Chris Watts trivia: 65 facts about the famous murderer

Chris Watts became famous through murdering his pregnant wife and their two daughters. A New movie was made about this murders.

So let’s dig into some horrific trivia and facts about this case!

1. The Watts family murders occurred on the early morning of August 13, 2018, in Frederick, Colorado, US
2. While being interviewed by police, Christopher Lee Watts admitted to killing his pregnant wife Shan’ann Cathryn Watts by strangulation
3. Their daughters, four-year-old Bella, and three-year-old Celeste, died by asphyxiation due to smothering
4. Watts then disposed of his daughters’ bodies in oil tanks
5. He buried his wife in a shallow grave at his work-site
6. He pleaded guilty on November 6, 2018, to multiple counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea deal when the death penalty was removed from sentencing
7. He was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole
8. Three to be served consecutively
9. And two to be served concurrently
10. Chris Watts was born in May 16, 1985
11. Christopher Lee Watts and Shan’ann Cathryn Watts were natives of Spring Lake and Aberdeen, North Carolina, respectively
12. They met in 2010
13. They were married in Mecklenburg County on November 3, 2012, according to online records
14. They had two daughters: Bella Marie Watts (born December 17, 2013) and Celeste Cathryn “Cece” Watts (born July 17, 2015)
15. The family lived in a five-bedroom home in Frederick, Colorado, purchased in 2013
16. The couple declared bankruptcy in 2015
17. Chris Watts was employed by Anadarko Petroleum
18. While Shan’ann was an independent representative for the multi-level marketing company Le-vel, selling a product called Thrive
19. At the time of her death, she was fifteen weeks pregnant with a child which they planned to name Niko Lee Watts
20. Her due date was January 31, 2019
21. Shan’ann returned home from a business trip to Arizona at about 1:48 a.m. on August 13, 2018, having received a ride from friend and colleague Nickol Utoft Atkinson
22. Chris was home with the children
23. Later that day, Shan’ann and the two children were reported missing by Atkinson
24. Who had become concerned when Shan’ann missed a scheduled OB-GYN appointment and failed to return text messages
25. After Shan’ann missed a business meeting, Atkinson went to the Watts’ home at approximately 12:10 p.m
26. When the doorbell and knocks went unanswered, Atkinson notified Chris and called the Frederick Police Department
27. Officers arrived to conduct a welfare check at about 1:40 p.m
28. Chris, who had arrived home from work, talked with the officers and discussed ways to locate his missing family
29. During the welfare check, he gave the police permission to search the house, but none of the family was found
30. The searchers discovered Shan’ann’s purse, phone, wedding ring, and keys inside
31. Her car, which still contained the children’s car seats, was in the garage
32. The FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation the next day, August 14
33. Chris gave interviews to Denver stations KMGH-TV and KUSA-TV outside his house pleading for his family’s return
34. Investigators with cadaver and search dogs could be heard on the property during the interview
35. Chris Watts was arrested late on August 15, 2018
36. According to the arrest affidavit, Watts failed a polygraph test and subsequently confessed to murdering Shan’ann
37. He asked to speak to his father before confessing
38. According to the affidavit, Watts was having an affair and claimed to have asked for a separation from his wife
39. During the investigation, he claimed Shan’ann had strangled the children in response to his request for separation, and in a fit of rage, he strangled her and then transported the three bodies to a remote oil-storage site where he worked
40. The authorities located the bodies of Watts’ family on the property of his former employer, Anadarko Petroleum, on August 16
41. Watts had been fired from his job on August 15, the day of his arrest
42. The children’s bodies were found hidden in the oil tanks
43. Shan’ann was buried in a shallow grave nearby
44. On August 21, Watts was charged with five counts of first-degree murder
45. Including an additional one count per child cited as “death of a child who had not yet attained 12 years of age and the defendant was in a position of trust”, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body
46. The case has been connected in the media to the crime of family annihilation
47. Many of these crimes occur in August, before school starts, which may delay detection and investigation
48. According to former FBI profiler Candice DeLong, cases such as Chris Watts’s are rare, because “family annihilators usually commit suicide after the murders”
49. An action that Watts claimed to have contemplated out of guilt for his actions
50. Also, Watts had a new girlfriend, that he was very excited about, on the side
51. Chris Watts pleaded guilty to the murders on November 6
52. The death penalty was not put forward by the district attorney on the request of Shan’ann’s family who did not wish for any further deaths
53. They were supportive of the decision to accept the plea deal
54. On November 19, Watts was sentenced to five life sentences – three consecutive and two concurrent – without the possibility of parole
55. He received an additional 48 years for the unlawful termination of his wife’s pregnancy and 36 years for three charges of tampering with a deceased body
56. On December 3, 2018, Watts was moved to an out-of-state location due to “security concerns”
57. On December 5, 2018, he arrived at the Dodge Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison, in Waupun, Wisconsin, to continue serving his life sentences
58. On a December 2018 episode of the ABC News television news magazine 20/20, Shan’ann’s parents, Frank and Sandra Rzucek, were interviewed for the first time since their daughter and granddaughters’ murders
59. HLN aired a special report show in December 2018 titled Family Massacre: Chris Watts Exposed in which police body cam and video recorded police interviews of Chris Watts were revealed
60. In a newly released Colorado Bureau of Investigation video-recorded interview with Watts’ mistress Nichol Kessinger
61. She revealed his behavioral changes in the days prior to the murders
62. On a December 2018 episode of the American talk show Dr. Phil, Dr. Phil consulted with four crime experts: former prosecutor and TV journalist Nancy Grace, former FBI profiler Candice DeLong, law enforcement consultant Steve Kardian, and body language expert Susan Constantine
63. The experts analyzed the motivation, secret life, and profiling of Chris Watts
64. On a January 2019 episode of the talk show The Dr. Oz Show, commentary is provided on the Watts case by the neighbor who helped build the case against Watts
65. He is interviewed in-studio