Shivangi Sinha
In August 2018, Shanann Watts and her two daughters were reported missing by a concerned friend, prompting a police investigation that followed multiple leads. Attention soon shifted to her husband, Chris Watts, as he was the last known person to have seen them. After failing a polygraph test, he admitted to killing his wife and children. The case is thoroughly examined in Netflix’s documentary ‘American Murder: The Family Next Door,’ which uses actual recordings, messages, and footage to present a comprehensive account of the events leading up to the murders and their aftermath.
Chris Watts Claimed That He Saw His Wife and Kids Before Leaving For Work
Cindy and Ronnie Watts welcomed their son, Christopher Lee Watts, with as much joy and happiness as any other parent. Lovingly referred to as Chris, he grew up in Spring Lake, North Carolina, where he met Shanann in 2010. The two began dating and married on November 3, 2012. In search of a fresh start, they relocated to Frederick, Colorado, in 2013 after purchasing a new home. Their family grew soon after, and they went through the highs and lows of life together. On December 17, 2013, their first daughter, Bella Marie Watts, was born, followed by the birth of their second daughter, Celeste Cathryn Watts, on July 17, 2015. The couple filed for bankruptcy in 2015 but managed to recover financially soon after.
Chris began working at Anadarko Petroleum, while Shanann took up a role as an independent representative for Le-Vel. Their life appeared stable, and Chris underwent a noticeable personal transformation after adopting a fitness routine, losing weight, and becoming more outwardly confident. From the outside, things seemed to be going well. However, on August 13, 2018, everything changed. 15-weeks pregnant, Shanann returned home from a business trip at approximately 1:48 am. Later that morning, her friend Nickole Atkinson, who was unable to contact her, grew concerned and called the police to conduct a welfare check at the Watts residence.
Shanann and the two children were missing, and their sudden disappearance raised alarms. Most of their personal belongings were gone, except for the children’s blankets, which were left behind. Chris initially told police that he and Shanann had an emotional conversation before he left for work and claimed he had no idea what happened afterward. The next day, he appeared on local news, pleading for their safe return. However, the investigation quickly revealed deeper issues. Police learned that the couple had been facing marital problems and that Chris was having an affair with a woman named Nichol Kessinger. It was something that Shanann had suspected.
Chris Watts Eventually Confessed to the Murder of His Entire Family
On August 15, 2018, Chris Watts failed a polygraph test and confessed to killing Shanann. Initially, he alleged that Shanann had killed their two daughters after learning about his affair, and that in a fit of rage, he killed her. He then led authorities to an Anadarko Petroleum site where he had buried Shanann and placed the children’s bodies in oil tanks. However, in November 2018, Chris changed his story and confessed to killing all of his family himself. The police claimed that the motivation for his crime was to be with Nichol.
On November 6, 2018, Chris admitted guilt to nine criminal counts, including five for first-degree murder, two of which were specifically for his young daughters under 12 years of age. He also accepted responsibility for the unlawful ending of Shanann’s pregnancy and for tampering with the bodies of all three victims. The court sentenced him to five life terms with no chance of parole, with three of those to run one after the other. In addition, he was given 48 years for ending the pregnancy and 36 more for the three counts of tampering with human remains. Due to safety issues, authorities transferred him out of Colorado on December 3, 2018. Two days later, he was taken to Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
Chris Watts Remains Behind Bars in Waupun, Wisconsin
After his transfer, Chris Watts began serving his multiple life sentences. In 2019, it was reported that he had decorated his prison cell with photographs of Shanann and their daughters, Bella and Celeste. This sparked outrage among the public, with many calling for their removal through an online petition. However, authorities clarified that there were no legal grounds to prevent inmates from keeping personal photographs, so the pictures remained. In 2020, Chris was disciplined for violating prison rules involving unauthorized communication and the unapproved exchange of items. As a result, he lost phone access for 15 days and canteen privileges for 30 days.
The following year, in 2021, he received another conduct infraction for disobeying direct orders and possessing contraband. This led to a 10-day loss of electronic privileges. Also in 2021, it was reported that Watts had allegedly shared new details about the murders in letters to a prison pen pal. In the correspondence, he reportedly claimed he had premeditated the crime and had given Shanann oxytocin in an attempt to end her pregnancy. Medical examiners did find traces of oxytocin in her system, but this alleged confession has never been legally verified or addressed in court proceedings.
In 2022, additional reports surfaced suggesting that Watts had been corresponding with multiple women, exchanging letters while incarcerated. He allegedly appeared to maintain active communication with several pen pals. By 2023, Chris was reportedly working as a custodian within the prison facility. As of the latest available updates, he remains housed at Dodge Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison located in Waupun, Wisconsin. Now 40 years old, Chris Watts is expected to spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Read More: Where is Nichol Kessinger Now?
