Parents in case of missing Cal City boys each sentenced to 19 years to life

Sep. 28—The California City parents convicted of killing one of their two adoptive sons were sentenced Thursday morning to 19 years to life each, concluding a high-profile case that at one point had people searching desperately for the toddlers who were reported missing in late 2020.

Trezell and Jacqueline West showed no noticeable reaction when the sentence was rendered in Kern County Superior Court by Judge Charles Brehmer.

The bodies of the two boys — Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3 — have not been found, which added intrigue to a trial that gained considerable interest even beyond Kern County.

Afterward, with a gag order on the case finally lifted, Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer told reporters during a news conference in her offices that she thought the Wests had a fair trial that ended in a fair verdict.

She called the case "one of the county's most exhaustive, thorough investigations, and I'm very proud of what law enforcement has done in this case."

In May, both parents were found guilty of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Orrin. The jury also convicted both parents of two counts of willful cruelty to a child, with regard to both children. The Wests were additionally pronounced guilty of falsely reporting an emergency, a misdemeanor.

Jurors deadlocked on the second-degree murder charge related to Orson and a conspiracy charge for both defendants.

Zimmer explained at the news conference that she and the prosecutor in the case, Chief Trial Deputy Eric Smith, together made the "very difficult decision" not to retry the case based on the two counts on which the jury was unable to reach agreement. The reason, she said, was the hard time the Wests' biological children have already endured by testifying in court.

"We didn't want to put them through that again," she said.

Biological family members of Orrin and Orson declined to make statements to reporters outside the courthouse Thursday morning.

Before the sentences were read in court, Jacqueline West's lawyer, Alekxia Torres Stallings, told Judge Brehmer about suspicions of juror misconduct during deliberations.

Torres Stallings went on to request probation for her client, rather than prison time, to which Smith objected, saying, "She deserves what she's going to get" and asking for the maximum sentence "based on ... her actions with Trezell."

Brehmer denied the request for probation, declaring, "Jacqueline West is not the victim. That should be clear." Then he gave both defendants a sentence of 15 years to life, plus four years.

The Wests reported the two boys missing in Dec. 21, 2020, soon after they moved from Bakersfield to their new home in California City.

Trezell told local police he was gathering wood for a fire while his wife wrapped presents inside their home and the boys played with chalk outside. When he returned home, Trezell said, he noticed the boys were missing.

That led to a community effort to find the boys. Residents of California City drove around the area looking for Orrin and Orson, without success.

In March 2022, a Kern County grand jury indicted Trezell and Jacqueline, alleging the boys had actually died in September 2020 and that their parents were responsible for their deaths.

The only witness to the circumstances that prosecutors say led to the boys' deaths was the West's biological child who was 10 years old at the time of the disappearances.

The child told a forensic interviewer he saw Orrin vomit, choke and change color in the family's Bakersfield apartment. He said Orrin's body was cold to the touch.

The 10-year-old also testified that, after the family moved to California City, he heard a sound like a soap bottle falling in the bathroom and that, after that, Orson was never seen again.

Defense attorneys said the older sibling was improperly led during questioning in a way that produced false narratives. Jacqueline told investigators her children were not telling the truth about what happened to Orrin and Orson.

Neither defendant testified in court, though their four children, two biological and two adopted, did testify as witnesses for the prosecution.

Speaking at Thursday morning's news conference, Zimmer emphasized how proud she was of the law enforcement assigned to the case, not just California City police but also at the Bakersfield Police Department, the Kern County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol.

Because of the suspicion the boys died months before they were reported missing, she said, "the killers got a three-month head start on law enforcement." Detectives and officers were able to catch up, she said, by interviewing numerous witnesses and issuing 47 search warrants.

Zimmer thanked the volunteers who came out to search for the children, as well as the people who watched the case in hopes there would be a just ending.

"It would have been wonderful if these children were alive, but they were not," she said. "At least we were able to achieve justice for the children."

Smith, also speaking to reporters, said it was an honor to work on the case, which involved more than 70 witnesses and over 100 pieces of evidence.

"I went in daily to fight for (the boys') justice because they deserved it," he said.