Chris Watts 'looking into ways to appeal' conviction for murdering his family as he rethinks pleading guilty in the case
Chris Watts is gauging his legal options to decide whether he should appeal his conviction after he was sentenced to multiple life sentences for killing his pregnant wife Shannan Watts and his two daughters Bella and Celeste.
Speaking to People, a source close to Watts said he has been researching his case and "looking into ways to appeal" his punishment.
“Obviously, it would be an uphill battle for him, because he pleaded guilty,” the source said. “And with a guilty plea, you forfeit some of your rights to appeal. But that’s not absolute, so there’s a small chance that it could work out in his favor.”
The source, who has knowledge of Watts' legal case, said the cold-blooded killer doesn't have a plan for his representation but is currently speaking with attorneys over the phone. “It would cost him money that he just doesn’t have,” the insider told People. “But he is still exploring his options.”
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty last November to the August 2018 murders of his pregnant wife Shanann, 34, and their two young daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.
Watts revealed chilling details of the triple homicide to authorities in a February interview with authorities from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. According to him, Shanann "may have been" praying as he strangled her to death inside their bedroom. After she stopped breathing, he put her body in his car and drove it to his job site and buried it in a shallow grave while his daughters unsuspectingly waited in his car. He also revealed that he smothered Celeste in front of Bella, who screamed "Daddy, no!" before he took her life as well.
“I hear it every day, when Bella was talking to me,” Watts told investigators. “When she said, ‘Daddy, no!’”
Furthermore, Watts said he now speaks to the photos of his family in his jail cell, and reads a book to his deceased daughters every night like he used to.
The insider told the outlet that Watts feels he was unable to fully explain some of the mitigating circumstances that took place on the night he murdered his family.
“Everything happened so fast there at the end [of the legal proceedings],” the source says. “And he’s not sure he was in the right mind to plead guilty like he did. For him, it’s not just about him getting out of jail — it’s also that he hasn’t been able to really have his day in court.”
Having said that, Watts, who is imprisoned in Wisconsin, will have to deal with the appeal from several states away if he retains an attorney licensed to practice in Colorado. “He understands that this would be a Hail Mary,” the source said. “He’s smart enough to realize that it’s unlikely to ever change anything, but he’s sitting in prison with nothing but time. It’s sinking into him that he could be in that same cell for 50 years. And now he’s trying to decide whether there are any legal remedies for him.”