Chris Watts claimed NICHOL KESSINGER murdered his daughters and dug Shanann's grave, says inmate
Chris Watts who is serving five life sentences for the murders of his two young children and pregnant wife tried to blame it all on his mistress, according to a former inmate who spent time with him in prison. Watts had pleaded guilty to the murder of his pregnant wife Shanann, 34, and daughters 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste in Frederick, Colorado, in 2018. He dumped the bodies of Bella and Celeste in oil tanks at a site where he worked and buried Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, in a shallow grave.
Watts, who didn't want another kid, was having an affair with Nichol Kessinger, a woman he had met at work, and wanted to start a new life with her. He had been pretending for some time that he was divorced and separated from his wife, while in reality he was still married to her. David Carter, who spent two stretches in Dodge Correctional Facility, Wisconsin with Watts, told The Sun that Watts tried to blame Kessinger for his daughters' deaths.
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Carter, 35, said he became close to Watts while he was imprisoned for theft and possession of methamphetamine in 2020. Carter claimed that when they were talking about god and forgiveness, he asked Watts what had been going through his head during the killings.
Watts allegedly told Carter, "Nichol had smothered the girls with their blankets and they suffocated.” Watts also claimed she helped him get the girls in the oil tanks and dig the grave for Shanann and that his wife had been in the way of him starting a new life with her.
“Chris said it made him feel sad that the girls were killed but that one of them woke up and saw that Shanann was dead and would be a witness,” Carter said. Watts attempted to blame the deaths on Kessinger, telling Carter that he wasn’t able to stomach killing his own kids and he said that’s why she killed them.
To prove that the two know each other and have remained in touch, Carter showed a letter that he claims Watts sent to him, The Sun reported.
Where is Nichol Kessinger?
Nichol Kessinger, 33, took on a new identity and moved away from her home in Arvada, Colorado after Watts was arrested. Earlier this year, a police interview in which Kessinger was questioned about her relationship with Watts at the time of the killings was posted on YouTube. The video, which was provided by Watts' family, exposed disturbing new information about Watts' last communication with his mistress.
Kessinger claimed police she questioned Watts for explanations after learning of the disappearances in August 2018. She said in the video, “I kept asking him, ‘What did you do, Chris? What did you do? I asked, ‘Where’s your family?’” while adding that she messaged Watts one more time before cutting ties with him. “So I texted Chris one last time, and I told him, ‘If you did anything bad, you’re going to ruin your life and you’re going to ruin my life. I promise you that’. And he responded, ‘I didn’t hurt my family, Nicky.’ And that was the last text. I never said another word to him after that,” she added.
Kessigner also sad Watts had lied that he was separated from his wife and planned to divorce her and she believed him. According to her web browsing history reportedly released in docs by Weld County District Attorney's Office, shortly after they began their affair in July 2018 Kessinger searched the phrase “Man I’m having affair with says he will leave his wife”.
Watts killed his wife Shanann, Bella and Celeste on August 13, 2018. Watts is currently behind bars at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin, after getting five life sentences along with 48 years in prison without the possibility of parole. And though Kessinger claimed to not be in contact with Watts after her last text to him, Carter said that she had been writing him letters last year.