Trezell West the adopted father of two missing boys, Orson and Orrin West, has just been charged with two counts of murder. According to police reports Trezell West reported Orson West, 3, and Orrin West, 4, missing after he told police he briefly went into his California City, California home and came back to find the two little boys missing. There would be a massive search for the two boys and a ton of community support however the story took a dark turn today, March 1 2022, when their adopted father Trezell West was charged with two counts of murder. two counts of willful cruelty to a child and falsely reporting an emergency. The California City police early on suspected foul play however nothing in the West residence showed any evidence. The boys natural father, Charles Pettus, is suing the county for taking the boys away from him and failing to protect them.
- Jacqueline West has also been arrested and charged with 2 counts of murder
Trezell West More News
A stunning development has occurred in the case of missing California City brothers Orrin and Orson West with murder charges filed Tuesday against Trezell West, their adoptive father.
Trezell West was not listed in custody as of 5 p.m. He’s charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of willful cruelty to a child and falsely reporting an emergency.
Orrin, 4, and 3-year-old Orson were reportedly last seen Dec. 21, 2020, playing outside the home where they lived with adoptive parents Trezell and Jacqueline West.
Trezell West said he had been gathering firewood and briefly went back inside. When he came out the boys were gone, he said.
They were reported missing to the California City Police Department that day. The department searched the home and brought the Wests in for questioning.
Police Chief John Walker told media in late December 2020 that foul play was suspected but nothing was found while searching the home. He said he didn’t believe they wandered into the desert because a thorough search aided by a helicopter with infrared took place covering a 5-mile perimeter.
Also, it was only 30 degrees Fahrenheit that night. Walker said the cold would have slowed the children.
Through the support of several local businesses and organizations, more than $100,000 in reward money was offered to anyone with information that led to the discovery of the boys.
In early March of last year, the Bakersfield Police Department took over as the lead agency in the investigation from the Cal City Police Department. The FBI and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children were also involved.
By June, the BPD said 44 search warrants had been served, 83 people interviewed and 170 items seized. Police did not elaborate on what was seized.
Police said 16 “mass area” searches had been conducted at that point and investigators had searched three locations outside the state and followed up on more than 200 tips. Data was extracted from cellular and electronic devices and seized items forensically examined.
All family members connected to the boys were interviewed.
The boys’ biological father, Charles Pettus, has filed a lawsuit against Kern County alleging officials were negligent in taking the boys from their birth parents and placing them in the custody of the West family.
Pettus told 17 News in December he couldn’t understand how the boys went missing after the county took them from him, supposedly for safe keeping.
“I don’t want my kids to be deceased. I want them to come back,” he said at the time. “My kids is all I got. After my parents pass it’s just me and my kids.
Jacqueline West Arrested
The adoptive parents of two little California boys who vanished in 2020 have been arrested on murder and other charges, according to police and court records.
Trezell West and Jacqueline West were arrested Tuesday, Bakersfield police Lt. Jason Townsend told KERO-TV and The Bakersfield Californian.
Kern County Superior Court online records show both parents are charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of willful cruelty to a child and one count each of false report of an emergency.
Both parents were held without bail and face “arraignment on indictment” on Thursday, according to the records. The records do not indicate whether they have attorneys to speak on their behalf.
Orrin West, 4, and his brother Orson, 3, were reported missing from the family home in the desert town of California City in December 2020.
The investigation involved searches in California City and Bakersfield, about 60 miles to the west, where the boys lived before moving in September 2020.
Trezell West Other News – March 2/2022
Two young brothers died three months before their adoptive parents, who have been arrested on murder charges, reported them missing in late 2020, the Kern County district attorney announced Wednesday.
Speaking at a news conference, DA Cynthia Zimmer said an investigation confirmed the deaths of Orrin West, 4, and his brother Orson, 3.
The boys’ bodies have not been found, Zimmer said, adding: “However, I would like to emphasize the fact that law enforcement has not found their bodies does not preclude a murder prosecution. As a matter of fact, there have been many hundreds of what we call ‘no body homicides’ prosecuted across the United States, successfully.
In December 2020, the boys’ adoptive parents, Trezell West and Jacqueline West, reported that the brothers had disappeared from the backyard of their California City home.
Police launched a search of the area, which was later joined by the FBI, California Highway Patrol, a Kern County sheriff’s search and rescue team, and members of the community. The search expanded to Bakersfield, about 60 miles to the west, where the boys lived before moving in September 2020.
Trezell West and Jacqueline West were arrested Tuesday and were each charged with five counts: two counts of murder, two counts of felony child abuse and one count of filing a false report of an emergency, Zimmer said.
Both parents are being held without bail and are expected to be arraigned in court on Thursday. Online records do not indicate whether they have attorneys to speak on their behalf.
“This is not the outcome that we in so many had hoped and prayed for over the last year,” Chief Greg Terry said at Wednesday’s press conference. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of orange and Orson who, with this news today, their worst fears have been realized.
