Thread by @KGETnews

The trial of Trezell and Jacqueline West -- accused in the deaths of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3 -- is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The Wests were the adoptive parents of the boys, who were reported missing in December 2020. #WestsTrial

The Wests are charged with 2nd-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child cruelty, falsely reporting an emergency and conspiracy. It's also alleged they induced a minor to commit a crime. #WestsTrial

Prosecutors have said Orrin and Orson died three months before the Wests reported them missing but have remained tight-lipped on what evidence they have the boys are dead. Their bodies have not been found. A gag order bars attorneys from speaking about the case. #WestsTrial

Prosecutor Eric Smith will present an opening statement in which he's expected to lay out the evidence against the Wests. #WestsTrial

Defense attorneys may also present opening statements. Trezell West is represented by Timothy Hennessy and Victor Nasser, and Jacqueline West is represented by Alekxia Torres Stallings and Fatima Rodriguez. #WestsTrial

During jury selection last week, Hennessy said the Wests -- whatever the prosecution is alleging -- didn't do it. He also said Orrin and Orson may still be alive. #WestsTrial

Judge Charles R. Brehmer will be presiding over the trial in Department 4 of Kern County Superior Court. The trial is expected to last into early June. #WestsTrial

17 News plans to live tweet the opening statements, which are scheduled to begin in about an hour. #WestsTrial

We haven't been called in to the courtroom yet. A couple jurors have been called in individually then took a seat outside again. We're not sure why. #WestsTrial

Media has been let inside the courtroom. The trial is about to begin. #WestsTrial

A number of attorneys and some members of the public not connected with the case have also entered the courtroom. #WestsTrial

The jury has entered. #WestsTrial

Judge Charles R. Brehmer said one prior juror is no longer a juror in this case and has been replaced with an alternate juror. #WestsTrial

Brehmer is giving a synopsis of the charges. #WestsTrial

Each of the Wests are charged with murder with malice aforethought of Orrin and Orson West. This occurred or about Sept. 1, 2020 through Sept. 11, 2020, the charge says. #WestsTrial

They're charged with willfully harming the boys and conspiracy to commit murder. They're also charged with failing to provide a legal duty in a criminally negligent manner regarding involuntary manslaughter. #WestsTrial

They're charged with a number of overt acts. Trezell West arranged for the boys to stay in Cal City on the week of Sept. 18, 2020. #WestsTrial

An unknown co-conspirator kiled the boys after the Wests planned their deaths, the charges allege. #WestsTrial

On or about Sept. 1 through Sept. 20, 2020 the Wests represented that the boys went back to the biological parents. #WestsTrial

The judge is now reading preliminary jury instructions. #WestsTrial

Prosecutor Eric Smith has begun his opening statement. #WestsTrial

He introduced Detective Thomas Hernandez from BPD, the investigating officer. A TV is in the courtroom to show specific surveillance footage from a house near where the Wests lived. #WestsTrial

He presented Orrin and Orson West. They were foster children later adopted by the Wests. Their bodies have not been found. #WestsTrial

"Presented photos" of the boys. The Wests primary source of income in Cal City was the $4K they received from adopting children. #WestsTrial

The Wests previously lived at 1526 Lotus Lane at an apartment. #WestsTrial

The Wests moved to Cal City, 10717 Aspen Way. Smith said there will be DNA evidence presented from that home. #WestsTrial

The case will start at Dec. 21, 2020 and move backward, Smith said. That's the day the Wests reported the boys missing. #WestsTrial

Smith is playing a recording of a 911 call that Trezell West made on that date. He asks if anyone called in reporting two "two little black boys." He said they went missing. #WestsTrial

That called came in at 5:41 p.m. Officers were dispatched at 5:46 p.m. and on scene at 5:48. Four Cal City police officers responded and began searching for the boys. #WestsTrial

Smith is displaying an overhead view of the Wests home in Cal City and surrounding area. #WestsTrial

Police searched home and lot next to it and found nothing. They got assistance from civilians and KCSO search and rescue, Smith said. #WestsTrial

So many things happened there was miscommunication. There was no footage of the children walking down the street, erroneous report, Smith said. #WestsTrial

No cars or people drove up to the home, no one who could have abducted the boys, Smith said. The surveillance footage shows no one went to the home, he said. #WestsTrial

"Now what's going to become important in this case is details," Smith said. There were inconsistencies in what Trezell and Jacqueline said. Trezell West said he closed the gate to make sure the dogs couldn't get out but the gate was open. #WestsTrial

It took a grown man effort to open the gate. Orrin and Orson would not be able to open it, Smith said. #WestsTrial

There were no children's footprints in the dirt between the cement slab by the house and the gate leading out to a field. #WestsTrial

Jesse Dobbins, a neighbor who lived across the street, will testify. He had a camera that captured activations that night. #WestsTrial

At 5:09 p.m. Trezell West was outside pulling wood in and out of the house. He said he last saw the children at 5:17 p.m., Smith said. Footage shows West get in his van, drive around the area, then come home and call 911. #WestsTrial

Another neighbor said he did not see any children walking into the desert, Smith said. #WestsTrial

Based on statements made by Jacqueline, Search and Rescue brought a cadaver dog to the backyard and had some notification based on what it smelled, Smith said. The FBI dug, no bones or body parts found. #WestsTrial

When the other children were interviewed Dec. 22, 2020, they made comments that led to the investigation. Adrian, 10, at the time, said his mother had told him Orrin and Orson "went to grandmother's house" before September. #WestsTrial

Aidan West, another biological son of the Wests, also said Orrin and Orson hadn't moved to the house in the Cal City. He said his parents told him the boys "went to the place they used to live." #WestsTrial

4 children who lived with Jacqueline and Trezell said Orrin and Orson either didn't live in Cal City or were only there for a brief time. #WestsTrial

On December 19, 2020 the Wests went from Cal City to Bakersfield. They went to a number of places. Orrin and Orson were never seen in surveillance footage from any of those places, Smith said. #WestsTrial

On Dec.28, 2020, Adrian, eldest son of Jacqueline and Trezell, is reinterviewed. He says that while they were living in Bakersfield he heard noises in the night coming from Orrin and Orson. Said Orrin died, parents didn't call for medical aid. #WestsTrial

Adrian said his parents discussed keeping the death a secret. #WestsTrial

Orson was in Cal City for 4 days, Adrian said. One day he heard a loud thud in the night and the next day Orson wasn't there, Adrian said according to Smith. #WestsTrial

Sept. 18, 2020 is the day Wanda West went out to Cal City to watch the boys, Smith said. That did not include Orrin and Orson. They weren't there. #WestsTrial

Cellphone footage will give a sense of the trips back and forth the Wests made to Cal City, Smith said. Wanda West believed Orrin and Orson were with someone else. #WestsTrial

Orrin and Orson were not seen at any point from Sept. 18-20, 2020. That lines up with what Adrian says about the boys not being there. #WestsTrial

"I told 'em, 'Pretend they're not here. Just act like they don't live here. Just, uh, go do your work.," Jacqueline Gutierrez said in an interview on Dec. 22, 2020. #WestsTrial

Ultimately, the answer to where are the boys is that the boys are dead, Smith said. He ended his opening statement by saying he'll be asking the jury to find the Wests guilty of murder. #WestsTrial

Timothy Hennessy began his opening statement by saying Orrin and Orson are missing and the reason the adoptive parents are charged is because it's easier for authorities to do that than explain why they can't find them. #WestsTrial

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. #WestsTrial

They started adopting because they heard about brothers getting separated in the system, Hennessy said. They wanted to help children. #WestsTrial

Trezell explained the reason he got Orrin and Orson is because they were two little Black boys just like him. And now he and Jacqueline are on trial because they went missing. #WestsTrial

Hennessy played the surveillance footage from when the boys were reported missing. A car is seen leaving the area. "They can't explain that," Hennessy said of authorities. #WestsTrial

There are 41 registered sex offenders in Cal City, 41 people who are a risk to children, Hennessy said. Authorities didn't talk to any until 11 days later. Actually only spoke to two, Hennessy said. #WestsTrial

There is the in the initial paperwork from CPS that says there is video footage of the children walking down the street, Hennessy said. No one know why that was written down. #WestsTrial

Hennessy said a woman in Texas called police. Prosecutor Eric Smith then called for a sidebar. #WestsTrial

A woman in Texas reported seeing two little boys she believed were Orrin and Orson, Hennessy said. That tip was never followed upon, he said. #WestsTrial

"This is a tragic accident is what the evidence will show," Hennessy said. #WestsTrial

Alekxia Torres Stallings, representing Jacqueline West, said she is reserving her opening statement. #WestsTrial

The California City dispatcher who took the 911 call from Trezell West is the first witness called to the stand. #WestsTrial

Cal City police Officer Joshua Flores has been called to the stand. #WestsTrial

He responded to the Wests' home the night the boys were reported missing Dec. 21, 2020. #WestsTrial

Flores wore a body-worn camera that recorded an interview he conducted of Trezell West. That recording is being played for the jury. #WestsTrial

Trezell West said he came outside, couldn't find Orrin and Orson and looked at the gate. He decided to drive around looking for them but couldn't find them. Then he called 911. #WestsTrial

An officer in the video says he didn't find any tracks in the dirt and asks the Wests to be truthful with him. "There's no other way they could have went out," Jacqueline West says in the recording. #WestsTrial

The trial will resumed at 1:30 p.m. #WestsTrial

Trial is back in session with Cal City Officer Joshua Flores back on the witness stand. #WestsTrial

An interview with the Wests from early the next morning after the boys were reported missing is being played. They're outside and it's dark, not much can be seen. #WestsTrial

There will be many hours of video footage played during this trial. Officer Flores' footage is still playing. At one point Jacqueline West says the boys have never wandered far from home before. #WestsTrial

In the video, police follow the Wests inside their home. The Wests are looking for some papers to give the officers. #WestsTrial

An officer tells the WEsts to have a seat while they wait for a helicopter and search and rescue personnel to join the search. The video ends. #WestsTrial

Officer Flores testified the Wests gave him adoption paperwork that night. He said he doesn't recall what he did after the video ends but had no further participation in the investigation. #WestsTrial

Smith ended his questioning of Flores. #WestsTrial

Alekxia Torres Stallings, defense lawyer for Jacqueline West, has begun cross-examination. #WestsTrial

Torres Stallings is focusing on Flores' inexperience at the time of the boys' disappearance. He was still in training at the time, had only been an officer five months. #WestsTrial

Flores testified he wrote no reports from that night. #WestsTrial

The only document Flores authored in connection with the investigation was a property retrieval form, he said. #WestsTrial

Torres Stallings is asking Flores about his body-worn camera. She asked if his camera was on at any other point other than what was viewed in court. Flores said he can't recall. #WestsTrial

Flores testified he's not aware if his field training officer had his body-worn camera on that night. #WestsTrial

When he first arrived he made contact with Trezell West and got a description of the missing children, Flores said. He circled around the neighborhood nd looked for the children. #WestsTrial

The first officers on the scene were Flores and his field training officer. Four others later arrived. #WestsTrial

Flores testified his task was he "was assigned" to the Wests, to watch over them. #WestsTrial

Flores said he spoke with two neighbors that night. He doesn't have names or numbers for them and again said he didn't write a report. #WestsTrial

In the Wests' backyard there was chalk on a concrete slab, Flores said. Torres Stallings showed photos of chalk markings on concrete. Flores said that's what he saw on Dec. 21, 2020. #WestsTrial

Flores agreed with Torres Stallings' description of the gate in the backyard as not properly put together and "wiggly." WestsTrial

Flores testified he doesn't recall if he was handed a firearm from another officer the night he went to the Wests' home. He said he was told there was a firearm but doesn't recall being handed it. #WestsTrial

Torres Stallings showed him video of a firearm, not his, that was in his possession. Flores said it's accurate that he was given a firearm at the home. #WestsTrial

Flores said he doesn't recall if the photos sent to him of the children were recent photos. He said he no longer has those photos, which were sent to him by Jacqueline West. He also didn't save them as evidence and doesn't know if anyone else did. #WestsTrial

Torres Stallings ended her cross-examination and Flores has been excused. #WestsTrial

Mike Balabekyan has been called to the stand. He lived on the same street as the Wests. On Dec. 21, 2020 he spoke with police about surveillance cameras on his house. #WestsTrial

Mike B. said officers took his DVR equipment and he allowed them to do so. He said he spoke to a lot of police, doesn't recall a lot of the particulars. #WestsTrial

Footage from Mike B.'s cameras will be played in court. #WestsTrial

Smith asked a few questions based on still images taken from Mike B's footage then ended his questioning of him. #WestsTrial

During cross-examination, Torres Stallings asked Mike B. if there is a delay on his videos. He said no, and she asked if there isn't an 8-second delay. Mike B. said he isn't aware of that. #WestsTrial

Mike B. has been excused. #WestsTrial

Anthony Cabriales of the Baldwin Park Police Department has been called to the stand. He previously worked two years at the California City Police Department. #WestsTrial

On Dec. 21, 2020, he was assigned to patrol. He was dispatched to the Wests' home regarding missing children. "I assisted in attempting to locate the missing juveniles," he said. #WestsTrial

He searched the home and backyard then the surrounding area, Cabriales said. Other offices were at the scene. #WestsTrial

Cabriales said he spoke with a homeowner regarding surveillance cameras on their home. #WestsTrial

That person allowed police access to his security camera system, Cabriales said. It was a "Ring-type doorbell camera." There were clips that were relatively short in length, he said. #WestsTrial

The West residence was across the street from where the camera was facing, Cabriales said. #WestsTrial

He said at that time there was no evidence on the footage to help with finding the missing children. Another officer was tasked with seizing footage. #WestsTrial

Cabriales testified he sat in on an interview that evening with Trezell and Jacqueline West at the California City Police Department. #WestsTrial

The court will be in recess for 15 minutes. #WestsTrial

Back in session with Officer Cabriales back on the witness stand being questioned by prosecutor Eric Smith. #WestsTrial

An interview with Jacqueline West at the Cal City Police Department is about to be played. It was taken the night the boys were reported missing. #WestsTrial

An interview of Trezell West will also be played. Cabriales was present during the interviews. #WestsTrial

The Jacqueline West interview is being played.

Two officers are in an interview room with Jacqueline West. She says the last time she saw all six of her kids together was the day before. #WestsTrial

The audio on the video is difficult to make out. She says the 4 other children are with a relative and Orrin and Orson came back with her and Trezell to California City. #WestsTrial

She said she last saw Orrin and Orson "5-ish" that day. She said she was wrapping gifts. #WestsTrial

She searched inside, Trezell West looked outside for the boys, Jacqueline West says in the video. #WestsTrial

An officer tells her they've had search dogs out there and have reviewed surveillance footage and there's nothing to indicate the boys left the property. #WestsTrial

"Are there any issues with the biological parents?" an officer asks. Jacqueline West says there used to be but not anymore. #WestsTrial

That interview has finished playing. #WestsTrial

Cabriales testified that, other than the interviews, he did nothing else that evening related to the investigation. #WestsTrial

Smith ended his questioning of Cabriales and Torres Stallings has begun cross-examination. #WestsTrial

She asked if he was ever given a department-issued cellphone. Cabriales said he was not. #WestsTrial

Regarding the body-worn camera footage, Torres Stallings asked if he noticed the date and time were off. Cabriales said he was unaware of that. #WestsTrial

Cabriales said he was not a lead investigator on this case. #WestsTrial

"Were you aware the police department had to get new body-worn camera videos after this investigation?" Torres Stallings asked. "No," Cabriales said. #WestsTrial

Torres Stallings asked if he ever received any information from Child Protective Services. He said no, the only information he received regarding the adoption of the boys came from the Wests. #WestsTrial

After reviewing a report, Cabriales said it doesn't jog his memory as to having contact with CPS that night. #WestsTrial

The first task Cabriales was given upon responding at the West home was to search for the boys, he said. He also was to identify surveillance equipment that could help find them. #WestsTrial

Cabriales testified the only person he contacted who had surveillance video was the person living across the street from the Wests. #WestsTrial

Cabriales said he's not sure of the exact time he took the Wests down to the station to be interviewed. It was several hours after the boys were reported missing. #WestsTrial

There were a lot of civilian volunteers at the scene, Cabriales said. Their names are not included in his report, and he's not sure what they were told to look for during the search. He said he's not aware of any other homes in the area being searched that evening. #WestsTrial

Cabriales testified he's not sure if any known sex offenders living in the area were contacted that night or their homes searched. #WestsTrial

Torres Stallings finished her cross-examination. Timothy Hennessy, attorney for Trezell West, is now cross-examining Cabriales. #WestsTrial

Hennessy notes in the interview that Cabriales told Jacqueline Wests they had surveillance footage and search dogs out. That wasn't true, was it, Hennessy asked. Cabriales agreed it wasn't. It was a ruse used to see how Jacqueline West reacted. #WestsTrial

Hennessy finished his questioning and Cabriales was excused. The trial will resume Wednesday at 9 a.m. #WestsTrial