Chris Watts allegedly kept changing his story several times before he was charged with murder of wife, daughters
Chris Watts, the man from Colorado who has been charged with murdering his pregnant wife and two children, had given multiple accounts of the deaths when he was questioned by the authorities, according to the arrest affidavit from Frederick police.
The unsealed affidavit, that was made public on August 20, shows how the police were able to arrest 33-year-old Chris based on all the inconsistencies in his stories. Prosecutors announced charges against him on Monday (August 20) after he was arrested on suspicion of murder on August 15.
Aside from the three counts of first-degree murder with deliberation, Chris is charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a child under the age of 12 by someone who is in a “position of trust” over them, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said at a news conference. He is currently in police custody without bond and will be in court again on August 21 morning. Chris is yet to enter a plea.
The affidavit states that Chris's wife Shanann had been reported missing by a friend on August 13 about 12 hours after she returned from a business trip to Arizona. Her body was found in a shallow grave on the property owned by Anadarko Petroleum, the company Chris used to work for. The bodies of the two children were also found nearby in oil tanks. The affidavit went on to state that officers questioned Chris before and after the bodies were found and the stories did not match, People reported.
On August 13, around 1:40 pm, a police officer responded to a 911 call that was made by Nicole Utoft, Shanann's friend, asking the authorities to check up on the pregnant mother whom she had dropped off at her home at 1:48 am after the work trip.
Utoft had become worried about Shanann because the she had been sick during the work trip. She had also not responded to any calls or texts and had even missed her doctor's appointment. Utoft called the authorities after Shanann did not answer the door even though her car was in the garage.
According to the affidavit, the officer found all the doors and windows of the house locked and secured. Chris went to the home after he was called there by Utoft and let the officer — the officer found that the wife and children were not at home.
The affidavit states that Chris had told the officer his wife had reached home at 2 am and that they had a discussion on marital separation after he woke up at 5 am. He had also told the officer that the two of them had a "civil conversation" that was "emotional". He ended by saying he had left home at 5:27 am for work and that Shanann was at home.
When Chris was interrogated by a detective later on, he told them that he and Shanann had spoken at 4 am, which is different from his previous story of the conversation taking place at 5 am. The next day, authorities found out that the pregnant wife and the two daughters had not returned home. The affidavit also states that Chris had an affair with a coworker even though he had denied this in previous interviews.
The affidavit states that in an interview that took place at the police station after his arrest, he had asked to speak to his father who had been there with him. He told the police after he spoke to his father that he would "tell the truth" about the deaths of his wife and children.
He allegedly admitted to strangling Shanann after he saw in the baby monitor that Bella was "sprawled" and "blue" on her bed and that his wife was allegedly "actively strangling Celeste". This took place after their emotional talk of separation. He also admitted to dumping their bodies in the oil field.
The causes of death for the three victims have still not been released but filings from the prosecutors have suggested that some of them had been strangled and that a "weapon", possibly a gun, had been involved in the deaths. The actual motive has not been released but friends of the family say that there had been some tension in the marriage. A neighbor, Terry Witt, told People: "You never expect one of your neighbors to do something like this."