Chris Watts Sat Across From the FBI. His Words Did the Confessing For Him. — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:01[music]
- 0:05>> This is Chris Watts speaking to the FBI
- 0:08and they are about to pile on the
- 0:10pressure.
- 0:10>> I just don't believe some of the things
- 0:12you're telling me.
- 0:13Okay, I just don't. I simply do not
- 0:16believe you.
- 0:21What
- 0:22What makes you think?
- 0:23What What have I said that makes you not
- 0:25believe me at all?
- 0:27Did his answer there reveal that he
- 0:28killed his wife and kids? I'll show you
- 0:30all the signs in this episode and how
- 0:32when the pressure is on Chris Watts
- 0:34leaked the truth. Welcome to Never a
- 0:37Truer Word where we look at the words
- 0:38that people choose to use to see if
- 0:40they're telling the truth, the whole
- 0:41truth, and nothing but the truth. I've
- 0:44studied the words of thousands of
- 0:46criminals so I can show you how people
- 0:48use words to lie, cheat, and manipulate,
- 0:50and I'll show you what the truth sounds
- 0:52like, too. So Chris Watts, we know now
- 0:54that he killed his wife Shannan, two of
- 0:56his kids Bella and Celeste, um and the
- 0:59FBI sat down with him shortly after uh
- 1:01Shannan went missing to find out exactly
- 1:04what it is that that he knew. And it's
- 1:06an interview that turns into an
- 1:08interrogation. 2 hours into the
- 1:09interview, they pile on the pressure.
- 1:11Now I've studied Chris Watts before and
- 1:13I came to the conclusion that with
- 1:14words, he's a good liar. His words are
- 1:17actually a lot of the time quite
- 1:19believable and you know I know people
- 1:20were very suspicious on that porch
- 1:22interview. You can watch my breakdown of
- 1:24that, by the way, on this channel. Uh
- 1:26but I think a lot of people picked up on
- 1:27some body language things there, just
- 1:29instinctive things that put you on edge.
- 1:31And I think also uh what was missing was
- 1:34also very suspicious for people, the
- 1:35things he didn't say. And this is the
- 1:37same in this interrogation. There are
- 1:38things missing which I'll cover once
- 1:40we've listened to everything he has to
- 1:42say, we'll cover what he didn't say. So
- 1:45if you want to test yourself against the
- 1:46words of a good liar, let's do this. I
- 1:49have a few things for you to listen out
- 1:50for here and these are things that liars
- 1:53do, signs that you can spot a liar in
- 1:56their words. Uh now this is a missing uh
- 1:59person uh uh case so watch out for past
- 2:01tense to refer to the missing person, an
- 2:04indication that that person in the mind
- 2:06of the person talking is in the past,
- 2:08they don't exist anymore.
- 2:10Watch out for persuaders, words that
- 2:12don't need to be there but really are
- 2:14there to persuade us that they're
- 2:16telling the truth or that what they're
- 2:17talking about really happened. And watch
- 2:20out for avoidance, that's when someone's
- 2:21asked a direct question and they don't
- 2:23really answer that, they answer another
- 2:25question instead. See if you can spot
- 2:27those when we listen to Chris Watts
- 2:30being interrogated by the FBI.
- 2:33I just don't believe some of the things
- 2:34you're telling me.
- 2:36Okay, I just don't. I simply do not
- 2:38believe you.
- 2:43What
- 2:44What makes you think?
- 2:46What What have I said that makes you not
- 2:48believe me at all?
- 2:51This just doesn't make sense to me, it
- 2:52doesn't add up.
- 2:54That's the moment where it changed from
- 2:56interview to interrogation with a lot of
- 2:58accusation there. The FBI guy says, "I
- 3:00just don't believe some of the things
- 3:02you're telling me, okay? I just don't. I
- 3:05simply do not believe you." And Chris's
- 3:07response includes stutters which I'll
- 3:09I'll read out. "What makes you think?
- 3:12What have I said that makes you not
- 3:14believe me at all?" Now I can break all
- 3:17of that down. Number one, the stutters
- 3:19are showing nerves. Um I I believe and
- 3:22look, if you were an innocent person or
- 3:25you were a guilty person when the FBI
- 3:26say that to you in the middle of an
- 3:28interview about your missing wife,
- 3:29you're going to be nervous. And that is
- 3:31what stuttering indicates a a lot of the
- 3:33time, a sense of nerves, a certain sense
- 3:36of internal tension as well, and he
- 3:38definitely has that.
- 3:42What he does though is when the
- 3:43accusation is put to him,
- 3:45he asks a question in response. He
- 3:48doesn't make a statement, he doesn't say
- 3:52anything along the lines of I've been
- 3:53telling you the truth or this is not any
- 3:56good because you're after the wrong guy,
- 3:58let me help you sort this out. He asks a
- 4:00question. And what does that do? Well,
- 4:02number one, it buys him some thinking
- 4:04time
- 4:05because he's probably like, "Oh crap,
- 4:08what is going on here? This is not how I
- 4:10planned for this to go. I thought they
- 4:12would swallow all the BS that I was
- 4:13chucking out and then we could move on,
- 4:15I could go home and I could have a
- 4:16sleep." But he's in a right jam and so
- 4:21he probably hasn't prepared what to say.
- 4:23In fact, he knows that his response to
- 4:25that is going to be really vital to
- 4:27trying to get him off the hook, to try
- 4:28and get him in the clear. And therefore,
- 4:31he asks a question. He doesn't really
- 4:33need to ask a question, he's not that
- 4:35massively interested in the answer,
- 4:36although yeah, maybe he is trying to
- 4:38find out a little bit more about
- 4:39what clearing up do I need to do here or
- 4:41you know that and that's why he asked
- 4:42the question. The question buys him
- 4:45thinking time because our brains,
- 4:47especially under pressure and we can see
- 4:49the pressure in the stuttering, they
- 4:51don't work that fast to to send all
- 4:52these words down to to our mouths. Most
- 4:54of the time when we're talking, we we
- 4:56don't think about what we're saying, our
- 4:57brain just sends automatic words down
- 5:00that represent what we've experienced,
- 5:01what we feel, um and the truth as our
- 5:03brain knows it. And we take that filter
- 5:05away and just go, "Let's talk."
- 5:07>> [sighs and gasps]
- 5:08>> When you've killed your wife and kids
- 5:09and you're talking to the FBI, you are
- 5:12thinking very, very carefully and it
- 5:15doesn't quickly send those words to your
- 5:17mouth. So asking a question, buying some
- 5:19time, gives your brain more time to
- 5:21catch up and maybe form some words that
- 5:22you want to say.
- 5:24The other thing I thought was
- 5:25interesting there was the question by
- 5:28the FBI guy is I don't believe some of
- 5:31the things you're telling me. Now he
- 5:32does say I simply do not believe you,
- 5:34but he does say I don't believe some of
- 5:37the things you're telling me. I I
- 5:39believe some of it, I don't believe
- 5:40other bits of it. Some of the things
- 5:42that you're saying, some of the things
- 5:43you're saying I don't believe. And what
- 5:45does he say? "What have I said that
- 5:47makes you not believe me at all?" Now
- 5:50that's interesting. Um is that just an
- 5:53instinctive thing of him going, "Crap,
- 5:55they don't believe me." But for some
- 5:56reason, he realizes that the FBI are not
- 5:59buying his story because he says, "What
- 6:02have I said that makes you not believe
- 6:04me at all?"
- 6:06Right, let's go on with the
- 6:07interrogation now and the FBI guy is
- 6:10going to try and get some info out of
- 6:12Chris. So can we talk about
- 6:16two Chrises?
- 6:17The tale of two Chrises, okay?
- 6:19Chris number one started wondering what
- 6:21it might be
- 6:22if he didn't have a wife to take care of
- 6:24and the girls to take care of and
- 6:28did something terrible
- 6:30to his wife and kids.
- 6:33And that may have been an accident. And
- 6:35I think it was an accident.
- 6:39That's not the Chris you're looking at
- 6:41right now.
- 6:47No.
- 6:50Well, the Chris you're looking at is the
- 6:52man who loves these kids and loves his
- 6:54wife and will never, ever, ever do
- 6:56anything to harm them.
- 6:59That's the Chris you're looking at right
- 7:01now.
- 7:03The Chris you're looking at right now
- 7:04wants these kids and his wife back at
- 7:07his house right now.
- 7:11That's the Chris you're looking at.
- 7:14The FBI guy guy puts to him the thought
- 7:16that there are two Chrises. Can we talk
- 7:18about the two Chrises, the tale of two
- 7:20Chrises? Chris number one started
- 7:22wondering what it might be like if he
- 7:24didn't have a wife to take care of and
- 7:26the girls to take care of and did
- 7:28something terrible to his wife and kids
- 7:30and that may have been an accident and I
- 7:32think it was an accident, which is him
- 7:33kind of saying just open up, I'm on your
- 7:35side even though he's blatantly not. And
- 7:37the first thing I notice is that Chris
- 7:40Watts doesn't reject there are two
- 7:42Chrises. Just like previously when he
- 7:45was said, you know, I don't believe you,
- 7:47when he was told I don't believe you, he
- 7:48didn't say, "Everything I've said is the
- 7:50truth." He didn't, you know, I'm I'm
- 7:52being honest with you. Um he didn't do
- 7:55any of that, he just went, "What? What?
- 7:57Why? Why are you saying this?" Here he
- 7:59doesn't go, "There are not two Chrises,
- 8:01there is only me, the concerned parent
- 8:03and concerned husband here. There's no
- 8:05two Chrises, what you see is what you
- 8:07get." He doesn't reject the premise
- 8:09that's put to him of these two Chrises
- 8:13because he says, "That's not the Chris
- 8:15you're looking at right now." Which
- 8:17takes on the fact that he's tacitly
- 8:20agreeing that there are two Chrises
- 8:23um that, you know, frankly, they're our
- 8:25characters, he's playing parts. Um and
- 8:28the one that you're looking at right now
- 8:30is the concerned one. He goes on to say,
- 8:32"But that still says there is this worse
- 8:35Chris um elsewhere. That's not the Chris
- 8:38you're looking at right now. No. And the
- 8:40Chris you're looking at." So again, you
- 8:42know, there are
- 8:43there are these other Chrises that he
- 8:45could be looking at. "The Chris you're
- 8:46looking at is the stutters here man who
- 8:50loves his kids and loves his wife and
- 8:52will never, ever, ever do anything to
- 8:55harm them." Right, let's break that one
- 8:58down. So we've we've covered the fact
- 8:59that he still is buying into these more
- 9:01than one Chris idea. And the Chris
- 9:03you're looking at now is the man who
- 9:05loves his kids and loves his wife.
- 9:08Ordering, very important. When we give
- 9:10lists of things um in our speech, the
- 9:12first thing we say is often the most
- 9:13important thing to us and then it goes
- 9:15down in decreasing priority.
- 9:18He says there he loves his kids and
- 9:20loves his wife. Something there saying
- 9:22that um he loves his kids more than his
- 9:25wife.
- 9:26Love, strange concept for for Chris
- 9:28Watts, I get you. But you know, almost
- 9:31to me
- 9:31>> [clears throat]
- 9:31>> were the kids collateral damage, he
- 9:33didn't really want to do very much with
- 9:34them but he had no choice
- 9:36um there. But kids came before wife. I
- 9:38think more than anything it says a bit
- 9:40of distance there from the wife. Think
- 9:42of how uh many, many men refer to their
- 9:46family, wife and kids. Wife comes first,
- 9:48kids come second, very normally it's the
- 9:50a chronological order as well, often
- 9:53uh wife and then kids. Uh but he he's
- 9:55kids and wife, so that's unexpected
- 9:58there And that would say to me, I think
- 9:59we've got a bit of distance from the
- 10:01wife because she hasn't come first. And
- 10:03then he says, "And will never ever ever
- 10:05do anything to harm them." So much in
- 10:08there, okay? Will never ever, so not
- 10:11hasn't harmed them. And there's no
- 10:13denial there that he hasn't done any
- 10:15harm to them in the past, which is what
- 10:17we're talking about now. Will is in the
- 10:19future.
- 10:20I haven't ever run a marathon.
- 10:23I will never run a marathon. Two
- 10:25different things
- 10:27um there.
- 10:29Mean very different things. And what
- 10:31he's said there is will never ever do
- 10:33anything to harm them. Then he's overly
- 10:36persuasive here. Never ever ever. He
- 10:38couldn't just, you know, I you should
- 10:40have said, "I did not harm them." But he
- 10:42can't say, "Will not harm them." or
- 10:44"Would not harm them." or anything like
- 10:46that. It's never ever ever. Never is a
- 10:48word to watch out for deception all the
- 10:50time. Never sounds a very concrete not
- 10:53at any time, but people use it to mean
- 10:55um not not really. Um never ever ever do
- 10:58anything to harm them.
- 11:01Um and that is downplaying
- 11:04um what could have gone on. And by the
- 11:06way, you know, he's been accused of of,
- 11:08you know, doing, you know, bad things to
- 11:10them. You know, look at the accusation
- 11:11that's put to him.
- 11:12Um you did something terrible to your
- 11:14wife and kids. And he takes that
- 11:15something terrible and just turns it
- 11:17down to
- 11:18harm them. He softens the severity of
- 11:21what he's been accused of, which is
- 11:22something guilty people do a lot. He
- 11:25says, "That's the Chris you're looking
- 11:26at right now." So, still these more than
- 11:28one Chris is going on. The Chris you're
- 11:30looking at right now wants these kids
- 11:33and his wife back at his house right
- 11:35now. That's the Chris you're looking at.
- 11:37Now, that middle bit, the Chris you're
- 11:39looking at right now wants these kids
- 11:41and his wife back in his house right
- 11:44now.
- 11:45I believe that. He's probably regretting
- 11:48what he's done, which is why this is
- 11:50not, although it doesn't have any of
- 11:51those persuaders like never ever do
- 11:53anything to harm them, it's very simple
- 11:55and straightforward. Uh wants these kids
- 11:57and his wife back at his house right
- 11:59now. I believe that. I think there's
- 12:00some regret going on there. And it's
- 12:03much easier. When you're being
- 12:04interrogated by the FBI or when your
- 12:06partner's asking you some awkward
- 12:08questions, it is much easier to tell the
- 12:10truth. Um and so even people who've done
- 12:12very bad things like Chris Watts will
- 12:14tell the truth as much as possible. And
- 12:16that I think is one of his lines of
- 12:17truth. Do notice though that it's back
- 12:19at his house right now. Uh not my sorry,
- 12:23not our house, which, you know, family
- 12:25home.
- 12:26Um or at home with me, you know, like a
- 12:28really close pronoun there. It's he
- 12:31wants his kids and his wife. Um sorry,
- 12:34these kids and his wife back at his home
- 12:37right now. Uh that's the Chris you're
- 12:39looking at. A little bit later on in
- 12:41this interrogation, one of my favorite
- 12:43questions that can be asked in an
- 12:44interrogation will come up, which is
- 12:47wow, uh you know, the it's just it's so
- 12:49such a good question
- 12:52um to ask. And the answers are always
- 12:54really really revealing about what the
- 12:57person has done. Right, the suspicions
- 13:00continue for the FBI guy, and he starts
- 13:02laying out some of them.
- 13:04Why didn't you call 911?
- 13:07I didn't think anything was wrong.
- 13:10I think you knew what was wrong. I did
- 13:12not know what was wrong, sir.
- 13:15I promise you that.
- 13:22What do you think it's going to look
- 13:23like
- 13:25when someone finds out that it was not
- 13:28you that called 911?
- 13:33Everybody's going to have their own
- 13:34perception about what's going on here.
- 13:36But
- 13:38I know my wife. I know
- 13:41that sometimes she doesn't text me back.
- 13:43I know that happens.
- 13:46I've I've I've been that It's happened
- 13:48multiple times. Throughout
- 13:50many days. If she's busy with work,
- 13:53it doesn't happen.
- 13:57That's why it didn't register for me
- 13:59that day.
- 14:03"Why didn't you call 911?" he's asked.
- 14:06He says, "I didn't think anything was
- 14:08wrong." "I think you knew what was
- 14:11wrong." says the FBI guy. And then we
- 14:13get a classic, I would say, marker of
- 14:17deception answer. Chris Watts says, "I
- 14:20did not know what was wrong, sir. I
- 14:22promise you that."
- 14:25So much to break down there. Number one,
- 14:27he doesn't say, "I didn't know anything
- 14:29was wrong." Why didn't you call 911? I
- 14:30didn't think anything was wrong. Didn't,
- 14:32he says there. He makes it all small and
- 14:35casual. Um and then when he's asked the
- 14:36big question, "I think you knew what was
- 14:39wrong." he goes formal. Um often we go
- 14:42formal to make us sound more believable
- 14:43when we're lying, and we use the big
- 14:45words because we think it gives us more
- 14:47gravitas. So, if someone's speaking
- 14:49properly and not, you know, making uh
- 14:51abbreviations, then well, they're a real
- 14:53proper person, an educated person. They
- 14:55can't possibly have murdered their wife
- 14:57and kids. I did not know what was wrong,
- 15:00sir. And that sir, that feels like a
- 15:03manipulative sir. I'm giving you
- 15:04respect. You're the sir. I'm just a
- 15:06lowly person here. I've given you all
- 15:09the respect. Please feel better on me
- 15:10because I'm giving you respect. We see
- 15:12it a lot, funnily enough, talking to 911
- 15:14calls. When someone calls a 911
- 15:17um emergency and and they're guilty,
- 15:19they've done something and they're
- 15:20reporting their own crime, they're very
- 15:21often extremely polite to the operator
- 15:24because their first move law enforcement
- 15:27and people connected with law
- 15:28enforcement on their side. I think
- 15:31that's what's going on here. And it's a
- 15:32pattern we'll see as we go through this
- 15:34interrogation. So, I did not formal know
- 15:37what was wrong, sir. Little bit of
- 15:38respect, please like me. There's a
- 15:40little pause, and then he says, "I
- 15:42promise you that." And that is him again
- 15:44working hard to persuade that what he
- 15:47says is true. Truthful people tell the
- 15:49truth. Uh what you will get sometimes is
- 15:52if your honesty is challenged, then you
- 15:54you might go, "No, honestly, is this
- 15:56really happened?" or "That's really what
- 15:57happened." or "I promise you." But he's
- 15:59not being challenged here. It's there's
- 16:01a bit of silence, and he says, "I
- 16:02promise you that." And he says, "I
- 16:04promise you that." Which, you know,
- 16:07number one, when someone's te- telling
- 16:09you they're being honest all of a
- 16:11sudden, there you you've got two
- 16:12choices. Were they not being honest all
- 16:14the other times that they didn't tell me
- 16:15they were being honest? Or are they
- 16:17lying? And what they're doing is, you
- 16:19know, saying they're honest to make it
- 16:20sound more believable, to make it sound
- 16:22more true because, "Oh, I'm being
- 16:24honest." Um I promise you that it is
- 16:27falls into the same category. And I
- 16:28promise you that, well, that is is what
- 16:32he just said. I did not know what was
- 16:34wrong, sir. Does that mean everything
- 16:36else that he hasn't promised that it's
- 16:37not that is not true? He's kind of
- 16:41bringing into here for me the concept
- 16:43that I promise you that, but the rest of
- 16:46it is all absolute BS.
- 16:52Next is he's asked, "What do you think
- 16:54it's going to look like when someone
- 16:55finds out it was not you that called
- 16:56911?" His response is, "Everybody's
- 17:00going to have their own perception about
- 17:01what's going on here, but I know my
- 17:03wife. I know that sometimes she doesn't
- 17:05text back." So, he doesn't answer the
- 17:07question. What do you think it is going
- 17:09to look like? Bad.
- 17:12Maybe some people will give me the
- 17:13benefit of the doubt. That would be a
- 17:14direct answer to the question. Instead,
- 17:16he just talks about everybody.
- 17:17Everybody's going to have their own
- 17:18perception about what's going on here.
- 17:20Um and then he goes extra because that
- 17:23sort of deals with what's going there.
- 17:25It's not a direct answer, but then he
- 17:26goes extra and talks about knowing his
- 17:28wife. But I know my wife. I know that
- 17:30sometimes she doesn't text back. And
- 17:33also, you'll notice that there's a
- 17:35little bit of distance going on here
- 17:36because he's talking about what he
- 17:38knows, not what happens. So, it's not I
- 17:41know my wife and she doesn't text back
- 17:43all the time. That would be what
- 17:44happens. That would be experience.
- 17:45That's the the words of experience.
- 17:47However,
- 17:49there's a little bit more distance. It's
- 17:50not what he's experienced, it's what he
- 17:52knows. And is that just something he's
- 17:54convinced himself he must know to get
- 17:56away with this cover story? I know that
- 17:58sometimes she doesn't text me back.
- 18:01Then he says, "I know that happens." So,
- 18:03it's the same experience. It's not that
- 18:04happens. It's It's I know that happens.
- 18:07And then we have something very
- 18:09stuttery, and I'll read that out. I I've
- 18:11been that It's happened multiple times
- 18:14throughout many days. If she's busy with
- 18:16work, it
- 18:17doesn't happen. So, we've got those
- 18:18nerves again. Uh so, on the back of I
- 18:20promise you that, he probably thinks,
- 18:22"I'm a little bit on the ropes here. I
- 18:24have to promise. I have to persuade." Um
- 18:26and then he gets a little bit stuttery.
- 18:28What what what what what What is it that
- 18:29I can say that gets me off here? And,
- 18:31you you know, it's he's thinking
- 18:33um and his brain is not sending the
- 18:35words down fast enough to his mouth, so
- 18:36he has to stutter. I I've been that that
- 18:39It's happened multiple times throughout
- 18:40many days. Now he's telling us what is
- 18:42what has happened, but it's happened
- 18:43multiple times throughout many days. If
- 18:45she's busy with work, it just doesn't
- 18:46happen. And I've sensed there
- 18:49um a little bit of annoyance that
- 18:52Shannan didn't give him the full
- 18:53attention there, and he he's noticed
- 18:55that. If she's busy with work, it just
- 18:56doesn't happen. And that's why it didn't
- 18:58register for me that day. I'm curious
- 19:01about his use of that day. Did it, you
- 19:03know, did did it register for him other
- 19:05days?
- 19:06Uh you know, or is he just saying that,
- 19:09you know, it's one of the most memorable
- 19:10memorable days in his life, but that's
- 19:13why it didn't register for me that day.
- 19:16Now, one of the things sometimes really
- 19:19overlooked when we're detecting
- 19:20deception in people's words are
- 19:22contradictions. That's when someone says
- 19:24one thing, and then later on they say
- 19:26another thing. And we've got some
- 19:28contradictions coming up now
- 19:30um in the next ti- in the next section.
- 19:32Contradictions, they're uh a big tell
- 19:35because lying is hard. Lying about
- 19:37something is really hard. You have to
- 19:39make up a whole load of things that you
- 19:41just hadn't had to make up made up
- 19:42before. And as well as knowing what
- 19:44actually happened, and that's inside
- 19:46your head and your memory, you have to
- 19:47have another part of your head devoted
- 19:48to the lie you made up to keep track of
- 19:50it. That's hard. Um and sometimes that
- 19:53will come out through contradictions.
- 19:55So, listen for some contradictions from
- 19:56Chris Watts here.
- 19:58We're back to a tale of two Chrises,
- 19:59Chris. Okay.
- 20:01There's a Chris who cares.
- 20:03Um,
- 20:05I care. I promise.
- 20:07Tell me about the call to your daycare.
- 20:10To the Primrose?
- 20:12I called them to see if the girls were
- 20:13there.
- 20:15They said they weren't there. Okay.
- 20:18I told them since they weren't there,
- 20:19just put them back on the waiting list.
- 20:21>> That's not what you told them.
- 20:24I told them that we were going to sell
- 20:25the house.
- 20:26We're going to put it on the market and
- 20:27we're not going to be in the area
- 20:28anymore. That's two different things,
- 20:30Chris.
- 20:31Well, I wanted them to be back on I put
- 20:33them on the waiting list since they
- 20:35weren't there.
- 20:37Why weren't they there?
- 20:39I don't know. Where were they going to
- 20:40go?
- 20:41They went to a Shannan took them to a
- 20:43friend's house. Why wouldn't they go to
- 20:45daycare?
- 20:47I am not sure.
- 20:48I honestly, sir, I am not sure.
- 20:57It's hard for me as a father to talk to
- 20:59you about this. I know.
- 21:00Not because it's a hard issue to talk
- 21:02about.
- 21:03It's because
- 21:05I'm worried about your daughters under
- 21:06your care.
- 21:09You shouldn't have to worry about them
- 21:11under my care.
- 21:12Okay. I watched them all weekend.
- 21:16I went to went to a pool party went to a
- 21:18pool party at Jeremy Lindstrom's house.
- 21:21It's like I love those kids
- 21:24with all my heart.
- 21:28And nothing in this world would ever
- 21:29make me do anything to these kids
- 21:31or my wife.
- 21:34Okay.
- 21:36We're back to a tale of two Chrises,
- 21:37says the FBI guy. There's a Chris who
- 21:39cares. Chris says, I I care. I promise.
- 21:42A stutter again, and it's the stutter on
- 21:44the I which often indicates what comes
- 21:47next isn't quite true.
- 21:49Um, um, psychologically we just have
- 21:51trouble joining ourselves to through the
- 21:53phrase I to what comes next. I I care. I
- 21:57promise, he says. Once more, he's
- 21:59persuading us he's telling the truth
- 22:01with I promise. Tell me about the call
- 22:03to your daycare. And he says, to the
- 22:05Primrose? I think that is buying
- 22:07thinking time. Your day I mean, look,
- 22:09correct me if I'm wrong, they only have
- 22:11one daycare. Uh, so he says, to the
- 22:13Primrose, which I think is just buying
- 22:15time to think of what are the right
- 22:16words to use here in the answer. Uh,
- 22:20and he obviously finds them. He says, I
- 22:21called them to see if the girls were
- 22:22there. They said they weren't there. I
- 22:25told them since they weren't there, just
- 22:26put them back on the waiting list. Now,
- 22:28I don't quite understand the waiting
- 22:30list thing. If you could let me know in
- 22:31the comments, um, if you can about how
- 22:34the waiting list is relevant, how it
- 22:36works, because it seems to be that the
- 22:37kids were missing a day's daycare, going
- 22:39on the waiting list. I don't get it. I
- 22:41don't understand this part of what
- 22:42they're saying. However, what I have got
- 22:44here is, I told them since they weren't
- 22:47there, just put them back on the waiting
- 22:49list. And just often is a word used to
- 22:52hide so many things. It makes what what
- 22:55happens next feel really small, casual.
- 22:56Just ignore this. It's just a small
- 22:58thing. Just put them back on the waiting
- 23:00list. That's all that happened. Don't
- 23:02ask any questions. It's very trivial.
- 23:04I'm using the word just to make it sound
- 23:06as small as I can. What we find out is
- 23:09that's not exactly what he told them.
- 23:12Um, and he was lying there. Um, and the
- 23:15indicator he was lying there is that
- 23:16just indicates lies and things being
- 23:19hidden so often.
- 23:21The FBI guy says to him, that's not what
- 23:23you told them.
- 23:24Chris doesn't take that on at all. He
- 23:27just says something else. And this is
- 23:28the contradiction that the FBI guy has
- 23:31noticed. I told them that we were going
- 23:33to sell the house. We were going to put
- 23:34it on the market. We probably wouldn't
- 23:36be in the area anymore. Now, this one
- 23:39interests me because he uses the pronoun
- 23:41we all the way through it. We We noticed
- 23:44earlier he was talking about,
- 23:46uh, his
- 23:47his wife, his house,
- 23:49uh, you know, really personal owning it
- 23:51with the the pronouns there. Well, here
- 23:53he is talking in shared pronouns. So, I
- 23:56don't know, maybe there was a
- 23:57conversation with Shannan,
- 23:58um, about what was going to happen about
- 24:00the property and the kids and so on,
- 24:02because he uses we. We were going to
- 24:04sell the house. We were going to put it
- 24:06on the market. We probably wouldn't be
- 24:08in the area anymore.
- 24:10The FBI guy is not letting him away with
- 24:11the contradictions. That's two different
- 24:13things, Chris.
- 24:14Chris says, well, I wanted them to be
- 24:16back on on put them on on the waiting
- 24:19list since they weren't there. Don't
- 24:21understand it, but you can hear the
- 24:23stutters from the guy. Well, I wanted
- 24:25them to be back on on put them on on the
- 24:28waiting list since they weren't there.
- 24:30So, he's realizing once more, and we can
- 24:32see this every time that pressure goes
- 24:34on, the stuttering continues with this
- 24:37guy cuz he's nervous. Now, look,
- 24:39that would happen if he was innocent. If
- 24:41I was innocent and in the same
- 24:42situation, I'd be nervous as hell there.
- 24:44But, you can see when the stuttering
- 24:47starts with him, it's when he's really
- 24:48being pushed on like contradictions. He
- 24:51also starts his answer there with well.
- 24:53That's two different things, Chris.
- 24:54Well, that means you're going to get an
- 24:56explanation, not a direct answer. He
- 24:58doesn't actually say it's two different
- 25:00things, both of them happened, um, at
- 25:02all. He, uh, explains one of the things,
- 25:05well, and then it isn't an explanation.
- 25:07It's not quite an answer to the
- 25:09question. And then for me, we do get
- 25:11contradictions. Why weren't they they
- 25:13there? This is talking about the
- 25:14daycare. He says, I don't know. Which is
- 25:16usually an indicator that someone is
- 25:19being truthful. Truthful people don't
- 25:21mind saying, I don't know. Liars feel
- 25:23like they have to have an answer for
- 25:24everything, so they will, you know,
- 25:25concoct something or talk smart words so
- 25:28that if you feel like you've had an
- 25:30answer. Truthful people usually say, I
- 25:32don't know.
- 25:33Um, and he says, I don't know. Which is
- 25:35a great reminder there isn't one magic
- 25:37word or phrase that says a lie is
- 25:39happening or says the truth is
- 25:40happening. It's all about patterns. It's
- 25:41all about studying as many words as we
- 25:44can.
- 25:45Where were they going to go?
- 25:48They went to, uh, Shannan took them to a
- 25:50friend's house is what he said. He
- 25:52didn't know a minute ago. Why weren't
- 25:54they there? I don't know. And now
- 25:56Shannan took them to a friend's house?
- 25:58I'd make it make sense what is going on
- 26:00here. We've got contradictions galore
- 26:02for me. He didn't know why they weren't
- 26:04at daycare. Then he's saying that
- 26:05Shannan took them to a friend's house.
- 26:07Also, where were they going to go? They
- 26:08went to
- 26:10I I think he was going to say they went
- 26:11to a friend's house or something like
- 26:12that. But then he stops
- 26:14because they went to is passive.
- 26:17It doesn't say who put them where they
- 26:20are. And we all know who put them where
- 26:22they were when he was talking. And then
- 26:24he gives Shannan ownership of it. And
- 26:25it's the only time in this part,
- 26:27um, I think that he uses Shannan's name.
- 26:29Shannan took them to a friend's house.
- 26:32Why wouldn't they go to daycare? He
- 26:34says, I'm not sure.
- 26:37A minute ago he didn't know.
- 26:38Uh, now, um, Shannan took them to a
- 26:40friend's house.
- 26:42But, um, but I'm not sure, uh, is
- 26:45interesting because that's very
- 26:47different from I don't know. Think of
- 26:49I'm not sure.
- 26:50Are you going to go out on Saturday
- 26:51night? I'm not sure. Means you have two
- 26:53things you're just not certain which one
- 26:55of the two of them is going to be. You
- 26:57know, am I going to go out on Saturday
- 26:58night? No, I'm I'm staying in, um, this
- 27:01Saturday night.
- 27:02Um, if I was invited out, but, you know,
- 27:05I wasn't very keen on it or something
- 27:06like that, I might say, I'm not sure.
- 27:07And that's what we've got here. So, he's
- 27:10I don't know. Then he does know. Then
- 27:11he's not sure. Then we have more
- 27:14convincing persuasive language.
- 27:16Honestly, sir, I'm not sure. And we've
- 27:18got the sir there again. Remember that?
- 27:20Um, I promise you, sir. Well, now we
- 27:22have honestly, sir,
- 27:24um, there that respectful sir. When he's
- 27:26trying to slip through a big lie, uh, he
- 27:29uses that sir there.
- 27:31Then there's a big pause.
- 27:33And the FBI guy says to him, it's hard
- 27:35for me as a father to talk to you about
- 27:37this. I know, says, um, uh, Chris. Not
- 27:40because it's a hard issue to talk about.
- 27:42It's because I'm worried about your
- 27:43daughters under your care.
- 27:45And he says, you shouldn't have to worry
- 27:47about them under my care. I watched them
- 27:50all weekend. I'll start with the end
- 27:52first there. I watched them all weekend
- 27:54is a resume statement. It's saying how
- 27:56great he is. You know, it's a little bit
- 27:58of evidence. It's a little bit of, look
- 28:00how good I am. It's like a reference,
- 28:01you know. This is how good I am. I
- 28:03watched them all weekend. Whoop-di-do
- 28:06for the dad that watched these kids all
- 28:07weekend, one weekend. Not any great
- 28:11length of evidence here,
- 28:13um, about, you know, since they were
- 28:14born, um, I've been caring for them. No,
- 28:17he just watched them at the weekend.
- 28:20But, the most worrying thing there, did
- 28:21you spot it? You shouldn't have to worry
- 28:24about them under my care. That's true.
- 28:26You shouldn't have to worry about kids
- 28:28under the care of their father. Not
- 28:31you don't have to worry about them or
- 28:32there's nothing to worry about or I care
- 28:34for my kids a lot. Just you shouldn't
- 28:37you shouldn't have to worry about them.
- 28:39Not don't worry about them.
- 28:41He then more of this resume saying what
- 28:43a great time they had at the weekend cuz
- 28:45super dad looked after them for two,
- 28:46three days.
- 28:48I went to went to a pool party. I went
- 28:50to a pool party at Jeremy Lindstrom's
- 28:52house. Look at the repetition there. I
- 28:53think this again is buying himself time,
- 28:56uh, to think about what it is that he
- 28:57wants to say. Um, so he could have said,
- 28:59I went to a pool party. I went to a pool
- 29:02party. Six words.
- 29:04Um, instead he said, I went to
- 29:06went to a pool party. Um, and then we've
- 29:10got 14 words. I went to a pool party at
- 29:12Jeremy Lindstrom's house. So, he could
- 29:13have said that in six words. It was 14
- 29:16words. That's doubling the amount of
- 29:18thinking time he has. Uh, and while
- 29:20we're repeating ourselves, it's easy to
- 29:21repeat yourself. Uh, you can do some
- 29:24more thinking there. So, he's freeing up
- 29:26brain capacity there cuz he's on the
- 29:28ropes.
- 29:29Then he says, it's like I love those
- 29:31kids with all my heart. Nothing in this
- 29:33world would ever make me do anything to
- 29:35these kids or my wife.
- 29:39It's like I love those kids. Not I do
- 29:41love those kids. It's just like I love
- 29:43the kids, which is very much talking
- 29:44about an appearance or what something
- 29:46seems like rather than what the truth
- 29:48is. Lots of us do lean on likes, you
- 29:51know, it's like, I love my kids, or I'm
- 29:53like, I don't know what I want to do
- 29:54this weekend. We use like as a little
- 29:56bit of a crutch. There's not much
- 29:57evidence of him doing this in this
- 30:00interrogation. So, for me, it's another
- 30:02red flag. It's like, I love my kids. I
- 30:04I'm trying to tell you this is like
- 30:06loving my kids. But, he doesn't say my
- 30:08kids. I love those kids, which is very
- 30:12distant. So, someone talking about those
- 30:15kids, not I love my kids, especially
- 30:17when they're missing.
- 30:19I love my kids with all my heart. Again,
- 30:21he's just adding that.
- 30:23You You either love someone or you don't
- 30:24love someone. I love them with all my
- 30:26heart is just more persuasive language
- 30:28to to try and get across and intensify
- 30:30the message that he's trying to deliver
- 30:32because he worries that it won't be
- 30:34believed if he just says straight, I
- 30:35love my kids. So, he feels like, I I
- 30:37love my kids with all love those kids,
- 30:39sorry, with all my heart. Then, nothing
- 30:42in this world would ever make me do
- 30:45anything to these kids. So, that again,
- 30:47it's not I didn't do anything to them.
- 30:50It's future. I wouldn't do anything to
- 30:52them. Nothing in this world would ever
- 30:54make me do anything to these kids. And
- 30:57again, there's a downplaying
- 30:59there of, you know, the the guy saying
- 31:01here, you know, you've killed your kids.
- 31:03And he's downplaying all that to do
- 31:06anything to these kids, which
- 31:09Yeah, don't don't don't believe that at
- 31:10all. So, there's so many red flags here.
- 31:13And his wife comes second.
- 31:16And she wasn't being mentioned. This was
- 31:18all about the kids and how good a father
- 31:20he was and the FBI guy saying, I don't
- 31:22worry about these kids in your care.
- 31:24This wasn't about his wife, but he feels
- 31:25he has to add her in. She's a second
- 31:27thought. And
- 31:29Um you know, he hasn't been asked about
- 31:31it her He hasn't been asked about her at
- 31:34all.
- 31:35Have you heard of the safety of the
- 31:36crowd? Liars do this a lot, which is
- 31:38when they don't just they they borrow
- 31:40authority from other people. So, you
- 31:42know, if our manipulators do this, so if
- 31:46a manipulator wants you to go out on
- 31:47Saturday night, which seems to be the
- 31:48theme of my
- 31:50the talk tonight,
- 31:52they might say, instead of saying, I'd
- 31:53love you to come out with me on Saturday
- 31:55night, it'll be, people say you're
- 31:56boring and stay home all weekend. You
- 31:58know, and they're borrowing from that
- 31:59people thing. You should come out on
- 32:01Saturday night. So, they aren't just
- 32:02saying their own point of view, they're
- 32:03amplifying it by talking about other
- 32:06people. Well, the FBI guy is going to
- 32:08use that exact same technique in an
- 32:10interview in the inter interrogation in
- 32:13just a moment.
- 32:15If this breakdown of Chris Watts is
- 32:17hitting the spot for you, do make sure
- 32:19you subscribe to this channel because we
- 32:21don't just watch videos here. You are
- 32:23building a skill if you stick at this.
- 32:25Just like any talent, it's all about
- 32:27repetition. So, the more you see the
- 32:29patterns I'm describing here, the more
- 32:31naturally you will start to hear them in
- 32:33the real world. I often hear from Never
- 32:35a Truer Words once they've trained their
- 32:37ears, you can't unhear this stuff. So,
- 32:39conversations change all around you. You
- 32:42read messages differently and start
- 32:44noticing things earlier than anyone
- 32:47else. You aren't ready to commit to
- 32:48that, then do
- 32:50like the channel, or comment, or share
- 32:52it with other people. Hype Someone hyped
- 32:54my YouTube video of mine today. I don't
- 32:56know what it is, but it sounds amazing
- 32:58because that tells this platform, tells
- 33:00the algorithm, this sort of content
- 33:02should get in front of more people. And
- 33:03it might get in front of people who deal
- 33:05with Chris Watts of this world who might
- 33:07really need to hear what we talk about
- 33:09here. So, do like, share, and don't
- 33:12forget to subscribe if you want to get
- 33:14yourself this skill through doing this
- 33:16with me. Let's go back to the
- 33:18interrogation now and Chris Watts
- 33:20talking to the FBI. When you walk out of
- 33:22this room,
- 33:24there's nothing I can say to a room full
- 33:26of police officers that's going to
- 33:27convince them
- 33:29that you have nothing to do with this. I
- 33:31know.
- 33:31Do you know what they think? I I know
- 33:33all the all the Yeah. Here's a guy who
- 33:35didn't call 911,
- 33:38who woke his wife wife up at a
- 33:40ridiculous hour because he was so guilty
- 33:43about something that he had to get it
- 33:44off his chest and say, I don't love you
- 33:46anymore, I'm leaving you.
- 33:49It didn't go well.
- 33:53Okay, so what happened?
- 33:55She told me she wanted me to wake her up
- 33:57before I left.
- 33:59That's why I didn't just wake her up
- 34:00like
- 34:02just to tell her this. Like, I woke her
- 34:04up.
- 34:05That's what she wanted to do and we
- 34:06talked.
- 34:07Like, usually at 4:00 a.m. I wake up, I
- 34:09go down and work out.
- 34:11This day, I wanted to talk to her about
- 34:13this.
- 34:14So, there's the FBI guy borrowing the
- 34:16authority of others
- 34:18in the police station. When you walk out
- 34:20of this room, there's nothing I can say
- 34:21to a room full of police officers that's
- 34:23going to convince them that you have
- 34:24nothing to do with this. Chris says, I
- 34:27know. Now, that is one of the shortest,
- 34:28most direct answers he gives in this
- 34:31entire interrogation. And that's what
- 34:33the truth sounds like. The you know,
- 34:34really simple, straightforward. Chris
- 34:36does know this. The detective says to
- 34:38him, you know they think. And we get
- 34:40another stuttery answer, which says, I I
- 34:43know all of the all the Yeah. So, once
- 34:46more, you know, when the pressure is put
- 34:48on, you know what these police officers
- 34:49think, I eat the people investigating
- 34:51you, the stutter starts again. I I know
- 34:55all of the all the Yeah, very nervous
- 34:58stutter.
- 35:00From the FBI guy, here's a guy who
- 35:01didn't call 911, who woke his wife up at
- 35:04a ridiculous hour because he was so
- 35:06guilty about something that he had to
- 35:07get it off his chest and say, I don't
- 35:09love you no more, I'm leaving you. That
- 35:11didn't go well. Okay, so what happened?
- 35:14Now, check the pronouns in the answer
- 35:16from Chris Watts, which is
- 35:18she told me she wanted me to wake her up
- 35:21before I left. That's why I didn't just
- 35:24wake her up like that.
- 35:26Like just to tell her this. Like, I woke
- 35:28her up. That's what she wanted to do and
- 35:31we talked.
- 35:33Little bit stuttery.
- 35:34Little bit of the likes in there. So, I
- 35:36think again, it's not really what
- 35:38happened, but just look at the pronouns.
- 35:39It's all
- 35:41apart. She told me she wanted me to wake
- 35:45her up. So, these are the actions of two
- 35:47different people.
- 35:50This could have been said as a
- 35:51collective thing. We agreed I would wake
- 35:52her up when I got up. But no, she told
- 35:55me that she wanted me to wake her up
- 35:57before I left. That's why I didn't just
- 36:00wake her up. So, we still have these two
- 36:02different actions there from the
- 36:03pronouns or actors there from the
- 36:04pronouns. Just to tell her like I woke
- 36:07her up. That's what she wanted to do and
- 36:11we talked. So, we have all these these
- 36:13two actors until it comes to talking. We
- 36:16talked. We have that joint pronoun in
- 36:17there and I think they did talk at some
- 36:20point. I think a lot more happened, but
- 36:22I definitely think there was some
- 36:23talking there because of the way he
- 36:25changes his pronouns.
- 36:28Then he says, like, usually at 4:00 a.m.
- 36:31I wake up, I go down and work out. This
- 36:33day, I wanted to talk to her about this.
- 36:37So many red flags in there. Let's do the
- 36:39pronouns first. Again, it is two
- 36:41different people. I wake up, I go down
- 36:44and work out. This day, I wanted to talk
- 36:46to her about this.
- 36:48So, it's the two different actors are
- 36:49back there. He's definitely the one that
- 36:51wanted to talk. Although we talked, he
- 36:53was the one that wanted to talk.
- 36:56He says, usually at 4:00 a.m. I wake up,
- 36:58I go down and work out. Now, that's him
- 37:00talking about what usually happens
- 37:01because, you know, the
- 37:02the FBI guy puts to him this scenario
- 37:04that you wanted to get her up at 4:00 so
- 37:06you could be really horrible to her at
- 37:084:00 in the morning. And he wants to
- 37:10soften all that and say, well, look,
- 37:12this is what usually happens. This is
- 37:14nice nice, Chris. You know, usually at
- 37:164:00 a.m. I wake up and I work out.
- 37:18But this day, I wanted to talk to her
- 37:21about this. That doesn't say they
- 37:22actually did talk about that. It's It's
- 37:24what his intention was, wanting to talk
- 37:26about this, but only an intention.
- 37:28And then talk about this. Again, you
- 37:31know, the the FBI guy puts quite a
- 37:34specific in there. That you wanted to
- 37:37say something, you feel guilty, you want
- 37:39to get it off your chest, you want to
- 37:40say, I don't love you anymore, I'm
- 37:41leaving you.
- 37:43And that is all softened down to just
- 37:45this by Chris Watts. So many red flags
- 37:48in his words if you know what to look
- 37:50for. Sometimes, it's what's missing. And
- 37:53have you spotted anything missing yet
- 37:55that you would expect to hear from Chris
- 37:56Watts that you haven't heard? I'll go
- 37:58through all of them once we've listened
- 37:59to what he does have to say. But
- 38:01sometimes, sometimes silence speaks
- 38:04louder than words. And this next section
- 38:06starts with a very uncomfortable
- 38:08silence. And this is a great
- 38:09interrogation technique because often,
- 38:12the person under pressure, the person
- 38:13who's stuttering, the person who feels
- 38:15against he's against the ropes, feels
- 38:17like he has to break the silence and say
- 38:19something. And what that something is
- 38:20can often be very instructive. Here's an
- 38:23uncomfortable silence.
- 38:39I love these girls.
- 38:41I love these girls so much. And this
- 38:44picture right here,
- 38:46Celeste and Bella,
- 38:48those are my life.
- 38:50I'm I helped make those kids.
- 38:53There's nothing in my life
- 38:55that means more to me than these kids.
- 39:00Nothing.
- 39:02Kids, that's that's your life. That's
- 39:04your lifeline.
- 39:06That's everything. Like, you make kids,
- 39:08they're they come first before anything.
- 39:10Kids, spouse, family.
- 39:13That's what it's always been.
- 39:21Nothing you've told me tonight makes
- 39:23sense.
- 39:24Nothing you've told me tonight feels
- 39:26like the truth.
- 39:32Can we start over? Sure.
- 39:36We'll start over shortly. There's that
- 39:39long pause
- 39:41that he has to fill and say something.
- 39:44And what he says is, "I love these
- 39:46girls." Now, once more, when I say that
- 39:49I found Chris Watts to be quite good
- 39:52sometimes um with his words when he's
- 39:54lying, he states that in the present
- 39:56tense uh very often. Someone who knows
- 39:58that people are gone will use the past
- 40:00tense just by by accident. They'll slip
- 40:02into the past tense cuz uh that's
- 40:03natural. Our tense use is very
- 40:05instinctive.
- 40:07Um uh but no, he says, "I love these
- 40:10girls." Present tense. "I love these
- 40:12girls so much." And this picture right
- 40:14here, Celeste and Bella, those are my
- 40:16life. Now, those is is interesting. I
- 40:19get he could say these because he's
- 40:20talking about a picture. "These girls
- 40:22are my life." Um although, you know, "My
- 40:24girls are my life." would be a whole lot
- 40:26closer and make me feel a lot better
- 40:27about it, but uh "Those are my life."
- 40:30is, you know, when do you describe
- 40:32something as those? That's like a pair
- 40:34of socks. Those have seen better days.
- 40:36But no, he talks about his children,
- 40:38Celeste and Bella. "Those are my life."
- 40:41Then he says, "I helped make those
- 40:42kids." We've got those kids again. Um
- 40:44and also, "I helped make those kids."
- 40:47Now, this could go one of two ways. He
- 40:49could be talking about, you know,
- 40:50educating, uh caring, nurturing, making
- 40:53them the person they are today, or is it
- 40:55just a sexual thing? Uh because that's
- 40:57how you make kids. I don't know which
- 41:00one it is, but I didn't like it. I
- 41:01didn't like "I helped make those kids."
- 41:03Uh also, it's in the past tense
- 41:05suggesting, you know, that um that is is
- 41:08over.
- 41:09Then he says, "There's nothing in my
- 41:10life that means more to me than these
- 41:12kids. Nothing." "Kids, that's that's
- 41:15your life. That's your lifeline." Bit
- 41:17stuttery again because maybe he just
- 41:19hoped that he'd say, "I love those
- 41:21kids." and the FBI would go, "Right,
- 41:22okay, convinced. Call off all uh looking
- 41:25into you. Let's go and find out what's
- 41:27happened here." And he realizes it's not
- 41:29working. The guy's not buying it.
- 41:31"There's nothing in my life that means
- 41:32more to me than these kids. Nothing.
- 41:34Kids, that's your" So, he's not talking
- 41:36about himself. He's not saying "These
- 41:38kids are my life." He's saying "That's
- 41:41your" And then he says, "your lifeline."
- 41:43Now, that is interesting. If he'd said
- 41:45"Those kids are my life." then great,
- 41:48but he's talking about someone else.
- 41:49Your kid uh your life. And then he says,
- 41:52"lifeline." Which is very possible that
- 41:55he is in such dire trouble right now
- 41:57that in his head he's looking for a
- 41:59lifeline. And that word is one that came
- 42:01out naturally because is his brain is
- 42:03experiencing this look for a lifeline.
- 42:06And therefore, it came out naturally to
- 42:08say lifeline because I think that's what
- 42:11he is looking for in this interrogation.
- 42:13"That's everything." He says, "Like, you
- 42:15make kids." We've got make again. "They
- 42:18come first before anything. Kids,
- 42:20spouse, family, that's what it's always
- 42:22been." Now, he says that's everything,
- 42:24which we all know isn't true, you know.
- 42:26Um people
- 42:27who have kids, it's not everything. They
- 42:30might have a favorite sports team as
- 42:32well. They might have friends and so on.
- 42:34They might come above everything, but
- 42:35they're not everything. He's talking in
- 42:36an absolute, which is another persuasive
- 42:39term, a convincing term to get across to
- 42:41us. "That's everything. Like, you make
- 42:43kids." Make again, yeah, I've said that.
- 42:45"They come first before anything." Now,
- 42:46that's more believable. That's not
- 42:48"That's everything." "They come first."
- 42:49is more believable. "Kids, spouse,
- 42:52family." Now, you'll notice he's being
- 42:55very conceptual about them. He's not
- 42:57saying calling them by name or or owning
- 42:59them with, you know, my kids or or, you
- 43:01know, anything like that. Just kids.
- 43:03Just kids come first. He's talking about
- 43:05how life should be, if you like. Then
- 43:07spouse, which again, look, it's no
- 43:10secret. Obviously, he had killed Shannan
- 43:12by at this point and and the kids uh
- 43:15that there was a lot of issues between
- 43:17Chris and Shannan or or on Chris's side.
- 43:20Um but he refers to her there as spouse.
- 43:24If he was genuinely the husband who was
- 43:27mystified by the disappearance of his
- 43:30wife, I would expect to hear Shannan or
- 43:32or my wife or something like that. That
- 43:34would be a hell of a lot closer than the
- 43:36term spouse, which is really what used
- 43:39on forms and so on. You know, that's how
- 43:41formal that term is. It's on forms. Um
- 43:44and we have him referring to spouse. So,
- 43:47if I was the FBI guy, I'd be going, "Do
- 43:48you know what? He's referring to Shannan
- 43:50as spouse at this point. There is some
- 43:52issues going on there." And then, I said
- 43:55he talked in the present tense about the
- 43:57kids. "I love um these kids." he said
- 43:59earlier. "That's what it's always been."
- 44:02It's in the past. It's behind him now.
- 44:04It's gone. Uh having your kids first,
- 44:07and that's him leaking out there. Not
- 44:09"That's what it is." "That's how it is."
- 44:11Uh "You know, my kids come first." No,
- 44:13that's how it's been. Not how it is now.
- 44:18And then,
- 44:19after that heartfelt plea, the FBI guy
- 44:21says, "Nothing you've told me tonight
- 44:22makes sense. Nothing you've told me
- 44:24tonight feels like the truth. Can we
- 44:26start over?" And once more, when the FBI
- 44:29guy puts real blockers up in front of
- 44:31him, like "I don't believe a word you're
- 44:32saying." uh he doesn't deny it. He
- 44:35doesn't say, you know, "Look, I'm
- 44:37telling you the truth." He just goes,
- 44:40"Sure." He doesn't push back against
- 44:42that allegation. That's there for him a
- 44:45lot. Right, that question I love is
- 44:47coming up, but now we're going to hear
- 44:49him being asked about the last time he
- 44:50saw Shannan and the kids.
- 44:53I think that
- 44:58there's something that happened
- 45:01that got maybe a little bit out of
- 45:03control.
- 45:05There was no fight. There was nothing
- 45:08physical.
- 45:09It was a no It was a conversation. There
- 45:11was There's no We didn't raise our
- 45:12voice. Nothing.
- 45:19I promised you that, sir. There was
- 45:20There was nothing physical with this
- 45:22conversation.
- 45:27What was the last thing
- 45:29What was the last thing you saw about
- 45:31your daughters?
- 45:33Last thing I saw, like when I left.
- 45:34>> What did it look like?
- 45:37I saw them in the monitor as it was
- 45:39switching back
- 45:40>> and forth. What's the last thing you saw
- 45:41with your wife?
- 45:43She was laying back in bed as I was
- 45:45walking out the door. Walking out the
- 45:47bedroom door. Okay.
- 45:54The first thing I want to point out here
- 45:55is that Chris's answer to the first
- 45:57question tells us lots about what didn't
- 45:59happen, not what did happen. Uh which is
- 46:02shows us where his focus is. The FBI guy
- 46:05says to him, "I think that there's
- 46:07something that happened that got maybe a
- 46:09little bit out of control." Uh and
- 46:10again, we have stutters, which I will
- 46:12read out in the answer. "There was no
- 46:14fight. There was nothing physical. It
- 46:16was a no It was a conversation. There
- 46:19was There's no We didn't raise our
- 46:21voice. Nothing. I promise you that, sir.
- 46:23There was There was nothing physical
- 46:25with this conversation." Excuse
- 46:27[clears throat] me. So, he's telling us
- 46:28lots about what didn't happen. Um now,
- 46:31out of control
- 46:32could mean violence, could mean
- 46:34physical, could mean a fight, could also
- 46:35mean that Shannan stormed off. Uh you
- 46:37know, just walked away, and that and
- 46:38that's out of his control. But he goes
- 46:41to all sorts of physical things and says
- 46:42there was no fight, nothing physical.
- 46:45Um there was nothing physical with the
- 46:46conversation. Um which says to me his
- 46:49focus is very much on fighting and
- 46:50things being physical, and he wants to
- 46:52tell us these things didn't happen, but
- 46:54that's where his focus is. He does say
- 46:56it was a conversation, so he does tell
- 46:58us what it was. It was a conversation.
- 47:01Um but he spends more time telling us
- 47:02what it what what didn't happen. Uh
- 47:05which um
- 47:06interests me. Makes me suspicious. Um
- 47:09there was no And then, he uses joint
- 47:12pronouns again to dis dis describe this
- 47:14conversation that he said "We didn't
- 47:16raise our voice." Now, number one, uh
- 47:19voices would be better
- 47:21um because that would I'd be two people
- 47:23there. But again, I think some sort of
- 47:24conversation was the flashpoint for all
- 47:27of this um that they did have because
- 47:28you can put the two of them together at
- 47:30that point. And then we have the very
- 47:33very
- 47:34uh interesting "I promise you that,
- 47:35sir." So, once again, he's laying on the
- 47:37persuaders of "I promise you that, sir."
- 47:40With all sorts of respect. Uh so, when
- 47:43he's really trying to smuggle through a
- 47:44big lie, he then gives the respect.
- 47:47"Look, believe this because I'm calling
- 47:49you sir, and I'm being very respectful."
- 47:51Also, he tells us lots about what what
- 47:54didn't happen rather than what did
- 47:55happen. He also says nothing about
- 47:58Shannan's reaction. He doesn't tell her
- 48:01anything that she did whatsoever, apart
- 48:03from didn't raise our voice. She's in
- 48:06that a little bit, but you know, again,
- 48:08I would not be reassured by that because
- 48:09he can't tell us anything about that.
- 48:12Then we've got some interesting
- 48:13questions. He's asked, "What was the
- 48:15last thing you saw about your
- 48:16daughters?" And he says, "Last thing I
- 48:18saw, like when I left."
- 48:21"No, the last thing you saw on Tuesday
- 48:24or at the pool party. What do you think?
- 48:26You know what's going on here?" Once
- 48:27more,
- 48:28>> [snorts]
- 48:29>> "Ooh, I'm not prepared for this. I don't
- 48:30have the words ready just to roll off my
- 48:32tongue to answer this question, so I'm
- 48:34going to ask a question to pretend that
- 48:36I want clarification before I answer. In
- 48:38reality, I'm just asking this question
- 48:39to buy myself some thinking time. Last
- 48:42thing I saw, like when I left." Now,
- 48:45last [clears throat] thing I saw when I
- 48:47left is him, I think, going a little bit
- 48:49extra just to say "Oh, I left." You
- 48:51know, so what was the last thing I saw
- 48:52before I left? I think he's getting
- 48:54across his actions there.
- 48:57"What did it look like?" says the FBI
- 48:59guy. "I just saw them in the monitor as
- 49:02it was switching back and forth." We've
- 49:04got the word just there in his answer
- 49:05again, so he's getting It's just a
- 49:07little thing. It was It was, you know,
- 49:08insignificant. It was the last time you
- 49:10saw your kids. It was insignificant. And
- 49:12he was asked, "What did it look like?"
- 49:14And he doesn't tell us what it looked
- 49:16like. He told us how he saw them or
- 49:18where he saw them. Not "They were fast
- 49:21asleep." Uh you know, "I I saw them in
- 49:23bed fast asleep on the monitor." No, he
- 49:25doesn't say what it looked like.
- 49:27Interesting that he wants to avoid
- 49:28talking about what it looked like the
- 49:30last time he saw his kids. Yeah. Um
- 49:33instead, he just says how he saw them.
- 49:36"And what was the last thing you saw
- 49:37with your wife? He's asked. She was
- 49:39laying back in bed
- 49:41as I was walking out the door, walking
- 49:43out the bedroom door. So,
- 49:46he could have got away with that for me
- 49:47if he said she was laying back in bed.
- 49:50When was the last time you saw your
- 49:51wife? She was laying back in bed. Fine.
- 49:53But he has to tell us what he was doing.
- 49:55I think this is building an alibi
- 49:56because the last time he saw his wife,
- 49:58he wasn't walking out the door, he was
- 50:00doing something much much much worse.
- 50:04And he wants to make it sound all clean
- 50:06and innocent. So he has to tell us what
- 50:07he was doing. We He wasn't asked what he
- 50:10was doing. He wasn't asked his situation
- 50:11at all. He's gone extra here. And it's
- 50:13you know, oh yes, the last time I saw
- 50:15her I was walking out the door. Then I
- 50:16think he realizes that is how we say
- 50:18walking out the house, you know, like I
- 50:20walked out the door. Uh walking out the
- 50:22bedroom door. So, when we haven't
- 50:24experienced something naturally, it's
- 50:26really hard sometimes to find the
- 50:28authentic words inside ourselves cuz we
- 50:30instead of just letting our brain go,
- 50:31what did you experience and our brain
- 50:33automatically translating that into
- 50:34words, our brain has to go, what's the
- 50:37right form of words here for the lie I
- 50:38want to make up? He gets it wrong, I
- 50:40think. As I was walking out the door,
- 50:43I'm walking out the bedroom door, that
- 50:44sounds better. So So I'll say that.
- 50:46Right. Are you ready for the question?
- 50:48The question that I love and the answer
- 50:51is so so instructive. When we find the
- 50:53guy who took them,
- 50:57what do you think we should do?
- 51:01Honestly, like
- 51:05they're going to come home safe,
- 51:06correct?
- 51:08When you find the guy.
- 51:09When we find the guy, they're going to
- 51:10come home.
- 51:14Life in prison would be the
- 51:17That's what I would That's what I would
- 51:19think with two kids that are involved.
- 51:24What if he hurt them?
- 51:30The death the
- 51:32I I'm not sure if like that penalty
- 51:35used.
- 51:36Used Is it used in Colorado? I'm not
- 51:38even sure what it is. The death penalty.
- 51:40Okay. I I mean like if these kids are
- 51:42not alive, like there's no
- 51:45there's nothing you could do to
- 51:47to cope with that, to make me cope with
- 51:50that if those kids are not okay.
- 51:54It's the classic question. When we find
- 51:56the guy who took them, what do you think
- 51:58we should do? His answer is honestly
- 52:00like, they're going to come home safe,
- 52:02correct? When you find the guy.
- 52:05Question in response to a question again
- 52:09he's saying what punishment he should
- 52:11get here.
- 52:13They're very hard for him to say, I
- 52:14deserve the death penalty or I deserve
- 52:16life imprisonment. He wants to get away
- 52:18with it. The last thing he wants to
- 52:19think about is the punishment that he
- 52:20faces. Hard question for him to answer.
- 52:24So he buys himself thinking time by
- 52:26responding with a question. They're
- 52:27going to come home safe, correct? When
- 52:29you find the guy. And he starts with
- 52:31honestly,
- 52:32which was again I think a flag here.
- 52:34He's going to tell a lie. Um he's he
- 52:36thinks the guy
- 52:38um that took them should never be found,
- 52:40should never be punished because it's
- 52:41him and he wants to get away with it. So
- 52:43it's honestly here's what I think, which
- 52:44is not what he thinks.
- 52:47The FBI guy clarifies, when we find the
- 52:49guy, they're going to come home.
- 52:51He thinks a little bit and then he says
- 52:52life in prison, but he says it as a
- 52:54question. In fact, he says it so much
- 52:56like a question that um my transcription
- 52:58software put a question mark after it
- 53:00even though it's not the classic English
- 53:02form of a question. Uh life in prison?
- 53:05He doesn't state the person that's done
- 53:07something to my kids should face life in
- 53:10prison.
- 53:11Um he asks a question. He says it with
- 53:14you know, life in prison?
- 53:16And then it's stuttery. Would be the
- 53:19That's what That's what I would think
- 53:21with two kids that are involved.
- 53:24So again, the pressure is on him. You'll
- 53:26notice he's assuming the worst because
- 53:28he said they're going to come home safe
- 53:30and the FBI guy says, yeah, they're
- 53:32going to come home. I think he's leaving
- 53:33that open. They're going to come home
- 53:35somehow, maybe not alive. Um but he's
- 53:38assuming the worst for some reason that
- 53:40when we find the guy who did this, then
- 53:41that person has to get life in prison
- 53:43because they've done something to two
- 53:45kids.
- 53:46Also two kids that are involved. Again,
- 53:48he's not he's downplaying what could
- 53:50what could happen. You know, life in
- 53:51prison? Life in prison for kidnapping
- 53:54two kids or or something like that? Mm
- 53:56mm maybe not. Life in prison for
- 53:58murdering two kids. So he's assumed the
- 54:00worst um because they were home safe
- 54:03just a moment ago.
- 54:05What if he hurt them? asked the FBI guy.
- 54:07And we get more stutters. The uh the I'm
- 54:10not sure if like that penalty is even
- 54:13used. Is it used in Colorado? I'm
- 54:16unsure.
- 54:17So, what he's saying here,
- 54:20the [clears throat] impression that he
- 54:21wants to give is if this person has hurt
- 54:24the kids, then he thinks the death
- 54:26penalty would be appropriate. Um
- 54:28however, that's not quite what he says.
- 54:31He's actually talking about the local
- 54:32legalities, not what his moral position
- 54:35is. And if I ask you, what should happen
- 54:37to someone who's killed your children,
- 54:38you will not think about, oh, what's the
- 54:41local legalities around that? You will
- 54:42give me your instinctive answer, which
- 54:44could be anything from, you know, this
- 54:46person needs rehabilitation,
- 54:48uh understanding, you know, I firmly
- 54:49believe imprisonment doesn't help
- 54:51anyone, through to death penalty. You
- 54:53will give me your moral answer to that
- 54:55um about someone hurting kids,
- 54:58especially if it's your own kids.
- 54:59Instead, he talks about the legalities
- 55:02of it all. That penalty is even used in
- 55:04Colorado, I'm unsure. And you'll notice,
- 55:07talking of softening things, he doesn't
- 55:09name the death penalty. He says, that
- 55:12penalty is even used. Is it used in
- 55:14Colorado, I'm unsure. We know which one
- 55:16he's talking about, but he can't bring
- 55:18himself to say death penalty. Just like
- 55:20he couldn't say life in prison as a
- 55:22statement as he what he thought people
- 55:24should get. He doesn't say death
- 55:26penalty. He softens it a lot.
- 55:29What is and he's forced to say the death
- 55:32penalty. Stutters again. I I mean like
- 55:35if these kids are not alive, like
- 55:36there's no there's nothing you could do
- 55:38to cope with that, to make me cope with
- 55:40that if those kids are not okay. Now,
- 55:44once more, we have these kids, you know,
- 55:46not my kids, and then the severity of
- 55:48what has possibly happened in the words
- 55:51is downplayed again. That's a classic
- 55:53criminal bit of behavior. If these kids
- 55:55are not alive, not if he's murdered
- 55:57these kids.
- 55:59Um if those kids are not okay, which is
- 56:01like, you know, upset stomach or, you
- 56:03know, a little bit unhappy they didn't
- 56:04get another second slice of birthday
- 56:05cake. That's what kids are when they're
- 56:07not okay. But also, he's been asked
- 56:10about what should happen when we get the
- 56:11guy and he never speaks about the guys'
- 56:14actions. You know, if the guy murdered
- 56:17my kids, the guy should get the death
- 56:18penalty, right? He never speaks about
- 56:21the guys' actions. He just says, kids
- 56:23are involved. Incredibly passive. These
- 56:25kids are not alive. The kids are not
- 56:27okay. All very passive. All about what
- 56:29the kids are experiencing, not about the
- 56:31actions that would be taken against the
- 56:34kids. He avoids talking about them. It's
- 56:36obviously very very sensitive. Right. So
- 56:39that is what he's been talking about.
- 56:41What did you spot that was missing?
- 56:43Here's what I spotted that was missing.
- 56:45Any sense of concern for the children or
- 56:47Shannan. Any real live concern for them.
- 56:50Not didn't see or hear any of that at
- 56:53all. It was all about concern for
- 56:56himself, proving what a great honest guy
- 56:59he was.
- 57:00No desire to proactively help. You know,
- 57:03the the FBI have said, don't believe
- 57:05you. He's like, right, what can I do to
- 57:07get beyond this so you can go looking
- 57:08for the right guy. None of that
- 57:10whatsoever. He's quite happy to sit
- 57:12back, take the time and try and persuade
- 57:14and convince this FBI guy that he's a
- 57:16truthful stand-up guy. Like with that,
- 57:19no sense of urgency to show it's not
- 57:21him. If you are innocent and your kids
- 57:24are missing, urgency is going to be the
- 57:27top priority for you. But no, he was
- 57:30quite happy to sit back there and any
- 57:33reliable denials as well. So that is
- 57:36Chris Watts talking to the FBI. In
- 57:38conclusion,
- 57:40you know, yes, he's guilty cuz he's
- 57:42serving life sentences now, but if I'd
- 57:43looked at that
- 57:46at the time, I'd said he was buying
- 57:48thinking time a lot. Now, why would an
- 57:50innocent person need to do that? Um
- 57:52but he was asking questions to
- 57:54questions. There's also a sense of
- 57:55avoidance that comes from that as well
- 57:57about, you know, can I clarify this
- 57:59question and just think about what it is
- 58:00I want to say. Assuming the worst all
- 58:03the time. Leakage there for me that he
- 58:05was leaking that he knew the worst had
- 58:07happened. The contradictions around the
- 58:09daycare as well. Just that last part
- 58:12where he was very passive about what
- 58:14happened to them. If the kids are
- 58:15involved rather than if someone has And
- 58:17just that lack of concern for Shannan or
- 58:19for the kids as well that was expressed
- 58:21would make me go, this guy is showing so
- 58:24many red flags.
- 58:27Let me know what you think in the
- 58:28comments
- 58:29if you can or you can get in touch on
- 58:31the socials. neveratruerword.com is
- 58:32where you will find them all listed. You
- 58:35can also look at more from Chris Watts
- 58:37and also his mistress as well broken
- 58:39down
- 58:39some of the things that she had to say.
- 58:41You will find that all at
- 58:42neveratruerword.com.
- 58:44And if you want to join the Never a
- 58:45Truer Word Facebook group where we
- 58:47discuss words like these, you can just
- 58:48watch people who are very very smart
- 58:51discuss words and statements in there or
- 58:53take part and show your prowess as well.
- 58:56Uh you'll find all the details for all
- 58:57of those things at neveratruerword.com.
- 59:01I'll see you soon for something new from
- 59:02Never a Truer Word and remember, the
- 59:04truth is always in the words.
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This page contains the full transcript of Chris Watts Sat Across From the FBI. His Words Did the Confessing For Him. by Never a Truer Word with Jack Fox, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 11,365 words across 1,681 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.
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