The Chris Watts case is the 2018 Colorado murder of Shanann Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and the couple’s daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, by husband and father Christopher Watts at the family’s home in Frederick, Colorado. Watts pleaded guilty to nine criminal counts on November 6, 2018, and was sentenced to five life terms without the possibility of parole. He is incarcerated in Wisconsin.
What Happened on August 13, 2018
Shanann Watts, 34, returned home to Saratoga Trail in Frederick at roughly 2:00 a.m. on August 13, dropped off by her friend Nickole Atkinson after a business trip to Arizona.1Oxygen. Chris Watts Murder Case Timeline The marriage had been deteriorating. Shanann had spent the previous six weeks visiting family in North Carolina with the girls, and during that separation Chris began an affair with a coworker, Nichol Kessinger, telling her he was separated and finalizing a divorce.2The Denver Post. Chris Watts’ Mistress Nichol Kessinger Speaks
According to Watts’s later confessions, a confrontation about the affair followed Shanann’s arrival home. He strangled her to death.3Business Insider. Chris Watts Murder Timeline He then loaded her body and the two still-living children into his work truck and drove to an Anadarko Petroleum tank battery site north of Roggen, Colorado, where he worked as an oil field operator. He smothered Celeste with a blanket in the backseat while Bella watched, then killed Bella. He buried Shanann in a shallow grave and placed each girl’s body into a separate crude oil storage tank.4Denver 7. Bodies of Two Daughters Concealed Inside Oil and Gas Tanks
A neighbor’s surveillance camera recorded Watts loading items into his truck at about 5:18 a.m. He had backed the vehicle into the driveway, something the neighbor had never seen him do before.5CBS News Colorado. Video Shows Chris Watts Nervous After Murder
How Investigators Caught Him
Shanann missed a doctor’s appointment that morning. Atkinson could not reach her by phone or text and drove to the house, where she found Shanann’s car, purse, phone, and keys still inside. She reported the family missing to Frederick police at 1:37 p.m. When officers entered the home with her, she immediately noticed that the sheets had been stripped from the master bed and that the children’s beds were unmade, behavior she said was out of character for Shanann.6Craig Daily Press. Christopher Watts’ Neighbors, Police Interview Details Suspicion
Neighbor Nate Trinastich played his security footage for officers that same day and told them Watts was “not acting right,” describing him as fidgety and more interested in his phone than in the video that might help find his family.7Oxygen. Chris Watts’ Neighbor Suspected Him From the Beginning
On August 14, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered Missing Alert. That afternoon Watts stood in front of a Denver 7 camera, said he was “torn up,” and pleaded for his wife and daughters to “just come back.” Behind the scenes, investigators were already pulling his phone and computer records and had identified his relationship with Kessinger.3Business Insider. Chris Watts Murder Timeline Kessinger contacted the Weld County Sheriff’s Office voluntarily on August 15 and sat for interviews with police and the FBI, telling investigators she wanted to help find a missing pregnant woman and two children.2The Denver Post. Chris Watts’ Mistress Nichol Kessinger Speaks
Watts failed a polygraph on August 15. After being allowed to speak with his father, he offered a partial confession, admitting he killed Shanann but falsely claiming she had murdered the girls and that he had killed her in a rage after witnessing it.1Oxygen. Chris Watts Murder Case Timeline Investigators recovered Shanann’s body from the shallow grave that evening. The next day they pulled Bella and Celeste from two separate oil tanks. Watts was arrested late on August 15 and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.4Denver 7. Bodies of Two Daughters Concealed Inside Oil and Gas Tanks
Forensic pathologist Michael Burson determined that Shanann died of asphyxiation by manual strangulation, with purple-black bruising on her neck. Bella and Celeste died of asphyxiation by smothering. The autopsy report indicated Bella likely fought for her life: examiners found a laceration on her upper gum line and bite wounds on her tongue.8Times-Call. Autopsy Reports Show Shanann Watts, Daughters Were Asphyxiated
What He Confessed To
On February 18, 2019, Watts sat for a five-hour interview with Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents at the Wisconsin prison where he had been transferred. He abandoned the story that Shanann had killed the children and admitted he had murdered all three victims himself.9Law and Crime. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Releases Report on Chris Watts Confession
He told investigators that after strangling Shanann he loaded her body and the still-living girls into his truck and drove to the Anadarko site, that he smothered Celeste in the backseat while Bella watched, and that Bella’s final words were “Daddy, no!”10CBS News Colorado. Chris Watts Confession Recordings He said he dropped each girl into an oil tank feet-first while holding their arms.11Craig Daily Press. Records: Christopher Watts Co-Worker Went to Site, Looked for Clues Watts told investigators he felt as if something had been “implanted” in his mind that morning and that he had “no control over it.” He also said he pleaded guilty to avoid years of his attorneys “lying for him” at trial.9Law and Crime. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Releases Report on Chris Watts Confession Audio recordings of the interview were released publicly on March 7, 2019.
The Guilty Plea and Sentence
On November 6, 2018, Watts pleaded guilty to all nine counts filed against him:
- Three counts of first-degree murder after deliberation, for Shanann, Bella, and Celeste.
- Two counts of first-degree murder based on the victims being under twelve and Watts being in a position of trust, pertaining to Bella and Celeste.
- One count of first-degree unlawful termination of a pregnancy.
- Three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
The plea deal removed the death penalty from consideration. Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke pursued the agreement with the consent of Shanann’s parents, Frank and Sandra Rzucek, who wanted a quicker resolution rather than the delays typical of Colorado capital cases. At the sentencing hearing, Sandra Rzucek specifically asked prosecutors not to seek death.12Denver 7. Chris Watts Reaches Plea Deal to Avoid Death Penalty
On November 19, 2018, Judge Marcelo Kopcow imposed three consecutive life sentences without parole for the murders, two concurrent life sentences on the position-of-trust counts, 48 consecutive years for the unlawful termination of pregnancy, and 12 consecutive years on each of the three tampering counts.13Denver 7. Chris Watts Sentenced to Five Life Terms Without Parole
Watts’s mother, Cindy Watts, addressed the court, saying the family accepted what her son had done and appreciated that the death penalty had been removed, though it was “not enough to make up for what he has done.” She told him, “We love you, and we forgive you, son.” Judge Kopcow ruled that Watts’s parents qualified as victims of the crime in their capacity as the children’s grandparents.14CBS News Colorado. Cindy Watts Statement at Sentencing Hearing
The $6 Million Wrongful Death Judgment
On the same day Watts was sentenced criminally, Frank and Sandra Rzucek filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him in Weld County. Watts did not contest the case. On November 18, 2019, a judge ordered him to pay $6 million: $1 million for each victim and $3 million for the family’s grief, emotional stress, and loss of companionship, plus $521.50 in legal costs. The judgment accrues 8 percent annual interest. The family’s attorney, Steven Lambert, said the suit was intended to collect any assets Watts might have and to prevent him from profiting through book or media deals.15Denver 7. Christopher Watts Agrees to Pay $6 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Where Chris Watts Is Now
Watts was transferred from the Colorado Department of Corrections to Dodge Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in Waupun, Wisconsin, on December 3, 2018. The move was carried out under the Interstate Corrections Compact due to safety concerns.16FDL Reporter. Wisconsin DOC Confirms Colorado Man Who Killed Family at Dodge He remains there, held in protective custody, and works as a custodian. He has received two conduct reports in prison: one in 2020 for unauthorized communication and property transfer, and another in 2021 for disobeying orders and possessing contraband. He reportedly maintains correspondence with multiple women.17People. Where Is Chris Watts Now
Despite early speculation that Watts might try to challenge his conviction, legal observers noted that his guilty plea effectively waived his right to a direct appeal. As of the most recent reporting, no formal appeal or post-conviction motion has been filed.18Oxygen. Is Chris Watts Appealing His Sentence