At the time, Watts was having an affair with girlfriend Nichol Kessinger. When she realized her marriage was crumbling before her, she tried everything she could to save it. Despite suffering from lupus, Shanann managed to get pregnant for a third time, and a sonogram of third addition to the Watts clan was posted proudly for all to see and share in the happiness- I love them already! Chris said in a screen-shotted text message exchange with his wife. According to the discovery documents compiled by investigators, data from Kessinger's phone showed that she'd Googled Shanann Watts' name the year before she started an affair with Chris, on Sept. 1, 2017. Boy meets girl. In a disturbing prison letter obtained by The Daily Mail, Chris went into more detail about how and why he committed this heinous crime. Tuesday would be the gender reveal party, an event that friends and family were excited to attend. She wanted to try .She wanted to tell him that she wasnt in a good place mentally and that she didnt want the stress to harm the baby. Its understandable, the couple were burdened with financial problems like late mortgage payments, maxed out credit cards and unpaid debt. He allegedly confessed to police that he was responsible for the slaying of his family. Per theIndependent,"Watts was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for the murders, and a 48-year prison sentence for the wrongful termination of a pregnancy. Even when detectives showed Watts several family pictures, there was no emotional response. Watts received three life sentences for his crimes. }) This is a scenario that he has built up, that he has the right to do this., She was referring to the cold and calculated way Watts made statements like this to our reporter: I mean, my kids are my life. I barely knew him. He will spend the rest of his life in prison and is currently being housed at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. It is thought the tanks of gas were used in an attempt to disguise the odor of decay. eventAction: 'view' When the user enters a secret passcode the application reveals its true purpose, a concealed storage device for photographs, videos, contacts, even a private browser. Feelings of my love for her was overcoming me. "August 13th, morning of, I went to the girls' room first, before Shanann and I had our argument," Chris allegedly wrote in a letter to Cadle. It made me feel dirty.". According to Film Daily, the Watts family murders have been the subject of quite a few true crime documentaries, television shows, podcasts, YouTube specials, and more. He later admitted to killing all three and disposing of their bodies. The story he told me that night, I believed it: The way he looked at me, the way he was crying, I believed it." Lifetime produced a feature film about the murders called Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer, released in January 2020. Filed under. Thank you guys, for bringing me back into my love for true crime! Looking at their social media it would seem the couple were living the perfect family life, but behind closed doors, the pair were having big financial problems. Chris Watts' case is pretty much infamous at this point, after he pleaded guilty to the murders of his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and their two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. His insistence that he wanted his family back and that his pregnant wife and two young girls' disappearance was tearing me apart would have been more convincing had he shown even a shred of emotion. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. From prison, Chris Watts reportedly corresponded with author Cherlyn Cadle in a series of letters, phone calls, and meetings, the details of which she subsequently published in the 2019 book, Letters from Christopher: The Tragic Confessions of the Watts Family Murders. They drove back home after the party and he gave his girls a shower and put them to bed." The bodies of a married couple named Kathy and Danny Freeman were found in the wreckage, but they didnt die in the fire. However, per Oxygen, Chris' attorney reportedly attempted to contact Kessinger on his behalf, but she refused. It was already late, and Chris had to leave for work around 5am, but the pair continued having what Christopher described as an emotional conversation until it was time for him to leave. Shetold The Denver Post in November of that year that she believed him when he said he was separated from his wife and finalizing divorce proceedings. As The Denver Post, with whom Kessinger gave her only press interview, later reported, "Kessinger was working in the environmental department with an Anadarko Petroleum contractor when the two met One day in the middle of June [2018], he walked into her office to introduce himself." Her friend responded, "What do you mean? Shanann Watts' Friend Not Surprised Chris Watts Killed Fami window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { The victim of that case has a book out called Know My Name, and has identified herself. Meanwhile, his time with Kessinger brings back memories of his younger days that were bereft of responsibilities. He was lured to the area after receiving a phone call from a person claiming to be a PI, hired by his ex wife to gather information about him in a custody battle over their son. NEVER. Disclaimer : The views expressed in this article belong to the writer and are not necessarily shared by MEAWW. eventAction: 'click_ads' Its important to note these two specialists worked with police on two of Colorados most horrific crimes: the Columbine High school shootings and the Aurora theater shooting. On the 13th of august, 2018, 34 year old Shanann Watts arrived home late from a business trip. One day after killing his pregnant wife and two daughters, Christopher Watts gave a TV interview from his porch in Frederick, Colo., begging them to come home. Nothing was here. Chris Watts revealed a plethora of details about the case to author Cherlyn Cadle, which were subsequently published in her book,Letters from Christopher: The Tragic Confessions of the Watts Family Murders. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. But with two strong persons of interest with competing facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation. Emotionless, unaffected and scripted. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { hitType: 'event', }); Just days before Christopher Watts was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters, his parents claimed he was actually the one being abused in the relationship. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. OK, it's up. Chris Watts is incarcerated at the maximum-security Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin. "It seemed off," she said. On August 13, 2018, Colorado dad Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts (she was carrying their son, Nico), and their two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. According to INSIDER, Shanann was trying to save her marriage with Chris. The driver of the vehicle was their neighbor, who has a history of citations and arrests. The attention has only intensified with the release of the Netflix doc. Under the agreement, Mr. Watts agreed to serve consecutive life sentences for each of the three deaths. According to texts, she felt like she barely knew who Chris was anymore. However, the case soon became a murder investigation, in which Chris was the prime suspect and after failing a polygraph test, he would confess to murdering his family and disposing of their bodies. Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. The bundles Watts was loading into his truck were not tools and sandwiches, but the bodies of his pregnant 34-year-old wife, Shanann, and two young daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. ", The Most Bizarre Things About The Chris Watts Case. John survived, but Katie died the next day. Heres how the case developed. It took a couple of days for the truth to be revealed about Chris involvement in his familys disappearance and why he, in fact, did kill his family. At the time that Christopher Watts was giving interviews to local TV stations he was fully aware of what he had done and knew that his wife and children had not mysteriously disappeared. Throughout her time away, she texted friends about some of the issues going on between her and Chris. The documentarys director, Jenny Popplewell, said in an interview with Netflix that she wanted people to watch the film to understand how the narratives of the case shifted. The Generation Why Podcast Blog Christopher Watts Charged with the Murder of his Wife and Children April 02, 2022 On the 13 th of august, 2018, 34 year old 'Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer' premieres Saturday 8/7c on Lifetime. 2021 Wondery LLC. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A makeshift memorial to Shanann, Bella and Celeste Watts in Frederick, Colo., in 2018. RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post, via Associated Press. Show more Show more Colorado murder home sits in In hindsight, this normalcy appeared to be extremely chilling. Although Watts worked for Anadarko Petroleum and Shanann sold products for the multi-level marketing company, Le-vel, they filed for bankruptcy in 2015. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { Watts's chilling aloofness has kept the lurid murders in the public eye for years now. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Yeah, Ill have a pizza. "He doesn't look worried. He was charming." No one knew that he had then walked upstairs to his daughters rooms andkilled them in their beds. They died from gunshot wounds to the head. As reported by theDaily Mail, in one letter he sent to Cadle, Chris reportedly admitted that his first attempt to kill his young daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste ("Cece"), 3, was unsuccessful. The day after Shanann and the girls "went missing," however, Watts wasn't quite so believable. Yeah, I mean the paranoia just kind of grows like, 'I cant trust anybody.'. Im just so indebted to their trust.. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. The baby sitter told police that he had hired her to take care of the kids while his wife was away and spun a story about winning tickets to a sports game when in reality he was likely out with his mistress. Hes a wealthy beauty entrepreneur with his own range of toiletries.Girl meets boy. Last night was traumatic. In the same way that the fairy tale presented on Facebook by the Watts family is inverted into a grotesque nightmare in real life, theres another macabre mirror built into this story. Shanann booked a trip to Aspen which the couple were due to take just a few days after she went missing. Are you subscribed to my channel yet? However, he admitted in the letter that he had been plotting the murders for some time. He was charged with the murder of his wife and children, and according to an affidavit released on August 21st, admitted to killing them in a rage after he said he witnessed his wife suffocating his kids. Christopher worked as an operator for Anadarko Petroleum and although Shananns new job saw her traveling more than she used to, the family looked as happy as ever. We already know that Chris Watts Googled the lyrics to the Metallica song, "Battery," after disposing of the bodies of his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and two daughters, Bella and Celeste, in large oil tanks on a site owned by his employer. Her final Instagram post was one of joy and happiness: You know what I love about waking up everydayIts a brand new day to have a fresh start, to be better than I was yesterday, To help someone feel better and happier, to make someone smile and laugh! she wrote. Three days later, the authorities announced that Ms. Wattss body and the bodies of her daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, had been found on the property of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, the oil company that had employed Mr. Watts. He knows hes starting to get pinned, Flater said. Chris and Shanann met in 2010 and married two years later in North Carolina. His sentence also included 48 years for the unlawful termination of Ms. Wattss pregnancy and 36 years for the disposal of the victims bodies. Following his confession, Watts was offered lunch. "The best way I can describe it that he almost zoned out into a different person," she explained. ga('ads.send', { As for the public reaction to the Watts murders, both Flatter and Nicoletti agreed that obsessing over the crime is unhealthy. He was charged with multiple counts of murder, tampering with a body and the unlawful termination of a pregnancy. No sense in both of us going out there lol. Love these guys. Distractify is a registered trademark. Hes caught and that reality is setting in, Flater said. Suspiciously, Shanann had neglected to take important everyday items with her, including her cellphone, wallet and medicine. OK, it's up. There are some new stories that stick with you forever and the case of Chris Watts is no exception. "I just don't understand why he keeps explaining himself over and over," says Trinastich. Watts has never explicitly mentioned the family's financial problems as a reason for the murders. In September of 2016, Greg Mulvihill was shot in a secluded area of Carlsbad, California. Welch, Oklahoma. According toiNews, "He claimed that she had killed their two girls in response to his request [for a divorce], and said he had killed her in anger after she did this. While this is far from the only bizarre thing about the Watts murders, it's definitely strange to consider that Chris decided to run some normal-seeming errands right after committing these heinous crimes. She was dropped off at her house in Colorado by a friend and co-worker who watched her safely close the door behind her before driving off. He refused to admit to killing his own girls and insisted that he had only killed his wife in retaliation to her killing their children. Mr. Rourke said that Mr. Watts had squeezed his daughters bodies through an eight-inch opening to hide them in the oil tank. As Kessinger later told The Denver Post, "I just wanted to help With a pregnant woman and two children missing, I was going to do anything that I could. McMahon also alleged that she'd been misled by Chris, who had reportedly told her that he was divorced. Watts admitted to killing his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and two daughters, Bella (4) and Celeste (3) in 2018. He also confessed that he had poisoned his wife with the painkiller Oxycodone, hoping to cause her to miscarry. Its how they have helped police get to the truth for more than two decades now. Ultimately, it's impossible to have all the answers as to why Watts killed his wife and children. WebChris Watts was in an abusive marriage with Shanann who often humiliated him, claims Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer. As reported by the outlet,"Prosecutors have cited Watts' desire for a fresh start with his mistress, coworker Nichol Kessinger, 30, as his motive in the killings. I dont care what kind., Flater was equally surprised by Watts shamelessness. While Chris Watts' mistress has maintained that she believed he was separated from his wife when they met, police discovered a strange piece of information on Nichol Kessinger's mobile phone. But despite Chris' violent actions, he seemed to have the support of his parents. As author Cherlyn Cadle wrote in her book,Letters from Christopher: The Tragic Confessions of the Watts Family Murders (via theDaily Mail), "After Christopher killed his family and drove away, Nikki texted him to look up the song by Metallica band called 'Battery.' He was in sports since he was 5 years old until he was 17 years old, she continued. We've been together 8 years and have 2.5 kids together.". I couldn't do anything right. She had organized for a babysitter to take care of the children while the two were away on the romantic weekend, but Chris Watts had no intention of working things out. He was done with his wife as his narcissistic supply once he had a new According to documents released by the Weld County District Attorney's Office, Shanann had grown suspicious of her husband. I kept looking at my phone all night and no response from you. After pleading guilty to the crimes, Chris whohad been having an affair with a coworker prior to the murders was sentenced and is now in prison. Why Did Chris Watts Kill His Wife And Daughters? 21-year-old Polish national, Julia Faustyna, claims to be Madeleine McCann- the story so far, CCTV Footage from New Jersey Gas Station Shows Woman Escaping Alleged Captor, Two men arrested in connection with the 1975 murder of Indiana teenager Laurel Jean Mitchell. WebIn this video I continue to give my answers and opinions to viewers' questions. This is all about him. ga('ads.send', { But Watts had one more trick up his sleeve in a desperate attempt to stay in control. The following day no one could get into contact with Shanann and she was quickly reported missing. WebGeneration Why loves their Patrons. Online articles report that Shanann and the girls were murdered in the family home and that the children may have been strangled. So yes, theyve helped me with my victim shame. Shanann used to work at a childrens hospital as a phone operator, but had recently secured a much more glamorous position at a health and wellness company called Le-Vel. We put that question to a pair of Colorados most respected police psychology experts, Lottie Flater and John Nicoletti. His demeanor never changed. Ashleys main point is that Chris Watts was a seething, passive-aggressive narcissist. I cant stay in this house again with nobody here. I love that. Instead, this is a love story like no other. Instead, Chris reportedly loaded wife Shanann Watts' body into his truck after strangling her, and then drove his daughters, who were still very much alive at that point, to what would become their final resting place. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Other Images included the couple smiling and laughing with their two daughters, Bella, 4 and Celest, 3. She ceased contact with him and vowed not to communicate again until his family came home. Searches of her phone revealed that she had been chatting with a close friend about their relationship troubles and had drafted out what she wanted to say to Christopher over text. Tanned and fit, he looked into the camera apparently in anguish and begged for his family to come home. Offers may be subject to change without notice. I need to see everybody, I need to see everybody again. Roll credits.But that would be boring, wouldnt it? She and her husband, In the digital age, it's difficult to conceal information, but Chris Watts found an unusual way to store content he received from his mistress, Nichol Kessinger. Chris had every right to walk out of that room at any moment so we were trying to appease Chris, if you will. One such incident was when Shanann had a fallout with Chris' parents after they served her children ice cream with peanut chips, despite knowing Celeste had a nut allergy. The day that Shanann went missing he sent her a text asking where she was. "I realized [during] this trip what's missing in our relationship! September 1st, 2016. In the nearly five-hour interview, he admitted to strangling his wife after a fight in their home. ", On Aug. 15, 2018, less than a week after his wife and daughters disappeared, Chris Watts failed a polygraph test. "I can't come back like this. Once he had murdered his entire familyand disposed of them, he set the wheels in motion for what he believed would be his new life, his fresh start. If you want to refresh yourself on the details of the case before reading the update, head over to the original post (HERE<<). By all accounts, Chris had spent a pretty regular weekend with his two daughters, and there seemed to be indication that he had planned to murder them and their mother just hours later. December 30, 1999. This season, host Dave Cawley, digs into the lives of these two men, the details of the case and examines the intersections between domestic abuse and sexual violence. If you know anything about Chris Watts, you might be scrambling for an explanation. I just listened to the Brock Turner case, which is what inspired me to write this review. If youre asking that, you probably have some kind of conscience, Flater said. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Cindy and Ronnie Watts told ABC 11 WTVD Eyewitness News that their son was suffering at the hands of his wife while she was still alive. Family to come home compensation for some time strangling his wife after a fight in their home in Flater. Burdened with financial problems as a generation why chris watts for the unlawful termination of a Killer, released in 2020. Were burdened with financial problems like late mortgage payments, maxed out cards... Facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation paranoia just kind of conscience Flater... And vowed not to communicate again until his family to come home articles report Shanann... This video I continue to give my answers and opinions to viewers ' questions case, which is what me... With nobody here Mr. Rourke said that Mr. Watts agreed to serve consecutive life sentences his... To have the support of his family to come home andkilled them in oil... Released in January 2020 his sleeve in a secluded area of Carlsbad,.... Shot in a screen-shotted text message exchange with his wife and daughters probably have some kind of,! 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