Still Missing CA - Classic (Orson West, 3) & Cincere (Orrin West, 4) Calif. City, *parents charged* 21 Dec 2020 #7

[Tortoise]

https://twitter.com/23ABCNews

California City Police Department Officer Joshua Flores is back on the stand. He is resuming his testimony from where he left off before the court was released for lunch.

The police body camera footage of the visit to the West home after Orrin and Orson were reported missing is being played for the court.

During the video, Jacqueline tells the police that the boys have never run away before.

The end of the video shows Jacqueline and Trezell with documents to give officers. The paperwork was for proof of the boys' adoption, according to Flores.

Torres-Stallings is now questioning the witness, asking Flores about his job training.

Torres-Stallings asks Flores if he made any reports during the course of the investigation after asking if he made any reports that night. He claims that he made no reports that night and that the only report he made was relative to phone retrieval.

Torres-Stallings is asking Flores about body camera footage and if he was aware of other officers turning on their cameras that night.

Flores is unaware if Officer Hanson, the field officer with him that night, had his body camera on.

Flores testifies that Trezell had met officers at the car when they arrived at his house, meaning the body camera footage did not caught the initial contact between Flores and the Wests.

Flores says that his primary task was to keep the Wests in his sight.

According to Flores, he spoke to two neighbors standing outside of the West house. He does not have any information on these neighbors, however.

When asked if he went into the backyard, Flores replies that he does not recall. He then was asked if he saw chalk, to which he replied "on the cement slab." According to Torres-Stallings, the cement slab was in the backyard. Flores agrees.

Flores is asked how he got to the east lot. He says that he went around from the front.

When asked if the fence in the east lot was "not put together correctly" and "wiggly," Flores answers "yes."

Officer Flores had been informed that Jacqueline West was supposedly wrapping presents before the boys were reported missing. Flores had seen wrapping paper and related items around the house on his visit.

When asked what item Officer Hanson gave Flores that night, Flores says that he does not recall. Torres-Stallings asks if it was a firearm, but Flores again says he does not recall.

Torres-Stallings points out that a firearm that is not his can be seen in his back pocket. She asks if Flores was handed Trezell's firearm by Officer Hanson now that his "memory has been refreshed."

Flores answers Torres-Stallings question on if Officer Hanson handed him Trezell West's gun. Flores: "Never handed it to me." Torres-Stallings: "Pardon?" Flores: "Yes."

Officer Joshua Flores has been released from the stand.

Witness Mike Balabekyan has been called to the stand. Balabekyan is a resident of California City and is one of the Wests' neighbors. He had cameras on his property

According to Balabekyan, he "spoke to a lot of officers" but does not recall "this situation."

According to Balabekyan, California City officers took his DVR equipment for his cameras to review.

Footage taken from Balabekyan's camera is now being shown. Balabekyan confirms that the videos are all from his camera. The footage has been admitted as evidence.

The police returned the DVR to Balabekyan.

Footage of Aspen Avenue is now being shown to the court. Balabekyan describes the area in relation to where his house is.

Torres-Stallings has begun questioning Balabekyan.

Torres-Stallings questions Balabekyan if there is an eight second delay on the camera. Balabekyan does not know. She follows by asking if he has ever looked back at his own footage. He says that he has not

Balabekyan has been excused from the stand.

Officer Anthony Cabriales has been called to the stand. Cabriales is currently a Baldwin Park police officer, but was a California City officer for two years and a Los Angeles police officer for nice years before that. Cabriales was a part of the investigation.

Cabriales was present for the search of the boys. He does not recall who else was with him. Cabriales was tasked with finding CCTV cameras that may have captured footage of the missing boys.

Cabriales had searched the east lot of the Wests' property, as well as the fence and surrounding areas, according to him.

Cabriales spoke to a resident who owned "a Ring-type doorbell." He was able to convince the owner to let him review the footage.

The West residence was across the street from the resident with the "Ring-type doorbell."

"There was no evidence that could assist us with looking for the children," according Cabriales regarding the video he reviewed from the neighbor.

Interviews of Jacqueline and Trezell West taken the night the West boys were reported missing are being played for the court. Cabriales was present during both interviews.

The interview of Jacqueline West is being played for the court. Trezell's interview will be played at a later time.

According to the interview, Jacqueline was wrapping presents in the living room of her home when the boys went missing. According to her, only Orrin and Orson were home, as her other four children were staying with a relative.

 

[LaborDayRN]

https://twitter.com/VMorley1996

The trial for the adoptive parents of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3, West is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Trezell and Jacqueline West are charged with 2nd-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child cruelty, falsely reporting an emergency and conspiracy.

The boys were reported missing back in December of 2020. Originally their adoptive parents claimed the boys disappeared from their backyard in California City. However, prosecutors allege the boys died three months prior.

The bodies of Orrin and Orson have not been found. During the trial, we hope to learn what evidence the prosecution has to believe the boys are dead.

We are now being let into Department 4 for the trial. Judge Charles R. Brehmer is the presiding judge.

The trial is now in session. Judge Brehmer is explaining the delay was due to a juror (juror 6) no longer being a part of this trial.

There is a large TV in the center of the courtroom. Judge Brehmer explained this will only be here as needed for opening statements. It will display the same images that will be displayed on the monitor.

Judge Brehmer is now reading the entirety of the charges against Trezell and Jacqueline West.

Eric Smith is the prosecutor on this trial. Timothy Hennessy and Victor Nasser are representing Trezell, and Jacqueline West is represented by Alekxia Torres Stallings and Fatima Rodriguez.

One of the overt acts Judge Brehmer has just read alleges that Trezell arranged for the boys to be at their residence in Cal City on the week of Sept. 18, 2020

Another overt act alleges that they arranged for an unknown co-conspirator to kill the boys after the Wests planned their deaths.

Judge Brehmer is reading the jury instructions now.

Judge Brehmer is explaining to the jury that there are three sides to this trial: the prosecution, Trezell West, and Jacqueline West. Prosecutor Smith is now beginning his opening statements.

Prosecutor Smith begins by introducing the investigating officer Thomas Hernandez of the Bakersfield Police Department

"Their bodies have never been found," Smith said. He's now showing photos of the adoption ceremony of the boys.

"Their primary source of income when they were living Cal City were the $4,000 they were receiving from [caring for their adoptive children]," said Smith.

Smith said this case will begin from the date when the boys were reported missing, Dec. 21, 2020. He said the case will then move backwards. Smith is playing a recording of the 9-1-1 call of Trezell West asking if anyone has seen two black children.

Smith is showing an arial map of the Wests home at 10717 Aspen Avenue. Smith is pointing out a fence that he says Trezell West alleged the boys left the backyard through.

Smith is describing the overwhelming amount of assistance put into looking for the boys. Smith played body camera footage from Anthony Cabriales shows Trezell explaining his alleged efforts to look for the boys

Smith said Trezell claimed he closed their gate but when officers arrived the gate was open. Smith is showing footage officers attempting to open and close that gate.

Smith said the gate was difficult to open and it's inconsistent with two small children being able to open it.

Smith said we will hear from a neighbor Jesse Dobbins who had his home security camera activated multiple times the night the boys were reported missing. Smith said he will testify there was no activation showing the boys leaving the yard.

"Again it's the inconsistencies that lead the officers to keep investigating," Smith said. "Based on some statements from Jacqueline, a cadaver dog was taken out there." Smith said the dog became alert in the backyard, but nothing was ever found

Smith is showing two of the Wests children. He said the Adrian West told officers that Orrin and Orson had gone to their grandmother's home soon after they moved to Cal City.

Smith said that the Wests children told them that Orrin and Orson did not move with them because "they cry a lot." Smith said the children told investigators the last time they saw Orrin and Orson was either before or right when they moved to Cal City.

Smith showed a Facebook post from Jacqueline that seems to accuse investigators of "twisting" what the other children have told them.

On Dec. 28, Adrian, one of the Wests kids, said he saw Orrin became very sick at one point, was throwing up, and his parents did not call for medical attention. He said Orson was in Cal City for 4 days before Adrian heard a thud and he was gone.

Smith said all 4 of the Wests other children will testify in this trial.

Smith is sharing the timeline of the Wests move to Cal City. He said Dec. 18, 2020 was the day Wanda West went to Cal City to watch the boys, which did not include Orrin and Orson, Smith said.

Smith is showing the last known photo of Orrin and Orson, taken July 25, 2020. Smith said Jacqueline to her kids to pretend the boys are not there and that they were kept separate from the other children.

Smith concluded his opening statements by stating that ultimately the boys are dead and asking to jury to find the Wests guilty. The trial is taking a short break.

Thank you for this ^^^ @Tortoise
I don't know how I forgot the trial was starting today!

 

[Mitch1]

Anyone listening to the trial right now! I can barely hear the woman on the stand, anyone know who it is? Aack nevermind they are playing an interview video

 

[Knox]

I wonder who the "unknown co-conspirator" is. It's bad enough husband and wife conspired to do this terrible thing, but to have another person agree to be part of it just somehow makes it even worse.
Was there no one in these kids' lives who cared about them? Was it all only about the money they received caring for them?

I'm curious as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at one time didn't they say one of the kids "helped"? Confusing, but I suppose we'll learn more soon enough.

 

[Knox]

Anyone listening to the trial right now! I can barely hear the woman on the stand, anyone know who it is? Aack nevermind they are playing an interview video

@Mitch1 Can you link where you are listing please?

 

[katydid23]

https://twitter.com/VMorley1996

The next witness called is Joshua Flores, a police officer with Cal City PD

Flores said he's been with the department about 5 months when he was dispatched to the Wests residence.

Smith is asking Flores if he recalled what he heard on dispatch that night. He said it was missing children. Flores said when he arrived to the area he met Trezell West.

Flores said they began searching the area and talking to neighbors if they'd seen the children. Flores said everyone they spoke to said they hadn't seen the children walking around.

Flores said he entered the residence. He said he only spoke with Trezell. Smith is playing audio from Flores's body-worn camera.

Flores asks Trezell about the gate, Trezell is heard saying he was going in and out. Trezell said he closed the gate because he didn't want the dogs to get out.

He then said when he saw it open he thought he'd made a mistake and it didn't "dawn" on him that anything happened.

Trezell is heard saying after a while he had a bad feeling and noticed he hadn't heard the boys. Video of the body-worn camera is now showing Flores and other officers in the home.

In the video, Flores and other officers are speaking to Jaqueline now. You can hear Jaqueline say she heard footsteps and she told the boys to go back outside.

In the video, Flores asks Jaqueline where Trezell was when she told the boys to go back outside. She said he was outside. Now an officer is telling Jaqueline that he only found dog prints in the dirt in their backyard.

The officer in the video is telling Jaqueline that there's no way the boys left through the backyard. "So then how did they leave the house?" "There's no other way," Jaqueline responds.

The officers are saying there's no way the boys left through the backyard so they either left another way or were taken somewhere. Jaqueline says no one took the boys anywhere and they couldn't have left the house any other way.

A neighbor comes and asks about the boys. The neighbor asks the name of the boys and officers respond Orrin and Orson. Jacqueline asks if that was a cop and officers say it's a concerned neighbor.

Judge Brehmer has asked Smith to pause the video. The trial is being paused for lunch. It will resume at 1:30.

Sounds like the officers had the parents pegged right from the start----no little boy footprints in the dirt leading to the gate, and gate was too hard to open for small children.

 

[katydid23]

MAR 28, 2023

Opening statements begin in West boys' murder trial

More than two years after two toddlers were reported missing in California City and a year after the District Attorney charged the adoptive parents with murder,

bakersfieldnow.com

[...]

The prosecution took the stand first and talked about multiple discrepancies in Trezell and Jacqueline Wests' stories, including who closed the gate when the boys got out.

But the ultimate bombshell from court Tuesday morning was when prosecutor Eric smith explained that there was an interview with the other three brothers in the home who claimed Orrin and Orson were never in the home in California City and the fourth brother said they were only there for one day.

[...]

In opening statements, it was said the oldest son, AW, explained in an interview that while they were still in the apartment before moving to Cal City, he heard something in the middle of the night and saw Orrin sick, and said he died.

He said no medical attention was ever called and he heard his parents talking about if they should keep it a secret or not.

Then days later, a “thud” was heard during the middle of the night and Orson was never seen again, according to the prosecution. Some of the boys thought Orrin and Orson were living with their grandparents after their disappearance but according to the prosecution, both grandmothers said they were not.

[...]

"But the ultimate bombshell from court Tuesday morning was when prosecutor Eric smith explained that there was an interview with the other three brothers in the home who claimed Orrin and Orson were never in the home in California City and the fourth brother said they were only there for one day.

..... the oldest son, AW, explained in an interview that while they were still in the apartment before moving to Cal City, he heard something in the middle of the night and saw Orrin sick, and said he died.

He said no medical attention was ever called and he heard his parents talking about if they should keep it a secret or not."

How are defense attorneys going to deal with this? They cannot call the other boys liars, can they?

And it is not something that they can be mistaken about--whether the 2 little brothers lived with them in new house or not.

I really don't see how the defense of 'the kids are still alive but LE won't look for them' is going to work against the testimony from the siblings.

 

[Knox]

<modsnip: no source link for screenshots>

I just realized, Eric Smith is trying this case. He also handled the Robert Limon murder trial- successfully prosecuted Sabrina Limon (Robert's wife).

Most of what I read today coming from the defense, sounds like they're taking a page from Dick Harpootlian's play book.
Undermine LE's procedures and protocols, look here - not there. "Trezell and Jacqueline are an artist and producer who tried to take care of a family of eight. They're unique, a biracial family. These things make Cal City police suspicious, Hennessy said".

I am a little concerned about the children's testimony and how that will be perceived by the jury, but it is what it is. They have other witnesses and video, which apparently back up the timeline of when they were last seen alive by anyone outside of the home.

 

[Knox]

Adrian said he woke one night to noises coming from Orrin while the family still lived in an apartment on Lotus Lane in Bakersfield, Smith said during his opening. Adrian said his parents got to Orrin first, and they watched as his color faded, he vomited and died, according to the interview he gave Dec. 28, 2020.

His parents never called for medical aid, Adrian said. Instead, they discussed keeping the death hidden, the child said according to Smith.

The Wests asked Adrian if they should tell somebody or keep it secret, Smith said.

“And what you’ll hear (through testimony), (Adrian) knew if they told somebody they would be taken away from their parents,” Smith said.

Orrin never made it to California City, and Orson was only there four days, according to Adrian’s interview.

Smith said the child told an interviewer he heard a “loud thud” one night. Orson had been at the home the day before the thud was heard, the child said according to Smith. The next day Orson was gone, Adrian said, and he hasn’t seen him since.

He believed Orson was taken back to his grandmother’s house, Adrian said according to Smith.

Murdered or missing? Opening statements presented in trial of Trezell, Jacqueline West

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A week after Orrin and Orson West were reported missing, a child who had been living with them gave a statement saying he witnessed one of the boys die, and said …

www.kget.com

 

[katydid23]

I wonder who the "unknown co-conspirator" is. It's bad enough husband and wife conspired to do this terrible thing, but to have another person agree to be part of it just somehow makes it even worse.
Was there no one in these kids' lives who cared about them? Was it all only about the money they received caring for them?

It feels like that could be a big hole in the prosecution case.

Do they have no idea who the 'other killer' is? I hope they cam fill in the blanks a bit more.

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/23ABCNews

California City Police Department Officer Joshua Flores is back on the stand. He is resuming his testimony from where he left off before the court was released for lunch.

The police body camera footage of the visit to the West home after Orrin and Orson were reported missing is being played for the court.

During the video, Jacqueline tells the police that the boys have never run away before.

The end of the video shows Jacqueline and Trezell with documents to give officers. The paperwork was for proof of the boys' adoption, according to Flores.

Torres-Stallings is now questioning the witness, asking Flores about his job training.

Torres-Stallings asks Flores if he made any reports during the course of the investigation after asking if he made any reports that night. He claims that he made no reports that night and that the only report he made was relative to phone retrieval.

Torres-Stallings is asking Flores about body camera footage and if he was aware of other officers turning on their cameras that night.

Flores is unaware if Officer Hanson, the field officer with him that night, had his body camera on.

Flores testifies that Trezell had met officers at the car when they arrived at his house, meaning the body camera footage did not caught the initial contact between Flores and the Wests.

Flores says that his primary task was to keep the Wests in his sight.

According to Flores, he spoke to two neighbors standing outside of the West house. He does not have any information on these neighbors, however.

When asked if he went into the backyard, Flores replies that he does not recall. He then was asked if he saw chalk, to which he replied "on the cement slab." According to Torres-Stallings, the cement slab was in the backyard. Flores agrees.

Flores is asked how he got to the east lot. He says that he went around from the front.

When asked if the fence in the east lot was "not put together correctly" and "wiggly," Flores answers "yes."

Officer Flores had been informed that Jacqueline West was supposedly wrapping presents before the boys were reported missing. Flores had seen wrapping paper and related items around the house on his visit.

When asked what item Officer Hanson gave Flores that night, Flores says that he does not recall. Torres-Stallings asks if it was a firearm, but Flores again says he does not recall.

Torres-Stallings points out that a firearm that is not his can be seen in his back pocket. She asks if Flores was handed Trezell's firearm by Officer Hanson now that his "memory has been refreshed."

Flores answers Torres-Stallings question on if Officer Hanson handed him Trezell West's gun. Flores: "Never handed it to me." Torres-Stallings: "Pardon?" Flores: "Yes."

Officer Joshua Flores has been released from the stand.

Witness Mike Balabekyan has been called to the stand. Balabekyan is a resident of California City and is one of the Wests' neighbors. He had cameras on his property

According to Balabekyan, he "spoke to a lot of officers" but does not recall "this situation."

According to Balabekyan, California City officers took his DVR equipment for his cameras to review.

Footage taken from Balabekyan's camera is now being shown. Balabekyan confirms that the videos are all from his camera. The footage has been admitted as evidence.

The police returned the DVR to Balabekyan.

Footage of Aspen Avenue is now being shown to the court. Balabekyan describes the area in relation to where his house is.

Torres-Stallings has begun questioning Balabekyan.

Torres-Stallings questions Balabekyan if there is an eight second delay on the camera. Balabekyan does not know. She follows by asking if he has ever looked back at his own footage. He says that he has not

Balabekyan has been excused from the stand.

Officer Anthony Cabriales has been called to the stand. Cabriales is currently a Baldwin Park police officer, but was a California City officer for two years and a Los Angeles police officer for nice years before that. Cabriales was a part of the investigation.

Cabriales was present for the search of the boys. He does not recall who else was with him. Cabriales was tasked with finding CCTV cameras that may have captured footage of the missing boys.

Cabriales had searched the east lot of the Wests' property, as well as the fence and surrounding areas, according to him.

Cabriales spoke to a resident who owned "a Ring-type doorbell." He was able to convince the owner to let him review the footage.

The West residence was across the street from the resident with the "Ring-type doorbell."

"There was no evidence that could assist us with looking for the children," according Cabriales regarding the video he reviewed from the neighbor.

Interviews of Jacqueline and Trezell West taken the night the West boys were reported missing are being played for the court. Cabriales was present during both interviews.

The interview of Jacqueline West is being played for the court. Trezell's interview will be played at a later time.

According to the interview, Jacqueline was wrapping presents in the living room of her home when the boys went missing. According to her, only Orrin and Orson were home, as her other four children were staying with a relative.

Tortoise, thank you so much for all your summaries of today's testimony. I was only able to pop on for a few minutes at lunchtime and I really appreciated the updates! MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 28, 2023

Murder case in Cal City boys' adoptive parents to hinge on testimony from defendants’ other children

Rumors and uncertainty were put to rest Tuesday about two missing California City adoptive toddlers as a prosecutor laid out in opening arguments that the toddlers’ died either in Bakersfield

www.bakersfield.com

[...]

Chief Trial Deputy Eric Smith said the prosecution’s case hinges on the Wests’ other children divulging information about their brothers dying. One child said Orrin died in Bakersfield — the adoptive parents lived in Bakersfield before moving away — after turning a pale color and vomiting, according to Smith. He added that another child said Orson died after living in California City for only four days.

But defense attorney Timothy Hennessy began his opening statements by ensuring jurors knew each defendant’s name and saying their children are missing. It was easier to charge the parents rather than admit police cannot find the boys, he said.

Tips weren’t followed up on — the boys were spotted in Texas, he said. There are 41 sex offenders in California City and police didn’t talk to them until 11 days after the boys were reported missing.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

"But the ultimate bombshell from court Tuesday morning was when prosecutor Eric smith explained that there was an interview with the other three brothers in the home who claimed Orrin and Orson were never in the home in California City and the fourth brother said they were only there for one day.

..... the oldest son, AW, explained in an interview that while they were still in the apartment before moving to Cal City, he heard something in the middle of the night and saw Orrin sick, and said he died.

He said no medical attention was ever called and he heard his parents talking about if they should keep it a secret or not."

How are defense attorneys going to deal with this? They cannot call the other boys liars, can they?

And it is not something that they can be mistaken about--whether the 2 little brothers lived with them in new house or not.

I really don't see how the defense of 'the kids are still alive but LE won't look for them' is going to work against the testimony from the siblings.

BBM I don't either, katy. It will be interesting to see what they come up with. I hate, hate, hate that these young children will be called to testify. It's hard enough for a grown adult. So sad. MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Were Orrin and Orson West murdered or are they merely missing? That is what the jury will be asked after Orrin and Orson West were reported missing in California City by their adoptive father, Trezell West, on December 21, 2020.

According to Prosecutor Eric Smith, the answer to that question of where the boys are is proven by evidence, this is a case of murder.

“Ultimately the answer to the question of where are the boys will be answered is that they’re dead and at the end of the case I will ask you to return a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as to Jacqueline and Trezell for the murders of Orrin and Orson West,” Smith said.

The Wests were a family of eight, with four adopted children and two biological children. Smith told the jury that the West’s primary source of income was the $4,000 dollars total a month made from each child they adopted.
In the case of Orrin and Orson West, Smith told the jury the boys are dead and they didn’t die at the same time. According to Smith, one of West’s children said he witnessed one of the boys die and said the other later disappeared.

“Orson was in California City for about four days, at some point, Adrian heard a loud thud in the night, the day prior to hearing the thud Orson was there the day after Orson was gone and he hasn’t seen him since,” Smith said.

‘They are dead’: Prosecutor says evidence will reveal adoptive parents are the ones responsible

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Were Orrin and Orson West murdered or are they merely missing? That is what the jury will be asked after Orrin and Orson West were reported missing in California …

www.kget.com

 

[k-mac]

https://twitter.com/23ABCNews

California City Police Department Officer Joshua Flores is back on the stand. He is resuming his testimony from where he left off before the court was released for lunch.

The police body camera footage of the visit to the West home after Orrin and Orson were reported missing is being played for the court.

During the video, Jacqueline tells the police that the boys have never run away before.

The end of the video shows Jacqueline and Trezell with documents to give officers. The paperwork was for proof of the boys' adoption, according to Flores.

Torres-Stallings is now questioning the witness, asking Flores about his job training.

Torres-Stallings asks Flores if he made any reports during the course of the investigation after asking if he made any reports that night. He claims that he made no reports that night and that the only report he made was relative to phone retrieval.

Torres-Stallings is asking Flores about body camera footage and if he was aware of other officers turning on their cameras that night.

Flores is unaware if Officer Hanson, the field officer with him that night, had his body camera on.

Flores testifies that Trezell had met officers at the car when they arrived at his house, meaning the body camera footage did not caught the initial contact between Flores and the Wests.

Flores says that his primary task was to keep the Wests in his sight.

According to Flores, he spoke to two neighbors standing outside of the West house. He does not have any information on these neighbors, however.

When asked if he went into the backyard, Flores replies that he does not recall. He then was asked if he saw chalk, to which he replied "on the cement slab." According to Torres-Stallings, the cement slab was in the backyard. Flores agrees.

Flores is asked how he got to the east lot. He says that he went around from the front.

When asked if the fence in the east lot was "not put together correctly" and "wiggly," Flores answers "yes."

Officer Flores had been informed that Jacqueline West was supposedly wrapping presents before the boys were reported missing. Flores had seen wrapping paper and related items around the house on his visit.

When asked what item Officer Hanson gave Flores that night, Flores says that he does not recall. Torres-Stallings asks if it was a firearm, but Flores again says he does not recall.

Torres-Stallings points out that a firearm that is not his can be seen in his back pocket. She asks if Flores was handed Trezell's firearm by Officer Hanson now that his "memory has been refreshed."

Flores answers Torres-Stallings question on if Officer Hanson handed him Trezell West's gun. Flores: "Never handed it to me." Torres-Stallings: "Pardon?" Flores: "Yes."

Officer Joshua Flores has been released from the stand.

Witness Mike Balabekyan has been called to the stand. Balabekyan is a resident of California City and is one of the Wests' neighbors. He had cameras on his property

According to Balabekyan, he "spoke to a lot of officers" but does not recall "this situation."

According to Balabekyan, California City officers took his DVR equipment for his cameras to review.

Footage taken from Balabekyan's camera is now being shown. Balabekyan confirms that the videos are all from his camera. The footage has been admitted as evidence.

The police returned the DVR to Balabekyan.

Footage of Aspen Avenue is now being shown to the court. Balabekyan describes the area in relation to where his house is.

Torres-Stallings has begun questioning Balabekyan.

Torres-Stallings questions Balabekyan if there is an eight second delay on the camera. Balabekyan does not know. She follows by asking if he has ever looked back at his own footage. He says that he has not

Balabekyan has been excused from the stand.

Officer Anthony Cabriales has been called to the stand. Cabriales is currently a Baldwin Park police officer, but was a California City officer for two years and a Los Angeles police officer for nice years before that. Cabriales was a part of the investigation.

Cabriales was present for the search of the boys. He does not recall who else was with him. Cabriales was tasked with finding CCTV cameras that may have captured footage of the missing boys.

Cabriales had searched the east lot of the Wests' property, as well as the fence and surrounding areas, according to him.

Cabriales spoke to a resident who owned "a Ring-type doorbell." He was able to convince the owner to let him review the footage.

The West residence was across the street from the resident with the "Ring-type doorbell."

"There was no evidence that could assist us with looking for the children," according Cabriales regarding the video he reviewed from the neighbor.

Interviews of Jacqueline and Trezell West taken the night the West boys were reported missing are being played for the court. Cabriales was present during both interviews.

The interview of Jacqueline West is being played for the court. Trezell's interview will be played at a later time.

According to the interview, Jacqueline was wrapping presents in the living room of her home when the boys went missing. According to her, only Orrin and Orson were home, as her other four children were staying with a relative.

Was Flores stoned on the job???
Seriously......

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

“And what you’ll hear (through testimony), (Adrian) knew if they told somebody they would be taken away from their parents,” Smith said.

Tells you a lot about what those kids thought about foster care!

Made even more sad that he was afraid if he was sent to live with a different family he would be treated just like his own parents treated their foster kids. I wonder if his parents used that threat to punish him?

"You want us to call CPS? You know what foster care is like! Is that what you want for yourself and us?"

 

[Seattle1]

Murder case against Cal City boys' adoptive parents to hinge on testimony from defendants’ other children

Key details came to light Tuesday in the case of two missing California City toddlers as a prosecutor said in opening arguments that one of the toddlers died in Bakersfield

www.bakersfield.com

3/28/23

On Tuesday, the courtroom had four to five rows in the gallery completely filled by numerous prosecutors, defense attorneys, family and friends — a rare occurrence and clear indication the case has riveted the local community and people across the nation.

Chief Trial Deputy Eric Smith said Tuesday building the prosecution’s case hinges on the Wests’ other children divulging information about their brothers dying. One child said Orrin died September 2020 in Bakersfield — the adoptive parents lived in the city before moving to eastern Kern — after turning a pale color and vomiting, according to Smith.

The same child heard a thud one September 2020 night in California City in Orrin’s room, then never saw Orrin again, Smith said. The Wests have two biological children and two adopted children aside from Orrin and Orson.

Defense attorney Timothy Hennessy, who is representing Trezell West, began his opening statements by ensuring jurors knew both defendants’ names and emphasizing their children are missing. It was easier to charge the parents rather than admit police cannot find the boys, he said.

“This was a tragic accident, is what the evidence will show,” Hennessy said.

Tips weren’t followed up on — the boys were spotted in Texas, he said. There are 41 sex offenders in California City and police didn’t talk to them until 11 days after the boys were reported missing, he added.

 

[DFWNF]

Thank you!

Welcome!

 

[katydid23]

Was Flores stoned on the job???
Seriously......

"Flores says that his primary task was to keep the Wests in his sight."

I didn't get why he said that. Wouldn't his primary task be to find the missing boys?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

If true, what a horrifying and evil nightmare these children endured.
While I now have an opinion about what may have happened to Orrin, I can't fathom why Orson also? (As the youngest, he would have been the easiest to coach of all of the kids.)
All JMO.