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Chris Watts describes the reason he killed Shan'ann Watts: "I just snapped" [AUDIO Part 1+2]



“I think it was more anger from me and more like desperation from her.”
After Shan’ann is “gone” Watts is in a daze. If he snapped when he murdered Shan’ann, he doesn’t snap out of it when she’s dead. He continues to murder her by getting rid of her body [as well as killing the poor children] and then lies to media and the cops about it.
So it’s a very long SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP.
Watts also says repeatedly he didn’t know what to do, but then what he does next is very deliberate. The drive, the phone calls, the burying, the dumping, the return to Saratoga Trail to hide the phone and show Officer Coonrod the ring…
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96 Comments

  1. Kaye

    Whether or not this is the truth, it certainly seems like a way for him to admit to all the killings but still be accepted by his family. According to Chris, he had a totally normal childhood, marriage was generally fine, but something came over him and made him do it at the end. It sounds like a “devil made me do it” defense, which his family can understand and accept now that he says he has a new relationship with God. I think that is all he cares about at this point—that he is still considered a good guy who fell prey to a force beyond his control. Takes me back to the feeling I got while watching the sentencing: hollow and senseless.

    • Matt

      Why admit to a horror filled version? He could certainly have come up with a story that reflected better on him than this? I always suspected the shadow on the driveaway was one of the children and I am far from a youtube conspiracy theorist.

      • nickvdl

        So you reckon this is all true, do you Matt?

        • julinka1981

          Difficult one, Shannan’s story sort of seem plausible – still undecided. Who knows about kids? Everyone is horrified but I suspect we would be all horrified even more if we heard he killed kids before SW. If he planned to kill only SW, he wouldn’t be able to get rid off Body and leave kids on their own. So it doesn’t make sense to just plan killing SW. Will wait for your articles.

          • Ralph Oscar

            “I suspect we would be all horrified even more if we heard he killed kids before SW”
            The reaction to learning facts does not have any effect on whether the facts are true or not, does it?
            Since he ended up with 3 murders and deliberately disposed of them all (and could have conceivably gotten away with it if only he’d had just one short week of not being pestered by Shan’Ann’s friend NUA), this was premeditated, with the plan set in motion Friday when CW made the arrangements to be out at CERVI 319 all by himself Monday morning.
            CW killed the girls Sunday evening after the birthday party they attended (likely through drugging them with Shan’Ann’s leftover Oxycodone and then asphyxiating them with plastic bags once they were incapacitated). He was planning to off Shan’Ann as soon as she arrived home; his outsize reaction to the news that her flight had been delayed suggests that this threw off his to-do list timeline significantly, but since the girls were already dead, there was no opportunity to reschedule until when he’d have more time to clean up. So he cleaned up really well while waiting for Shan’Ann to get home and then he killed her.
            The articles are already up – knock yourself out!

        • Matt

          No nick, it makes almost no sense, if he just snaps, why didn’t he snap out of it during the supposed 45 minute drive with the children just sitting there. Your theory makes much more sense than his, he just doesn’t want to be seen as a premeditated murderer, but I can’t fathom the motivation behind this version?
          Why not start it the same as this, but then say he realised what he had done and smothered his children while they were asleep in his bed because he couldn’t bare the thought of them living without a mum and knowing what they’re dad had done, that’s a shorter snaaap. Why this gruesome version though, it defies all sense?
          Ironically it was listening to the audio, rather than reading the bulletpoints that convinced me he’s lying, when he said maybe shan’ann was reciting a prayer while he strangled her, hence the lack of defensive wounds, it just brought home to me what a liar he was.
          Literally the only stumbling block I have had all along with the logical premeditated and all dead in the house version is the shadow on the drive, I know many on here disagree, but I know what I see, I’ve slowed it, looped it, zoomed it, over and over and I’ve always come to the same conclusion. Apologies.

      • Kaye

        I honestly don’t know and the whole story about what they went through is incredibly disturbing. My only theory is he is trying to make it as obvious as possible, according to his story, that he was not in his right mind. He makes it seem like he couldn’t even believe what he was doing; it’s all like a nightmare—like he said on the porch, a nightmare he can’t wake up from. Seems like he wants to make us all believe that he passively walked through all the events of murdering everyone and just couldn’t “think.”

  2. Tracey 14

    So, now the “devil” who made him do it isn’t only Shanann but NK. Sounds like he is claiming he was “possessed” by his interactions with NK and combined with his unhappy marriage was the catalyst for “snapping” that night and wiping out his whole family. Maybe CW is doing what he thinks is damage control with this new version of events. Interesting in neither version does he take responsibility for his actions easier to put it on the woman. I am sure there is some truth sprinkled thoughout this new version but still we are left incomplete and far from an accurate account of what really happened that night.
    This new version left me feeling very sad for Shanann and what she was up against with him and his family. She never stood a chance. I don’t believe the children were killed at Cervi. That sounds like a story out of a horror movie. Could be in addition to the new bible loving Chris he is now reading Stephen King novels.
    He actually doesn’t sound bothered by prison life at all. The nonchalant manner in which he speaks, combined with the laughing and giggling throughout the interview is very strange and disturbing.

    • Sally D.

      I was thinking the same thing, Tracey, he seems as though he’s finally found his happy place. And I don’t really buy the trip with the kids either, I still think it would have been too risky for him to take two toddlers outside at that time, particularly if they were upset about their mother being wrapped in a sheet and dragged down the stairs. The houses are close together and the neighbors would certainly have heard the girls. Bella was very close with Shanann and I rather doubt she would have taken that whole scenario so quietly. As you said, there are probably elements of the truth in his story, but the conversation continues.

      • Donkeykong

        I wish the investigators had probed further about the loading of the bodies. Perhaps asking him exactly how he brought them out and which order. And why we didn’t see him carry either of the girls out on his hip like we do our own children. Nor did we see the feet or legs of the girls which we would have if they walked out.
        What would his answer have been then? I do not for one second believe shanann just didn’t fight back. Esp when he said he didn’t pin her down as such. ALL human beings would instinctively fight back if having the life squeezed out of you.
        ALSO, if shanann released her bowels on the sheets. Where is the noted evidence of that?

        • Ralph Oscar

          “And why we didn’t see him carry either of the girls out on his hip like we do our own children. ”
          That’s an unrealistic expectation, as CW was walking back and forth on the *other* side of his truck, where all we could see were his legs from the knees down. He *could* have been carrying live children and we would not be able to see it. Likewise, he *could* have been carrying their small corpses in garbage bags, and we would not be able to see that, either.

        • ncam619

          Imo he knew he was going to kill the girls when he put them in the truck. He knew where the neighbor’s camera was so it makes sense to me that he wouldn’t carry them on his hip for the camera to see.

          • mitzi2006

            He had to have been planning to kill the girls when he got them out there, (which is a lie, they weren’t alive) he was going to work. Where were the girls going to go while he was working? Even by his own bull story he had to have been planning on killing them at the site, he was going to be working. He just doesn’t want to admit to even that by his own story it was premeditated murder. I was disappointed the detectives didn’t challenge him on what he planned with the girls if he was going to work but they didn’t. I don’t believe he will ever admit to the planning of it.

  3. nancyjames3358

    Very interesting and surprising spin on NK. Wonder why.

  4. Laura Thompson

    Not buying it. He couldn’t keep his stories straight; he tried glossing over the details of the final “emotional conversation”, and what woman, let alone a woman in her second trimester of pregnancy, is going to carry on this (over a half hour long? 15-20 minutes long? Depends on which story he told in this interview) conversation with her husband on too of her? I call shenanigans.
    The only rationale I can come up with for why he now says the girls were alive on the trip to Cervi is that it’s as opposite as possible from them having been murdered early in the evening, before their mother even got home, which is what I believe happened. He seems not to want this to be seen as the premeditated murder I think it was.
    He is a special kind of creepy.

    • Laura Thompson

      On too* should read on top*, of course.

    • CBH

      “The only rationale I can come up with for why he now says the girls were alive on the trip to Cervi is that it’s as opposite as possible from them having been murdered early in the evening, before their mother even got home, which is what I believe happened.”
      My feeling as well. HOWEVER: Why did he add horror movie details such as smothering CeCe with Bella sitting only inches away, and Bella crying out, “Daddy, no!” Could not these have been left out??????

    • Clean Queen

      I think his main motivation may be to minimize the appearance of premeditation.

      • JC

        Bingo!
        There were some non-answers to questions asking if he had ever thought of doing it before (strangling/killing his wife). He’s mortified by the thought of anyone knowing or thinking he killed his children before their mother arrived home. But is that because he didn’t?

  5. graciefield

    Has everyone forgotten that CW is a lying, lie-telling, liarly liar??!
    Why is what he says now any more plausible than the innumerable lies he’s told all along?
    I’m not sure what his m.o. is in telling this tale in such gut-wrenching detail so that it inflicts more and even worse pain on the families. I can’t in any way see how his family would find this version more “acceptable.”
    If he’d really “found God” one would think he’d do anything to spare them and the Ruzceks more heartbreak. Unless he somehow interprets “the truth shall set you free” as meaning “at the expense of others.”
    So we’re back to…WHAT prompted him to make THIS confession?
    It’s just not as simple as “I was posssessed by the devil, but now God’s forgiven me, so I want to ‘fess up, ‘cause then everyone else will know I’m back to being the good guy I always was, and then, as long as I’m waiting here to die in 40 or 50 years, I want to do a bunch of stuff, like help other people.”
    Nope. Something else is going on. Now to find out what it is.

    • graciefield

      Clarification: As I said at the beginning, CW is not just a liar – he actually thinks he’s good at it, so what I meant by “THIS confession” is that it’s simply the latest episode of Chris Watts’ fabricating a scenario that flies in the face of evidence and common sense.
      But, still, there’s SOME reason he’s chosen to reel off this new tissue of lies.
      Maybe he just wants attention (from law enforcement, his “fans,” his family, and who knows who else). Maybe he’s sicker than we know. Maybe he’s actually still worried what his co-workers think of him, so is trying to convince people that dark forces were at work and therefore murdering his family isn’t really his fault. (why on earth he would think THIS fiction-fest would accomplish that is beyond me, but then again, CW isn’t exactly known for his intellectual prowess.)
      Will be interesting to see what happens next.

      • Shannon

        I just read 2 articles, one from Foxnews and one from People.
        I have come to the Conclusion, he is lying again.
        His words written in the articles, bare no truth what so ever.
        Rourke…… unreal…says he’s telling the truth. Press release. Said video showing him carrying bodies, don’t forget camera on other side.
        If anything, people are not believing this story.
        How in the F–k would he know whether he’s lying or telling the truth!

  6. CBH

    “He actually doesn’t sound bothered by prison life at all. The nonchalant manner in which he speaks, combined with the laughing and giggling throughout the interview is very strange and disturbing.”
    I think he’s probably content now with his Bible and pictures and food and phone calls home.

    • Tracey 14

      CBH, Exactly. He does sound content. Could be that he actually likes the order and routine of prison life combined with exclusion of the outside world. I do think this fits with CWs MO of being an introvert and giving control to somone outside of himself. Now it’s prison instead of a woman.
      It’s strange though, it’s like he is okay with everything. Doesn’t seem he was firmly attached to anything from his old life. He seems to have adjusted quickly and moved on to a new normal.

      • CBH

        Yes, it certainly seems that way. At this stage of his life prison may be for him “just what the doctor ordered.”

  7. Sideaffected

    He is totally deliberately suggesting NK is involved, little sprinkles or teases. Why? He says not, but then he blames the Metallica lyrics on her, she “wanted to give him a son,” she was gonna stay with Jim til this blew over , he wasn’t in the basement at 4:28 am…he’s making her look really bad, and only her. Why?
    Also, you can tell they don’t believe he killed the kids at cervi which they ask about repeatedly. It makes no sense and he forgets about Cece who apparently just floated to the car. The only thing that has me wondering is he says “don’t you have the video?” He said that like he assumed they knew more than they do. IT REALLY makes no sense to me that shit went down that way, but if you admit to killing them all, why does it matter if it’s at home or at the site? It’s very odd that he’s telling a very implausible story that actually makes him look WORSE than if he just said I killed them at home. No I drove them around alive with their dead Mom and were in the truck while I buried her. There’s no WAY that happened! So why say so?
    Hearing him talk about emotions was interesting. It’s hard to tell just by audio if his tears are real-there were a couple points I thought they were. But then when trying to figure out why his emotional landscape is different he says “I never knew-I never know why.” So he’s always known he was “different”. We just don’t know how and neither do they which is partly why they went.

    • CBH

      “He is totally deliberately suggesting NK is involved, little sprinkles or teases. Why? He says not, but then he blames the Metallica lyrics on her, she “wanted to give him a son,” she was gonna stay with Jim til this blew over , he wasn’t in the basement at 4:28 am…he’s making her look really bad, and only her. Why?”>>>>>>>>
      Agreed. He also says, “We had a shovel”. We???

      • Karen

        I believe when he said we he meant , we as in the work crew

        • Liz

          I had the same opinion, Karen. Thanks for clarifying. I really didn’t want to go back just yet and listen again. I’m almost having PTSD from this case.

        • CBH

          Ah, ok. Thanks.

  8. KerryA

    I’ve only listened to a little bit so far but things that stand out as interesting (paraphrasing): “it was like I had a blinding light on me when I was with Nikki, I couldn’t see anything else”, “it was like I was on a roller coaster and I just kept punching the ticket – I never got off”. Also, I believe he mentions a couple of times that Shan’ann had been making threats days or weeks in advance of the killings regarding her leaving Colorado to live somewhere else and him ‘never seeing the kids again’. Having raised twin girls, I still cannot buy that the girls were conscious/awake after Shan’ann s death and not in a state of absolute hysteria. Young children close in age tend to feed off one another emotionally; when one becomes distressed or frightened, it does not take long for the other to chime in. In this version, the kids would have been woken up early with violent sounds/fighting, they would be cranky and hungry – add Deeter into the mix and all hell would have broken loose had they found their mother unresponsive wrapped in a sheet. I don’t see how Chris would even be able to calm them to a reasonable level, nevermind get them to walk silently out to the car and get in with their mothers body. There were times I had a flu and locked myself in my room when my girls were this age (3-4) and my husband would have to take them out of the house to stop them from throwing themselves against my bedroom door wailing for me they would be so distressed that I was ill/something ‘bad’ was happening to me (in their childish understanding) I think those kids would be screaming and crying hysterically, shaking Shan’ann and lying on top of her crying if she was unresponsive and still. Regardless of Chris saying mom was “sick”, with no response or reassurance from Shan’ann, they would be hysterical and inconsolable. Will listen to the rest later – but really interesting to hear Chris own words and tone of voice, so much to think about. I am anxiously awaiting Nicks analysis

    • Ralph Oscar

      “I think those kids would be screaming and crying hysterically”
      Of course they would. Even if he could have concealed their mother’s body from them, they would have been asking a non-stop stream of very loud questions: “Where’s mommy? What are we doing, Daddy? Why are we going in your truck? We’ve never been allowed to ride in your truck. Are we going on a trip? Where are our car seats? Can I have a snack? I’m thirsty! Why aren’t we wearing shoes?”
      On and on and on and on. Because that’s what kids that age do. At top volume – they don’t have a mute button.

  9. Liz

    I’m still digesting all of this, but one key thing we found out, it points to why Kessinger seemed “off.” She is bi-polar. I never could figure out why she would tell him to work on his relationship with his wife and then turn around and keep him on the hook with semi-nudes, nudes, etc. Her whole behavior pattern … starts to make sense now.

    • Ralph Oscar

      ‘Kessinger seemed “off.”’
      It is entirely possible that NK pushed CW to try and reconcile with SW, but if he told NK that it was over, then NK might have given him an ultimatum – “Then tell her as soon as she gets home.” You know, s__t or get off the pot. Because first CW had told her they were amicably divorcing, then he’s waffling – she seemed pretty practical. If he was telling her one thing and his actions didn’t match (and they didn’t), then she’s completely justified in demanding that he make up his mind and start behaving consistently. If she really liked him, she might have that conversation with him; otherwise, realizing he was being inconsistent (and thus a truly married man) might well have been enough for her to call it off.
      Now, there’s a rumor flying around that CW got NK pregnant. We have no reason to believe it is true; it is apparently rank speculation. But if it were true, and NK discovered that she was pregnant, suddenly CW making his decision becomes all that much more important to her, doesn’t it? At that point, if she hadn’t googled SW, she would have and would have discovered that she was pregnant as well. Hmm…two buns in the oven simultaneously – that’s a recipe for disaster.
      Of course, even without NK being pregnant, if she discovered that SW was pregnant (oops blah blah), that would have likely been the last straw: “Settle this or I’m gone.”
      And CW settled everything.

    • ncam619

      I never believed her for a second when she said she told him to work on his relationship with his wife. That was BS and unrealistic. She would’ve said anything to make herself appear to be a decent person at that point.

      • mitzi2006

        Haha, when she said in her interview that she’d tell him to go spend time with his kids my husband and I laughed and said right, that would be the nicest and most understanding mistress ever. When Chris said that NK said she could give him a son I was wanting to scream you had a son

  10. coolgirlrocks

    I listened to the interview. A couple of things struck me.
    First, Chris seems extremely emotionally stunted. For example, he went with the flow, did whatever required for the “family” without questioning it, not even internally. It’s like this person has had NO life experience, was just living life without emotion based on how a person “should” act. He hated being filmed and put on Facebook, yet never raised a concern, since it was “good for the family”.
    He had only had one other girlfriend before Shanaan. He doesn’t really describe a lot of passion in the Shanaan relationship when they first started dating. It almost sounds like he just sort of thought “okay, this seems like a nice girl and she likes me, soooo……”
    It seems plausible to me that he was totally love struck by Niki. “Limerance” is used for the first little while of affairs. He was totally gobsmacked by this new feeling.
    Idon’t think he’s telling the entire truth, but I think he’s telling a lot of the truth.
    For example, he keeps referring to the credit card charge. The police never followed up on this hint. Did she RAISE the credit card charge that night? He talks about it so much in the interview, as the “turning point”, it seems to me to be central to the murders.
    Also, the police. I know they did an excellent job in this case, but they are far too buddy buddy with him here. They are putting words in his mouth. Laughing with him. I understand they want to build a rapport with him, but it seems clear they have done so early on. They are not asking enough open ended questions. They make assumptions, which he can agree to.
    Also, since he’s talking, they are not asking harder questions. Such as: tell us EXACTLY how you removed Shannann. Where EXACTLY were Bella and Cece when you were dragging her down the stairs? What did they say? When EXACTLY did Bella walk in? HOW did you put Shannann in the truck? She soiled herself? Did you wash the sheets? Why did you offer to go to Cervi on that weekend if it wasn’t planned? Why did you decide to bring them there? Why did you decide to bury her? When did you decide to bury her? Why did you take the girls, alive, to Cervi? Did you plan to kill them when you left?
    And so many more.
    What really struck me though is something others have mentioned. He seems comfortable in jail. He also doesn’t seem all that bright, despite his alleged i.q. results, and seems extremely emotionally stunted.

    • CBH

      Excellent points.

  11. Shannon

    With timeline, facts, and his story….don’t add up.
    He straddled her, she did nothing. Anyone would tried to get the person off.
    Trent Bolte and other girl must be hiding.
    He went from one Controlling situation to an even worse Controlled situation.
    I don’t believe any of this.
    I can’t wait for Nick’s writings on this.

    • Ralph Oscar

      “He straddled her, she did nothing. Anyone would tried to get the person off.”
      IF she were face-down, which is my contention per my backrub hypothesis, she would have been effectively immobilized. Remember, she had neck surgery – she had that scar on the left side of her neck. Because of scar tissue, her head would likely have been turned to the left. Also, if he had been straddling her when she was face down, he could easily have put the kind of pressure that led her to remark, “Get off – you’re going to hurt the baby”. Those may well have been Shan’Ann’s very last words, in fact.
      Plus, the only way she would not have left defensive wounds on Chris would have been if she were face down – otherwise, she could have reached him.

      • Ralph Oscar

        Also – left out this detail – Chris would have had the optimal angle for strangling if he’d been behind her.

      • Shannon

        Maybe a mistake. But she turned over for there 2nd talk he sat on her. She said hurting baby he stangled her while they made eye contact, she know fight.

  12. Sylvester

    They certainly don’t Shannon. I don’t believe the girls left the house alive. There’s too much dead air time between dragging Sha’nann down the stairs, going out to the truck, backing it in and returning with Shan’ann’s body. He says the girls were just walking about the house? Really? With the baby gate open and in the dark? No mention of what he did with Deeter during this time. Also he doesn’t know if he went down to the basement at all that night but again, he was helped along a bit by I think it was Baumhover suggesting he might have gone down there for the lawn and leaf bags. The dogs tell a different story, however, both of them alerting under the stairs to trauma, and cadaver. I have ten pages of inconsistencies.

    • Shannon

      I would like to see the 10 pages.
      Maybe he’s playing with the media.
      It just doesn’t add up.
      Now video of Nate saying on the video, he just saw him back the truck up. No people.
      I saw a loop video of the driveway shadow only one shadow.. A retired cop.
      Not that armchair person, I don’t like him.
      Maybe the cops in this murder are not paying attention to the time of everything and these confessions.
      Still people on YouTube are not buying into it either.

      • mitzi2006

        Are you thinking of Dutyron? I’ve watched him….I’m not even looking at AD, he had the audio streaming quite early and listened for a bit and said he couldn’t take it and stopped his feed. The guy who was gleeful on camera describing false injuries to Bella that had no basis in the autopsy report but the beginning of the audio was too much for him. He literally was excited telling them Bella’s so called injuries. I asked where that was in the autopsy and he blocked me lol

    • Maura

      Don’t forget the long list of premeditated acts online and off.
      Why did he search for Oxycodone 80 mcg and then delete that search from his phone? So many things don’t add up with his fiction story.

  13. mitzi2006

    This guy probably never will admit that he planned it. No way Bella who was so waiting for mommy to come home just strolls in and asks what’s wrong with mommy, then happily gets in truck with her body with no fuss. Nickole Atkinson said shanann was in a lot of pain, exhausted but she goes home and initiates sex when she has to get up in a couple hours, bull. Sure sounded like that fallout with his parents played a part in his anger with shanann. When he said before his affair he would have said him and shanann had a good relationship was a surprise for me

  14. Clean Queen

    Eek. I can’t imagine a scenario in which a man didn’t fight back. How did she go from telling him “get off me, you’re hurting the baby/me” In an emotional and argumentative conversation to begin with, to lying still and allowing herself to be strangled? In addition, even if she was just giving in, instinct and reflex would cause a person to automatically try to escape the source that was depriving them of oxygen. It would almost be uncontrollable, to reach up to Chris’s wrists or hands and pull at them…at the very least!
    In this very interview, there is much to do about Shan’ann’s feisty “Italian” personality. Mrs. Dominant is suddenly submissive? No way.
    I think Coder and Lee let a lot of the details slide because they do plan to come back and talk to him at a later date. I’d imagine they plan to re-gather go over all the evidence, and come back with more questions. They don’t want to turn him off or cause him to stop talking by being too aggressive in their tactics. They know that technically he’s doing a favor to them by talking at this point. I’m sure they want to keep it that way.

    • Clean Queen

      **Clarification in first sentence: Not “a man”, but “Shan’ann”.

      • mitzi2006

        He also says he was straddling her then says what she might have been thinking when she looked “back” at him…..he got her from behind and I don’t believe it was in the bed

        • Ralph Oscar

          “when she looked “back” at him…..he got her from behind”
          Backrub!

    • Ralph Oscar

      ‘How did she go from telling him “get off me, you’re hurting the baby/me”’
      This suggests that he was on top of her with her lying face down, which would be the easiest position to strangle her in – she’s mostly immobilized; she can’t reach him with her hands; and with her recent neck surgery, she’s far more incapacitated than even a normal woman would have been.
      The backrub scenario I envision remains plausible!! YAY!!

      • Clean Queen

        Haha! Yes it does! It is an interesting point. Not only would it be significantly easier to strangle her, it would explain her inability to fight back. That position would take some of the intimacy out of the murder, which seems particularly reasonable given that Chris was so non confrontational. Granted, given all that, I am more apt to believe maybe he did do it at the stairs, and this whole story is an effort to minimize premeditation.

    • Ralph Oscar

      ‘How did she go from telling him “get off me, you’re hurting the baby/me”’
      This suggests that he was on top of her with her lying face down, which would be the easiest position to strangle her in – she’s mostly immobilized; she can’t reach him with her hands; and with her recent neck surgery, she’s far more incapacitated than even a normal woman would have been (less flexible). Plus, on top of her, he can use his weight in addition to the gripping strength of his hands.
      The backrub scenario I envision remains plausible – yay!

  15. coolgirlrocks

    Odd that the girl’s were not wearing shoes, and still in their pajamas, if they walked out to the truck.

  16. Sylvester

    There will be another release on March 11, according to Bill Finley. I don’t know if this will be the missing pages or more audio or both. It’s just my hunch but Watts cannot tell the truth. He also wants to paint himself as a victim of circumstance. I was a little disappointed with Lee, Coder and Baumhover and their questioning. They didn’t allow Chris to answer some of the questions they put to him without offering him an answer or alternate answers. When I say ten pages of inconsistencies Shannon, they are just my notes. There were a few instances where he spoke sarcastically and also with venom. Those instances would be deemed “out of character” because we think we have come to know him, and I think lurking under what we think we know of him is who he really is, who is someone we really wouldn’t want to know in life. I hope NK is far far away from him and I also hope her father continues to protect her from his evil.

    • Shannon

      He can spiel any story he wants. Whose gonna argue the facts with him. To even get him to talk….killer….you have to trend lightly. They have to be treated like a child. They can shut down at any minute.
      There are many inconsistency in his story. I think everyone sees this….but him.
      He’s too eager to please, to talk. Who really is he appeasing. Parents, NK, Shanann, Rzucek.
      IQ of 185, almost genius.
      The whole murder is just too far fetched, his way.

    • Karen

      Sylvester. I heard Will say that but I thought he was talking about the Dr. Phil thing coming on the 11th.

    • Matt

      Interesting point about something lurking underneath that we wouldn’t like, it might just be my prejudices but i’ve always thought the tattoos and love of metallica (not just liking) were incongruous with his outward personality

      • Victor

        No offence, but I think it’s just your just your prejudice speaking…I’m an introverted woman with tattoos and a love for Metallica. One thing I will say: I grew up with a lot of rage that often got turned inwards. I go with the flow, try to get along with people, keep my cool – there’s a lot of passion, anger in heavy metal: perhaps this genre appeals to people who [outwardly at least] are seen as shy and peaceful amongst others.

        • nickvdl

          Yeah it’s the opposite. There is a clear relationship between introversion and tattoos/Metallica. I discuss this aspect in detail in the earlier narratives dealing with issues of identity.

  17. Karen

    You’ve nailed it, Nick. I was so happy that they asked him about why he got into the car when he went in the garage, but, Alas
    he didn’t know. No shock there

  18. JC

    So his IQ scores were 130-140? Did they test him twice? I think I would because that level of intelligence seems rather high, actually unbelievable, for somebody as inarticulate and vague in his recollection of events.

    • Shannon

      135 IQ…….genius
      ?

      • JC

        If it’s anywhere close to accurate I underestimated his ability to pull something like this off.

        • Shannon

          Depends on the test. There are so many out there. I’m sure there isn’t just one for everyone.
          He’s a studier person. Reading, listening. They say he was smart at work.
          Just not in crime.
          I can’t fathom, his story being true.
          I have read before in murders, kids people pleading for there lives.
          Shanann not responding to being strangled…is very wierd.
          Bella seeing everything, is just terrible and then dying herself.
          If this is what really happened.

    • Laura Thompson

      It seems mighty high to me, too. That said, if it’s the same or similar to the IQ test my aunt administered to me when she was studying for her Master’s in educational psychology, there are two portions: verbal and performance. The performance portion tests one’s sort of “mechanical” abilities, and he might have nailed that pretty well. The score is a combination of the two portions. Still, I don’t think his IQ is really that high.
      I loved it when Tammy asked him, “Is that high?”, as though a CBI agent would have no knowledge of IQ tests or scores or what’s above average. However, did anyone else notice that she completely misunderstood the part where Nikki was supposed to have been asking him questions over text to verify that it was really him she was speaking with? I was surprised when that went uncorrected, either by Watts himself or by Grahm or Dave.

  19. Karen

    I believe when he said we he meant , we as in the work crew. I didn’t buy a lot of his bs either. The leading and finishing his answers for him did no one any favors. I felt as though whenever he was giving a b.s. answer he started with the like, like, like again. I still think he premeditated it but I am happy about him saying he didn’t feel belittled by Shan’ann. The least he could have done was clear her of killing the girls.

  20. JuJuBee

    He’s still blaming Shan’ann, oh noes his wife threatened to take his kids away. Also saying she just kept still and didn’t fight for her life. That’s a whopper. (Is it her fault then, that he didn’t stop?) She was pregnant, very tired, not feeling well, but Shan’ann would’ve fought back. Anyone would, just on instinct, to fight for their life. If she didn’t fight it was because her arms were pinned down by his knees when he sat on her pregnant belly. (At that point she must’ve realized she was in big trouble.)
    And now he says he regrets the affair with NK and he misses his family. “Gee, I had a great family and I threw it all away. Gosh I wish I hadn’t had that love affair.” Still concerned only with himself and the effect the murders have had on him. Poor Chris.

    • Ralph Oscar

      “Shan’ann would’ve fought back. Anyone would, just on instinct, to fight for their life. If she didn’t fight it was because her arms were pinned down by his knees when he sat on her pregnant belly. (At that point she must’ve realized she was in big trouble.)”
      Far more likely that she was face down.
      Back rub.

  21. Donkeykong

    Let not forget Chris didn’t want this to go to trial “so no one had to look at crime scene pictures and go through more trauma” how thoughtful of him to spare those in pain. Eye roll.
    No Chris. You didn’t want a trial because you knew the world would see all the evidence on a platter and see the horror that you premeditated and created for Shanann Bella and Celeste. ALL the details and evidence would have been shown and you would have likely ended up with a death sentence for lodging a not guilty plea,
    ….but you can’t be seen as a monster and you certainly can’t die over this. You did want a new life after all right?

  22. Karen

    He’s still lying, blaming Shan’ann for his parents not going to their wedding. Blaming mysterious forces for him not being able to stop himself from killing her or for not being able to stay away from Kessinger. Please. He kept saying he had no control, he didn’t remember, he doesn’t know. He will never tell the truth or take responsibility for the total destruction he has left behind and the people he has destroyed.

  23. Charles Edison

    The debit card is absurd. Why if you had to pay the sitter cash would you not make one Atm trip for $100? The ATM at the gas station is close to the SECOND lazy dog they went to that night. So no need to use the debit card twice only once. Yet he chose to pay for dinner with debit . This gives a motive for a fight. Also what is with the McDonalds footage and Home Depot footage requests? Is it possible Kessinger was with him at Home Depot? The evidence log mentions store footage and line footage. Something is terribly wrong. Also the test questions that Kessinger gave Chris when he texted her after murders. She probably thought the police had his phone not His wife.

    • JC

      Wow, you’re right about the text messages from Kessinger after the murders. If she thought Shan’ann had the phone, why ask Deeter’s name? Not a test question for his wife. Thanks for pointing that out.
      I also remembered Kessinger’s answer to the detective when asked her opinion about what she thought happened that night. She thought one of the girls probably walked in and saw what he was doing (didn’t she specifically say Bella? Can’t remember exactly.) A coincidence like hat would interest investigators after hearing this version of events from Chris. After the Kelsey Berreth murder in CO, and the heavy involvement of the girlfriend, they’d likely take a second look at Kessinger.

      • nickvdl

        I seem to recall it being suggested that Watts was doing something to Ceecee when Bella walked in. I’m not implying it’s true, but I seem to remember law enforcement bringing this up with Kessinger.
        Early on law enforcement believed the children were killed first and Shan’ann second, and the District Attorney implied the same as late as the sentencing hearing. I doubt whether their position on this has changed. Mine hasn’t. And if you take that scenario, killing the children first, then waiting for Shan’ann, and killing her, it’s actually a lot more grim than Watts’ Second Confession sketch. You have to imagine him going to the birthday party, barbecuing and then in the home, with no precipitating factors besides premeditation, carrying out his pre-calculated crime.

        • JC

          I suspect they still think the girls were killed first too. I wish they’d asked him if any of the letters he’s received contained details about the shadow theories.

        • Sylvester

          Agreed agreed agreed. And so far I’m not budging from what you have laid out here all along. Watts just cannot admit that he with cunning and cold pre meditated calculation, laid in wait for his wife and did away with his children before she came home, her arrival delayed 3 hours so he had plenty of time to go into his basement, cage the dog, make his lunch and prepare the crime scene. He has multiple answers to questions that attempt to get at the truth as “I didn’t know what I was doing”, “I was out of control”, etc. There are simple questions that are thrown at him too – regarding if he planted the phone and watch and when he threw out the sheet and why he opened the car door of the Lexus – did he put something in or remove something – and what did he do when he ran inside the garage door and took over a minute to open the front door. All answers are not recited from memory, they are recited from a story about a made up memory. I wish we could have had video as well as audio. There would have been some most definite body language tells, but his attempt to make himself out to have dissociative behavior is obvious, and he picks and chooses when he’ll use it.

          • mitzi2006

            That video might be coming yet. At the very beginning of that transcript it says several covert video recordings were set up as well as covert audio. Maybe watts didn’t even realize he was being audio and visually recorded because he didn’t seem to realize on that wellness check that the officers had body cams on being he laid her clothes on the bed after like they wouldn’t remember they weren’t there before

    • Maura

      Until their last date on the Sat. night before the murders, CW had been paying for his dates with Nichol with gift cards so his wife wouldn’t have a clue. That night he said he’d run out of gift cards so he used his VISA that he and SW shared. SW got a Visa alert about the $68 dinner bill.
      Chris said it was for 1 salmon entree and 1 beer. He didn’t say he treated friends, etc. SW and her friends looked up the prices online and determined this was a lie. It was double the price and fit for 2 entrees and drinks. She could have contacted the restaurant and discussed the bill and learned CW and a woman people were served at that table.

  24. Charles Edison

    Premeditated for sure! The basement (where the router was located ) he can’t temember going down to? Really ? Is that why the dogs picked up your scent down there Chris? Scent of fear after killing his wife and unplugging the router! He kept it on to get her footage coming home. But no footage from router of door cam from her friend Nicole bc it was unplugged. Vivint needs router to store this footage. We know he messed with the router and alarms do he could stay with Kessinger every night and his wife wouldn’t know.

    • JC

      His IQ scores were a surprise to me. Not something to discount or ignore. Although those assessments are biased against certain segments of society, they’re generally fairly accurate. And as Shannon pointed out in an earlier post, some are better than others.

  25. Kaye

    Some things that bother me as I continue to process the latest:
    —if he is on top of Shanann with her looking up at him, why is there bruising on one side of the neck? He would have used both hands if he’s strangling her like he says he did.
    —where is the Ring doorbell footage for the time that he is loading up the truck? Wouldn’t the front of the truck be far enough forward that you could see the children being near or entering the truck?
    —why was there no evidence of fibers in the girls’ lungs? The coroner seemed 100% sure that nothing had been used to smother other than hands. I understand that the oil could destroy a lot of evidence but if fibers entered the lungs while they are choking and trying to breathe I don’t think the oil could have destroyed that internal indication.
    —he said he threw out the sheet where Shanann lost control of her bowels, is that the sheet in the garbage can? If so, would it not have been obvious to investigators what that stain was? Smell etc.? And it seems there was no evidence of urine? Not sure how that could be for a pregnant woman.
    —Rourke clearly said in the sentencing conference that Chris carried bodies out three times from the house. If he did not know that for sure, how could he state that as fact?
    It really seems like they are trying to shut down all the conspiracy talk and interest. But I think this has stirred up even more confusion for everyone!
    I did not think some of the overt chumminess from the investigators was appropriate. To sit there and laugh with Chris about things he discussed during the polygraph and confession seemed super weird. I agree that they did not push him on details that could test his latest story. This latest story brings up so many more questions they could have asked, like what was it that put NK on a “ledge”? He says NK went to the house one time only which contradicts her interviews. What was he feeling in NC when visiting and why was he being standoffish then? Why reject sex with Shanann for weeks and then give in on the morning he happens to murder her? And so on…

    • nickvdl

      Some good questions Kaye. The overt chumminess is how they are “playing him”, and he’s also playing them. Ultimately one has to ask, who played who? What is the ultimate outcome here? It certainly doesn’t feel like truth or justice, and it’s the job of law enforcement even more than it is the job of true crime writers to pursue true and justice.

      • JC

        One thing I know about FBI agents is that they’re extensively trained and practiced in negotiations. Grahm Coder seems to be extremely good at the techniques he’s been trained to use. Negotiation is used in almost everything, from hostage situations to gaining information about the how/why of a crime. The techniques are summarized here:
        https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/business/never-split-the-difference/
        I recognized Coder’s use of the “late night DJ voice” and active listening, especially during his original contact with Chris in August. I don’t know if Lee and Baumhover are specifically trained in this technique, but I didn’t see a lot evidence, specifically the part about “silence” and letting them talk.

        • nickvdl

          I thought Lee was just as good if not better than Coder, personally.

          • Clean Queen

            Lee and Coder make a great team. They seem to balance each other well.

          • JC

            Yeah, I think they went prepared with a concisely planned strategy and managed to get him to be responsive. And having a female on the team is another effective approach especially for Watts, too. I was also thinking about Coder and he was almost textbook perfect when he talked to Chris back in August. It’s looks hard to me – to keep the focus on the direction of the conversation, using those techniques in a fluid way that feels natural and comfortable to the person they’re interviewing. I was reminded of Chris Voss’ book about negotiation and went back to it to see how close it was to Coder’s style. Voss was a high-stakes international hostage negotiator for the FBI in the 90’s when the FBI completely overhauled their approach to negotiations with empathy and emotional intelligence based tactics. That was a change they made in training agents after the Branch Davidian’s fiasco in Waco and Ruby Ridge, both big fails for the FBI.
            Every time they meet with him, CW seems to be just a bit less guarded. I think there’s a lot more they could get from him in keeping those conversations ongoing.

  26. Donkeykong

    Ok someone needs to calm me down. I stupidly just went into AD live YouTube. Tried to make a few decent points about the tv blaring and some other points of evidence that shows the girls killed earlier on it the night. and how CW is a lying liar but all of a sudden AD thinks he’s telling the truth all of a sudden? Cause it fits his shadow theory eye roll Haha what a pig that man is. He said take it up with the DA cause the DA thinks im right I picked it out and LE now use my evidence.
    He saw my comments of course amongst the many “oh thankyou AD you were right” fans, and singled me out and laughed at me. Scoffed at me and said I was a conspiracy theorist. WTF!? And said go to the DA with my crap. Umm I thought we all wanted the truth here?
    . That man has some serious grandious issues, badly.

    • mitzi2006

      You are probably blocked now, if no one responds to your comment they probably can’t see it because you’re blocked. He blocks everyone who asks him for info or disputes anything with discovery facts. I’ve actually never seen a youtuber doing crime that gets under my skin like that ass. He is constantly referring to him looking at metadata but thinks his numbered videos are out of order because someone took it down to look at,probably law enforcement, and put it back in the wrong spot. I’m not kidding he actually said that lol. He is really that ignorant of the basics of anything to do with data

    • Clean Queen

      The fact that AD believes law enforcement used “his evidence” and “thinks he’s right” speaks volumes about what a moron this guy is. Ugh. Agonizing.

      • Donkeykong

        It was a live video so the comments were moving fast with 400+ ppl
        ALL were saying thanks AD I love you AD you were right ad you’re famous now ad you solved the case ad. So mine stuck out like a sore thumb. I respectfully said should we dismiss all obvious evidence now?.. and I listed the tv and NK phone call and deleted oxy search and CW non confrontational manner etc. just to get ppl thinking..
        He read it out loudly to mock me & laughed an evil laugh, scoffed and dismissed all of it with no answer to the evidence points and then said well talk to the DA cause MY evidence is with him now and the DA believe my evidence now blah blah. I’m furiously writing back no! Wait you didn’t address my solid points and he scoffed me again said it’s not “rocket science” to see it, he berated me then called me a Chris watts lover. Unbelievable. What scares me is that he has 27000 followers who blindly believe him. He’s doing crime a severe disservice by peddling such crap. And not intelligently discussing all aspects. Did he attempt to have it analyzed by experts? No. He just can’t spread this crap as word without backing it up properly. It’s embarressingly awkward to watch him blow his own horn so much. He’s So insanely arrogant. I need a shower now…Urgh

        • mitzi2006

          All it takes is one crazy person to take the law into their own hands, he won’t answer to all of his other theories that are blown out of the water if Chris’s confession would be true. The timeline one, the shadow on the deck from Chris peeking out the window waiting for shanann to pounce on her, his video evidence he claimed their security system recorded and went to the mother ship lol…he has not got one single thing right but he’s acting like he was accurate on everything, he wasn’t

        • Shannon

          I did the same thing as you did on AD live. He ignored my comments and then I called him an A–hole.
          It put me on s 5 min suspension.
          Lol
          Some on the people tried to ask me questions, he wouldn’t let me type.
          Go on one of the Videos in the comments and put it out there.

  27. chipnanna

    What a bunch of BULLSH**, he did not just snap. This second “interview” is nothing more than just more PROOF that the REAL TRUTH is much worse than what anybody thinks, and I don’t mean just how they all died, that the public is easily duped, and it’s just an awful attempt at trying to give the public “closure”.
    I hope that there’s enough people out there investigating this case like Nick who are able to not let emotions get in the way of recognizing this case is so much more complex than they think, and who don’t get stumped by trying to figure out Chris Watts alone so they can figure out what’s really going on here. This case is just another example of how the public is so caught up in their own personal lives & struggles that our broken society causes that they have no idea of what’s really going on past their own front door.

  28. Jade

    The way CW speaks throughout the interview is disturbing. CW is calm, nonchalant and giggles a lot; he doesn’t seem disturbed by the murders or prison life. I don’t think CW and SW’s marriage was dysfunctional but CW was and hid it well. I think for the most part they had a normal marriage up until the pregnancy and her trip to NC then the marriage deteriorated because NK was in the picture. I am disappointed that the investigators did not probe him on each step, extensively, from the time the girls went to the birthday party, to the 111 minute call with NK, to the time SW walked in the front door to when when she was murdered and the trip to the site. Why the investigators didn’t get detailed and minute by minute replay is beyond me. Especially that 111 minute phone call. If CW had no initial plans to kill the girls why not get them dressed and take them to school? Instead he dis-enrolls them and calls the realtor to sell the house. I mean if his plan was to get rid of Shanann and be the doting single father why kill the kids? Because it was the plan all along. CW kept saying, “I didn’t know what to do,” but he was actively doing everything to make his family disappear: buried SW, put the girls in tanks, dis-enrolls the girls from school, calls the realtor to sell the house, cleans the entire house (to rid of evidence) and so on. He knew what he was doing and/or was being directed to do so by actively invisible hands, NK.

  29. Billy

    > I mean if his plan was to get rid of Shanann and be the doting single father why kill the kids? Because it was the plan all along.
    Neither the “I snapped” scenario nor the premeditated scenario works. More like a hybrid of the two. SW was not premeditated but the kids were a short term premeditation. He was designing that ad hoc plan as he was carrying it out.

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