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Chris Watts Gets Life Without Parole — Judge Kopcow's Complete Statement — Transcript

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0:00Mr. Rourke, is there any
0:02statements you would like to make on
0:03behalf of the prosecution?
0:05>> Yes, please.
0:13>> [clears throat]
0:13>> Your Honor, there are no words to
0:15adequately describe the unimaginable
0:17tragedy that brings us before this court
0:19today.
0:21By my comments, I'm not even going to
0:23try to express the horror, the pain,
0:26or the suffering that the defendant has
0:27caused to these families, to this
0:29community,
0:30and to all who are a part of this
0:31investigation.
0:33However, I do want to spend a few
0:34minutes
0:35sharing with the court the details of
0:37the crime, as so far you've only had an
0:39opportunity to review the affidavit and
0:41a few facts here and there that have
0:43been offered to the court in the motions
0:45and pleadings that have been filed.
0:48The questions that have screamed out to
0:50anyone who will listen since August 13th
0:52of 2018 are why
0:55and how.
0:57Why did this have to happen?
0:59How could a seemingly normal husband and
1:01father annihilate his entire family? For
1:04what?
1:06These are the questions that only one
1:07individual in this courtroom or on this
1:09planet knows the answers to.
1:12I fully expect we will not receive the
1:14answers to these questions today,
1:16nor will we will we at any point in the
1:18future.
1:19I don't expect that he will ever tell
1:21the truth about what truly happened or
1:23why.
1:25Even if he did, there is no rational way
1:27that any human being
1:29could find those answers acceptable
1:31responses to such horrific questions.
1:34The best we can do is try to piece
1:35together some kind of understanding from
1:37the evidence that is available to us.
1:39And the evidence tells us this.
1:42The defendant coldly and deliberately
1:45ended four lives.
1:46Not in a fit of rage,
1:48not by way of accident,
1:50but in a calculated and sickening
1:51manner.
1:53Shanann was 34 years old.
1:56She had married the defendant in
1:57November of 2012.
2:00Over the weekend leading up to August
2:0113th, she had been at a work conference
2:03in Phoenix, Arizona.
2:05And
2:05returned home in the early morning hours
2:07of August 13th.
2:09We know that she got home about 1:45 in
2:11the morning. The doorbell camera on
2:12their home shows her arriving back home
2:15from the airport.
2:17Shortly thereafter, at least according
2:19to the defendant, they had a what he
2:21referred to as an emotional conversation
2:24about the state of their marriage and
2:26about what their lives would look like
2:28going forward.
2:30What was said during that emotional
2:31conversation only he knows.
2:34What we do know is that shortly after
2:37that,
2:37the defendant strangled her to death
2:40with his own hands.
2:44We know that he slowly took her life
2:47the morning of August 13th.
2:49We know that this was not done in an
2:51uncontrolled vengeful manner that he
2:53tried to describe to agents from CBI and
2:55the FBI.
2:57If that were the case, you would expect
2:59to see
3:00vicious, horrible [snorts] bruising
3:02about her neck, shoulders, and face. You
3:05would expect to see the hyoid bone in
3:07her neck broken.
3:09You would expect to see some kind of
3:10defensive wounds on his body as she
3:13struggled and fought for her own life.
3:17None of those
3:18are present.
3:20The only injuries that were on Shannan's
3:21body were one set of finger or bruising,
3:25what appeared to be fingernail or finger
3:27mark bruising to the right side of her
3:29neck.
3:31We know that our experts will tell us
3:32that it takes two to four minutes
3:35to strangle someone to death manually
3:37with their own hands.
3:39The horror that she felt as the man that
3:40she loved wrapped his hands around her
3:43throat and choked the life out of her
3:45must have been unimaginable.
3:50Even worse, what must Bella, age 4,
3:54and Celeste, age 3,
3:56must have experienced or thought as
3:58their father, the one man on this planet
4:01who was supposed to nurture and protect
4:02them,
4:04was snuffing out their lives.
4:07They both died
4:08from smothering.
4:11Let me say that again.
4:13The man seated to my right smothered his
4:16daughters.
4:19Why?
4:21Imagine the horror in Bella's mind as
4:24her father took her last last breaths
4:26away.
4:29Your honor, understand very clearly,
4:30Bella fought back
4:32for her life.
4:34The frenulum,
4:35the connective tissue between her upper
4:37lip and her gum, had an inch and a half,
4:40excuse me, a centimeter and a half
4:42laceration.
4:44She bit her tongue multiple times
4:47before she died.
4:50She fought back for her life
4:52as her father smothered her.
4:56Celeste had no such injuries.
4:59In fact, she had no external injuries at
5:01all.
5:03But according to the medical examiner,
5:04she was smothered nonetheless.
5:09The defendant then methodically and
5:11calmly loaded their bodies into his work
5:14truck.
5:15Not in a hasty hasty or disorganized
5:18way.
5:20He was seen from the neighbor's doorbell
5:21camera
5:23backing his truck into the driveway,
5:25going back and forth into the house,
5:28and back out to the truck
5:30three different times.
5:32One time for each of their bodies.
5:35He then drove them away from their
5:37family home one final time,
5:40intent on hiding any evidence
5:42of the crimes that he had just
5:43committed.
5:46In one final sign of callousness for his
5:48wife, his daughters, and their unborn
5:50son, and their remains, he drove them to
5:53a location that he thought no one would
5:55ever find them.
5:57To one of the oil tank batteries with
5:58which he was so familiar.
6:00He knew this was safe.
6:02He had texted a co-worker the night
6:04before
6:05saying, "I'll head out to that site.
6:07I'll take care of it."
6:10He had carefully ensured that he would
6:11be alone
6:13in the middle of the plains to secretly
6:15away the remains of his family in a
6:17place that he hoped they would never be
6:19found.
6:21In one final measure of disrespect for
6:23the family he once had,
6:25he ensured that they would not be
6:26together even in death.
6:28Or he so he thought.
6:31He disposed of them in different
6:32locations.
6:34He buried Shannan and Nico in a shallow
6:36grave away from the oil tanks.
6:39Bella and Celeste were thrown away in
6:41the oil tanks at this facility.
6:44Different tanks, so these little girls
6:46wouldn't be together in death.
6:50Imagine this, Your Honor.
6:53This defendant
6:54took those little girls
6:56and put them through a hatch at the top
6:58of an oil tank
7:008 in in diameter.
7:04Bella had scratches on her left buttocks
7:07from being shoved through this hole.
7:10A tuft of blonde hair was found on the
7:11edge of one of these hatches.
7:14But Watts told investigators that
7:16Bella's tank seemed emptier than Cece's
7:19because of the sound
7:21that the splashes made.
7:23These were his daughters.
7:27Significantly, when his co-workers
7:29arrived at the tank battery later that
7:30morning,
7:31to a person, they all described him as
7:33acting completely normally. It was a
7:35normal work day.
7:37Even while his daughters sank in the oil
7:39and water not far away from him.
7:42And then his efforts at deception truly
7:44began.
7:46We've all seen the emotionless
7:48interviews that the defendant gives to
7:50the local media
7:52asking for help in locating his family.
7:55We watched as he claimed that the house
7:56was empty without them
7:59and that he hoped that they were
7:59somewhere safe and that he just wanted
8:01them to come home.
8:04He told investigators that they were at
8:05home sleeping when he left for work that
8:07morning
8:08and that Shannan had told him
8:10that he was she was taking the girls to
8:12a friend's house for the day.
8:15What is striking about this case, Your
8:17Honor, beyond the horrors that I've
8:18already described to you
8:20is the number of collateral victims that
8:21he created by his actions.
8:24While he stood in front of TV cameras
8:26asking for the safe return of his
8:27family, scores of law enforcement
8:29officers, neighbors
8:31friends and family scoured the area
8:35fretted for their safe return. They
8:37texted him begging
8:39for any information and sending him
8:40their best wishes.
8:42All the while he hid what he had done.
8:45The list of indirect victims does not
8:47end there.
8:48Think of the firefighters and the
8:49Colorado State Patrol Hazmat experts who
8:51had to don protective suits
8:54and who were called upon to pull Bella
8:56and Celeste out of those oil tanks.
8:59Or the coroner employees who had to
9:01conduct these autopsies.
9:03Or the victim assistants who frank
9:05frantically attempted to ease the
9:07suffering of those affected.
9:09All of this, Your Honor, for what?
9:12Why?
9:14Why did this have to happen?
9:17His motive was simple, Your Honor.
9:19He had a desire for a fresh start.
9:23To begin a relationship with a new love
9:25that overpowered all decency and
9:26feelings for his wife, his daughters and
9:29unborn son.
9:31While Shannan texted the defendant over
9:33and over again in the days and weeks
9:35leading up to her death attempting to
9:37save her marriage.
9:38The defendant secreted pictures of his
9:40girlfriend into his phone
9:42and searched and texted, excuse me,
9:45texted her at all hours of the night.
9:48While Shannan sent the defendant
9:49self-help self-help and relationship
9:52counseling books, one of which
9:53ironically enough was thrown in the
9:54garbage.
9:56He was searching the internet for
9:58secluded vacation spots to take his new
10:00love and researching jewelry.
10:03And while Shannan took the girls to
10:05visit family in North Carolina, the
10:07defendant went to car museums and the
10:09sand dunes with his new girlfriend.
10:12The stark contrast between the subjects
10:14of their internet and text content is
10:16absolutely stunning.
10:19Even the morning after he killed them
10:21and disposed of their bodies,
10:23he made several phone calls.
10:26One was to the school
10:28where the girls were supposed to start,
10:30telling the school that he would that
10:32the girls would not be coming to school
10:34anymore, that they were being
10:35unenrolled.
10:36Presumably to give him some more time
10:38before law law enforcement notification
10:40about them going missing.
10:44He contacted a realtor
10:46to start discussing the selling of his
10:48house.
10:49And he texted with his girlfriend about
10:51their future.
10:54None of this answers the questions of
10:56why, however.
10:58If he was this happy and wanted a new
11:00start, get a divorce.
11:03You don't annihilate your family and
11:05throw them away like garbage.
11:08Why did Nico, Celeste, Bella, and
11:10Shannan have to lose their lives
11:13in order for him to get what he wanted?
11:16Your honor, justice demands the maximum
11:18sentence under the agreement reached by
11:19the parties.
11:21As you will recall, the agreement calls
11:23for life sentences as to Shannan, Bella,
11:25and Celeste,
11:27and all of those to run consecutively to
11:29one another.
11:30It also calls for the count of unlawful
11:32of a pregnancy as to Nico to run
11:34consecutively to counts one, two, and
11:37three.
11:39I would suggest that the extreme
11:40aggravation present in the defendant's
11:42conduct
11:43and in his
11:44the efforts that I have described
11:46mandate that the sentences for counts
11:48seven, eight, and nine, the tampering
11:49with a deceased human body, each be the
11:52maximum of 12 years, and that those
11:54sentences run consecutively to one
11:55another. It is very clear
11:58that each of these acts, excuse me, that
12:00these were not the subject of one act,
12:02but each oil tank that he walked up with
12:04his daughters' bodies
12:06and the hole that he dug for his wife
12:08and unborn son mandate a mandatory
12:10consecutive sentence.
12:14It's been alluded to this morning, but
12:16the defendant was certainly eligible for
12:18the death penalty in this case under the
12:20existing law in the state of Colorado.
12:23As you heard Shannan's family strongly
12:24opposed my office seeking the death
12:27penalty
12:28and being bound to the criminal criminal
12:29justice system for the next several
12:31decades.
12:32That's in large part, as you've heard,
12:34why we have reached the agreement that
12:35we have.
12:37Four lives were lost at the hands of the
12:39defendant on August 13th for reasons
12:41that we will never fully understand, nor
12:43will we know.
12:45In the end, the Ruseck family was much
12:47more merciful towards him
12:49than he was towards his wife, his
12:51daughters, and his unborn son.
12:54Prison for the remainder of his of his
12:56life
12:57is exactly where he belongs for
12:59murdering his entire family.
13:01Thank you.
13:03>> Are you seeking 91 days to file request
13:05for restitution?
13:06>> I am, Your Honor, please.
13:07>> I'll grant that request.
13:11Mr. Watts, will you be speaking on
13:13behalf of your client?
13:15>> Your Honor, I'm Mr. Rourke.
13:16>> Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Rourke.
13:22>> Good morning, Your Honor.
13:23>> Good morning.
13:23>> Mr. Watts has asked us to share this
13:25morning that he is devastated by all of
13:28this. And although he understands that
13:31words are hollow at this point, he is
13:33sincerely sorry for all of this. Thank
13:36you.
13:37>> Thank you.
13:41Mr. Watts, as I indicated when we began,
13:43you have the right to make a statement
13:45if you choose to.
13:47Would you like to make a statement?
13:49>> No, sir.
13:50>> Thank you.
13:53So, the court has considered the
13:56arguments made by the attorneys. The
13:58court has considered
14:00the statements made by the victims in
14:03this case.
14:06Uh the court's going to find that the
14:07plea agreement is fair and reasonable
14:10under the circumstances.
14:13I want to
14:15acknowledge the Ruseck family
14:17as well as the Watts family that
14:20um
14:22showing
14:23mercy on Mr. Watts is understood.
14:28Uh and I respect that decision to
14:31request that the district attorney not
14:33seek the death penalty in this case. And
14:35so, the court is going to accept
14:38this plea bargain under the
14:40circumstances.
14:43Words that come to mind when I hear
14:46the evidence in this case are
14:49a senseless crime
14:52and
14:53the viciousness of the crime.
14:57And equally aggravating in this court's
15:01determination is the despicable
15:04act
15:06of disposing of the bodies in the manner
15:08in which they were
15:10done in this case.
15:12I've been a judicial officer now for
15:15starting my 17th year.
15:18And I
15:20um could
15:21objectively say that this is
15:26perhaps the most
15:28inhumane
15:30and vicious crime that I have handled
15:33out of the thousands of cases that I
15:35have seen.
15:37And nothing less than a maximum sentence
15:42um,
15:44would be appropriate. And anything less
15:47than the maximum sentence would
15:49depreciate the seriousness of this
15:51offense.
15:54So, the court is going to sentence Mr.
15:56Watts as follows.
15:58With regard to count number one,
16:01murder in the first degree as it relates
16:04to Shanann Watts, the court is going to
16:06sentence you, sir, to
16:09a life sentence in the Colorado
16:11Department of Corrections
16:13followed
16:15um,
16:16excuse me, with no possibility of
16:19parole.
16:22And that is going to run consecutively
16:25to all but counts three and four.
16:28With regard to count two, as it relates
16:31to murder in the first degree
16:34with Bella,
16:35the court is going to sentence you to
16:37life in the Colorado Department of
16:40Corrections
16:41with no possibility of parole.
16:45With regard to count number three, the
16:48court is going to sentence you as it
16:50relates to Celeste to life in the
16:53Colorado Department of Corrections with
16:55no possibility of parole.
16:59With regard to counts four and five
17:03relating to Bella and Celeste as a
17:06different theory of first-degree murder,
17:09the court is going to sentence you to
17:11life in the Colorado Department of
17:13Corrections. And legally, those
17:16sentences must run concurrently as a
17:18different theory of first-degree murder.
17:22Recognizing
17:24um
17:26the unlawful termination of pregnancy
17:29for the unborn child that has been named
17:33Nico, the court absolutely believes that
17:36the maximum sentence of 48 years would
17:39be appropriate to run consecutive to the
17:43other charges
17:45with an additional mandatory parole
17:47period of 3 years as set forth by
17:50statute.
17:53With regard to count number seven as it
17:55relates to tampering with a deceased
17:59body, as well as counts eight and nine,
18:03each a class three felony, the court is
18:05going to impose a maximum sentence of 12
18:10years each for those counts to run
18:12consecutively to the other counts.
18:16The court is going to order that
18:19>> [sighs]
18:19>> the statutory fees be paid the and court
18:22costs. The court's going to grant the
18:23prosecution 91 days
18:27to file a notice of restitution.
18:32And that will be the sentence of the
18:34court.
18:35We will
18:37shortly be in recess. I would
18:40respectfully ask the parties that uh you
18:43remain in your seat. There is a plan by
18:46the deputies
18:48on allowing people to exit the
18:50courtroom, so please remain seated until
18:53you are authorized to leave the
18:56courtroom based on the direction of the
18:59deputies. Deputies, I would respectfully
19:02ask that you take this defendant into
19:04custody and have him serve the rest of
19:07his life in the Department of
19:08Corrections.
19:09We are in recess.
19:19>> Please rise.

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