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. He was caught. 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. 'Bachelor' Spoilers 2023: Who Does Zach Pick? Though Mr. Watts initially insisted that he had not killed his children, he said he had dumped their bodies in oil tanks and had buried his wife nearby. Instead, they were made by a deceitful, cowardly, angry but also perhaps also humiliated husband. And Watts showed his first sign of emotion. I trusted you to take care of them, not kill them, and they also trusted you, said Ms. Wattss father, Frank Rzucek Sr. You disgust me.. "There's not one person you can talk to that will say anything about this kid. However, Peoplereports that court documents showed that Kessinger "spent 'over two hours' searching Google for wedding dresses just nine days before Chris killed his wife and two daughters." Shanann, Bella, and Celeste became the focus of a police investigation after disappearing from their home in Frederick, Colo. in the early hours of Aug. 13, 2018. 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. The 2018 murders of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters in Colorado are the subject of a new Netflix documentary. It is thought the tanks of gas were used in an attempt to disguise the odor of decay. ga('ads.send', { Within a day, he was in handcuffs. All rights reserved. Sergeant Jill Evans is a small town cop in Wales with an impressive record in her job, and a less than impressive record in her love life. After his confession, police found the bodies of Bella and Celeste hidden in oil tanks, and Shanann was buried nearby. Instead, this is a love story like no other. Watts then changed his story about his marriage and didn't show the kind of emotion one would expect from a man who can't find his family. We wanted him to know, You know your father wants to know what the truth is, he flew across the country to support you and hes not going to stop supporting you just because you tell him what happened. The haunting interview, recorded as an all-hands search effort combed the area for his missing family members, helped ignite nationwide interest in the 2018 case, which is the subject of a new Netflix documentary. #ChrisWatts #ShannanWatts #PsychicMedium, A post shared by Shavonda Tate (@shavondaspsychicreadings) on Dec 27, 2019 at 1:25pm PST. 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. I mean, those smiles light up my life," he said with equal frigidity. Not only were they weighed down by money problems, but Shanann was convinced that her husband had been cheating on her and confided in a close friend that she had worries that he may have been unfaithful. He's not a monster.". Another instance dramatized in the movie shows Chris and Shanann sitting in a restaurant waiting to order food. Like seriously! "I knew if I took my hands off of her, she would still keep me from Nikki [Nichol]," he wrote in one of the letters. hitType: 'event', Ronnie is referring to the initial story that Chris gave to the police, claiming that he only killed Shanann after discovering that she'd murdered their two daughters. He also received 12 years for tampering with the bodies of each victim.". At around 8 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2018, he was filmed "picking up a sandwich and chatting with the cashier." He just explained how he stuffed his children into a tank of oil and water at their burial place. ga('ads.send', { Probably not," he told investigators. Heres how the case developed. [*] A lawyer for Shananns family said that Chris murdered Shanann during an argument after he asked for a divorce. When she realized her marriage was crumbling before her, she tried everything she could to save it. I barely knew him.". He deserves a life sentence for each and every act on top of one another, Mr. Rourke said. I love that. 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. That is one evil man.. 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. We didn't just start dating yesterday! And then theres the chill Watts put on the room after his confession. I don't know the answer to it. While Chris, at first, adamantly denied any wrongdoing in the disappearance of his entire family, it wasnt long before he was arrested. }); He avoided an honest conversation with his wife for weeks in favor of pursuing his secret affair but Shanann wasnt easily fooled, deep down she knew. I just listened to the Brock Turner case, which is what inspired me to write this review. Become a Patreon Supporter for bonus content! Her friend responded, "What do you mean? Netflix's new true crime documentary, American Murder, reveals a crumbling marriage and an affair. He knows hes starting to get pinned, Flater said. Ryan was the initial suspect, but he acted very strangely during his interview, claiming hed been shot in the face by two men who broke into the house. According to the police, Mr. Watts had been having an affair with a co-worker, and in the early hours of Aug. 13, he told his wife he wanted to separate. I recommend the book :) its powerful. And Sgt. While the two were not legally separated, during Shannans time away from Chris, he began a romantic relationship outside of his marriage with a coworker. Theres not one person you can talk to that will say anything bad about this kid. When I went out to meet with them in North Carolina, they provided me with access to Shananns laptop and her mobile phone without any restrictions other than a request to tell the truth, Ms. Popplewell said. He then said that he killed her in response to her killing their daughters. Shanann booked a trip to Aspen which the couple were due to take just a few days after she went missing. Her daughters were also missing and she had neglected to take any important items with her such as her purse, cellphone and medication. Sadly, no one could know that Chris' transformation would turn deadly. Copyright 2023 Distractify. And it begins with that interview by Denver7 on Watts front porch. The day that Shanann went missing he sent her a text asking where she was. THIS IS TOTAL LEFT FIELD.". 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.' AP; Facebook. eventAction: 'render' Shanann Watts' Friend Not Surprised Chris Watts Killed Fami ", By telling a co-worker that he'd be visiting Cervi Ranch early on that Monday morning to complete some checks, many people believed that Chris may have premeditated his actions on that fateful August day, per Esquire, and had chosen the oil field as a burial site after murdering his family. I need you to meet me halfway. Of Chris' mistress, Nichol ("Nikki") Kessinger, Cadle said, "Christopher says he loved her like he has never loved anyone else before.". 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. When convicted killer Christopher Watts spoke to Denver7 reporter Tomas Hoppough and then later to investigators last August, it was what he did not say and do that raised a lot of eyebrows. The murder of the Watts family quickly received national attention with Chris at the center of a murder investigation. Tanned and fit, he looked into the camera apparently in anguish and begged for his family to come home. He was unhappy about her pregnancy, and she worried that he wouldnt be able to handle a third child. Feelings of my love for her was overcoming me. 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. Which brings us to perhaps the most frightening question of all are all of us capable of this kind of evil, this kind of violence? The location he was referring to turned out to be the place he had decided to dump the bodies of his family once he had murdered them. Watts received three life sentences for his crimes. 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. So yes, theyve helped me with my victim shame. Shanann appears to display some signs of narcissism when she disregards what Chris wants to eat and proceeds to order for both of them. 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. If you dont know, he has sadly confessed to the killing Show more Show more Colorado murder home sits in "I thought it would be easier to be with Nichol if Shanann wasn't pregnant," he explained. His facial expressions and tone of voice, however, convey a complete lack of concern for Shanann and their daughters. I cant stay in this house again with nobody here. ga('ads.send', { Thank you listeners! 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. Soon after his arrest, he confessed to killing Shanann after failing a polygraph test. ga('ads.send', { According to theDaily Mail, "Footage from a police officer's body camera has been getting attention because it appears to show a little girl playing inside the Watts' home after Chris' wife and daughters were reported missing." As a way to explain away his failing result, Watts admitted to an affair. Tuesday would be the gender reveal party, an event that friends and family were excited to attend. I need to see everybody., We cant see the whole body but it looks like hes holding his arms together," Nicoletti said. According to ABC News, Watts had strangled his wife and children in their home, after which he took their bodies out to an oil well, where he buried Shanann in a shallow grave and hid the girls' bodies in oil tanks on the site. Chris Wattss behavior around his missing and pregnant wife raised red flags for those following the case instantly along with local law enforcement. Presumably, Kessinger may have been concerned about what the public perception would be once it was revealed that she was the mistress of a convicted murderer. Cadle released a book about their letters titled Letters From Christopher in October 2019. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Ryan was taken to the police station and questioned before the police realized he really had been shot in the face and survived his injuries for two days.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Available in the Wondery App. You can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. If somebody has her, just bring her back. I don't know who he is." Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Suspiciously, Shanann had neglected to take important everyday items with her, including her cellphone, wallet and medicine. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. But with two strong persons of interest with competing facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation. Hes caught and that reality is setting in, Flater said. They again watched Denver7s front porch interview with Chris Watts the day his family vanished. On August 14, 2018, Chris Watts paced his neighbor Nathaniel Trinastich's living room in agitation. 'Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer' premieres Saturday 8/7c on Lifetime. Then a fidgety Watts scurries out of the house, and Trinastich tells the officers he's got a funny feeling about his neighbor's behavior. They never would come home. While Chris and Shanann Watts appeared to have a perfect marriage to onlookers, their relationship suddenly changed in the weeks leading up to the murders. It was only then that he admitted to strangling his wife and dumping his 3 year old and 4 year old daughters bodies in the oil tanks. They found Ryan injured but alive, and his girlfriend Heather dead from a gunshot wound to the head. 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 In an interview (posted on YouTube) with the Denver ABC affiliatetwo days after the murder, Watts said, "I hope that she's somewhere safe right now and with the kids." Last month, the case began to recapture Americans attention when Netflix released a documentary on the murders, the Wattses marriage and the police investigation. That is, until Watts finally confessed. I just want to cry. December 30, 1999. She planned to ask him what he wanted to do. Read more true crime, cold cases and unsolved mysteries from meHERE<<. Their financial issues were so bad that they filed for bankruptcy in 2014. 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