The Watts family seemed picture-perfect: a beautiful home in Frederick, Colorado, two young daughters, and a baby on the way. But behind closed doors, a nightmare was unfolding that would shock the world.
In August 2018, Chris Watts, then 35, stood before news cameras pleading for help to find his missing pregnant wife Shanann and their daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.
But the desperate appeal soon turned into a horrific revelation: Watts had brutally murdered his entire family.
Warning: the following article contains graphic material.
For those who knew them, the family looked happy and complete.
Yet, Watts strangled Shanann at their home, then smothered Bella and Celeste—children who begged for their lives.
It later emerged Watts had been having an affair with co-worker Nichol Kessinger, who reportedly cut ties with him after learning of his crimes. Kessinger changed her name and left Colorado. But the world’s attention remained fixed on the grisly truth: Watts had killed the wife and children he was supposed to protect.
The details of the crime sent shockwaves across the globe. Authorities found Shanann buried in a shallow grave nearby, while Bella and Celeste’s bodies were hidden in an oil tank where Watts worked.
Confronted him
Shanann’s parents requested prosecutors spare Watts the death penalty, asking instead for five life sentences — three consecutive — which he received.
According to reports from Mirror US, Watts confessed to strangling Shanann and his daughters, who pleaded for their lives. Years later, Watts revealed in letters that he had tried to give Shanann OxyContin to abort their unborn baby and admitted to planning the murders for weeks.
The affair reportedly came to light that summer, and Watts claimed the crimes began after Shanann confronted him. In a chilling ABC News interview from February 2019, Watts admitted he didn’t love Shanann — a revelation that led her to say, “You’re never gonna see the kids again.”
He described strangling her with his bare hands, saying:
“Every time I think about it, I’m just like, did I know I was going to do that before I got on top of her? It just felt like there was already something in my mind that was implanted that I was gonna do it and when I woke up that morning it was gonna happen and I had no control over it.”
Haunting question
Watts said Shanann didn’t struggle, and horrifyingly, their daughter Bella walked into the room during the attack and asked, “What’s wrong with mommy?”
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Watts loaded his daughters into the back of his truck with Shanann’s body laid on the floor. He said the girls fell asleep in each other’s laps as he drove to the oil site.
When burying Shanann, Celeste reportedly asked him, “What are you doing to mommy?” Watts admitted he couldn’t even remember what he told her.
Using Celeste’s Yankees blanket, Watts strangled her while Bella remained silent. Before her death, Bella asked, “Is the same thing gonna happen to me as Cece?” and her last words were, “Daddy, no!” Watts confessed that those two words haunt him every time he closes his eyes.
Watts later admitted he left Shanann’s wedding ring on the kitchen counter to create the false impression that she wanted a divorce.
According to investigators, Watts also planted other items across the home to make it appear as if Shanann had abandoned the marriage and left the house.
Watts also told his mistress that Shanann had left with the kids, to which she told him to delete anything about her from his phone and not to contact her “until this is done.”
The truth surfaced
He also admitted to lying during his media appearances in August 2018, saying:
“When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here. My kids are my life.”
After several days, the truth surfaced when the bodies were found, and Watts was arrested.
In interviews, Watts said he couldn’t bring himself to admit what he had done, not even to himself or law enforcement. He even claimed that he only thought about blaming Shanann for the children’s deaths after it was suggested to him later.
Watts pleaded guilty to all charges against him, and in exchange, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty.
The Watts family murders remains one of the most chilling family murders in recent memory, a dark reminder of the horrors that can lurk behind a perfect facade.
