Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Justice for Missing Brothers Orrin, 3, and Orson, 4

Episode Date: July 8, 2023

The adoptive parents of 3-year-old Orson West and 4-year-old his brother Orrin, send the boys outside to play just days before Christmas. Mom is inside wrapping presents. The brothers haven't been seen since. The dad was outside collecting firewood when he says he couldn't see the boys. After confirming the boys weren't inside the home, a frantic search began. Just over a year later, the adoptive parents arrested on murder charges.  Now a jury convicts Trezell and Jacqueline West of killing their adoptive son Orrin West.   .Joining Nancy Grace Today:  Marc Klaas - Founder, Klaas Kids Foundation www.klaaskids.org Kathleen Murphy - Family Attorney (North Carolina), www.ncdomesticlaw.com, Twitter: @RalDivorceLaw Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, (Atlanta GA) www.angelaarnoldmd.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org, Twitter: @ColdCaseTips Bayan Wang, Reporter/Anchor, KMGH-TV, Instagram: @bayanwang, Twitter: @bayanwang See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Murdered or missing? Attorneys and prosecutors launched the trial of Trezell and Jacqueline West after two little boys, Oren, four, and Orson, three, go missing. Their bodies never found. In the last days, breaking news. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. The faces of these two little boys, 4-year-old Oren and 3-year-old Orson, go national as people all across the country join in the search for them.

How did the search begin? How did the boys go missing? The children Orson West and Oren West were last seen in the 10,700 block of Aspen Avenue. They're described as African-American, about three feet tall, both wearing black sweatshirts and gray sweatpants. You were just hearing our friends at KGET 17 News. That was Taylor Schaub. And what Taylor Schaub said breaks my heart because I'm thinking of my children, John David and Lucy, at age three, they're twins, at three feet tall. These two wearing black sweatshirts and gray sweatpants. Now, how does not one little child disappear, say, at the shopping mall or at the playground? How do two of them just disappear?

With me, an all-star panel to break it down and put it back together again. Let me tell you first a name you know very well, a hero and advocate, Mark Klass, the founder of Klass Kids Foundation, who's devoted his life to finding missing people, especially children, after the disappearance of his little girl, Polly. Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina trial lawyer

at ncdomesticlaw.com. Dr. Angela Arnold, renowned psychiatrist joining us out of the Atlanta jurisdiction at AngelaArnoldMD.com. You know this name very well. Cheryl McCollum, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute and crime scene expert Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. But first, we're going to a special guest joining us, Bayan Wang with 23 ABC in Bakersville. You know, Bayan, first of all, thank you for being with us. I've covered so many missing people cases, especially children, and investigated

them as a felony prosecutor in inner city Atlanta. And I usually see one child missing, one person missing. It's very rare, very rare indeed, Bayan, for two children to go missing at the same time. And it brings to mind, for instance, two little children playing in the front yard and they decide to walk down the street and then they're missing. Or two children getting away from mommy at the shopping mall. I want to hear exactly what you can tell me surrounding the facts of this case by Jan Wang because every fact, every single fact means something, including the time of the day, daylight or dark, the type of neighborhood, residential, apartment, tree line, business district, shopping mall, every single thing matters.

So, Bayan Wang, first of all, tell me about the area. Where did they go missing? They went missing in California City. That's a population of about 14,000. It's surrounded by hundreds of miles of desert. It's the third largest land area

in California. What do you mean the third largest land area? I mean, the whole state of California is land. What do you mean the third largest land area? I mean, the whole state of California is land. What do you mean by the third largest? Listen, Bayon, I appreciate your details, but I'm just a trial lawyer. You have to break it down for people like me. What do you mean the third largest land area? Well, Nancy, this community is in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I mean, you just go on Google Maps and you look at it, and there's hundreds of miles of desert, a lot of it unoccupied. So this small township, you know, the community, you could imagine this case weighing in on their hearts.

They are desperate to find these little guys. Hold on, Beyond Wayne, because I want to go to our expert Mark Klass, founder of Klass Kids at klasskids.org. Mark, that presents a big problem. First of all, you've got a very small town, bigger than where I grew up, Mark Klass, but still 14,000 rules out to an extent like strangers passing through.

But you've got that factor, Mark Klass, combined with, as Bayon Wang just told us, huge expanse of desert. Nobody living there. That presents a problem, Mark Klass, to find this three and four-year-old little boy. Indeed it does, Nancy. And to preface this, I'd like to say that Class Kids Foundation has had our busiest year ever with missing child cases. So this is a crime that endures and just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. Now, back to what you said, you know, there's generally about 105 to 115 stereotypical kidnappings in the united

states in a given year and when i say stereotypical stranger kidnappings i mean somebody coming out of absolutely nowhere and taking the children and in the vast majority of those cases there's only one child involved and more often than not it would be a girl between 6 and 12 years old okay wait wait you got me drinking out of the fire hydrant it's too much too fast hold on i'm taking in everything you're saying which contradicts everything about this case that by yon wang is telling us and he's absolutely correct okay let me pick it up from where you dropped off that that much is soaked in go ahead okay well so we're in a situation here where as as bion said you know you've got a massive land mass and you've got two tiny little children just tiny

little children and we have to figure out where on that land mass or in that land mass those children are whether it's above ground and they're thriving someplace or whether they harm has been done to them um and they've been buried you know the way you say that mark class it just you know trills off the tip of your tongue because you're used to it saying that a three and a four-year-old little child could be buried somewhere but for people that don't deal with it every day like you do, like I do, like everybody on this panel does, that's a tough pill to swallow what you said. But you're absolutely correct. We're talking about two little children, just three and four years old. Straight back to you, Bayan Wang, 23 ABC News. Okay, we went off on a tangent,

but that was important because if these children are somehow, Bayan, out in the middle or even at the edge of this desert, if somehow they've gotten there, it's over. Back to you, Bayan Wang, reporter 23 ABC. I get the area. Were they in a home, an apartment, a mall? What can you tell me about that? Yeah, so they were reported missing out of their home. Their adoptive parents, Jacqueline and Trezell West, reported them missing from their home. Essentially, they say that the kids were playing with chalk in their backyard, not in the front yard, in the backyard of their home.

And then boom, they suddenly disappeared. The father, Trezell, says he was essentially gathering wood to start a fire while the mother was wrapping Christmas presents for the boys. Now hold on. So they had them out. Byron Wang, 23 ABC. Do you have children? Not yet.

Okay, listen to me. You'll find out about this. Jackie, back me up on this. When you're wrapping or preparing Christmas gifts, you want the children to be somewhere else. And I'm not going to go into why because it's very mysterious. But it's my understanding the mom was wrapping christmas gifts she sent three and four-year-old orson and or an outside the dad was collecting firewood for a fireplace i mean

you know cheryl mccollum uh founder director cold case research institute it sounds like a christmas card really put building a fire in the fireplace, wrapping Christmas presents, seeing the two little boys outside the place, they don't see what's getting wrapped. And then all of a sudden, they're gone. I'm sorry, go ahead, Cheryl. It's all too perfect. The minute I heard it, what leaked out at me is mom's wrapping Christmas gifts and daddy is starting a fire and the children are doing artwork. That is bogus. Oh, I don't know what planet you come from, but that's exactly what we do around Christmas.

And I try everything I can think of to get the children to go somewhere other than where I am because I'm working on you know what. But hold on. I hear what you're saying Cheryl McCollum so by on am I right that mom was wrapping Christmas gifts uh Nancy that's what we're being told the parents that's right the mother said she was wrapping Christmas gifts during the time the boys went missing okay so what time of the day or night was it the father says it was between 4 30 and 5 o'clock here in the West Coast. That's, you know, sun setting at that point. To you, Mark Klass, you're joining us from California.

Is that right? It's dark by 4.30? Yes. No, it's not dark at 4.30. But the sun does go down between 4.30 and 5. It gets very cold and very dark very quickly after that. So it's getting dark. Now, Jackie is waving at me frantically

to clear up there are other children in the home, but mom only sent out these two to go play. Well, that makes perfect sense to me. It depends on the age of the children who get sent away when you're prepping Christmas. Well, guys, it's actually

sorry, it's important to mention that the parents' other four children were not home at the time. The parents say they were on vacation. Are you happy now? You happy? She's happy. Okay. So that's not an issue.

Guys. Hey, Nancy, I've got to jump in. Jump. Because I want to make sure what I was trying to say is very clear. It was all too perfect. And again, at 430 in the afternoon, number one, you can wait to wrap gifts at 11 o'clock at night when all the babies are asleep. You don't know that. And I'm just sure you can.

No, you do not know that. If you think you've got a 30-minute segment where you can wrap Christmas gifts surreptitiously, then you jump on it. crime stories with nancy grace in the last hours the adoptive parents trezell and jacqueline west just found guilty on five of seven charges lodged against them, including murder. Jurors found Trezell West and Jacqueline West, 36 and 33 respectively, guilty. A second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty regarding Orin, but failed to reach verdicts on second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Orson's death. A guilty verdict for child cruelty was handed down regarding Orson. Second-degree murder carries a prison term of 15 years to life. The couple was also convicted of falsely reporting an emergency.

What emergency? The disappearance of the two little boys. Joe Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensics, jump in. Back to what Bayan had said. He was very specific, Nancy, about these babies. He didn't say anything about the front yard. He said the backyard. And I think

from an investigative standpoint, I'm thinking about this and I'm thinking, who has access to the backyard in this case? And what's the configuration of the backyard? You know, you go to a lot of places. I'm looking at the house right now and the street is wide open to the front yard. I see a few homes that have, for instance, a wrought iron gate in the front yard, but you can walk right in through the driveway. And it's one of those residential suburban areas where behind your backyard is another house, and behind that one is another house. If you looked at it

from above, I mean, there are thousands of houses that stretch out. So that's a good point. By yon wang, guys, we're getting into the details for a reason. I mean, Mark Glass, every detail matters. Would you agree with that? Of course, every detail matters. I mean, somebody else's backyard butts up to their backyard. You know what I'm saying? You remember when Isabel Solis went missing? Yep. That was in a suburban neighborhood, and they had the big, solid fence surrounding their backyard and a gate to go into it. We've had so many cases where people's yards were totally enclosed,

but somehow the children went missing. Do I have to say Elizabeth Smart? She had this beautiful home. Her family lived in. Somebody managed to get the children. So it happens in all sorts of ways. The mom, the dad. Jump in.

You talked about how important the details are here and talking about those enclosed backyards well an important note here is that the father says the panic set in when he noticed that he left the gate open okay i hear you i did not know that guys take a listen to Travell West speaking. Take a listen. It was cold. I was going to make a fire. There's a lot of wood in this area right here next to our house. I opened up the back gate.

I'm throwing wood, bringing it inside the house. My wife's inside. She was actually wrapping gifts, so we thought it was a good idea that they, that our youngest two, go outside and play with Chalk on the back patio. Do not let them go on the dirt in the backyard. Keep them close. So I was playing with Chalk, and I came in the house, I saw them there, went in the house, I came back out,

I didn't see them now. I immediately went back in, asked my wife, did you see the boys? She said, no, they should be outside playing with chalk. I said, well, I didn't see them. So I came back outside and I started searching my backyard. I searched the whole thing. You're hearing the adopted dad of these two little children, ages three and four. I mean, how far could they get on their own? What did the dad do? Take a listen now to what Travell West's dad says.

I got in the van. I looked down the street in both directions. It was getting dark, getting cold. And I got in the van and I hit a bunch of corners. I went down this street. I turned my light on. I searched. I searched. I called their names. I talked to a gentleman on the street on the other side over there. He didn't see me. So then I came home and I told my wife, we need to call the cops. It's getting dark and I need help. We got to get going. So I called the

cops. Cops came. First thing they did was tell us to stay in the house so they can get a hold of us. And they had us just sitting there and we wanted to keep searching. You know, we've heard a lot from the dad, but now take a listen to mom. They said that she said she was wrapping gifts and she let my two kids out in the backyard because she didn't want them to see the gifts. But you didn't let the other kids out. Where were the other kids? Why might you just go back there? At night, she said it was dark. And it's cold right now, so I know it was cold then.

So I don't believe it. So when did she tell you this? Where were you when she told you this? I just came here 45 minutes when nobody was here. 45 minutes to an hour, and we knocked on the door. And it took them a minute to to come and he came out and he want to say he's sorry and all that i just don't feel in my heart that it's something they're not do you have a relationship with these parents? I don't know them. I don't know them. They did something.

Justine, you're hearing from the bio mom. The bio mom. Now, she doesn't have custody of her children. But now she is appearing, casting doubt on the adoptive parents. What more do we know? What more do we know? What more do we know? Take a listen to David Kaplan at Fox 58. Trezell, Jacqueline West, and their six kids lived at Casa Loma apartments here in Bakersfield across the street from where I'm at. They moved from here to California City in September. This afternoon, around 40 people used drones, dogs, trash picker

rubbers, and their eyes and feet to look for any sign of Orrin and Orson West. California City Police say they have talked to every neighbor on that street, and they all say they never saw the boys there. That's why concerned community members wanted to continue the search efforts from the desert in California City to Bakersfield. Welcome back to those of you just joining us. I'm Nancy Grace and this is Crime Stories. Trezell and Jacqueline West just found guilty on five of seven charges lodged against them, including murder. Now, the jury hung eight to four for guilt on the conspiracy charge they hung ten to two on guilt for the murder charge how did the facts unfold tell me about the search uh joining me from abc 23 is

by yon wang tell me what all has been done to find the children oh man nancy uh i mean this community has really come together we're talking about multiple searches um two ten thousand dollar rewards i mean these guys are scavenging the desert themselves um going you know essentially through every neighborhood in that area unfortunately though there's been absolutely no sign of the boys. And I think earlier in the show, you guys were talking about the significance of what a large area this is, this sprawling desert that surrounds this community. Well, it's important to note that police themselves, none of the authorities, the FBI, none of them,

have started their search in the desert. And that has caused a huge question in the community. You know, what is it exactly that they know that isn't leading them to search this sprawling desert? You would think your natural instinct would be, hey, let's go see if they could possibly be anywhere out there, whether they wandered off or whether their bodies ended up out there. But that's not the case. Essentially, the police chief of the California City Police Department said, hey, look, our investigation hasn't led us there.

Right now, our focus is on the home. We have absolutely no idea how these boys got out of the backyard. Take a listen to our friends in Cut 21, ABC 17. Two parents have now been charged with the murders of a case of their missing adopted sons in the Antelope Valley. In December of 2020, Trezell and Jacqueline West told investigators four-year-old Oren and three-year-old Orson disappeared from their backyard. After an extensive investigation, today the Kern County District Attorney revealed the boys have been declared dead

and actually died three months before they were even reported missing. This is not the outcome that we and so many had hoped and prayed for over the last year. We now realize that the search for the boys began after the real tragedy had already occurred. And there will not be a resolution completely in this case until these boys are brought home. The parents are facing second degree murder and child abuse charges.

Bayon Wang, explain to me what we just heard was the D.A., basically a report of the D.A. announcing that Orson and Orrin West were believed to be deceased. They are believed to be deceased three months before the parents reported them missing. So they think that between September 1st and September 30th, the boys were killed by the parents. And this is a crucial time period here because around September is when the parents packed up their bags and moved from Bakersfield to California City. To you, Mark Klass, why, as Bayan Wang is saying, and I agree with him, by the way, is that such a critical date? You mean the September date? Because that was approximately the time that the DA said that the children were murdered. So you've got this confluence of little children not having been seen by anybody at basically the same time that the parents moved to another location a sparsely

populated location that three months later all of a sudden the children disappeared from the yard and i think the parents were just basically trying to trying to justify why the children were not around anymore mark class uh before we went to air, you used the word transactional. Explain. Well, listen, what we're looking at are two parents who obviously are not that concerned about the children because they don't join in any search efforts. They do absolutely nothing but hang out at their house while the children are missing. But at the same time, these are parents that have fostered four different children, plus their two own, and that's a transactional situation. The state of

California pays foster parents an average $1,000 to $2,600 per month to help with the expenses from taking care of the child. So I'm suggesting that the only reason they had these kids in the first place was because it put some money in their pockets. Once they got real, then once they've been adopted, I don't know how that plays out, but I'm sure there's still money involved in it. And they just wanted to keep getting that money. What about it, Cheryl? I think anytime you are making money off of a child, there is the possibility of danger coming to that child because the child is not there because of love and wanting to raise that baby and have that baby be your own. Even in his statement to the media, he says it became ours.

It? Ooh. Yeah, I noticed that. Bayon Wangang i believe i hear you jumping in go ahead yeah i mean the big question a lot of reporters on the ground over there had for the da was first of all how do you know the boys are dead and do you have their bodies she the da said we don't have their bodies but we do have direct and circumstantial evidence that leads us to believe that the boys are not alive anymore direct and circumstantial evidence what could that mean by on well i mean i think you kind of mentioned earlier on in the show they've done you know

they've executed 48 search warrants collected more than 150 items searched four different states, conducted 116 interviews. And that was numbers that we got in December. And they presented all this to a grand jury who returned a true bill and resulted in an indictment. And now the parents face two counts of second degree murder, two counts of willful cruelty to a child, one count of making a false report of an emergency if they're convicted of these charges or looking at 30 years to life in prison. And Nancy, I think most people know you were my prosecutor, but if those children had gone missing in September, you would have told us, go find me Halloween pictures of them. Go find me Thanksgiving pictures of them.

Go find me a Santa Claus picture of them. It was four days before Christmas. When those children were murdered was a string of things that children would have been the center focus of your family. They have no such pictures. Nancy, I watched her interview and they were asking her about the current pictures for these children. And she stumbled all over the words, talked about an old phone. And it was clear that she didn't have pictures. And it was clear that she wasn't prepared to even answer that type of question, although they did rehearse their interview. And then I should say, sorry, I should say three or four months after our first interview with them, I got a tip that the parents were in Bakersfield at the juvenile courthouse.

I went there, saw the parents. There was no cameras involved. Really just wanted to have a conversation, see if we get pictures. At that time, they said they still don't have their electronic devices back from police. They wouldn't give me their phone number i even said guys look there's a lot of people who want to hear from you can you at least issue a statement to me nothing on camera just tell me a statement that i could get out there for you guys and they wouldn't not hey thanks for searching you know or anything like that um and they claim that you know they've been threatened you know their lives have been threatened and that they have been doing their own private. Their lives have been threatened. What? Yeah.

Well, there was an outcry. I mean, come on. There was a huge outcry after the first interview we did with them, the only interview we did with them. Well, their lives, if they were threatened, was because they're not doing anything. I mean, why would you not issue a statement asking people to help find your children and thanking the people that had helped look for your children? I don't understand that. I was looking for a statement along those lines.

They just never got one. They wouldn't tell me a single word. How did they say no what did they what was their response well they basically just said right now um no matter how we say it um whether we say thank you you know uh to the community whether we say um you know please go and search for the kids even more they think no matter what kind of adjective noun whatever they would say that someone would find a way to use that who cares by on who cares i mean come on kathleen murphy family lawyer who cares what people say about you when your children's lives are on the line oh yes i see how parents every single day don't care what people think about their children.

They put on these images and they don't really have the truth out there. Neither one of these parents have the truth out there. They're going to put an image in and that shows their sense of culpability with regard to these children that are missing. And Nancy, when they were on video, the father, and I use that term very loosely, had his arm tucked under his armpits for over 15 minutes in a very defensive state. He is clearly in that video hiding something. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. When I look at these two little children, Orson and Orin. It's heartbreaking. Why adopt the children only to murder them? Prosecutors believe the boys died three months earlier while the family was still living at an apartment in Bakersfield, California. We learned that the West, who had six children in all, were allegedly very abusive to

the adopted children. And back in September, Oren died. They then came up with a plan to kill Orson and dispose of both the little boy's bodies. These facts are painful to hear, but true. Guys, I want you to take a listen to the Kern County District Attorney speaking in our Cut 25. This morning, I'm saddened to announce that the investigation has revealed that Oren and Orson West are deceased. The investigation has also revealed that they died three months before their adoptive parents reported them missing. However, I am pleased to announce that this week the Kern County Grand Jury indicted Trezell and Jacqueline West, the adoptive parents, for the murder of Oren and Orson West. To Mark Klass, founder of Klass Kids Foundation, it's exactly as you said.

They, authorities, believe the boys were murdered three months before they were ever reported missing. You know, these people, when you have people that will make any excuse for inaction, will do absolutely everything they can to ensure that they don't get involved in the search or have to make a statement. You're looking at somebody that's hiding something. And you're talking that in itself. I mean, you guys are all the lawyers, but that in itself seems like a circumstantial situation where you're going to look at these people and go, what in the world is wrong with these people? What are they doing? I think that the DA did a great job.

I think that I think she must have presented some amazing evidence to the grand jury. What do you think they have, Cheryl McCollum, direct and indirect evidence that the boys were killed three months before? I find it interesting that they come out and say the prosecutor they were killed three months before they were reported missing. What could she have? I think she had a lot of things. I think she has testimony from the older siblings, how the treatment was in the house. I think they have cell phone pings. I think they possibly have photographs. I think they've got the statements from the neighbors saying, we didn't even know six boys were ever over there. We never saw any boys

ever. They've got the evidence that's circumstantial, but from the canines. And they also have two things. A statement from the mama when she says, well, I know they ain't out there walking around. And then we find out that Oren had a fractured left leg. So I guess she was right. And what does that mean to you guys? A fractured left leg. I mean, to me, it says they were horribly abused. I mean, Bayon Wang, what do we know about how a little boy at this young age, three to four years old, has a fractured leg?

You know, Nancy, that takes an awful lot of force to break the leg of a three-year-old. It sure does. What about it, Bayon? I mean, that was something we asked investigators and police often. It sure does. What about it, Bayan? I would suspect that maybe that has something to do with it. And if you read the indictment, they believe that other people were involved in both the cruelty to a child and the second duty murder charge. We asked if anybody else was detained or arrested. They weren't able to confirm. I'm trying to understand what that means, that other people may have taken part in the mistreatment or even the death of these two children.

There is no telling what kind of hell these two little children went through before they were finally murdered. Their lives must have just been pure hell. And I think we just got a glimpse into that, didn't we? Nancy, it's Jackie. Let me jump in here and say Cheryl was absolutely right. Take a listen to KGET. A two-hour interview with one of the couple's other children.

In that interview, the child allegedly made a statement the defense council says forms the crux of the prosecution's case. The bombshell was revealed to police about a week after Orson and Oren West were reported missing. Another child living with the West family gave a statement to police saying he witnessed one of the boys die. The child said the other later disappeared after hearing a loud thud. That statement, along with the interviews with other children, spurred a lengthy investigation resulting in murder charges against Trezell and Jacqueline West. In his opening statement, the prosecutor

said the boy heard Oren vomit and watched as his color faded and died. He said the parents never called for medical help, but discussed keeping the death hidden. The child said Orrin West never made it to California City, and Orson was only there for four days. The child said he believed Orson had been taken back to his grandmother's house. Trezell and Jacqueline West just found guilty on five of seven charges lodged against them, including murder. With the charges on which they were found guilty, this evil mom and dad are set for life plus behind bars. Will they retry on the two deadlock charges? Probably not. Prosecutors can already secure a life plus 20 prison sentence, but will the judge sentence to the max? If not, a retrial may be on the horizon. Sentencing set for July 13. 13, Trezell and Jacqueline West, behind bars, finally, and hopefully, for good. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.