2012 video of Chris Watts where he spoke on 'saving relationships' may hold vital clues to killings motive
Chris Watts, the only suspect who was arrested and charged with the killing of his wife Shanann Watts, who was 15-weeks pregnant, and his two young daughters, had made a video presentation around six years ago and it had been all about repairing relationships.
The video had been posted on YouTube in April 2012 and it shows Chris giving a PowerPoint presentation called "Communication Speech, Relationship Deterioration, and Repair". He can then be seen opening up the presentation after saying that it was for a course he was taking at the time. He then spoke of infidelity as a reason that relationships don't work out.
This resurfaced video is ironical since the authorities in Denver have made the claim that Chris was having an affair with one of his coworkers before he had been arrested for the murders of his wife and children. He is yet to enter a plea for the murders and other felony charges, reported CBS4.
According to the court documents, Chris had told the authorities in Frederick that he and his wife spoke on August 13 after she got back from her business trip and that he told her he wanted a marital separation. The document has stated that Watts "was actively involved in an affair with a coworker" and this conclusion was reached after the authorities conducted an investigation.
Chris had been fired from Anadarko Petroleum, the oil and natural gas drilling company where he worked as an operator, on the day he was arrested — August 15.
Chris had told the investigators that he strangled his pregnant wife to death after he allegedly found her strangling their daughter. This allegedly took place after they had the talk about separating. He was charged with first-degree murder as well as other counts of felony charges. According to the arrest affidavit, Shanann's body was found in a shallow grave and the bodies of the children were discovered in oil tanks nearby.
The video posted in 2012 was online six months before the couple got married and Chris says in the video that he is in the suburbs of Broomfield, where the family used to live at one point. He says: "Sometimes you find your partner no longer attractive physically or in their personality. When you are in a relationship you have to show desire, lust toward your partner. Sometimes when you get married that the lust and the desire kind of fall by the wayside a little bit."
At another point in the video, Chris says: "Even at the job. You might meet a new person and (it) could strengthen into something else and could weaken the bond you have with the partner you have. And you feel that you might be better with someone else that you’ve met. You think that you can no longer do — that your partner is someone that you can’t be with."
Chris can also be seen in the video citing a few experts in recommending steps to fix relationships that included listening closely, thinking before saying something and expressing support and affection to your partners. He says: "Sometimes when you have children and your relationship starts to deteriorate a child could help repair it." The man also gave three questions to ask yourself if your relationship is in trouble which are: "Do I have the desire to keep this relationship going? Do I have a moral obligation to stay in this relationship? Or is it a necessity for me to stay in this relationship?"
Two women and two men can be heard giving Chris a round of applause as he finishes the presentation and they can be seen sitting on a sofa that was across the room. One of the women says: "Good job". Shanann is not seen in the video because she was still not married to Chris at that point. Shanann King, a name she used from her previous marriage, commented on the video saying: "Great job Christopher! Good information!"
Court records from North Carolina show that she got divorced from her previous husband in 2009. This was still a few years before she got married to Chris.