Chris Watts claims he killed his pregnant wife in a fit of rage after he "saw her strangling his daughter"
Christopher Watts from Frederick, Colorado was questioned by the police where he allegedly confessed to killing his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts. However, the court documents suggest that Chris took this step only after, he claimed, he “went into a rage” when she strangled one of their daughters, court documents show. The prosecutors have charged Chris with first-degree murder, among other crimes, in the killing of his wife and two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. He was taken into custody by the authorities on Wednesday (August 15), two days after Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was reported missing by a friend.
As reported by People, Shanann's body along with her two children's was found by the authorities on Thursday (August 16). The arrest affidavit states that Chris initially said that he had spoken to his wife on Monday (August 13) after waking up around 5 a.m., after she got home from a work trip just before 2 a.m., it was during their conversation that Chris reportedly told Shanann that he wanted to split up.
The affidavit further adds that Chris noted that while Shanann was "emotional", their conversation was "civil". Speaking with authorities later, Chris again said that he saw Shanann on Monday, this time around 4 a.m., and “informed her he wanted to go through with a separation and they were both upset and crying". He further claimed that Shanann “told him she was going to a friend’s house that day.”
Chris, after first pretending to be worried about his family's disappearance, later decided to tell the truth after the authorities found out that he was having an affair with a co-worker. He stated that he and Shanann had indeed spoken about separating after she got back from her trip on Monday (August 13). but then he “walked downstairs for a moment” and when he got back to their bedroom he saw through a baby monitor, that daughter Bella was “sprawled” and “blue” on her bed.
He believed she was already dead while Shanann was allegedly “actively strangling Celeste." At this point, Chris claimed, he “went into a rage and ultimately strangled Shanann to death” before loading “all three bodies onto the back seat of his work truck." After this, he reportedly took them to an oil site owned by the company he was working for. There, he buried Shanann and hid the bodies of his daughters in oil tanks. The bodies of his daughters were discovered four days after he buried them.
The causes of death in three killings have not been confirmed and neither the motive is clear. Though, when Chris was charged for the murder, the court dismissed his account of what happened. Those who knew the couple believe that marital tension could have been one of the reasons for the couple to fallout. Meanwhile, a close friend of Shanann, Kris Landon told the magazine that Shanann adored her family. “That’s all she talked about,” said Kris. “She talked about her girls as miracles, because she had some health problems and didn’t know if she’d have kids. But she really embraced motherhood, and I thought she embraced her marriage, too. They seemed like partners. Amazing partners.”
Chris is set to return to the court on Tuesday (August 21). He has not entered a plea.
