Shanann Watts murder: Internet theory claims Chris Watts was angry at wife for controlling his expenses
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised.
The gruesome story of Chris Watts, who killed his pregnant wife Shanann, and daughters, Bella and Celeste, is still the subject of numerous rumors and speculation. A recent theory that has emerged on the Internet suggests the murders were motivated by Shanann's allegedly controlling nature. The killer is currently held at the high-security Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
The Colorado oil worker, now 37, murdered his wife, Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, along with his two daughters aged three and four on August 13, 2018. Watts, who had initially reported them missing and had made a public plea for their return, was arrested as he admitted to killing them. It was later discovered that Watts had an affair with a co-worker at the oil company. He dumped the bodies of his children in two oil tankers, where he worked. The bodies were found four days later. Shanann’s body was recovered from a shallow grave near the tankers.
READ MORE
Chris Watts claimed NICHOL KESSINGER murdered his daughters and dug Shanann's grave, says inmate
Watts had initially attempted to pin the murders of her children on his wife when he first confessed to murdering Shanann. However, he has since pleaded guilty to killing his daughters and wife. Watts was formally charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body. He later entered a guilty plea in exchange for five life sentences without parole.
Watts' coworkers, who shared a solid working relationship with him, observed a change in the father, who used to keep pictures of his daughter on his phone. One of the coworkers, Brian Spence, spoke about how he first saw Watts was starting to flip. Speaking to People, Spence said, "Things changed; he changed. I watched him get more and more unhappy with his life. He went from being a friendly guy to being withdrawn and angry. I saw him lose his temper over little workplace annoyances. He had an irritable side with the contractors. He could be combative."
Was Shanann 'controlling' Chris's expenses?
The four-year-old murders are still fresh in the public memory. Reddit users are now speculating that the killer was angry with his wife Shannan for controlling his expenditures. "Something I've heard repeated a lot is that Shanann closely monitored CW's spending as part of her supposed financial "control" over him," wrote one user. "People will point to the alert she got on her phone when CW used their credit card at the Lazy Dog, and her calling him to ask what he ate there." The user claimed that Chris abruptly and significantly altered his behavior toward Shanann over the two weeks before the murders. He allegedly acted distant and refused to communicate with her, not even offering her a hug. Besides, he informed her that they were no longer compatible and that he no longer wanted the child. When Shanann questioned him about getting a divorce, Chris said, "Not right away." Then, still acting cold, he abruptly consented to work on the marriage.
Meanwhile, rumors about his infidelity were spreading among her friends. Another user commented, "Agree. Shanann knew in her inner being there was something up, she just couldn't wrap her head around it and believe that Chris was a cheater. In the end, Chris was not only a cheater but a murderer and a baby killer. She couldn't believe the truth."
Another theory suggests that the "controlling" wife would have likely regularly looked through her partner's phone and used a location tracker, especially if she suspected cheating. However, according to Shanann's texts with friends, when they inquired about whether she had accessed Chris's phone, she responded that she hadn't and that she had no plans to do so. While she was in North Carolina, she didn't even ask her pals to check in on Chris.
According to court documents, the couple filed for bankruptcy in 2015, CNN reported immediately after Chris' arrest. They had just bought a house for $400,000 and had accumulated debt from credit cards and student loans totaling roughly $70,000 at the time. According to the documents, Chris was the family's main earner, contributing around $63,000 of their combined income of $91,000.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.