'American Murder: The Family Next Door' Preview: Netflix documentary revisits Chris Watts' crime and arrest
In 2018, before Christopher "Chris" Watts began to be known as the "killer dad," he appeared on television and radio interviews to dispassionately ask for the return of his family — his pregnant wife Shanann and their two daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste — who had disappeared in the early hours of August 13, 2018, in Frederick, Colorado.
What followed the disappearances was an intense search after Shanann's friend, Nickole Atkinson, called the police because Shanann was not responding to her calls and had missed her doctor's appointment later that morning.
Many news reports followed, and after Chris Watts' arrest, subsequent tapes of law enforcement recordings were released, including one of his interrogations by Colorado Bureau Investigation (CBI) agent Tammy Lee and FBI Special Agent Grahm Coder. When looking back, for many it seemed clear that Chris was hiding something from the very beginning.
Netflix's upcoming documentary, 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' presents a retelling of everything that went on in August 2018 — and the events leading up to the murders and the arrest. Directed by Jenny Popplewell, the documentary includes social media posts, law enforcement recordings, text messages and never-before-seen home videos to bring a compelling and in-depth look at the police investigation as well as the Watts' crumbling marriage.
Through Shanann's own words via text messages with Chris and her friends, viewers will get to learn about Chris' growing disengagement with his wife, something we now know was caused by his affair with his colleague, Nichol Kessinger. It did not matter that Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with their unborn son named Nico when he decided to carry out his deeds.
Even after the confession in his own words to killing all three of them — though at first, he tried to say that Shanann killed the children first — the killer dad still has a massive fanbase, with many writing letters to him while he is in jail serving five life sentences. Of all the arguments Chris' fans bring up, the majority of his fans believe that he was driven to do it by his wife.
The documentary does bring this aspect up where Shanann herself had admitted to being the dominant one in their relationship. But does it warrant Chris' defense? The answer is no but the documentary paints a picture of Shanann that will make it hard for viewers to not see her side.
Shanann beat many odds to conceive and become a mother. She was proud of her family and would often post on social media about her kids, including videos in which Chris played with them lovingly. While it may be difficult to reconcile the horrible nature of what occurred, the Netflix documentary will paint a picture that lays out the facts and leave it to the viewer to make their own judgment.
The documentary also highlights the people who helped uncover Chris' crimes including Shanann's friends and her neighbors. 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' will be available to stream on Netflix on September 30 at 12 am PST.