UPDATE: The sentencing hearing has been postponed to Sept. 28 for defense attorneys to provide more information to the court. On that date, Judge Charles R. Brehmer will decide whether to proceed with sentencing or if the new information requires further postponement.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The sentencing of the adoptive parents whose two youngest children were reported missing in 2020 and are presumed dead is scheduled for this morning but will likely be postponed.
A motion to postpone the sentencing for Trezell and Jacqueline West has been filed in court will be heard in front of Judge Charles R. Brehmer at 8:30 a.m.
17 News will live-blog the proceedings.
After a weekslong trial, jurors found Trezell West, 36, and Jacqueline West, 33, guilty of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty regarding the death of Orrin, 4, but failed to reach verdicts on second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with 3-year-old Orson’s death. A guilty verdict for child cruelty was returned regarding Orson.
Second-degree murder carries a prison term of 15 years to life. The couple was also convicted of falsely reporting an emergency.
The Wests reported Orrin and Orson missing from their California City home on Dec. 21, 2020. Prosecutors say the boys died three months earlier while the family was still living at an apartment in Bakersfield.
Defense counsel argued authorities focused on their clients at the expense of thoroughly investigating other possibilities, including whether the boys were kidnapped by a sex offender or someone from their biological family. Trezell West is represented by Timothy Hennessy and Victor Nasser, Jacqueline West by Alekxia Torres Stallings and Fatima Rodriguez.
