'American Murder: The Family Next Door': Meet the people who helped uncover Chris Watts as the killer
When Shanann Watts and her two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste "Cece" Watts, 3, were reported missing on the morning of August 13, 2018, the Colorado town of Frederick worried about the Wyndham Hill neighborhood being an unsafe place when there was no clue about the trio's disappearances. However, in the days after the disappearance, it was revealed that Shanann's husband, Chris Watts was responsible for the murders and had, in fact, disposed of their bodies. Chris was reportedly having an affair with a colleague at the oil company he worked at and had argued with Shanann on the morning of her death.
Chris was no seasoned killer and since then, it has been widely reported that he committed the murders so he could be "free" to be with Nichole Kessinger, the woman he was having an affair with. While Chris spent the days after the murders seemingly collaborating with the police and giving radio and television interviews seemingly pleading for the return of his family, investigators were suspicious of him from the beginning.
Netflix's latest documentary, 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' is a chronicled look at the events that transpired before and after the murders. Directed by Jenny Popplewell, the documentary is entirely comprised of archival footage, social media posts uploaded by Shanann, law enforcement recordings, and text message exchanges between Shanann and her husband, as well as Shanann and her friends. Through the archival footage and law enforcement recordings, the documentary paints a clear picture of how the investigators came to suspect and subsequently get Chris to confess to the murders.
The person to first alert the Frederick Police Department that something might have happened to Shanann was her best friend and colleague, Nickole Atkinson. Nickole had dropped off Shanann in the early hours of August 13 at her home, around 2 am. Later, Shanann was scheduled to go for a doctor's appointment at 9 am but when Atkinson failed to hear from Shanann and noticed that there was no movement in the Watts family household, she alerted the police. Chris was then called and he came home and we see him react impassionately as Nickole rummaged around the Watts household, discovering Shanann's keys, phone, and medicines indicating that Shanann would not have left the house willingly.
Next, the police inspected the footage captured by the Watts' family's next-door neighbor, who was their close friend. His motion-detecting camera captured footage of Chris loading items into his truck and leaving his house early that morning. The neighbor then tells the cop separately that Chris was not "acting right" and immediately suspected that Chris -- who was normally "quiet and subdued" -- was guilty.
Chris eventually admitted to having an affair and the murders, but it was Nichole who first approached the police telling them that she and Chris had been in a relationship since late May/early June that year when Shanann and her daughters were in North Carolina with Shanann's family. Nichole told the police that while Chris mentioned he had two daughters, he had lied about his marriage, telling her that he was separated and in the process of divorcing Shannan.
The final confession probably might not have been possible were it not for the quick thinking of two investigators who were interrogating Chris. Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) agent Tammy Lee and FBI Special Agent Grahm Coder kept their cool as they placated Chris and established trust before they got him to admit that he killed his wife when he failed a polygraph test. When Chris requested to speak to his father before he confessed, the agents risked allowing Chris's father into the room. A few moments later, Chris told his father that he killed his wife. He then said that his wife smothered their children, but later, he confessed that he killed his children himself.
Chris is now serving five life sentences after pleading guilty on November 6, 2018, to multiple counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea deal when the death penalty was removed from sentencing.
'American Murder: The Family Next Door' is now streaming on Netflix.