Christopher Lee Watts, an American oil field operator, had two daughters (Celeste and Bella) and a fifteen weeks pregnant wife (Shanann) staying in Frederick, Colorado. Appearing on a TV interview from his porch on 13 August 2018, he begged his family members to come back, and it gained nationwide interest. Combined efforts were put in to find the missing family members.
Netflix released a documentary film, American Murder: The Family Next Door, in 2020 to show how Shanann disappeared and how other events took place through firsthand, raw footage, text messages, social media posts, official recordings, and home videos.
However, the scenes got recreated for the movie. Jenny Popplewell, the documentary director, wants people to know how the twists in the case came to light. She got trusted by Shanann’s family members as they provided her unrestricted access to Shanann’s laptop and mobile phone to bring the truth before the world.
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How Murders Took Place
Christopher’s wife and two daughters reportedly went missing on 13 August 2018. After searching for three days around Frederick, the authorities announced to had found their dead bodies at Christopher’s workplace, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. The case also attracted the FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Christopher had an affair with his co-worker, Nichol Kessinger, and wanted to separate from his wife, according to police. Nichol was worried about public shaming but later came forward and cooperated with the police. Christopher initially said that Shanann killed his daughters, and he killed her before dumping their bodies nearby.
However, it turned out that Christopher strangled his wife and smothered his daughters. Bella even bit her tongue numerous times before taking her last breath. He hid their bodies in an oil tank after somehow pushing his daughter’s bodies through an eight-inch opening. Police found a bunch of blonde hair present where the tank opened.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church to pay the last tribute to Shanann, her two daughters, and her unborn boy. Shanann’s brother was upset for being far away from his sister and not protecting her.
Christopher’s Confession
Shanann missed a business meeting, and her friend Nickole Utoft Atkinson went to her residence at noon. As none answered from inside, she called the Frederick Police Department. Christopher allowed the police officer to conduct a welfare search at his house.
The police officer found an unharmed family dog but not the family members. Shanann’s phone, wedding ring, purse, keys, and children’s medicines were in the house. Moreover, the girls’ car seats were still in the car.
Christopher failed in polygraph test and confessed his crime. He killed his wife after an argument over divorce. When Bella walked into the room, Christopher told her that her mother was sick.
Christopher loaded the three in his work truck and smothered his daughters one by one, according to his lawyer. It was a case of familicide. He got charged with the first-degree murder of three on 21 August 2018.
Christopher killed his children below twelve and was a trustworthy person to them. He also got charged with terminating a pregnancy unlawfully and tampering with three dead human bodies. Shanann’s maternal family accepted his plea deal instead of asking for a death sentence.
The court agreed to grant him a bail of $5 million. He later got shifted to another prison for security reasons, and now he serves several sentences making it a life sentence with no chances of parole. Murderers usually commit suicide after such murders due to the guilt of killing their own family members, but Christopher did not do that, according to a former FBI profiler.
According to Christopher’s confession, he hears his elder daughter’s voice begging for life whenever he closes his eyes. Thus, investigators considered the case horrific and disgusting. It shows how domestic violence can occur anywhere.
Shanann’s father, mother, and brother consider Christopher a heartless devil. He confessed everything related to his crime, and the video was made public on 07 March 2019. Now, he only gets out of his cell for an hour to shower and exercise. He is only allowed to keep a Bible.
According to Christohper’s letters to his mom, he still considers himself a son and a dad, no matter what. He embraced spirituality and lives every day with forgiveness, peace, and love.
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