Fredrick, Colorado is a small town thirty-three minutes north of Denver. With a population of 12,767 (according to the 2019 census), we could start this story in a stereotypical true-crime fashion, stating that, “this was a small quiet town.” The neighborhood in which the Watts family lived seemed like the type where neighbors greeted each other with a genuine smile, while also gossiping about the details of everyone’s lives.
Chris and Shanann Watts met in 2010. Both born and raised in North Carolina, they seemed to quickly become smitten with one another, marrying on November 3, 2012. A year later, the two purchased their home in Fredrick, Colorado. Here they will start their family. Their firstborn, Bella, was born on December 17, 2013. The Watts then had their second, Celeste, on July 17, 2015. Chris and Shanann’s Fredrick, Colorado home became their permanent nest, where they planned on raising their children and settling into the suburbia-bliss that seemed to come with the territory. In the summer of 2018, the Watts were expecting their third child, a boy (who they would name Nico), which would arrive sometime around February of 2019. Shanann’s friends stated that she was delighted to add another child to her family. She loved being a mother and was diligent when it came to the care of her children. That is why Shanann’s friend Nikole Atkinson knew something was wrong when Shanann missed her OB-GYN appointment on August 13, 2018. Later that day both Shanann and her two daughters would be reported missing.
The Fredrick Police Department has about twenty officers on staff. The town did not seem to get a lot of crime, let alone three missing persons cases in one day. The department worked around the clock searching for Shanann and the girls, which eventually led to them bringing in both the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the F.B.I. It would take three days until the bodies of Shanann, Bella, and Celeste were found.
On the first day of the investigation, Christopher Watts agreed to an interview with the station Denver7. Begging his wife to come home, or to be released by anyone that may have taken his family. The statement was short (seven minutes and twenty seconds to be exact) but impactful. Not because viewers were looking at a broken man desperate to find his family, but instead we saw a man casually talking about how his family was missing. Watts is rocking back and forth, but his voice remains steady, emotionless as he states, “If they are safe, they are coming home. But if they are not, this has to stop. Someone needs to come forward.” Now, it’s not fair to judge’s one who just went through a devastating trauma. Everyone grieves in different ways, and if one can be condemned for how he/she acts in a situation such as this, our judicial system would need some serious revamping. Unfortunately, a lot of the public does not agree with my previous statement, and so the criticism and speculation began about Chris. Watts was arrested the day after this interview was aired.
It is now August 15th. Shanann, Bella, and Celeste have been gone for two days, and Chris sits in the police interrogation room. After failing the polygraph test, asking whether or not Watts knew anything about the disappearance of his family, Chris tells the police the first of three stories.
Story One: The first of Watts’ “confessions” begins like this. Watts was having an affair with one of his female co-workers. He had fallen deeply in love with her, and on the morning of August 13th, he told Shanann that he wanted a divorce because he wanted to be with his new girlfriend. Shanann, distraught and enraged, stormed out of the room. A few moments later Chris spotted her strangling Celest on the baby monitor. Running to stop Shanann, Chris noticed that Bella was face-up on her bed, her skin a blueish gray. It was then that he realized Shanann murdered both of their daughters. Filled with rage, Chris strangled Shanann, giving her the same fate that she inflicted on their children. Watts then took all three of their bodies to the Anadarko Petroleum Company (of which Chris was an employee) property where he put the girls down an oil tanker and buried Shanann nearby.
This story was founded untrue before the interrogation was even over, which is when Chris turned to his second version of what happened that night.
Story Two: On August 13th, Chris admitted to Shanann that he wanted to separate and that he was already engaged in a long-term affair. Shanann, upset at his infidelity, began to argue with him in their bedroom. Their volatile fight turned physical, and that was when Chris strangled Shanann. Chris then smothered the two girls as well, loading all three bodies into his truck. He put the girls into the oil tankers and buried Shanann nearby.
If you feel compelled to watch Christopher Watts’ interrogation, it is available in its entirety on YouTube.
This confession made it clear to both Watts and the police that a trial would not work out in Christopher’s favor. On November 6, 2018, Christopher Watts pleaded guilty to the three murders. Making him one of the rare cases in which someone commits familicide (the act of killing one’s entire family) and not following it up with suicide. On November 19th, Watts was sentenced on all nine counts, and given five life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus forty-eight years. He evaded the death penalty through the terms of his plea agreement.
But where does the third version of Watts’ story come into play? On February 19, 2019, Chris Watts agreed to another interview with Denver7. Only a few months into his life sentence, and realizing he has nothing to lose, Watts decided to finally disclose the actual events that occurred on August 13, 2018.
Story Three (the real account): The morning of August 13th Chris Watts really did disclose his affair to Shanann. Shanann was rightfully upset and the two began to argue. While fighting, Shanann stated that she was leaving and that Christ would, “never see his daughters again.” It was then that Chris strangled her. He began to wrap up Shanann’s body and drag her to the truck when four-year-old Bella saw him and asked “what’s wrong with Mommy?” Chris told Bella that Shanann, “wasn’t feeling well” and loaded Shanann into the car. He then grabbed Bella and Celeste, strapped them into their car seats, and began the forty-five-minute drive to the Anadarko Petroleum Company property. Watts admits that both Bella and Celeste were alive when they arrived. He buried Shanann on the property and then got Celeste out of her car seat. Isolating her, he took a blanket and smuggled Celeste, putting her now dead body in the oil tanker. He then grabbed Bella, who stated, “is the same thing going to happen to me as it did Cece?” That did not stop Watts. He smothered his four-year-old child with the same blanket he used to smother his three-year-old, dumping both of their bodies in the same oil tanker. Watts then returned home as if nothing happened, and this three-day circus began.
Christopher Watts agreed to pay Shanann’s family a total of $6 million, the family admits they will probably never see a penny of it. Though he took everything from them, Shanann’s parents say that they were not upset that the death sentence was off the table. They didn’t want any more deaths to occur because of this horrible incident.
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Sources:
Book: The Murders of Christopher Watts