Watts family

murders

The Wat t s family murders occurred in Frederick, Colorado, Unit ed St at es, during t he early
morning hours of August 13, 2018. Christ opher Lee Wat t s (born May 16, 1985)[1] admit t ed t o
murdering his pregnant wife Shanann Cat hryn Wat t s (née Rzucek; born January 10, 1984) by
st rangulat ion. He lat er admit t ed t o killing t heir daught ers, four-year-old Bella and t hree-year-old
Celest e, by smot hering t hem wit h a blanket over t heir heads. On November 6, 2018, Wat t s
pleaded guilt y t o mult iple count s of first -degree murder as part of a plea deal when t he deat h
penalt y (which was lat er abolished in Colorado in 2020) was removed from sent encing. He was
sent enced t o five life sent ences wit hout t he possibilit y of parole, t hree t o be served
consecut ively.
 Christopher Watts

Born Christopher Lee Watts

May 16, 1985
Spring Lake, North Carolina, U.S.

Status Incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution

Spouse(s) Shanann Rzucek

(m. 2012; died 2018)

Criminal charge Three counts of first-degree murder, Two

counts of murder of a child 12 years or younger,
unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and three
counts of tampering with a deceased human
body

Penalty Five life sentences without the possibility of

parole, plus 84 years

Details

Victims Shanann (wife), Bella Marie (daughter), Celeste

"CeCe" (daughter), Nico (unborn son)

Date apprehended August 15, 2018

Background

Christ opher Wat t s and Shanann Rzucek were from Nort h Carolina – Christ opher from Spring Lake
and Shanann from Aberdeen. They met in 2010 and were married in Mecklenburg Count y on
November 3, 2012, according t o online records.[2] The couple had t wo daught ers: Bella Marie
Wat t s (born December 17, 2013) and Celest e Cat hryn "CeCe" Wat t s (born July 17, 2015). At t he
t ime of her deat h, Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant wit h a son who was t o be named Nico.[3]

The Wat t s family lived in a five-bedroom home in Frederick, Colorado, which t hey purchased in
2013,[4] and declared bankrupt cy in 2015.[5] Christ opher was employed by Anadarko Pet roleum,
while Shanann worked from home selling a product called Thrive for t he mult i-level market ing
company Le-Vel.[5][6]
 Disappearance

At approximat ely 1:48 a.m. on August 13, 2018, Shanann, ret urning from a business t rip t o Arizona,
was driven home by friend and colleague Nickole Ut oft At kinson. Christ opher was home wit h t heir
daught ers.[7] Lat er t hat day, Shanann and t he girls were report ed missing by Nickole At kinson,
who became concerned when Shanann missed a scheduled obst et rics and gynaecology
appoint ment and failed t o ret urn her t ext messages. Aft er Shanann missed a business meet ing,
At kinson went t o t he Wat t s residence at about 12:10 p.m..[8][9] When t he doorbell and knocks
went unanswered, At kinson not ified Christ opher, who was at work, and called t he Frederick
Police Depart ment .

A Frederick police officer arrived t o conduct a welfare check at about 1:40 p.m.[10] During t he
welfare check, Christ opher gave t he police officer permission t o search t he house,[11] where t he
family dog was discovered unharmed, but no sign of Shanann or t he girls was found.[12] Searchers
discovered Shanann's purse cont aining her phone and keys.[11] Her car, which st ill cont ained t he
girls' car seat s, was in t he garage.[13] Shanann's wedding ring was found on t he bedside t able. [11]

The FBI and t he Colorado Bureau of Invest igat ion (CBI) joined t he invest igat ion t he next day.
Christ opher init ially t old police t hat he had no idea where his family might be and t hat had not
seen his wife since 5:15 AM t he previous day, when he left for work.[14] He gave int erviews t o
Denver st at ions KMGH-TV and KUSA-TV out side t he house, pleading for t he ret urn of his wife
and daught ers. Invest igat ors wit h search dogs could be heard on t he propert y during t he
int erview.[15][16]

Legal proceedings

Arrest and charges

E…
Christ opher was arrest ed August 15, 2018. According t o t he arrest affidavit and foot age from a
securit y camera in t he int erview room, he failed a polygraph t est and subsequent ly confessed t o
murdering Shanann. He asked t o speak t o his fat her before confessing. According t o t he affidavit ,
Christ opher was having an affair and claimed he asked for a separat ion from Shanann. During t he
invest igat ion, he claimed Shanann had st rangled t he girls in response t o his request for separat ion
and t hat he had t hen st rangled her in a fit of rage and t ransport ed t he bodies t o a remot e oil-
st orage sit e leased by his employer, Anadarko Pet roleum.[17]
Christ opher was fired by t he company on August 15, t he day of his arrest . The aut horit ies
locat ed t he bodies of t he Wat t s family on t he Anadarko Pet roleum sit e on August 16. The girls'
bodies were found in crude oil st orage t anks, while Shanann was buried in a shallow grave
nearby.[18]

On August 21, Christ opher was charged wit h four count s of first -degree murder, including an
addit ional one count per child cit ed as "deat h of a child who had not yet at t ained 12 years of age
and t he defendant was in a posit ion of t rust ", unlawful t erminat ion of a pregnancy, and t hree
count s of t ampering wit h a deceased human body.[19] He was denied bail at his first court
appearance. At a lat er hearing, his bail was set at $5 million, wit h him being required t o put down
15% t o be released.

The case has been connect ed in t he media t o t he crime of family annihilat ion (familicide).[20]
Many of t hese crimes occur in August , before school st art s, which may delay det ect ion and
invest igat ion.[20] According t o former FBI profiler Candice DeLong, cases such as t he Wat t s' are
rare because "family annihilat ors usually commit suicide aft er t he murders",[21] an act ion t hat
Christ opher claimed t o have cont emplat ed out of guilt for his act ions.[22]

In an int erview on Dr. Phil, Christ opher's lawyer claimed t hat he confessed t o killing Shanann aft er
an argument regarding divorce. During t he murder, Bella walked in on t he couple. Christ opher t hen
t old her t hat Shanann was sick. He loaded Shanann's body and t he girls, wit hout t heir car seat s,
int o t he back seat of his work t ruck. He lat er smot hered t he girls, one aft er t he ot her, wit h a
blanket t here.[23]

Plea deal and sentencing

E…
Christ opher pleaded guilt y t o t he murders on November 6. The deat h penalt y was not put
forward by t he dist rict at t orney on t he request of Shanann's family, who did not wish for any
furt her deat hs. They were support ive of his decision t o accept t he plea deal. On November 19,
he was sent enced t o five life sent ences—t hree consecut ive and t wo concurrent —wit hout t he
possibilit y of parole. He received an addit ional 48 years for t he unlawful t erminat ion of Shanann's
pregnancy and 36 years for t hree charges of t ampering wit h a deceased body. His sent ence
began immediat ely.[24][25]

On December 3, 2018, Christ opher was moved t o an out -of-st at e locat ion due t o "securit y
concerns".[26] On December 5, he arrived at Dodge Correct ional Inst it ut ion, a maximum-securit y
prison in Waupun, Wisconsin, t o cont inue serving his life sent ences.[27][28]
 Media accounts

On a December 2018 episode of t he ABC News series 20/20, Shanann's parent s were
int erviewed for t he first t ime since t he murders.[29][30] HLN aired a special report t hat same
mont h t it led Family Massacre: Chris Watts Exposed, in which foot age of Christ opher from police
body cameras and securit y cameras in t he police st at ion's int erview room were revealed. In a
recorded int erview released by t he CBI wit h Christ opher's mist ress, Nichol Kessinger, she
revealed his behavioral changes in t he days prior t o t he murders.[31][32]

On a December 2018 episode of t he American t alk show Dr. Phil, Phil McGraw consult ed wit h
four crime expert s: former prosecut or and TV journalist Nancy Grace, former FBI profiler Candice
DeLong, law enforcement consult ant St eve Kardian, and body language expert Susan
Const ant ine. The expert s analyzed t he mot ivat ion, secret life, and profiling of Christ opher.[33] On
a January 2019 episode of t he t alk show The Dr. Oz Show, comment ary is provided on his case
by t he neighbor who helped build t he case against him, who is int erviewed in-st udio.[34]

In June 2021, Inside Edition report ed furt her confessions from Chris Wat t s t o a pen pal. In
mult iple let t ers, Wat t s explained t hat he had planned t he murder for several weeks and t hat t he
oxycont in found in Shanann's syst em was given t o her by him, hoping t o end her pregnancy. He
"t hought it would be easier t o be wit h Nichol if Shanann wasn't pregnant ." He also offered new
det ails about t he murder of his daught ers: he t ried t o smot her t hem in t heir beds at home, but
failed. [35]

Adaptations

On January 26, 2020, Lifet ime released a film called Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer as part
of it s "Ripped from t he Headlines" feat ure film series. It st ars Sean Kleier as Christ opher and
Ashley Williams as Shanann.[36] Shanann's family spoke out against t he film, st at ing t hat t hey had
not been consult ed about it and were not aware of it s making unt il it was already in product ion.
They have also said t hey are not making any money from it and fear t hat it will only increase t he
harassment online t hat t hey had already been receiving.[14]

On Sept ember 30, 2020, Net flix released American Murder: The Family Next Door, a
document ary about t he murders.[3] The document ary feat ures archival foot age including home
movies, social media post s, t ext messages, and law enforcement recordings.[37]

See also
Crime in Colorado

Familicide

References

1. "Chris Watts has 'no hope for his future' after killing wife, kids" (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/chri
s-watts-has-no-hope-for-his-future-after-killing-wife-kids/WY73WL3YCEQUDUEGLKVUBGRBZE/) .
New Zealand Herald. May 14, 2020. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20201018145024/https://
www.nzherald.co.nz/world/chris-watts-has-no-hope-for-his-future-after-killing-wife-kids/WY73WL3YCE
QUDUEGLKVUBGRBZE/) from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.

2. "Chris Watts: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know" (https://heavy.com/news/2018/08/chris-watts-shanann

-watts-husband/) . Heavy. August 16, 2018. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2018081608035
2/https://heavy.com/news/2018/08/chris-watts-shanann-watts-husband/) from the original on
August 16, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019.

3. "American Murder: The Family Next Door | Netflix Official Site" (https://www.netflix.com/title/811301
30) . www.netflix.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210407221944/https://www.netflix.
com/title/81130130) from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

4. Swanson, Sady (August 23, 2018). "Christopher Watts and Shanann Watts: Their friends saw a 'perfect'
family. What happened?" (https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2018/08/23/colorado-watts-famil
y-who-were-christopher-watts-shanann-watts-prior-murder/1062614002/) . Fort Collins Coloradoan.
USA Today Network. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210922230514/https://www.coloradoa
n.com/story/news/2018/08/23/colorado-watts-family-who-were-christopher-watts-shanann-watts-pri
or-murder/1062614002/) from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2019.

5. "Colorado family struggled with finances before man allegedly killed pregnant wife, kids" (https://www.
cbsnews.com/news/shanann-watts-frederick-colorado-family-struggled-with-finances-before-chris-wa
tts-allegedly-killed-pregnant-wife-kids-2018-08-17/) . CBS News. August 17, 2018. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20190330234552/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shanann-watts-frederick-co
lorado-family-struggled-with-finances-before-chris-watts-allegedly-killed-pregnant-wife-kids-2018-08-
17/) from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.

. Foody, Kathleen; Drew, Jonathan (August 17, 2018). "Colorado man arrested as hunt for family leads
to body of pregnant wife, possible remains of young daughters" (https://nationalpost.com/news/worl
d/slain-colorado-mother-painted-rosy-picture-of-married-life) . National Post. Frederick, Colorado:
Postmedia Network Inc. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210922230434/https://nationalpos
t.com/news/world/slain-colorado-mother-painted-rosy-picture-of-married-life) from the original on
September 22, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2019.