable one (owning for instance) before adopting nor based on that they would?!

To my knowledge, they'd never adopted before but a judge and agency would let them adopt FOUR (from different families and I believe different ethnicities) at once instead of allowing the adoption of one or two brothers before approving the adoption of children from another family as well and see HOW they do with them. NOT that anything is checked after adoption as to how it is going...

I'd really like to know what the story is with the other two boys (pretty sure it was boys and I think brothers too). Were they taken out of someone else's foster care to go to the Wests? Was their bio family properly notified, etc.?? We are unlikely to ever know these answers until the agency is publicly taken to task and investigated (won't happen).

This was her testimony on the witness stand.

 

[Kimster]

I need to catch up on this trial, and I will be able to do that here pretty soon. In the meantime, it appears this was the last headline.

West Trial Day 8: Trezell's father testifies

bakersfieldnow.com

 

[GrandmaBear]

I need to catch up on this trial, and I will be able to do that here pretty soon. In the meantime, it appears this was the last headline.

West Trial Day 8: Trezell's father testifies

bakersfieldnow.com

I don't know which defendants in all three cases at trial right now I detest worse. All run high in my book and about equal in the heated anger and rage I feel for them.

EVEN with her own kids taken and her upset over it, she wouldn't tell the truth.

If ANY defendant in any of these trials gets off, I will likely lose it.

However, I don't think they will. I am fairly confident with the other two cases, in this one we can't see anything or hear anything ourselves and don't know it all. It is also Cali, the state that let OJ go.

I trust however or hope they have enough.

Does anyone know if there is audio or video that can be accessed later/after trial? Because there dam*ed well should be. And then a huge uprising and case against CPS and the agency responsible here should come. Do we think it will....? I don't. Disgusting world today in many ways..

 

[Mel70]

I agree with you guys! They didn’t demonstrate any history of being able to adopt and yet they were able to adopt four at one time? What in the world?

I once worked with a profitable mortgage loan officer in California, who wanted to adopt a friends great niece. The friend was much older and didn’t really want to parent full time, and my friend couldn’t have children. Her husband was a correctional officer. She could not adopt that little girl. But they ended up letting the aunt adopt her and the aunt moved next-door so my friend could take care of her. True story.

Similar. I HAD a friend who irresponsibly got pregnant. She wanted to abort it. I can't have children. She knew that. I seriously talked to her that I would adopt the child. She aborted it. That was in 1995. I nevertalked to her again.

 

[Kimster]

Here's the Twitter thread-starter for the West trial today:

 

[Kimster]

West trial: Prosecutor focuses on surveillance footage in murder trial of adoptive parents

A prosecutor steadily built his case Tuesday that two toddlers were murdered by their adoptive parents by calling multiple Bakersfield Police Department detectives to testify how the defendants weren’t seen

www.bakersfield.com

I haven’t spent a lot of time on this case, because of real life and spending time on the Vallow case, but I can’t see where they’re finding any videos where he’s with the other kids either. I assume that’s what this is all about with the video testimony, so I’m probably just missing that part.

 

[Kimster]

Here's a Twitter account that's tweeting about todays' testimonies.

https://twitter.com/bakersfieldnow

 

[Kimster]