Chris Watts Tells How He Killed Shanann And Daughters: Report

DENVER, CO – Frederick father and husband Christopher Watts finally divulged details to investigators about the triple murder of his wife Shanann and his two daughters, Celeste, age 3 and Bella, age 4.

Colorado Bureau of Investigators traveled to the Wisconsin prison where Watts is being held on three life sentences for the murder of his family members.

The disturbing interview shows that Watts told investigators he strangled his wife in a rage, then loaded her body in his pickup and took the two girls, who were still alive to his worksite at an Anadarko oil and gas facility. Prosecutors originally believed that Watts had killed all three in the couple's Frederick home. The report said Watts told CBI investigators he smothered Celeste with her "favorite blanket" and then returned to the truck, where Bella begged for her life.

"Is the same thing gonna happen to me as Cece?" Bella reportedly asked, before Watts said he smothered her as she fought back. “Daddy, No!” were the last words she spoke to him.

Watts confirmed to investigators that he dumped the two girls' bodies into oil tanks at the Anadarko facility and buried Shanann's body in a shallow grave on the site.

The interview also said Watts denied having a sexual relationship with a male nurse from Wyoming and a woman who claimed she had a sexual encounter with Watts at a Chick-fil-A parking lot. Watts told investigators he did not want to press charges against the two people who had claimed they had relationships with him.

He also clarified that he had been having a sexual relationship with a work colleague, Nichol Kessinger, but said that she knew full well he was married and had children when they met.

Here is the CBI report:

Watts was arrested Aug. 15, 2018 after his daughters and pregnant wife had been missing for two days. According to an arrest affidavit, Watts claimed to police his wife had strangled the two girls after he told her he wanted a separation and that he then strangled Shanann Watts in "a rage."

He then said he took the bodies in his truck to an oil well site and buried Shanann's body near an oil drum. He told police he dumped his daughters' bodies into different oil drums on the site. Watts admitted he was having an affair with a colleague from work, the arrest affidavit said.

Prosecutors didn't believe him and charged him with the deaths of all three family members.

Watts told police his wife was missing after the couple discussed a separation.

The arrest affidavit said police were alerted by a friend of Shanann Watts that she had missed a 10 a.m. doctor's appointment on Monday, Aug. 13. The friend had dropped Shanann off at home after driving her home from the airport around 2 a.m. The friend told police she called Christopher Watts to check on his wife, since she feared Shanann might have been having a medical emergency.

A police officer came to the house and called Christopher Watts, to ask for the passcode to their home security system. Watts came home instead and allowed the officer into the house, the affidavit said. The officer searched the house, but found no signs of the mother or her daughters. Christopher Watts told the officer that he and his wife had discussed marital separation around 5 a.m. and "informed her he wanted to initiate the separation." He told the officer it was a "civil conversation and they were not arguing, but were emotional."

Officers found Shannon's keys, purse and medication on a table and found her cell phone shoved between two cushions on a couch. Watts originally told police he had loaded up his truck with work tools around 5:27 a.m. and left for for work. The truck leaving the home was recorded by the neighbor's surveillance camera.

Over the next two days, police initiated a neighborhood canvas and asked for the help of the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigations. While conducting interviews, police found out that Christopher Watts had been having an affair with a work colleague, the affidavit said. The affidavit did not name the individual with whom he was allegedly involved.

Watts 's father spoke to him while he was in custody. At that point, "Chris said he would tell the truth after speaking to his dad," the affidavit said. Watts then told police again he had told Shanann he wanted a separation, but then "walked downstairs for a moment and returned to his bedroom..." Watts told police that he looked at the image on the video baby monitor on Shanann's nightstand and "observed Bella 'sprawled' out on her bed and blue, and Shanann actively strangling Celeste." He told police he strangled his wife after he "went into a rage."

He then told police he loaded all three bodies into the backseat of his work truck and took them to an oil work site, where he told police he buried Shanann near two oil tanks and dumped the girls' bodies inside the oil tanks, the affidavit said.

Investigators went to the oil field called CERVI 319 and, with Anadarko permission, used a drone to search the property. They found a bed sheet matching those found in the Watts home and evidence of disturbed dirt, the affidavit said.

Watts gave multiple television interviews pleading for the safe return of his family.

Friends told news reporters that Christopher Watts had stayed at their home after his wife disappeared. Amanda Thayer said Shanann had confided to her that she feared her husband was cheating.

On Aug. 14 and 15, before being taken into custody, Christopher Watts gave interviews with multiple news stations. He said Shanann and his daughters had disappeared with his wife leaving her purse and keys on the table.

"I walked in the house and nothing. Just vanished. She wasn't here, the kids weren't here," he told Denver7. Watts claimed he and his wife had "an emotional conversation, I'll leave it at that."

The Watts family had undergone financial difficulties, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2015.

The family had moved to Colorado from Moore County, North Carolina, according to television reports. Chris Watts was remembered by a retired former high school teacheras "the smartest student in the class" with "a photographic memory."

Public records showed the family had financial difficulties, including a bankruptcy in 2015, when the couple reported they were $448,000 in debt. Shanann had been previously married and had used the name Shanann King. The couple owned a house in Belmont, west of Charlotte, which Shanann had bought in 2009. The couple were married in North Carolina in 2012. According to the Denver Post, the new owner, Byron Falls said the Watts's were in a hurry to sell and left all the furniture behind.

The couple lived in Broomfield for a year, then in 2013 bought a newly constructed five-bedroom, 4,177 sq. ft. home at 2825 Saratoga Trail for $399,000.

They were also sued by their homeowner association, Wyndham Hill Master Association Inc., in July, 2018.

• Related: Chris Watts Trial Documents Released
• Related: Chris Watts' Mistress Went To Police Before His Arrest
• Related: Chris Watts Pleads Guilty: Avoids Death Penalty

• Related: Colo. Dad Blames Wife For Girls' Deaths, Says He Killed Her In Rage: Cops
• Related: Death Penalty Possible For Colorado Dad: Judge
• Related: Chris Watts 2012 Video May Hold Clues To Killings Motive: WATCH
• Related: Vigil Held For Slain Pregnant Frederick Woman, 2 Girls
• Related: Colo. Girls May Have Been Strangled, Court DNA Filing Suggests
• Related: Frederick Couple Faced Economic Pressure, Had Filed Bankruptcy
• Related: Christopher Watts Was "Smartest Student:" Former NC Teacher
• Related: 5 Fast Facts About Homicide Of Shanann Watts And 2 Daughters
• Related: Bodies Found On Anadarko Property May Be Missing Children, 3, 4

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