True Crime Analysis, Breakthroughs, Insights & Discussions Hosted by Bestselling Author Nick van der Leek
In POST TRUTH, the 100th True Crime Rocket Science [TCRS] title, the world’s most prolific true crime author Nick van der Leek demonstrates how much we still don’t know in the Watts case. In the final chapter of the SILVER FOX trilogy the author provides a sly twist in a tale that has spanned 12 TCRS books to date. The result may shock or leave you with even more questions.
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Book 4 in the TWO FACE series, one of the best reviewed, is available now in paperback!
“Book 4 in the K9 series is a must read for those who enjoy well researched and detailed crime narratives. The author does a remarkable job of bringing to life the cold dark horror that is Chris Watts throughout the narrative but especially on the morning in the aftermath of the murders. Chris’s actions are connected by Nick van der Leek’s eloquent use of a timeline to reveal a motive.”
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Is anyone aware of a murderer who agreed to take a polygraph before being arrested?! I don’t think the cops could quite believe it.
murderers do it often. they deny… deny…deny. They agree to take the polygraph (thinking they can beat it). Then they fail the polygraph and when confronted with the failed results, a lot of them confess. He’s definitely not the first, and won’t be the last.
Even after all those hours of being questioned, cw was still being so ‘polite’, never loosing his temper in response to any of the tough questions being asked (which would cause an innocent person to get angry), and it was like he was in a ‘people pleasing’ mode – for instance when the female interrogator told him how she had a hard time believing him, he acknowledged her in a ‘polite’ way. This proves a lot about his personality and upbringing – it shows that he most likely learned as a child to make everybody happy, regardless of his own feelings, like his primary caretaker (mother) suffered from bpd or npd, and that he is very co-dependant. Being attracted to a very independant, strong willed person like Shanann, and a narcissistic person like nk, shows the same. I guess that’s why he continued to lie, as he has been like this his entire life, and it’s ironically narcissistic – even though he seems to want to ‘please’ others, his reason for doing so is due to the fact that he wants them to like him. This reminds me of the video where Shanann tells him she is pregnant with Niko – his body language and words show that he is holding back his real feelings about it (look at his shoulders when he walks toward her in that video), and how he hesitates, and the only word he can think of is ‘awesome’. His will to please others to make them like or love him is so strong that logic does not mean anything to him – they could show him all the proof in the world that he murdered his children, yet he would never admit it. I’m not saying that how he is, is not his fault, as he is an adult and is responsible for learning about & understanding himself, but this is a perfect example of how parents affect their children (in reference to his upbringing). Also, I’m not saying that every child who grew up with an npd / bpd, or parent with any type of personality disorder is going to be a murderer, but that this tragedy is a wake up call to our society: We need to learn about, and be just as concerned with our mental health as we are about our physical health. We are in the dark ages when it comes to the general public understanding even the most basic parts of psychology – it’s our job to learn more about it, due to the detrimental affects it has on our family, dysfunction that continues and grows like a virus through many generations.
i agree. I’ve always believed the reason he killed his family is because of how it would apappear to others if he left his pregnant wife and kids for a woman who he worked with. He seemed overly concerned with how he appeared to others . I recall a couple of times when he mentioned how other people view him as a nice guy. I also think he thought he would not get caught because he’s such a nice guy that no one would ever suspect him. And a lot of people who were friends with HIM did believe that. Just not the people who mattered, like the cops.i really believe that was the extent of his plan.no plan B. Didn’t work out too well.
ncam619:
I agree with you until the end, where you say about the cops believing him.
Before 30 minutes were up, Officer Coonrod was in the house with CW, Nickole Atkinson, her son and daughter, he said to Dispatch, “Rec 91…”.
91 is code for homicide.
After that, everything they did was based on that assumption by Officer Coonrod, a most excllent, observant cop.
Then came dogs, drones, CBI, FBI.
Doesn’t CW mention that his father had a drinking problem? People pleasing seems to be a common result of alcoholic families. One article of many speaks about some of the characteristics:https://www.verywellmind.com/approval-seeking-behavior-in-children-of-alcoholics-66558
“We need to learn about, and be just as concerned with our mental health as we are about our physical health. We are in the dark ages when it comes to the general public understanding even the most basic parts of psychology – it’s our job to learn more about it, due to the detrimental affects it has on our family, dysfunction that continues and grows like a virus through many generations.”
Well said, Anna!
I don’t see that Chris is telling the truth with his dad present. He’s scrunched into a tight little ball, but it’s still more cunning on his part. He’s pretending to cower, but he’s still watchful, wary, and lying. At 51:06 Ronnie sees a little of the bullshit and says “I thought you told her before – about the separation.” Implying that that last night was not the first time he brought it up, so he is lying – and Watts just keeps to his line that “I could deny it all I wanted (the affair) but she just knew” and when he says this previously it’s said with some degree of animus. She just knew. Watts never did confess his affair to Shan’ann. So a little psychology here – I don’t think Watts could ever tell the truth in his whole life if caught in a lie, and if he got caught doing something his dad would have a talk with him and go very soft on him. As he is now. It’s their dynamic. It’s why he asked for his dad, and not his mother. There are just some people in your life you can b.s. – and other people who cut right through it and sometimes it’s the ones who really see us that we respect the most, but not Watts. It’s his weakness of character unfortunately.
Dang man, I love all your comments, always loaded with sharp insight. I gotta go back and rewatch the clip you mentioned here. Ronnie does seem like a soft half witted pushover. Chris definitely strikes me a tad bit smarter than he seems. Still not a bright guy by any means but there’s an idiot method to his madness.
Thanks Fredgon – I guess it’s “me” you like the comments from! I wanted to say a little more about this dynamic between Ron Watts and Chris Watts. Chris mentioned on more than one occasion that his dad was his best friend. And, later on when Chris moved out and didn’t come back Ron developed a substance abuse problem – I’m going to guess alcohol but I don’t know. It’s a wonderful thing when you claim a parent as your best friend but growing up children need structure. That is the one thing they really crave. And, to be told right from wrong, and that there are consequences for their actions. As a parent you must often say NO more than you say yes. And it puts you in the role of the bad guy many times over but it’s how a child learns.
I don’t know how Ron Watts was raised himself, but I think he may be somewhat of a passive personality type as well. And I think felt that the way he could bond with his son was to excuse him when he got in trouble, and be the nice guy or good cop in his own dynamic with his wife. This is how Chris learned that if you just try hard and be good, you will escape bad consequences, but if you be bad you are excused. Ron Watts isn’t quite a George Anthony, but he’s close to that. So originally I was putting the blame for how Chris turned out, on Cindy (Watts) but I think it’s both of them, equally, and I haven’t seen enough of Cindy to really know what her parenting was like, but I can surely see it in Ron. And, I also have stopped all thinking that Chris has a personality defect, or that he’s mentally unbalanced, a narcissist, or a sociopath – and I have stopped all thinking or considering that Shan’ann might have killed the girls. There was about 2% left in my mental processes that considered it – shame on me. After watching these videos again above, I now see that the CBI and FBI agent gave Chris an out in order to get a confession. And I’ve always had the feeling that Chris is a little boy. Just because you can father a child does not make you a man. And he’s weak, because that’s how he was raised – to be favored, praised, coddled, protected – probably in direct contrast to his sister – and so Chris had to always appear good, both to himself, and his parents. That’s how he got by.
Yes sorry, I meant to say @sylvester, haha. Very interesting that you no longer give any likelihood that CW has any major personality disorders (narcissism being the main one). It’s one reason why I find this case so damn intriguing, that a mild mannered, passive man could turn a switch and burn his whole life down AND think he’s gonna go start a new one. Anyways, I look forward to more observations from you and the rest of the commenters.
It’s vexing Fredgon. Going back to NK helping him start his new life – apartment hunting, encouraging him to get a place near his ex so that his girls could share them, staying within his supposed budget, trying to get him to get a grip on his financial situation – and all along he had no intentions of doing things the responsible way. I entertained the idea initially that he could be sociopathic since he expressed no emotion over his family missing or that there was something off about him that could be indicative of a mental disorder but no, it’s way simpler than that. Still the question remains – how could he kill his girls? (and of course when and where and how).
Sylvester I keep coming to the conclusion that Chris Watts is actually a covert narcissist, maybe coupled with a few other mental disorders as well. But what stands out is covert narc or introverted narc. I have dealt with one first hand and he is one to a tee. Almost no one would know they are as they hide it well. Spending their lives mimicking normal human behaviors off people close to them. That’s why they mostly appear to be normal because they watch and mimic how to behave and act. They appear to their community as ‘well mannered well liked people who even help others and do charity etc. Once Chris googled ‘what does it feel like to love someone’. He literally had no idea that he googled it. That right there is a massive sign. But at the heart of it they don’t love they don’t care. They don’t have true feelings or emotions like most folk do. And they know it hence the introvert ways and quiet demeanor because they know there’s something wrong and they hate themselves for it. But ‘it’s always everyone else’s fault’. Hence why that type of personality disorder is often referred to as the most dangerous type and capable of committing the perfect murder. Because they commit their abuse over many years causing their loved ones to go mad and even suicidal. Obviously Chris wasn’t smart enough to commit the perfect murder. Quite the contrary but alas he still tried. .
Some easy reading for you:
https://crimerocket.com/2019/01/01/chris-watts-is-a-narcissistic-psychopath-now-find-out-what-you-are/
“Hence why that type of personality disorder is often referred to as the most dangerous type and capable of committing the perfect murder. Because they commit their abuse over many years causing their loved ones to go mad and even suicidal.” >>>So Chris Watts committed his abuse over many years? Is that why Shan’ann wanted to stay married to him? What exactly was his abuse over the years? Can you provide a few specific examples? Shan’ann posted hundreds of videos and photos, and also spoke often about her husband in social media. Do you think you could provide some specific examples of Watts “covert narcissism” in action, on video or in Shan’ann’s words? Thanks.
The when, where and how. That’s what we all want to know. I’m not sure I’ve ever followed a case where the criminal is behind bars, there’s tons of info on all the subjects, and yet so many questions remain. I remember when I saw his porch interviews, my first initial gut instinct was “this guy is a freakin’ sociopath!”, as thats in a way my go to diagnosis for any person capable of such a horrific crime. But like you, I’m not entirely sure anymore. It’s even scarier in a sense if Chris is just a regular ol’ guy, who when presented with what he perceived as walls caving in on him he just figured, lemme hit the reset button. On another note, I finally saw the video where her parents are in town and the whole family is walking downtown Denver. I could never seem to find it. But I noticed the tension in that group was palpable. His mom in general couldn’t seem more distant and cold towards her own grandkids.
1 word: “lawyer?”
In part 3, Chris specifically says Cece was allergic to tree nuts, not peanuts. He says “not peanuts,” so that contradicts the coroners report. Its frustrating that we have no idea where the coroner got that info. It’s amazing how confusing all this nut allergy stuff was for everyone.