Welcome back everyone to The Murder and Mayhem Podcast. It's great to have you all here reading, but make sure to check out this week's episode here. This week we are talking about the infamous Watts Family Murders. This is a really interesting one so let's just dive right into it.
The Scene
In the quiet darkness of August 13, 2018, a seemingly ordinary morning in Frederick, Colorado turned into a nightmare. The Watts home was nestled into a neighborhood; and it fit in well with the rest of the two-story cookie-cutter homes in the area. Thanks to the HOA regulations. Within these walls, a family of four should have been fast asleep. Inside the air hung heavy with tension and tragedy. Shan’ann Watts lay face down on the four-poster bed. Her killer stood there looking at her now lifeless body. His thoughts bounced between “How could I do this” and “How am I going to get away with this?” He was strategizing his next move when a small voice came from the doorway behind him.
Love at First Friend Request
Chris Watts and Shan’ann Rzucek were both from North Carolina. They met through mutual friends when Chris sent her a friend request on Facebook. She never thought that by accepting that friend request, she would soon start a new life. Shan’ann was taken with Chris entirely. Her last relationship wasn’t great, and Chris showed her real care and attention in the beginning. Her friends recall a specific memory when Shan’ann had gotten a migraine on a date with Chris. She felt really bad and ended up laying her head in his lap and falling asleep for 3 hours. When she woke up Chris hadn’t moved a muscle. He said he just wanted her to sleep and feel better. She knew from that moment on that he was what she wanted in life. They dated for two years before they married in November 2012.
Their ceremony was beautiful. Shan’ann wore a gorgeous princess dress and a tiara. Everyone there seemed more than happy for the couple, except Chris’s mom and sister. They didn’t feel that they were a good match, and they DEFINITELY didn’t need to be getting married. Chris’s family were the only ones who didn't attend. The couple acclimated to their new journey and marriage,a dn in 2013 they made the move to Frederick, Colorado. They bought a beautiful five-bedroom home in a suburb surrounded by mountain views. By all accounts from neighbors, they seemed perfect.
And in December of 2013 they had their first daughter, Bella. Family and friends testified that from then on Shan’ann became an amazing mother. She doted on and cared for Bella with such love that there was no doubt she was the light of her life. So it was no surprise when in 2015 they had Celeste, who normally went by CeCe.
The now family of four seemed happy. Bella and CeCe were turning into beautiful little girls. Their family said things were good, life had become a routine until around June 2015. The Watts file for bankruptcy. Court documents claimed that medical bills, mortgage payments, credit card debt, and car payments took up the bulk of their monthly earnings. So, in Colorado if your Chapter 7 paperwork is approved - and theirs was - it means that they would be allowed to keep their assets (the car and the house) and keep making payments. The state would clear away all their other debts. Chris worked at Anadarko at the time and Shan’ann worked at a children’s hospital in Colorado. In the aftermath of the filing, Shan’ann picked up a few side jobs and even got involved with what some would classify as MLMs (multi-level marketing schemes). Which is never a good idea, but people make mistakes. Chris continued to work for Anadarko and took some training and classes to be able to move up to operator. That promotion came with more hours and a pay raise. While they were still using credit cards and creating bills, they were building themselves back up to manageable life financially.
Around this time is when Shan’ann’s posting on social media ramped up. Her jobs required a bit of an online presence. She always was posting happy photos of the girls and Chris, but it really became a constant stream. Some people who follow the case feel like Shan’ann used her children too much online. Especially with the rise in people rebelling about family vloggers and those who abuse their children for content. I am in no way insinuating Shan’ann did that, but people discuss the possibility of her using her children for views. Her sales, trips, and achievements indicated he was doing well within her company. She really loved the friends she made though, even when she moved on and settled with a different company THRIVE.
The family was doing well since their bankruptcy and continued to build a life in Colorado. Shan’ann’s Facebook shows nothing but love and closeness. There was video after video of the girls raving about their daddy, giggling, smiling and just generally being happy kids. By all testimony and interviews, the three years after the bankruptcy were filled with genuine, happy, family time. Chris was a great dad and husband, who was just navigating some big responsibilities. So, no one saw anything coming.
In June of 2018, Shan’ann surprised Chris with another member of the family. She posted a sweet video where she’s wearing a shirt that said “Oops…we did it again!”. Chris is seen laughing and seems genuinely excited. He even makes a joke about the test being pink, “so is it another girl?”. He really wanted a boy. Just a few weeks after that, Shan’ann posts a Father’s Day tribute to Chris on Facebook where she specifically says that he was the “reason she was brave enough to agree to baby number 3”.
Think about it, three kids is a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of medical and financial worry. While Shan’ann got through the first two births relatively unscathed, she had some serious health problems. She was diagnosed with Lupus and some other medical issues. So while Shan’ann was excited, she was also a little worried. Everything seemed to be going great until Chris met a field engineer named Nichol.
The Other Woman
Nichol Kessinger’s path crossed with Chris Watts at work. When they met, she had started off at Anadarko as a bookkeeper and eventually progressed to a field engineer. She was mainly in the environmental sector, with a background in geology. She was a thirty-year old with a keen interest in nature, health and fitness. She was pretty enough, and single. It wasn’t anything overt at first. Hell, they only saw each other on the way to the break room to grab coffee or water or lunch. She initially didn’t know he was married, as he didn't wear a ring for safety reasons out in the field. She told police she was drawn to his charisma - and what she thought was - sincerity. Before too long, the two had exchanged numbers and were talking for hours on end. By June 2018, within a few weeks of meeting, their conversations turned from business and pleasantries to something deeply romantic.
Chris had told Nichol that he was in the process of separating from his wife. They were “figuring out the house and the kids”. So, Chris was living downstairs while the girls were living upstairs. While most logical people like you and I might not believe that right off the bat, she did. She may have been internally skeptical, but in the end she truly trusted Chris. Meanwhile Chris is trying his hardest to hide his indiscretions from his pregnant wife. Shan’ann could tell something was up. He was more withdrawn, on his phone a lot more. Something was off. She hadn't suspected someone else just yet, but she was texting friends that she was worried about them. Especially with baby number 3 on the way, which they decided to name Nico. We don’t know for sure the true motive, but on June 27, 2018, Shan’ann takes the girls to North Carolina for a six-week vacation with the plans to relax and visit family. Some speculate it was a sort of trial separation. That Shan’ann wanted Chris to feel what a life without them could look like.
No matter the reason, Shan’ann’s parents were just happy to see the girls. Her parents - Frank and Sandra - talked a lot about it in interviews. The girl's first days there were filled with toys, games, love, and spoiling from their grandparents. After the first week though, things began to turn.
“Nutgate”
While in North Carolina, Shan’ann wanted Bella and CeCe to see Chris’s family as well. Around the end of the first week - around July 4th - they did exactly that. They went over and attended a big gathering with most of the Watts family and almost all of the grandkids. To understand the reactions that occurred next, you need a little backstory. CeCe had severe food allergies. It was a bit of a struggle, especially for Shan’ann. They had to watch everything CeCe ate and have an Epi Pen on hand. According to testimony by family and friends, Cindy (Chris’s mom) didn’t believe in any of that. She either didn’t believe the severity of it, or sometimes dismissed it entirely. On the day of the event, Cindy was in charge of buying the food and sweets. No matter how many times Shan’ann talked to her about it, even begged, Cindy didn't care. She purchased ice cream with something CeCe was allergic to. Thankful she didn’t eat any, but Shan’ann had had enough. She felt disrespected and like Cindy was willing to risk her child’s life just for the sake of “being right”. There was a huge argument that ensued, which ended in Shan’ann and the girls leaving in a huff and a string of angry text messages to Chris demanding that he talk to his family and stick up for his wife. Shan’ann said he “needed to be a man”.
From there things only got worse. Chris was beginning to ignore Shan’ann. He was always working out or “out with the guys”. She felt neglected and was beginning to worry about their relationship. Unbeknownst to her, her worry was completely justified. We don't know the exact date but sometime around the argument is when Chris and Nichol start a physical relationship.
Almost the whole time the girls are in North Carolina, Chris is able to live however the hell he wants to. He eats steak, works out, sleeps late, and has as much sex as he wants. He’s living the quintessential bachelor lifestyle. Shan’ann feels it. It’s like she can sense every half naked photo he takes of Nichol, every kiss, every touch. Her family testified she wasn’t herself on the last few weeks of that trip. On top of her suspicions and worry, tensions were rising even more with the in-laws when they didn’t attend CeCe’s third birthday.
Chris was scheduled to fly out and meet his family for the last week of vacation, July 31, 2018. They meet up and head to Myrtle Beach with Frank and Sandra. You would think that after five weeks apart there would be a joyous reunion filled with love, Shan’ann sure thought so. Instead, it’s like it made things worse. There were tense whispers and hushed arguments. Shan’ann was texting her friends and asking if he was crazy. She didn't know what to do. She was already starting to spiral when she asked Chris if he even wanted the third baby. His answer was a heartbreaking one, he didn't. Her friends tried to console her, they tried to tell her Chris just had cold feet and three kids was a lot of responsibility. But it didn't do much. When the week is over, the Watts family goes back to Colorado and tries to get back to normal.
Over the next few days, Shan’ann and Chris have some emotional conversations. She is pleading with him to just be honest. She just wanted to be close to her husband again. She didn’t want to have worry inside her chest all the time. Chris says whatever he needs to to be able to continue his double life. He promises to be a better husband and father and be more attentive to his family. He would be there for Nico and the girls. Those promises relieved Shan’ann to an extent. She wanted to be optimistic, but she also had reservations, she felt he still wasn't fully there. For one, he wouldn't be intimate or initiate anything with her. Shan’ann strongly suspected that if he wasn't getting what he needed from her, he was getting it somewhere.
By August 4th, Nichol had fallen head over heels for Chris. While Shan’ann thought she was fighting for her marriage, Nichol was googling wedding dresses for hours on end. Nichol was even googling topics relating to “marrying your mistress”. Her internet history is a really interesting thing. It honestly contradicts a lot of her statements she’s made, especially to the police. For example, she said she wasn’t aware of Shan’ann for a very long time because he didn't wear a wedding ring. She claimed she didn’t know about the wife or the children. That isn’t true. She frequented Shan’ann’s Facebook page, which in no way indicated she was in the middle of a mutual divorce. Hell, Nichol even went so far as to google “Chris Watts” a whole YEAR before they actually met. So, who knows if we’ll ever get the whole truth in regard to all that. Chris and Nichol certainly aren't telling.
Arizona
On August 9, 2018, Shan’ann grabbed her stuff, kissed her sleeping family goodbye, and wrote a note for her husband. She thought things were getting a little better and she felt a little better she was going away on a work trip. She wanted him to know she loved him.
By the time Shan’ann and her friend Nickole Atkinson - who also worked for Thrive - had landed in Arizona; Chris had done almost a 180 from before. He had been ignoring her and giving any litany of excuses to get out of talking to her. In reality he was too busy googling “when to say I love you” in a new relationship. Nickole and Shan’ann’s other friends on the trip could tell something was wrong. She wasn’t eating or drinking enough, definitely not enough for someone who was 15 weeks pregnant. She told them her and Chris were having some problems. He wouldn’t sleep with her or touch; she felt he was cheating there and there was nothing she could do about it. Her friends tried to talk her down but Shan’ann was not alright and they were worried about her. So when a credit card charge showed up on Shan’ann’s phone from a sports bar, she began to wonder. When she looked at the total, she knew her husband wasn’t dining alone.
The trip ended and Nickole dropped Shan’ann off at 1:48 AM (we know the exact time because of Watts' doorbell camera), she planned to check in with Shan’ann since she had a doctor’s appointment in the morning. With Chris’s almost indifference towards baby number three , Nickole wanted to make sure Shan’ann had someone there for her, even if it was just virtually like over the phone. Shan’ann headed upstairs and dropped her bags on the floor. She showered and got into bed beside her husband and tried to drift off to sleep.
The First Version of Events
There are multiple versions of August 13th, 2018, and the events that followed. All of them are told by Chris Watts. With each version we get closer to the truth, but I’m not sure we’ll ever get all of it.
When Nickole Atkinson texted Shan’ann and she didn't get a reply, so she kept texting and calling. Just hoping to get some kind of response. As time goes on and she gets no response, she begins to really panic. A little confused, she just decides to call the doctor’s office. It’s then that the receptionist says she hasn't made it in yet and she’s missed the appointment. Nickole is now CERTAIN something is wrong. She called the police department for a welfare check at 9 AM. She then calls Chris and he says she’s probably at a playdate with a friend. After some prodding, he says it'll be about forty-five minutes, but he’ll be there.
I have to give all the credit in the world to Nickole here. She knew something was wrong with her friend and her children, and she acted on instinct. She was determined. That determination gave Chris little time to clean up his mess and destroy evidence. If Nickole Atkinson wouldn't have been the, who knows how long he would have had to get everything straight and maybe even get away with it.
Nickole and her son headed out to the house to meet the officer. They waited for hours on both Chris and the officer. When he hadn’t shown up by noon, she called again, and an officer was actually sent out. Chris is still not there when Officer James arrives at 1:36 PM. He should have been there by 10 AM at the latest. Not actually leaving at noon (as we come to find out) and arriving at the home shortly before 4 PM. This was the first red flag for some. He looked like he didn’t have an ounce of urgency in his body. The officer couldn’t legally go inside without the permission of the homeowner - Chris - regardless of whether there might be a passed out pregnant woman inside. That was the original thought that Nickole had. She assumed that since Shan’ann wasn’t eating or drinking properly, and she was stressed, that she had a medical issue. She either couldn't get to the phone, or the girls couldn’t help her. Nickole just wanted to get inside to see. While they all were waiting at the house Chris was calling and texting his mistress and contacting various other people. Once he got there, he sent some phony texts to Shan’ann’s phone and called some hospitals. So, they all finally get into the house and look around for Shan’ann and the girls with no success. Within several minutes, they find several things that add up to one big red flag.
There’s no bedding on any bed, not theirs or the girls’ beds.
Shan’ann’s wedding ring was found on the counter.
Shan’ann’s purse was found with her wallet, keys, and medicine for her and the girls still inside.
These things immediately stick out to Nickole and the officer, Chris on the other hand just repeats that they were supposed to be at “a friend's place for a playdate.” He thought they were still there. This seems improbable because come to find out that it was actually the girls’ first day of school. Shan’ann hadn’t taken any photos or posted or sent them to any family members. This wasn't like her. More officers arrive and they officially file missing persons reports on all three of them. They began to go door to door to see if neighbors had seen anything at all that could help the investigation. They got very lucky when they knocked on Nathan Trinastitch’s door.
Nathan had security cameras on his property that had a partially clear view of the Watt’s home. His camera captured Watts backing his truck into the garage at 5:27 AM, which wasn't his normal routine. Watts is there as Nathan sapling the video back for him and officers. Chris is nervous, he’s swaying from side to side. He’s almost compulsively talking. Once he watches his truck back in, Chris heads out to either make a call or speak to someone outside. When he leaves, Nathan tells officers he’s acting weird. He’s talking a lot, and "didn’t seem very much like himself”. The officer tells him it’s a stressful time and everyone reacts to traumatic situations in different ways, but the officer still makes a note of it and takes Nathan’s contact info down. Not long after that is when the news crew arrives, and Chris does his infamous plea to the public. Watts smiles and seems almost proud at some points, all while he keeps repeating, he just wants to know they're safe and “he just wanted them back”. It all just seemed off. After a few hours, officers leave for the night to start piecing together the investigation, go home, change shifts and what not. The main responding officer calls Chris around 9:30 PM to follow up and see if there was any news or anything he wanted to add. On the call Chris says that he could NEVER cheat, but he thought Shan’ann had. Chris also gives the officer contact information for a bunch of Shan'ann's friends and family. As soon as Chris gets off the phone with the officer, he facetimes Nichol from his bedroom. EVEN she thought it was weird. He said that he put all of them in the wash because they were dirty, but why deal with irrelevant laundry when your pregnant wife and two young daughters are missing. They talk for about fifty minutes then go off to do various things on their own. They would call each other six times from 11:09 PM on the 13th to 2:06 AM on the 14th. During Nichol’s interview with police, she can’t give them any specifics of what they discussed really. Only that they talked about “the situation and his family”. Just a few hours after Chris and Nichol hang up, Shan’ann’s mom calls Officer James and says she thinks that Chris is acting weird, and she suspects foul play. All of this is taken down for detectives.
On the morning of August 14th, the police show up at the Watt’s home to knock on more doors and fly some drones to get an aerial view of the land. They also brought K-9s and special cadaver dogs to search the home and surrounding area. While many people spent all day searching and came home emotionally and physically exhausted; the husband and father of the missing mother and children emailed back and forth with someone about participating in his fantasy football league. An hour after that, at around seven PM, Chris is heading into Frederic PD to talk to investigators. His phone is taken and sent to Dacono PD for a forensic data search, as FPD didn’t have the technology. The initial chunk of the interview was to create a rapport and gather base information about him, the couple, and the girls. This gave the lead investigator, agent Graham Coder, a chance to really sit with Chris and get an idea for him and his personality. He also did a really good job at first of building rapport with him. While his answers may not have been lengthy, he was talking freely and without counsel with PD. They had no idea yet that the real treasure would be Watts’s phone. While Chris does his best to navigate the investigator’s questions, the last thirty minutes takes a turn. And you’ll be able to see this in the interview recording. Agent Coder plays an interesting card here. He throws out what’s called a “behavior provoking question”. He asked, “What should we do to the person who took them when we find them”. Now most people who are innocent of the crime would throw out a rather violent or draconian response. They would want the perp to hang from his toes in the town square or get the electric chair or meet a firing squad. Substitute any violence here you want. Watts gives the short and sweet response of “life in prison”. Coder doesn’t want to play around anymore so he finally lets Chris know that he is the prime and sole suspect as of this point and that they would be watching him. From there, Chris was allowed to leave and go home for the night and to see some family friends.
The morning of the 15th the police arrive at Watts’ door bright and early at six AM with a search warrant for quite a few things. They grabbed all electronic devices, a relationship self-help book from the recycling bin, blue nitrile gloves from on top of the fridge, and the top sheet and pillowcases found in the kitchen trash. At eight AM that day, another investigator on the case - Agent Tammy Bell (now Lee) - gets a call from Chris’s manager of Anadarko saying he thought he found evidence of Chris having begun a relationship with a coworker in June. Coincidentally an hour and a half later- at the same time Chris is picking up his dad from the airport - Nichol called Frederick PD and says she was watching the news, and she needs to talk to someone about her boyfriend…Chris Watts.
The Polygraph
Two hours later at eleven o’clock, Chris Watts arrives for his scheduled polygraph exam and is met with Agent Bell and coder. They have some small talk. The two are trying to calm Chris’ nerves and make him as comfortable as they can. You can learn a lot about Chris Watts in his original police interview, but her biggest thing is his confidence. While he might be on edge, he’s confident that he can outsmart the investigators and the polygraph. He even said beforehand that he didn’t think polygraphs were a good measure of truth and that they didn’t always work. He’s trying to make excuses for his deception before the test even begins. He really thinks he can talk his way out of the consequences of murdering his wife and children. Agent Bell is a stone cold professional when it comes to [polygraph testing. She has conducted hundreds to thousands over about ten years. Right before the test began, she did what's referred to as “snapping a knot in their ass”. She says - and this is a direct quote - “If you had something to do with this, it would be really stupid. Like it would be dumb. If you had anything to do with this, then you should not be sitting in this chair right now”. After dropping the bomb, she starts to question Chris about basics and personal history of himself and the family. She then goes into the hard question about the disappearances. He tries his hardest to answer them, but at certain points you can hear his voice dripping with nerves. When the testing is all said and done, Agent Coder and Bell come back into the interview room to discuss the results with Chris. It’s not good news.
The Second Version of Events
From the moment Chris senses things are off, his brain begins to form a plan. His first version of events (“they’re at a friend's”) didn’t convince officers the way he wanted, and he knows it. No one believes his wife and two young children just vanished into thin air.
Agent Bell starts off the show. She tells Chris it was completely clear that he wasn’t being honest, and he knows that. He failed spectacularly. A score of -4 is considered failing, Chris Watts managed to score a -18. He’s adamant he was innocent, and he was telling the truth. He had “nothing to do with this". Agent Coder lets him keep talking and digging himself a deeper hole. Before too long, he points out they know about Nichol Kessinger. You can see some of the confidence leech form Chris when Agent Code tells him it was Nichol who had called them herself. They knew about the past six weeks of infidelity. Let that sink in. There was roughly 6 weeks - about 42 days - in between Chris meeting Nichol and him murdering his entire family. You can tell on the tape it’s the first time Chris really believes he might be fucked.
The questioning continues until Agent Bell starts to list all the possibilities that could have happened to make him a little more comfortable in walking, or to give him an out. I don’t exactly know the reason. She threw out a list of possibilities; it was an accident, Shan’ann pushed Chris too far and he made a mistake. Finally, the winner, “Did Shan’ann do something to the girls, and you have to do something to her?” As soon as the words leave her mouth, you can see his body language change. Before too long, Watts asks to speak with his father, Ronnie, who was still sitting in the lobby waiting for him. This was a risky choice considering Ronnie could have come in there and told his son to lawyer up in five seconds flat. In a split-second decision, they decide to let Ronnie in. They were sure Chris was finally ready to open up.
Ronnie comes in and immediately sits at Chris' side to comfort his tragedy-stricken son. Chris explains he failed his polygraph test. Slowly the story he has chosen to tell comes spilling out. According to Chris, He had an affair with someone from work, he didn't love Shan’ann anymore and wanted to separate, and when he told her that she went crazy and killed the girls. When he had realized what she had done he killed Shan’ann in a blind rage. Chris said he didn’t want to say anything earlier because he oh-so-nobly wanted to protect her. He said he didn't say anything because he didn’t want people to think Shana Ann was a bad person or a bad mother. So, he got rid of the bodies. Which really seems to be a big pile of shit. He continues to weave this grandiose work of fiction until agents come back in to talk. He reiterated the whole story and told them “everything”, from the arguments to the murders to the disposal of the bodies.
Agent Coder finally asks the million-dollar question, “you said you went to the worksite after all that, so is that where they still are?”. And with that, they give Chris a printout of an aerial photo of his worksite, Cervi 319, and he slowly marks the resting places of Shan’ann, Bella and CeCe Watts with a simple initial. The agents are shocked. While Shan’ann was given a shallow grave, Chris chose to shove the girls’ bodies through an eight-inch-wide opening on top of adjoining oil tanks on the site, one in each. It was a gruesome picture being painted but remember ladies and gentlemen, this is only version number two. Things can always get worse and unfortunately, they do.
The Legal Portion
Investigators quickly sent out a team of men to check out Cervi 319 and get another search warrant for the Watts’ home. By now it’s about 10:45 PM, almost twelve hours since the polygraph started. The multi-officer team at Cervi has located all three bodies and the retrieval of the girls is underway. Across town at the Frederick Police Department, Chris Watts was finally being put into handcuffs.
The team at Cervi works tirelessly into the night and by the early morning hours they transfer the majority of the evidence and the bodies to Frederick PD. On August 17th, just two days before what would have been Shan’ann’s gender reveal, they conduct the autopsies and soon know the gruesome reality of what the victims faced. Chris is charged with:
(5) counts of FIRST-DEGREE MURDER
UNLAWFUL TERMINATION OF A PREGNANCY
(3) counts of TAMPERING WITH A DECEASED HUMAN BODY
So, in Colorado you can add an additional count if the victim is under the age of twelve years old and harmed by an individual in a position of trust, which Chris was. So, instead of just three counts of F.D.M, he got five.
Watts decided not to have a trial and instead decided to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for the prosecution asking the death penalty off the table. On November 6,2018 he elocuted to the court, still sticking to his story about Shan’ann. He was still letting the general public believe she had done this. Shan’ann;s friends and family couldn’t accept that he had done that, no matter how many people harassed them both in-person and virtually. Chris let people tear Shan’ann and her family apart, all to save his own ass. At his sentencing two weeks later, Shan’ann and Chris’ family both chose to make victim impact statements.
Shan’ann’s father spoke a lot about betrayal. . Frank had trusted his baby girls and his granddaughters with a monster. He said he felt like he had welcomed Chris as a member of the family, like his own son. He couldn't understand how Chris could do this. Chris’s parents, on the other hand, spoke about confusion and love. Sandra and Ronnie still loved their son but they couldn't fathom this. They couldn't wrap their heads around the loss of their granddaughters and daughter in law. Chris Watts was then sentenced to five life sentences - three consecutive and two concurrent - without the possibility of parole for his heinous crimes. He was taken to the Weld County Jail in Weld, Colorado until he was transferred for “major safety concerns”. Since December 3, 2019; Chris Watts has been living rather uncomfortably at The Dodge Correctional Institution Waupun, Wisconsin. It’s here that he tells the third version of the story.
The Third Version of Events
Three and a half years after his plea of guilty, Chris is visited by Agents Coder and Bell, and some FBI agents. They aren't here to charge him with anything else, they just want to talk. Agent Bell especially felt they didn't get the whole truth the first time. Especially when she threw out all those excuses. Chris seems humbled by prison life. He wasn’t oozing confidence the way he was the first few times they all talked.
Chris describes his life and his problems with the other facility for a few minutes. Inmates were apparently shouting at him to end his life before someone else did. The agents are empathetic, and with the small talk out of the way they get right down to it. While Chris was incarcerated, a few people came forward claiming they had an affair with him. Notably, one of the people happened to be a man. This sparked a media frenzy around Chris’ sexuality. Long story short investigators confirm that those individuals were just looking for attention on the coattails of a triple murder and the death of an unborn baby. Topics soon turn to darker matters.
He started with Nichol. Chris described how they met, and how she pursued HIM. He said he felt more dominant, more in control with Nichol. It was “Easier to be himself” with her. He felt like he couldn't be a man with Shan’ann. He felt like she separated him from his friends and family, and treated them horribly on top of that. When Shan’ann was in North Carolina he decided he was done, and he was going to choose to explore where things went with Nichol. He knew Shan’ann had suspected he was having an affair and on the morning of August 13, 2018, he had a talk with her.
When Shan’ann had arrived home from her work trip, the couple had sex. When it was over, Chris had a strong feeling it was just a test of loyalty. He didn’t see it as an act of love and attraction. They went to sleep and a few hours later Chris’s alarm went off and he began to get ready for work. He stopped instead, and got in bed on top of Shan’ann. He woke her up because he wanted to talk to her. He was straddling her when he told her he didn’t love her anymore and there was someone else. She started to struggle a little and wanted him off. She said he thought he would hurt the baby sitting on her like that.
Shan’ann had hit her breaking point and she yelled at Chris that he would never see his kids again. Right then is when Chris decided to strangle his wife of six years to death. Once he realized what he had done he began to panic. He started to cover up his crime. Four-year-old Bella woke up at the noise. She was smart, she knew something was wrong no matter how many times Chris tried to assure her “mommy was sleeping” or “mommy just wasn’t feeling very good”. Chris Watts then picked Shan’ann’s body up off the bed, wrapped it in a sheet and dragged her body down the stairs. He placed her on the floorboard of the backseat of his work truck, which he had backed into the garage. By this time CeCe had also woken up as well. Chris grabbed the girls’ blankets and a small stuffed animal. He then loaded the girls into the back of the truck, right on top of their mother’s body. He had a whole forty-five-minute drive out to Cervi 319 to change his mind, at least on the girls. He could have let them live. Agent Bell asked. She always wondered why he had done what he had done as a whole, but especially the girls. Watts says he thinks he made up his mind long before it happened. He wanted out, but he loved the girls. It was “an idea that had been planted that he couldn't get out of his head. When he got to the worksite, he pulled his wife’s body out of the truck and buried her in a shallow grave, not far from the oil tanks. The girls sit in the truck and watch everything. Chris recalled both daughters asking what he’s doing to mommy. When he got back to the truck, he climbed into the back with the girls.
Chris then takes CeCe’s blanket and placed it over her face. He strangled her while Bella watched. Watts sickly remember CeCe not fighting back, almost like she didn;’t understand what was happening and she just trusted her daddy. Watts then carried CeCe’s body up the oil tanks, opened one of the hatches and shoved her in feet first, shutting the lid behind her. Bella had now seen her pregnant mother be buried, and her sister die and be disposed of. She knew she was next. When she asks her daddy, he's honest and tells her “Yes, the same thing is going to happen to you”. He then used the same blanket he used on CeCe and strangled Bella. She fought back and struggled, so he had to hold her tight. Her last words, according to Watts, was “Daddy no”. Watts said those words haunt him every day. Chris then picked up the body of his four-year-old daughter and shoved her in the adjoining tank to CeCe’s. With his family disposed of, Chris headed back to the truck and began to make a few phone calls. He called his realtor and talked about listing the house. He called the girl’s school and not only unenrolled him but asked them if they were there at school today. Finally, he calls Nichol Kessinger and waits for the chaos to begin.
This version of the story seems to be the official one, and the closest to the possible truth of what happened that day based on evidence and court documents. But if you think Chris is done spinning tales, you'd be wrong.
The Last Reiteration
Chris Watts is trying to live as normal of a life as he possibly can. He even had a few pen pals and even some admirers. One in particular landed him back in the news back in 2023. Watts chose to send jailhouse letters with true crime writer Cherlyn Cadle. I really want to emphasize here that it’s not a friendship. She doesn't; condone his actions and it’s purely professional. She compiled her correspondence with him and published a book, Letters from Christopher: The Tragic Confessions of the Watts Family.
In the letters there are a few discrepancies from that last version he told investigators in Wisconsin, but the largest one has to do with how he murdered his daughters. In this newest version he claims he went into his daughter’s rooms first, not like he originally claimed. He wrote “I went to Bella’s room first, then CeCe’s and used a pillow from their bed. That’s why the cause of death was smothering”. Afterwards he climbed into bed with his wife and ended her life. Watts claims after the death of his wife, the children woke back up. He doesn’t know how or why, but they did. It makes it so much sicker if this version is true. He not only tried to murder his three- and four-year-old innocent daughters not just once, but twice.
In the letters he also claims that he gave Shan’ann oxytocin to try and induce a miscarriage. While we may never know if this is actually true, the court documents that contain Shan’ann’s text messages seem to indicate she had suffered a medical issue that sounds strangely like a reaction to the drug. As more time passes, we seem to be getting a clearer picture of how far Chris Watts was willing to go for love and “freedom”. That’s the funny thing about Chris Watts, and I am not a licensed psychologist by any means, but I think his level of narcissism is what sets him apart from other family annihilators.
Classification
This case is technically classified as a familicide, and that’s defined as “one family member murdering other members of their family, commonly taking the lives of all”. This case is not only a familicide, but Chris Watts is also classified as a family annihilator which is a really interesting pathology.
Annihilators are overwhelmingly male, estimated by researcher Grant Duwe to be about 95%. They are also mostly white and middle-aged. They often feel inadequate as men and in many cases suffered childhood abuse. They tend to carry over that powerlessness into adulthood. Annihilators will sometimes try to exert strict control over their households and seek to create an idealized version of a family or a life they never experienced.
Watts set himself apart though. Most of these people either kill themselves or they kind of just confess once they're caught. Watts chose to stage a pretty ambitious missing persons case and dragged the truth out in the end. A lot of family annihilators also are involved with extramarital affairs when they feel their wife or husband doesn't meet their expectations anymore, just like Watts’ relationship with Kessinger. And surprisingly, she made it out okay.
In the End
Nichol Kessinger was most likely the catalyst for this whole thing. Don’t get me wrong, the Watts weren't perfect, but every married couple has their issues. I would like to make a note here about her rather alarming google searches. Nichol searched quite a few times for things relating to Amber Frye (the mistress of Scott Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife in 2004). She specifically asked, “Did people hate Amber Frye?”, and questions about Frye’s book deal. Just four days after Watts was arrested. She also had other searches like; “man I’m having an affair with says he will leave his wife”, “marrying your mistress”, and “can cops trace text messages”. She really walked out of everything relatively unscathed considering she got witness protection and is living a new life with a new name. Which was probably something she arranged in exchange for information.
Chris on the other hand, will spend the rest of his life in prison; separated from the person he was willing to end four lives for. He owes Shan’ann’s family hundreds of thousands of dollars. He is in a form of protective custody because let’s just say a lot of criminals don't love the fact he murdered his wife, unborn baby and two young girls. Gen Pop can be a very unfriendly place sometimes.
Just a little side note, what actually sparked this episode being produced now was that the Watts home came up for sale not too long ago. It was sold in 2022 for $600,000. It was just listed on the market around mid-April of 2024 for $775,000. You can now own the watts home. It may be a morbid buy, but true crime enthusiasts are clamoring about it online.
This case is a haunting look at tragedy and lies. Chris Watts’s facade of normalcy hid dark secrets, and eventually unraveled into a series of horrific events that shattered and ended lives. He shows us what human depravity really can be. While it’s important to study Watts and be aware of the signs of danger in a toxic relationship; it’s more important to remember the victims in this tragedy; Shan’ann, Bella, Celeste, and Nico.
Thank you all once again for joining us, and we hope to see you on the next episode! Make sure to give it a listen on most major podcasting platforms!
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