KUSA — Weld County prosecutors have formally charged 33-year-old Frederick man Chris Watts with the murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters – less than a week after he spoke to 9NEWS and denied having anything to do with their disappearances.
However, according to an arrest affidavit first made public on Monday afternoon, Watts confessed to killing his wife, 34-year-old Shanann Watts, but claims that it was after he “went into a rage” because he believed she had strangled their two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.
Chris Watts will appear in Weld County court on Tuesday morning for a preliminary hearing. Ahead of that, here’s a look at what we know and don’t know in a case that has captured national attention:
The timeline
Shanann Watts’ friend dropped her off at her home in Frederick just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 13. She had been on a business trip in Arizona.
During initial statements to police, Chris Watts said he last saw his wife at 5 a.m. that day. An hour before, according to the affidavit, he told Shanann Watts that he wanted a separation and she said she was going to go to a friend’s house that day.
Shanann Watts was reported missing the afternoon of Aug. 13 after a friend became worried when she didn’t answer text messages and missed a 10 a.m. doctor’s appointment. When police searched the Watts’ home, Shanann’s purse was still inside and her phone was lodged between two couch cushions.
Chris Watts spoke to 9NEWS on Tuesday. He was arrested on Wednesday evening, and the body of Shanann Watts was found in a shallow grave on Anadarko property the next day, according to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office. The bodies of Bella and Celeste were found inside of oil tanks later Thursday. All three victims were positive identified by the Weld County coroner on Friday.
According to the affidavit, Chris Watts claimed that during the early morning hours of Aug. 13, after telling Shanann he wanted a separation, he saw Bella “sprawled out” on her bed and his wife “actively strangling” Celeste via a baby monitor on their bedside table.
Chris Watts told police that he then strangled Shanann Watts after he "went into a rage."
He then told police that he loaded his wife and two daughters into the back of his work truck and buried Shanann Watts in a shallow grave and then dumped his daughters into two nearby oil tanks.
The afternoon of Chris Watts’ confession, the affidavit said investigators saw a bedsheet in an Anadarko oil field that matched several pillowcases and a topsheet inside of the Watts home. There was also evidence of “fresh movement of dirt consistent with a clandestine grave near the oil tanks.”
The motive
The arrest affidavit does not immediately say what police believe the motive is.
However, a heavily redacted portion of the affidavit indicates that Chris was “actively involved” in an affair with a coworker – something he denied in previous interviews.
The charges indicate that prosecutors do not believe Chris Watts’ assertion that it was his wife who strangled their two daughters. His defense team had previously asked the judge to ensure their expert could take DNA samples from the girls’ necks.
Watts is charged with five counts of first-degree murder – and two of those are killing a child under 12.
He is also charged with unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the first degree and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
At this point, the causes of death for Shanann, Bella and Celeste Watts have not been released.
The family
On Facebook, Chris and Shanann Watts were a couple in love. On her husband’s birthday, Shanann Watts told her Facebook followers, “Today I celebrate you! Chris, you are the BEST thing that has ever happened to me.”
In another post sharing an ultrasound for her unborn child, Shanann Watts called Chris “the best dad our girls could ask for.”
She was planning on having a gender reveal party the weekend after she disappeared. The baby was going to be a little boy, according to family friends.
Four-year-old Bella was quiet and very sweet, according to a family friend, while 3-year-old Celeste was very outgoing and always up to something.
Three years before Shanann Watts and her daughters were killed, the family filed for bankruptcy with less than $10 in their savings accounts, according to federal documents obtained by 9Wants to Know.
The couple that let Chris Watts stay in their home after learning his wife and daughters had disappeared told 9NEWS they had "no idea" what happened. They are now caring for the Watts' dog, Deeter.
"Had we had any inclination that we thought he was involved at all – no way would I have let him in my house with my wife and kid," Nick Thayer told 9NEWS reporter Jordan Chavez Thursday night.
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What’s next?
Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said it’s far too early to say if his office will seek the death penalty against Chris Watts.
He is due in court at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, and that’s just the beginning of a long legal process.
