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CTV uses killer Chris Watts’ pic for family planning piece, Internet says 'he did eliminate family with plan'

Canadian TV network, CTV, used a photo of Chris Watts, who murdered his pregnant wife Shanann Watts by strangulation and also admitted to killing their daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste, in a segment on family planning

Canadian TV network, CTV, created quite a stir after it used a stock image of Chris Watts, the infamous Colorado man who pleaded guilty to killing his pregnant wife and two daughters in 2018, for one of its segments on family planning. 

When CTV Calgary wanted to display a stock photo of a “happy family” for their segment on family planning, they mistakenly chose the picture of the Watts family, including Chris and his victims. This was displayed on the left side of the screen, while the right side listed the five things to take under consideration when someone is financially planning for parenthood. While the picture itself, without context, looked like the perfect picture of a fulfilled and jolly family, the reality behind the same was quite different.

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As for CTV having no knowledge about the Chris Watts case, it could not have been so. Apart from the fact that the case received worldwide publicity, CTV itself reported the conclusion of the case with the headline, "Colorado man who killed daughters, pregnant wife handed life sentence."

The infamous murders took place in Frederick, Colorado, on August 13, 2018. While being interviewed by police, Chris Watts admitted to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann Watts by strangulation and also admitted to killing their daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste, by smothering them with a blanket. On November 6, 2018, he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole, three to be served consecutively.

'An intern at CTV is getting fired'

People familiar with the case were outraged at CTV for using Chris and his family's image for their TV segment. "@CTVCalgary using a picture of convicted murderer Chris Watts and his victims (including the one in her womb) to report on preparedness for maternity leave? Not a good look. Perils of a Google search for 'Happy Family,'" one of them said. While another commented, "This man is Chris Watts. He killed his whole family in Colorado in 2018. Apparently, to see if anyone is paying attention and to mock you, CTV in Canada used his family picture to sell a 'family planning' story. They mock you all the time now. You never wake up."

The next quipped, "Ummmm... not CTV Calgary using a photo of a man who murdered his pregnant wife and two kids as a stock photo for a story about being financially prepared for parenthood." The commenter tweeted, "Hey @ctv are y’all aware that you used a photo of convicted murderer Chris Watts and his victims (wife Shanann & children Celeste & Bella) to help us plan financially for parenthood ???? like i just wanna know who cleared this???" A person reacted, "CTV Calgary using Chris watts family photo for family planning for financials Is wild. Did anyone get fired for that?" Another remarked, "An intern at CTV is getting fired. How do you not know about Chris Watts case..." One of the social media users wrote, "Well he did eliminate his family with a plan!"

The agency behind the show, Brownwich+Smith, replied to one of the social media users, admitting that they made a mistake by using Chris Watts' picture in the segment. "Thank you so much for raising this issue. CTV selects the images and the moment we realized this was the image they selected our VP was in touch immediately. CTV has since issued a formal apology and we apologize to you and all our followers," a tweet from them said.