BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Court records show a motion has been filed to postpone Wednesday’s sentencing hearing for Trezell and Jacqueline West, who face life terms in prison in the death of one of two adopted sons who went missing in 2020.
A jury in May found the Wests 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.
The boys’ bodies have not been found.
A gag order is in effect barring attorneys and court staff from speaking about the case or releasing documents. It’s unclear who filed the motion.
The Wests were previously scheduled to be sentenced in July, but Judge Charles R. Brehmer granted a postponement to allow defense counsel to prepare “necessary paperwork.”
The Wests’ eldest child, who was 10 years old at the time of the boys’ disappearance, testified he saw Orrin dead and his parents told him if he said anything, he and the other children would be taken away. In addition to Orrin and Orson, the Wests had two other adopted children and two biological children.
They moved from Bakersfield to California City a week after Orrin’s death, the boy said, and Orson disappeared soon after.
The Wests reported Orrin and Orson missing on Dec. 21, 2020, but prosecutors say the boys died three months earlier.
Defense counsel argued the boys could have been kidnapped by a sex offender — dozens of who lived in California City at the time — or a biological family member.
