Trezell and Jacqueline West obtained 4-year-old Orrin and 3-year-old Orson through the adoption industry along with two of their other four children. Later, it is suspected that they killed Orrin and Orson and three months after that they made a false report to the police saying that the boys had vanished from the family’s backyard. Now, finally, Trezell and Jacqueline West are facing two counts of second-degree murder, willful cruelty to a child and one count of a false report of an emergency.

Minding Hearts followed this story last year as police and neighbors searched for Orrin and Orson. The stories were heartbreaking and everyone seemed to suspect that the “adoptive parents” had either killed the children or sold them, but it felt like they were going to get away with it like so many do.

Trezell and Jaqueline West reported that Orson and Orrin West vanished from their home in California City on Dec. 21, 2020. Trezell West said that the boys were playing outside while his wife wrapped Christmas presents and he moved firewood in the backyard.

“I saw them there, go in the house, I came back out, I didn’t see them now. I realized that I left the gate open, and I panicked. I came inside the house, searched the house…me and my wife.” West said he searched the street, in his van, but as it got cold, dark and wet, he called police.

Orrin and Orson West | Trezell West Friend speaks | Missing Boys | Cali City, Jan 14, 2021, Crime Stories Obsessed, Published 15th Jan 2021. “Three-year-old Orson West and his brother Orrin, four, went missing from their home in California on December 21, after playing with chalk outside the back yard. Trezell s friend now speaks out.

WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE, #Missing #WestBoys #West Missing West Boys: Police May Have Video of Boys Being Removed From Home in Adoptive Father’s Van,  Jan 3, 2021, A caller on the Youtube channel, Chris Thorns Show, who claims to have sold the home on Aspen Avenue where Orson and Orrin West were reported missing on December 21, 2020, to the current owners, Trezell and Jacqueline West, says that the neighbor across the street from the West’s home captured Trezell West taking the boys away in his van the day he says they went missing….

In March of 2021 news stations starting reporting the missing boys. FBI and Bakersfield Police search for evidence related to Orrin and Orson West in Southeast Bakersfield, Mar 6, 2021, KGET News, FBI and Bakersfield Police search for evidence related to Orrin and Orson West in Southeast Bakersfield…

From Bad To Worse: More Surveillance of Trezell West & No Sign of Orrin & Orson, #trezellwest #itsacrime #jacquelinewest, Jan 11, 2021, It’s A Crime, Orson West & Orrin West. Brothers who were reported missing on Monday, Dec 21st by their adoptive parents, Trezell West & Jaqueline West. Neighbors report NEVER seeing the kids before. Authorities dig up the back yard and FBI are involved.

Expert Statement Analysis- See What Peter Hyatt Detects in Trezell & Jacqueline West’s statement, Jan 18, 2021, It’s A Crime, Orson West & Orrin West. Brothers who were reported missing on Monday, Dec 21st by their adoptive parents, Trezell West & Jaqueline West. Neighbors report NEVER seeing the kids before. Authorities dig up the back yard and FBI are involved. Orson & Orrin’s parents gave an interview and now we know they are lying. See how long the parents ACTUALLY searched for (and not searched). Peter Hyatt, A Statement Analyst, weighs in on the Orrin and Orson West Case. See what the major theme is throughout the interview. If you have information Call: 1-800- 843 5678 Or 760 373 8606. #trezellwest #itsacrime #jacquelinewest ….

Now, officials in California report that the boys were killed three months before the West’s made the police report claiming that the boys had “vanished”.

“We now realize that the search for the boys began after the real tragedy had already occurred,” Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry said in an announcement this week.

Unfortunately, the adopted boy’s bodies have not been found yet. It is unclear what authorities have uncovered that makes them believe that the boys were killed. Many people that have been following the case believe that the boys were sold or sex-trafficked. However, Cynthia Zimmer from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office was live on Facebook on March 2 saying that the evidence that they have collected will be released through the trials. See the Kern County Facebook post here… https://www.facebook.com/KernCountyDA/videos/342914671081293/

Trezell and Jaqueline West pleaded not guilty in Kern County on Thursday and are being held without bail because they are deemed “a significant and substantial risk to public safety”. Their four other children, two of which were also obtained through the adoption industry are in protective custody. The same child protection agency that placed Orrin and Orson in their death chambers.

Trezell and Jaqueline West trials are set to begin on May 23. Kern County Superior Court Judge Chad A. Louie granted the prosecution’s request to seal the offense reports outlining the Bakersfield Police Department’s investigation. The indictment lists alleges that the defendants “induced a minor to commit or assist in the commission of the crime,” threatened witnesses, and carried out the crime in a manner that “indicates planning, sophistication or professionalism”.

Charles Pettus, the boys’ biological father filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming that the county, the state, and child protective services were negligent in removing Orrin and Orson from their biological family in 2018. Pettus alleges that “he was not able to vet the Wests as qualified adoptive parents and that the defendants placed the children ‘in a dangerous environment, which led to their disappearance’.

The search for Orrin and Orson continues. Hopefully, someday soon the family will finally find out what happened to Orin and Orson.

Minding Hearts is building advocacy and peer support groups in each state.  The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. We are here for encouragement, education, and support. We cannot give legal advice, but we can try and direct you in the right direction with your case. Links to legal services are listed with their states. Please share and let’s grow our groups. We are here to support families and develop resources that maintain family integrity. We look forward to your support. If you would rather become active by donating, then visit the donation page.