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Gone Without a Trace: The Fateful Night in the Watts Household | True Crime Watch — Transcript

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  1. 0:00so we're just waiting for our Sergeant
  2. 0:01to come over and we'd like to go through
  3. 0:02your house are you okay with us
  4. 0:03searching through your house all right
  5. 0:05um we'll have you sign a consent form we
  6. 0:07just want to see if you left a note or
  7. 0:08anything inconspicuous something like
  8. 0:10that Christopher Watts received a call
  9. 0:12from a police officer that morning
  10. 0:14asking if he knew where his wife shanan
  11. 0:17Catherine rezuchek was two of his
  12. 0:19friends were outside his home
  13. 0:21stopping by to check on shenan she was
  14. 0:2315 weeks pregnant and had a doctor's
  15. 0:25appointment that morning and they knew
  16. 0:27she wasn't eating or feeling well last
  17. 0:29year Nicole yes okay what's going on so
  18. 0:32my friend um we were out of town for a
  19. 0:34business trip this weekend right and I
  20. 0:36dropped her off at two o'clock this
  21. 0:38morning she's 15 weeks pregnant she
  22. 0:40wasn't feeling well and she had a
  23. 0:42doctor's appointment this morning at
  24. 0:43nine and I told her to let me know if
  25. 0:44she needed me to take her she's got two
  26. 0:46little girls and
  27. 0:48um she was ready to straw over the
  28. 0:49weekend wasn't eating normally or
  29. 0:50drinking and we kept trying to force it
  30. 0:52on her because she's pregnant
  31. 0:53her husband and her supposedly are
  32. 0:56separating but she didn't know this she
  33. 0:57thought they were just having issues he
  34. 0:59disclosed that to me today because I
  35. 1:00called him and I was like have you
  36. 1:02talked or heard from shenan since you
  37. 1:03left for work this morning because I
  38. 1:04can't get a hold of her I called I
  39. 1:06texted her car's in the garage her shoes
  40. 1:09she wears every single day right in the
  41. 1:10front door she only has one vehicle no
  42. 1:13they only have the one vehicle on his
  43. 1:14work truck okay concerned the friends
  44. 1:16called the police who found all the
  45. 1:18doors were locked and that there was no
  46. 1:21sign of anyone there
  47. 1:25Chris said he had no idea where Shannon
  48. 1:27was and rushed back to his house to find
  49. 1:30the officer and two of his friends
  50. 1:31standing outside his home
  51. 1:33he opened the doors to let the officer
  52. 1:36and his friends inside to investigate
  53. 1:38their worries were confirmed when they
  54. 1:40found the house was completely empty
  55. 1:42[Music]
  56. 1:44[Applause]
  57. 1:49you checked upstairs he's not there I
  58. 1:52just want to make sure she's not passed
  59. 1:53out somewhere is she diabetic
  60. 2:00you mind if I look around go ahead
  61. 2:02Shannon was gone as well as her and
  62. 2:05Chris's two daughters nothing in the
  63. 2:07house seemed to be missing except for
  64. 2:08the daughter's blankets which they never
  65. 2:10left home without but what was stranger
  66. 2:13was what was found inside the house
  67. 2:15Shannon had left her phone there making
  68. 2:17it impossible to contact her she also
  69. 2:19left behind her wallet her ID as well as
  70. 2:22her wedding ring on top of a desk the
  71. 2:24officer asked Chris if his and Shannon's
  72. 2:26marriage was doing fine Chris admitted
  73. 2:27that they were getting ready to separate
  74. 2:29it was nothing official yet they were
  75. 2:31just figuring out how to sell the house
  76. 2:33and get things situated for themselves
  77. 2:35and their kids he admitted however that
  78. 2:38the two of them had an emotionally
  79. 2:39heated conversation last night at around
  80. 2:423 A.M
  81. 2:44weeks and we got back
  82. 2:46Monday or Tuesday and then she flew out
  83. 2:49to Arizona Friday Friday morning and
  84. 2:52then she got back last night about two
  85. 2:55and a half like I delayed left about 11
  86. 2:57she got here at two okay and I went to
  87. 3:00work this morning about 5 15 5 30. so
  88. 3:03Rick what time do you work
  89. 3:06usually
  90. 3:08once I get work like 6 30 to 3 30 4
  91. 3:11o'clock I usually work nights or days
  92. 3:14what time do you leave the day
  93. 3:16plus I'm gonna leave there come over
  94. 3:18here uh usually between 5 36 all right
  95. 3:21Shannon here then yes
  96. 3:25she usually wants the kids or you have
  97. 3:27daycare watch them she usually watch the
  98. 3:30kids at the high school okay if you guys
  99. 3:33have any kind of issues Myrtle issues or
  100. 3:36whatever you are do you guys file yet or
  101. 3:40anything or just talking
  102. 3:42we're gonna sell the house
  103. 3:49it's going civil for the most harder
  104. 3:55yeah
  105. 3:58she tell you anything about leaving
  106. 4:00moving out not moving out I mean the
  107. 4:03last time I talked through was this
  108. 4:04morning she said she's gonna take the
  109. 4:06kids to a friend's house and then she
  110. 4:08asked where she was going to be and then
  111. 4:10I've texted her today and never heard
  112. 4:12anything but carbon cars here unless
  113. 4:17somebody came picked her up but the
  114. 4:19people that I know
  115. 4:21[Applause]
  116. 4:23he said he regretted some things he said
  117. 4:26especially since that was the last time
  118. 4:28he spoke to her the story of Shannon
  119. 4:30going missing with their two daughters
  120. 4:32was picked up by the news and spread
  121. 4:34like wildfire watts and her two
  122. 4:36daughters three-year-old Celeste and
  123. 4:38four-year-old Bella vanished on Monday
  124. 4:40their startling disappearance triggering
  125. 4:43a Statewide alert as police and the FBI
  126. 4:46focus on her home outside Denver where
  127. 4:49she was last seen Christopher Watts was
  128. 4:52interviewed as the father and husband
  129. 4:53who had lost everything and he kept
  130. 4:55saying he wished Shannon would come home
  131. 4:57with their kids
  132. 4:59it was easy to empathize with Chris and
  133. 5:02people from all over the state started
  134. 5:03looking for signs or clues of Shannon's
  135. 5:06whereabouts that she's somewhere safe
  136. 5:08right now and with the kids
  137. 5:11but I mean could she event because she
  138. 5:13just taken off I don't know but if
  139. 5:15somebody has her and they're not safe
  140. 5:17like I want them back now but for all
  141. 5:19the coverage and people searching there
  142. 5:21were no signs of Shannon anywhere she
  143. 5:24didn't have family that lived in the
  144. 5:25state
  145. 5:26and all her friends said they hadn't
  146. 5:28seen her it was as if she had completely
  147. 5:30vanished people began to wonder if
  148. 5:32Shannon had run off with their two
  149. 5:34daughters an unborn son
  150. 5:36she could have been hiding somewhere
  151. 5:38trying to keep the children away from
  152. 5:40their father on the surface this was the
  153. 5:42most obvious answer
  154. 5:44Shannon and her husband had gotten into
  155. 5:46a heated argument the night before and
  156. 5:48were planning on divorcing if she felt
  157. 5:51like she might be disadvantaged in a
  158. 5:53custody hearing that could have been a
  159. 5:55motivation for running away however this
  160. 5:58didn't seem to be what happened or at
  161. 6:00least not the full picture
  162. 6:01neighbors who knew Chris Wells said that
  163. 6:03he had been acting strange the past few
  164. 6:06days but even more so after Shannon's
  165. 6:08disappearance
  166. 6:09[Music]
  167. 6:15no
  168. 6:22[Applause]
  169. 6:26any other votes right
  170. 6:29[Applause]
  171. 6:34and it doesn't look like
  172. 6:36she came from down the street
  173. 6:43[Applause]
  174. 6:45and then the other thing that doesn't
  175. 6:46make sense is why would he pulled past
  176. 6:48this part
  177. 6:51you can see him play path
  178. 7:01you're able to record this
  179. 7:05I don't have to call Comcast but I can
  180. 7:07get him to do whatever but watch Justin
  181. 7:10get out and walk back and forth a couple
  182. 7:14times
  183. 7:21to be completely honest with you my wife
  184. 7:23and I are kind of wondering when she was
  185. 7:25on vacation if something happened
  186. 7:26because I've heard them pulled out
  187. 7:28scream
  188. 7:30scream over there tomorrow and then he
  189. 7:31gets crazy and that's pretty recently
  190. 7:33yeah
  191. 7:41this is kind of odd to me why would he
  192. 7:43pulled myself up right
  193. 7:47yeah I've never seen him hold back I've
  194. 7:50never seen him if he loads his stuff he
  195. 7:52normally just walks back and forth
  196. 7:53because I get him on camera what does he
  197. 7:56usually load up all he usually has is a
  198. 7:58lunch box
  199. 8:01book bag looks like a computer
  200. 8:05usually a water jump that's it
  201. 8:08the fact that he was in here and
  202. 8:09explaining to it over and over and over
  203. 8:12well um it doesn't it doesn't look
  204. 8:15worried
  205. 8:17he looks like he's trying to cover his
  206. 8:18traps
  207. 8:22you know what I'm saying right and if
  208. 8:25he's loading his stuff why isn't he
  209. 8:26walking back and forth
  210. 8:29I see what he's doing in the back of the
  211. 8:31truck because he's going to get up and
  212. 8:33he knows my camera's there oh
  213. 8:36but I thought it was kind of odd that he
  214. 8:38never parked in front of here or right
  215. 8:40here he said someone broke into his
  216. 8:42truck
  217. 8:44I have no idea
  218. 8:47hey that is so suspicious he's normally
  219. 8:51you can ask them he's normally quiet and
  220. 8:54we'll subdue he's over here telling them
  221. 8:56telling you three times what he took out
  222. 8:58what he did what he did
  223. 9:01[Applause]
  224. 9:04so the fact that he's over here blabbing
  225. 9:07his mouth makes me kind of suspicious
  226. 9:09the camera captured Chris coming home in
  227. 9:11his truck and leaving 50 minutes later
  228. 9:13on the night of the incident which lined
  229. 9:15up with his story
  230. 9:17but what didn't make sense was how Chris
  231. 9:20went in and out of the vehicle multiple
  232. 9:23times in those 50 minutes he wasn't
  233. 9:24inside arguing with Shannon like he said
  234. 9:27he was he was loading something onto his
  235. 9:29truck before driving away Christopher
  236. 9:31Watts was immediately taken in as a
  237. 9:34suspect for questions
  238. 9:35so
  239. 9:37sorry let's start around
  240. 9:40um she gets home late at night okay I'll
  241. 9:43start from that point okay so she got
  242. 9:45home about 2 A.M and were you already
  243. 9:47home hi Alice I was passed out okay yeah
  244. 9:50so like I could my cells were getting to
  245. 9:52bed tell them about it I thought for you
  246. 9:54know that's one of my alarm that's when
  247. 9:57my alarm went off to go to work okay so
  248. 9:59that's when I got ready and everything
  249. 10:00so she gets into two alarm goes off at
  250. 10:03four okay and you're sleeping that whole
  251. 10:05time oh yeah okay so the conversation
  252. 10:07hasn't started no okay so about when my
  253. 10:10alarm goes off that's when after I get
  254. 10:12ready for work I fall back in bed and
  255. 10:13had that conversation so you wake up at
  256. 10:16four from at four then what until you
  257. 10:20start the conversation uh get dressed
  258. 10:22get my get my clothes on brush my teeth
  259. 10:24deodorant all that kind of stuff okay
  260. 10:25shower
  261. 10:29I work in the oil and gas okay so then
  262. 10:33it doesn't matter if you go to work
  263. 10:34without a shower
  264. 10:35okay
  265. 10:36all right this is gonna be bad anyways
  266. 10:38yeah so then you wake up you get ready
  267. 10:41I'm sorry I interrupted you you're fun
  268. 10:44um so then sit in what time we're
  269. 10:47talking about when you're ready to talk
  270. 10:48with her about 4 15 or so okay and so
  271. 10:51she was asleep from the time she got in
  272. 10:53from two to four or four fifteen you
  273. 10:55wake up at four or four fifteen you're
  274. 10:57ready okay at 4 15. you start talking
  275. 11:00why do you talk at 4 15 in the morning I
  276. 11:03felt like I needed to talk to her face
  277. 11:05to face because like I wanted to say
  278. 11:08something much like when she was Arizona
  279. 11:10like I didn't want to do it through a
  280. 11:12text I didn't want to do it do a call I
  281. 11:14was like I got back in bed I was like I
  282. 11:16needed to I need a doctor about this
  283. 11:19because she told me
  284. 11:20she told me like when she was when she
  285. 11:22was gonna fly back that she wanted to
  286. 11:24get up with me so she could take a
  287. 11:26shower because she wouldn't get there
  288. 11:28what do you mean when she got back when
  289. 11:30she flew back in from Phoenix yeah okay
  290. 11:33she told you let's have a talk no she
  291. 11:36wanted to get up with me so she could
  292. 11:37take a shower to the airport off for her
  293. 11:39because she was like her flight was
  294. 11:40delayed oh okay because I was supposed
  295. 11:43to be getting 11 but I didn't mean to
  296. 11:4411. okay and so as you calling or did
  297. 11:46she texts you I think there was a call
  298. 11:48okay on that one all right and then so
  299. 11:51at 4 15 what happens that's when I crawl
  300. 11:53back in bed and I was kind of woke her
  301. 11:54up okay and then I proceeded to talk to
  302. 11:57her about how I was feeling about how I
  303. 12:00felt like
  304. 12:01what's been going on with us for the
  305. 12:03last what what she seemed like the last
  306. 12:06six weeks because we were she was in
  307. 12:07North Carolina and I was down there was
  308. 12:09the last league but from what
  309. 12:12just being a part and just like figuring
  310. 12:16out who people are like the best
  311. 12:18honestly like the best way for people to
  312. 12:19really find out who they are is to spend
  313. 12:21time apart I agree and just kind of just
  314. 12:24like you need to see yourself
  315. 12:26well and then on the last week that's
  316. 12:29when I went back to North Carolina and I
  317. 12:31was there forever last week there and
  318. 12:34when we were together we could feel like
  319. 12:36it was it wasn't there that spark and I
  320. 12:39was kind of we say let that spark wasn't
  321. 12:41there anymore and
  322. 12:44on that night I told that morning early
  323. 12:47that morning and I sort of like the
  324. 12:48disconnection is it's better like it's
  325. 12:51not going away like the connection we
  326. 12:53had
  327. 12:54in the beginning
  328. 12:56it's not there anymore it's like I don't
  329. 12:59feel like the love we have is there
  330. 13:01anymore
  331. 13:02[Music]
  332. 13:04and it's just like I don't feel like
  333. 13:06I mean if we want to stay together for
  334. 13:08the kids I'm not sure if that's going to
  335. 13:10work and like bringing us what you told
  336. 13:12him yeah okay like having another baby
  337. 13:15bring us in this relationship do you
  338. 13:16think this is going to work with us
  339. 13:18being together or separation I think is
  340. 13:22going to be the best possible route for
  341. 13:24us and that's when like all the crime
  342. 13:26and everything proceeded and
  343. 13:28it was just it was very hard just just
  344. 13:31to talk talk about that but I needed to
  345. 13:34do it face to face okay and I needed
  346. 13:36like I needed to see her face like wow
  347. 13:40whatever I needed to be face to face and
  348. 13:44be able to see her and know that
  349. 13:47see what's going to be at least
  350. 13:48reciprocating back to me so what did she
  351. 13:51say
  352. 13:52she said that it was I mean it was she
  353. 13:55once she wanted to kind of work on it
  354. 13:57but
  355. 13:59if that's the way I was feeling then she
  356. 14:01respects that okay and she said that
  357. 14:04most of the time
  358. 14:06when you have kids and you have a
  359. 14:08relationship where people like you know
  360. 14:10they'll love each other more they fall
  361. 14:12out of love disconnection that
  362. 14:15having kids even bringing a new baby
  363. 14:17into the into the equation
  364. 14:20doesn't always work as well as keeping
  365. 14:23like you know a couple happy and if it's
  366. 14:26happy it's like it almost is like better
  367. 14:27if you're actually worse I'm Different
  368. 14:30Different Vibes yeah you don't want to
  369. 14:32spend your whole marriage disliking each
  370. 14:34other and faking for the kids yeah so
  371. 14:36that's that's one thing okay
  372. 14:39that isn't accurate that's that's
  373. 14:41totally accurate okay I mean you don't
  374. 14:43want to be it you don't want to be the
  375. 14:44people parading around with like a mask
  376. 14:46on when the kids are around and then
  377. 14:48when the kids go to sleep you just go to
  378. 14:49seven boys yeah it's like that's what I
  379. 14:51don't want okay and that's why that's
  380. 14:54why we talk that's why we're talking
  381. 14:55about that separation that night okay
  382. 14:57and that's why that's why I got so
  383. 14:59emotional right there okay
  384. 15:02emotional for you too oh yeah I was
  385. 15:04bawling my eyes out
  386. 15:07um
  387. 15:09so then as a result I said then how long
  388. 15:12did that conversation last
  389. 15:13it left so about 4 15 we started did we
  390. 15:16talked about the house as well okay let
  391. 15:18me say about that like we needed to sell
  392. 15:20the house like there's no way like we
  393. 15:22can stay in this house and have another
  394. 15:24kid and be able to just
  395. 15:28keep everything afloat
  396. 15:30and she's like well where do you want to
  397. 15:32move to I was like well we can move to
  398. 15:34Brighton we can move nothing with the
  399. 15:37area okay so we moved to Brighton we can
  400. 15:40move on lot we can move like you know
  401. 15:42wherever someone that's cheaper okay
  402. 15:44and just like well because she had
  403. 15:46already contacted
  404. 15:48the uh realtor the week before through
  405. 15:51an email oh to see like what she thought
  406. 15:55and that's when like I actually
  407. 15:57contacted Ann that day like a little
  408. 15:58like pretty much probably about eight
  409. 16:01o'clock that day who's in the realtor oh
  410. 16:03okay yeah and after you know like if we
  411. 16:06can get the ball rolling like see what
  412. 16:08you thought so you said your wife called
  413. 16:11a week before to the realtor and emailed
  414. 16:13her okay so then this conversation early
  415. 16:15in the morning wasn't a shock to either
  416. 16:17of you with a surprise it was the next
  417. 16:19step yeah in the long conversation you
  418. 16:22have to have leading up to okay well
  419. 16:23this was not like a it's like we have
  420. 16:26like a Big Bang Theory and everything it
  421. 16:28was just like this was okay it was
  422. 16:30that's why it was just an emotional
  423. 16:32conversation like because it wasn't just
  424. 16:34like like come out of nowhere with left
  425. 16:36field type of thing like we knew like
  426. 16:38something wasn't we knew about we want
  427. 16:39to do with the house we knew like what
  428. 16:43what's going on with it like we knew
  429. 16:44something
  430. 16:48so when I worked investigations like
  431. 16:50this I have to keep an open mind on
  432. 16:52everything okay
  433. 16:56and part of keeping it open mind is
  434. 16:59listening to you talk about your wife
  435. 17:01and your marriage
  436. 17:03and
  437. 17:04the day she goes missing is the day that
  438. 17:07you guys have Merrell this quarter
  439. 17:08okay
  440. 17:11so you can understand I don't want to
  441. 17:13think about you yeah
  442. 17:15what do you think about that a
  443. 17:17connection system my stomach honestly
  444. 17:19like I know like I've talked to a few of
  445. 17:22my friends who's like you know this does
  446. 17:23not look good on you I'm like I know
  447. 17:25it's like people that if people knew
  448. 17:28that we were having marital issues
  449. 17:30they're gonna look at me
  450. 17:32especially with the way everything looks
  451. 17:34it honestly just makes me sick to my
  452. 17:36stomach because this is something that I
  453. 17:38would never do
  454. 17:39[Music]
  455. 17:41however
  456. 17:45are you telling me the truth
  457. 17:50why should I believe you because I had a
  458. 17:53very trustworthy person and the people
  459. 17:55that do know me they know how I'm a calm
  460. 17:58person I am not an argumentative person
  461. 18:01I am a person who is
  462. 18:04that's never going to be abusive or
  463. 18:06physical in any kind of relationship I
  464. 18:09would never harm my kids I would never
  465. 18:11harm my wife he was connected to a
  466. 18:13polygraph test and given a series of
  467. 18:15questions to determine what he really
  468. 18:16knew about his family's disappearance
  469. 18:19regarding shenan's disappearance do you
  470. 18:21intend to answer all the questions
  471. 18:22truthfully yes
  472. 18:25were you born in 1985 yes before 2018
  473. 18:29did you ever see anything out of anger
  474. 18:31to a loved one yes no
  475. 18:33do you know where shenan is now no
  476. 18:37are you now in the state of Colorado yes
  477. 18:40before 2018 have you ever wanted to hurt
  478. 18:42someone to get even with them no
  479. 18:45did you physically cause shenan's
  480. 18:47disappearance no
  481. 18:49it's your first name Christopher
  482. 18:51yes before 2018 did you ever lose your
  483. 18:55temper with someone you cared about no
  484. 18:57are you lying about the last time you
  485. 18:59saw shenan no
  486. 19:01partial the test is complete please
  487. 19:03remain still I take the instrument out
  488. 19:04of operation during the questioning
  489. 19:06Christopher was asked if he knew where
  490. 19:07Shannon was
  491. 19:09he replied that he did not know where
  492. 19:11she was which came out as a lie on the
  493. 19:13machine this escalated suspicions around
  494. 19:16Chris Watts he was being deceptive in
  495. 19:18some way and kept refusing to tell
  496. 19:20police the truth about what happened
  497. 19:22even when they told Chris he failed the
  498. 19:25polygraph test he promised he wasn't
  499. 19:27lying
  500. 19:28so it was completely clear that you were
  501. 19:31not on this during the testing and I
  502. 19:33think you already know that
  503. 19:34he did not pass the polygraph test okay
  504. 19:37so now we need to talk about what
  505. 19:40actually happened
  506. 19:41I feel like you're probably ready to do
  507. 19:43that
  508. 19:44I didn't I didn't lie to you on that
  509. 19:46polygraph with a dire situation that
  510. 19:48needed answers police brought in Chris's
  511. 19:51dad Ronnie watts to help get him through
  512. 19:53the difficult time
  513. 19:59[Music]
  514. 20:03failed it failed Americans there's too
  515. 20:07much emotions it's
  516. 20:10so I mean there
  517. 20:13not gonna let me go
  518. 20:15anything else you won't tell me what's
  519. 20:17what's going on or what might happen or
  520. 20:20anything but
  521. 20:23we had that conversation that morning it
  522. 20:26was
  523. 20:26[Music]
  524. 20:28you know as emotional and
  525. 20:31told her about separation and everything
  526. 20:33like that
  527. 20:37I mean I'll be downstairs
  528. 20:41[Music]
  529. 20:47protector what I don't want to protect
  530. 20:49her
  531. 20:51[Music]
  532. 20:53I don't know what else to say
  533. 20:56[Music]
  534. 21:01she heard him yeah
  535. 21:04[Music]
  536. 21:18that came back up
  537. 21:20they're gone
  538. 21:22I don't know like what else to say it's
  539. 21:24like
  540. 21:24[Music]
  541. 21:26I find out
  542. 21:29[Music]
  543. 21:35[Music]
  544. 21:38there
  545. 21:40they're blue
  546. 21:43yeah
  547. 21:45I forgot the same thing
  548. 21:49[Music]
  549. 21:56after that conversation Chris said that
  550. 21:58Shannon had found it more and more
  551. 22:00difficult to be a mother their marriage
  552. 22:01was in turmoil and she was trying to
  553. 22:04find ways to rekindle the love that they
  554. 22:06used to have because things were better
  555. 22:08between the two of them before having
  556. 22:10kids she started to be resentful toward
  557. 22:13their children Shannon would lash out at
  558. 22:15their daughters over small things and
  559. 22:18Chris said he'd have to step in to try
  560. 22:19and stop her
  561. 22:21tensions continue to grow and Chris said
  562. 22:24that on the night of Shannon's
  563. 22:25disappearance she finally snapped Chris
  564. 22:28told to Shannon that he wanted them to
  565. 22:30officially separate and finalize their
  566. 22:32divorce Chris said Shannon lost her
  567. 22:34temper at the news and ran upstairs to
  568. 22:36suffocate their daughters in retaliation
  569. 22:38holding pillows to their faces
  570. 22:41in a fit of anger Chris attacked Shannon
  571. 22:43to try and stop her strangling and
  572. 22:45killing her in the process
  573. 22:47Shannon had died but her damage was done
  574. 22:50both girls were dead by that point
  575. 22:52leaving Chris with his dead family in a
  576. 22:55panic and not wanting to draw suspicion
  577. 22:57Chris said he took the bodies and buried
  578. 22:59all three of them out in the middle of
  579. 23:01the desert despite their troubles and
  580. 23:03oncoming divorce Chris still cared about
  581. 23:05Shannon and said he felt some need to
  582. 23:08protect her
  583. 23:09he cleared out the bodies then pushed
  584. 23:11the narrative that she had run away and
  585. 23:13taken their children this still wasn't
  586. 23:16great for Shannon but it was much better
  587. 23:18than family side
  588. 23:20the case turned into an incident of a
  589. 23:22man protecting his ex-wife he still
  590. 23:24wanted what was best for her
  591. 23:30locations of Shannon and their
  592. 23:32daughter's bodies which allowed
  593. 23:33investigators to go retrieve them
  594. 23:35Shannon was buried in the ground while
  595. 23:37the girl's bodies were dumped into a
  596. 23:39crude oil tank the bodies were analyzed
  597. 23:41for evidence and it was concluded that
  598. 23:43these were the remains of the Watts
  599. 23:45family Shannon died of strangulation and
  600. 23:48the daughters of asphyxiation just like
  601. 23:50Chris had said
  602. 23:52the picture of what happened started to
  603. 23:54become clear and this was much closer to
  604. 23:56the truth of what happened but it still
  605. 23:58wasn't the full story
  606. 24:02Christopher watt's story was convenient
  607. 24:04for him it explained all the murders
  608. 24:06that had happened portraying Shannon as
  609. 24:08an unhinged killer and leaving him with
  610. 24:10a possibly justifiable homicide charge
  611. 24:13the truth however was slightly different
  612. 24:15than what Chris had initially told
  613. 24:17evidence continued to come forward and a
  614. 24:20new series of events started to take
  615. 24:22shape for one Chris had been having an
  616. 24:24affair with a younger woman nickel
  617. 24:26kessinger for several months before the
  618. 24:28incident
  619. 24:29in interviews Nicole said that she met
  620. 24:31Chris through work and he seemed nice at
  621. 24:34first he portrayed himself as a single
  622. 24:36man who seemed to really care about her
  623. 24:39but as the relationship continued Watts
  624. 24:42began revealing more truths about who he
  625. 24:44was he revealed that he was a father of
  626. 24:46two then later that he was still married
  627. 24:48but in the middle of a divorce
  628. 24:51Nicole quickly realized that Chris was a
  629. 24:53chronic liar someone who could easily
  630. 24:55lie about anything to make himself look
  631. 24:57better
  632. 24:59not wanting to be involved with someone
  633. 25:01like that she broke off the relationship
  634. 25:03only after Shannon's disappearance did
  635. 25:06Nicole learn that Chris's wife was 15
  636. 25:08weeks pregnant with their third child
  637. 25:11according to Nickel she started to grow
  638. 25:13concerned for Shannon and her well-being
  639. 25:15after reading the article
  640. 25:17knowing Chris the way she did nickel was
  641. 25:19concerned about Shannon's safety from
  642. 25:21her husband and was quick to contact
  643. 25:23authorities and address her concerns
  644. 25:25with photos of her and Chris together
  645. 25:27for months she proved to be a credible
  646. 25:30source to put pressure on Watts
  647. 25:32investigators continued to press
  648. 25:34Christopher for information
  649. 25:36only then did the truth finally come
  650. 25:38forward contrary to what Chris initially
  651. 25:40claimed Shannon was not resentful
  652. 25:42towards her daughters
  653. 25:43from her online presence it could be
  654. 25:46interpolated that she genuinely cared
  655. 25:48about her daughters on top of that close
  656. 25:51friends who regularly talked with
  657. 25:53Shannon did not see the same resentment
  658. 25:55towards her daughters that Chris claimed
  659. 25:58in fact they claimed Shannon loved her
  660. 26:00family and only wanted what was best for
  661. 26:03everyone this made it almost Unthinkable
  662. 26:05that she would then suffocate her
  663. 26:07daughters in a fit of anger like Chris
  664. 26:09claimed she did
  665. 26:13on the night of the incident Shannon had
  666. 26:15thought Chris's in her marriage was
  667. 26:16about to get better the two had spent
  668. 26:18that night together
  669. 26:20and she was hopeful about a recovery for
  670. 26:22their family
  671. 26:23then the truth came out Shannon had
  672. 26:26discovered Christopher Watts was having
  673. 26:27an affair for months without her
  674. 26:29knowledge while she was trying to repair
  675. 26:31their marriage Chris was widening the
  676. 26:33rift starting a new life with someone
  677. 26:35else this Revelation turned out to be
  678. 26:37the true start to the argument that
  679. 26:39evening
  680. 26:40Shannon and Christopher fought and in a
  681. 26:42fit of temper it was Christopher who
  682. 26:45made the first move strangling Shannon
  683. 26:47in their kitchen after Shannon was dead
  684. 26:50Chris saw that their two daughters had
  685. 26:51woken up they asked what was wrong with
  686. 26:54their mom and Chris told them she was
  687. 26:56just sick and that they would need to
  688. 26:58leave somewhere by then Chris had plans
  689. 27:01of what to do with his daughters they
  690. 27:02were Witnesses and could easily tell the
  691. 27:04police what they saw and what Chris had
  692. 27:06done in a panic Chris packed Shannon's
  693. 27:08body in digging supplies into his truck
  694. 27:11he then put his two daughters into the
  695. 27:13back seat before driving out to a cruise
  696. 27:15oil container in the middle of the
  697. 27:16desert
  698. 27:17Chris took a blanket and with his
  699. 27:19daughter's bucklet up and unable to
  700. 27:21movie he suffocated them one at a time
  701. 27:24this was the full story
  702. 27:26Christopher was no hero nor a victim of
  703. 27:29circumstance and Shannon wasn't the
  704. 27:31heartless monster he tried to make her
  705. 27:33seem
  706. 27:34Christopher Watts was the monster who
  707. 27:36had killed his entire family
  708. 27:38hoping that doing so would allow him to
  709. 27:40start over and have a new family
  710. 27:42maybe not with nickel kessinger but with
  711. 27:45someone else
  712. 27:46during the sentencing trial Chris sat
  713. 27:49and listened as his extended family one
  714. 27:52by one condemned him for his heinous
  715. 27:54crime just before this court today
  716. 27:56by my comments I'm not even going to try
  717. 27:59to express the horror the pain
  718. 28:02or the suffering that the defendant has
  719. 28:04caused to these families to this
  720. 28:06community and to all who are a part of
  721. 28:08this investigation
  722. 28:09however I do want to spend a few minutes
  723. 28:12sharing with the court the details of
  724. 28:14the crime and so far you've only had an
  725. 28:16opportunity to review the affidavit and
  726. 28:18a few facts here and there that have
  727. 28:20been offered to the court in the motions
  728. 28:21and pleadings that have been filed
  729. 28:25the questions that have screamed out to
  730. 28:26anyone who will listen since August 13th
  731. 28:28of 2018 are why
  732. 28:31and how
  733. 28:33why did this have to happen
  734. 28:35How could a seemingly normal husband and
  735. 28:37father annihilate his entire family for
  736. 28:40what
  737. 28:42these are the questions that only one
  738. 28:44individual in this courtroom or on this
  739. 28:46planet knows the answers to or I'd like
  740. 28:49to say to the courts that
  741. 28:53Shannon Bella and Nico loving caring
  742. 28:57people
  743. 28:58they love life
  744. 29:00they love being around people who love
  745. 29:02him
  746. 29:04they also they always have good times
  747. 29:08this is the first time they went to the
  748. 29:10beach this year and they loved it
  749. 29:14but God only knows what happened that
  750. 29:17night
  751. 29:18life will never be the same without
  752. 29:19Shannon and Celeste and you go
  753. 29:24had all their lives to live
  754. 29:28they were taken by a heartless one
  755. 29:32this is the heartless one the evil
  756. 29:34monster
  757. 29:35who dare you take the lives of my
  758. 29:38daughter Shannon Bella Celeste and Nico
  759. 29:41I trusted you to take care of them not
  760. 29:43kill them
  761. 29:44and they also trusted you
  762. 29:47the heartless monster and then you take
  763. 29:51them out like trash
  764. 29:54you disgust me
  765. 29:56you went from being my brother my
  766. 29:58sister's protector one of the most loved
  767. 30:00people in my family to someone I will
  768. 30:02spend the rest of my life trying to
  769. 30:03understand
  770. 30:04what gave you the right to put your
  771. 30:06hands on a woman let alone my best
  772. 30:08friend my beloved sister your daughters
  773. 30:11and your son
  774. 30:12why weren't they enough for you marriage
  775. 30:14is about love trust and friendship and
  776. 30:16unity
  777. 30:18we marry for sickness and health to
  778. 30:20death to us part
  779. 30:21our daughter Shannon loved you with all
  780. 30:24of her heart your children loved you to
  781. 30:27the Moon and back
  782. 30:28Shannon's family was her world
  783. 30:31Shannon put a crown on your head
  784. 30:33but unfortunately
  785. 30:35the day that you took their life God
  786. 30:37removed that crown
  787. 30:39we love you like a son we trusted you
  788. 30:43your faithful wife trusted you
  789. 30:46your children adored you and they also
  790. 30:49trusted you
  791. 30:52your daughter Bella Marie sang a song
  792. 30:54proudly
  793. 30:55and I don't know if you got to see it
  794. 30:57but it was Daddy you're my hero
  795. 31:01I have no idea
  796. 31:03who gave you the right to take their
  797. 31:05lives
  798. 31:09at the end of the trial Christopher
  799. 31:11Watts was sentenced to five life
  800. 31:13sentences in prison with no chance for
  801. 31:15parole plus another 84 years in this
  802. 31:18case
  803. 31:20uh the Court's going to find that the
  804. 31:22plea agreement is fair and reasonable
  805. 31:24under the circumstances
  806. 31:27I want to
  807. 31:29acknowledge the rusich family
  808. 31:32as well as the Watts family that
  809. 31:35um
  810. 31:36showing
  811. 31:38Mercy on Mr Watts is understood
  812. 31:42and I respect that decision to request
  813. 31:46that the district attorney not seek the
  814. 31:48death penalty in this case and so the
  815. 31:50court is going to accept
  816. 31:53this plea bargain under the
  817. 31:54circumstances
  818. 31:57words that come to mind when I hear
  819. 32:01the evidence in this case are
  820. 32:04a senseless crime and
  821. 32:08the viciousness of the crime
  822. 32:11and equally aggravating in this Court's
  823. 32:15determination is the Despicable
  824. 32:19Act of disposing of the bodies in the
  825. 32:22manner in which they were
  826. 32:24done in this case
  827. 32:27I've been a Judicial officer now for
  828. 32:29starting my 17th year
  829. 32:32and I could
  830. 32:36objectively say that this is
  831. 32:40perhaps the most
  832. 32:43inhumane and vicious crime that I have
  833. 32:47handled out of the thousands of cases
  834. 32:49that I have seen
  835. 32:51and nothing less than a maximum sentence
  836. 32:57um
  837. 32:58would be appropriate and anything less
  838. 33:01than the maximum sentence would
  839. 33:03depreciate the seriousness of this
  840. 33:05offense
  841. 33:06there he remains to this day serving a
  842. 33:09sentence he has no hope of ever filling
  843. 33:11in his lifetime
  844. 33:12even the other prisoners have been harsh
  845. 33:14to Chris having no sympathy for a man
  846. 33:17cold enough to take the life of his wife
  847. 33:18kids and unborn child

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