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Tag: Forensics

Breaking: Interior photos of Chris Watts’ Ford Lariat Work Truck

January 12, 2019 / / 27 Comments

Chris Watts’ work truck has appeared on the online vehicle auction site SalvageNow.com.

Besides the exterior and interior photos, the VIN number 1FT7X2B67FEC57658 corresponds to that in the Discovery Documents page 614.

fullscreen capture 20190112 144542

SalvageNow.com provides some interesting miscellaneous detail on the truck:

– It has 74,472 Miles on the clock

– It’s exterior is described as “Caribou Metallic”

– It’s categorized as a fleet/lease vehicle

Watts’ Ford Lariat happens to be one of the enduring mysteries of the Watts case. The truck was used as an impromptu hearse to transport the bodies of his wife and two dead children. According to Watts, he placed all three bodies in the cabin portion of the truck, behind the front passenger seat. The Trinatich surveillance video appears to corroborate this element of his story – that all three bodies were loaded into the cabin for transport to the tanks near Roggen.

Yet despite the truck playing an integral role in connecting the one crime scene to the other, it appears not to have been made available to the K9 units [in terms of the interior], or if it was, that part of the investigation is off the record.

Far more evidence [or potential evidence] has been recovered from the truck than the SUV. According to the Discovery Documents, 13 separate items in the truck caught the interest of law enforcement.

fullscreen capture 20190112 143728

A few additional points that are worth noting:

  1. The truck was an “alternative fuel truck”, meaning it was powered by compressed natural gas [Discovery Documents page 814]. This raises questions around the red gasoline tank Watts was seen loading, and possibly pouring into the bed of the truck early Monday morning.
  2. Located in the front passenger compartment was a roll of black plastic bags.
  3. The front driver’s seat and front passenger seat were covered with canvas seat covers [These canvas covers appear to be missing from the SalvageNow photos].
  4. A potential DNA swab was taken from the steering wheel.
  5. In the rear seat were two large plastic bins containing various items including maps, paper work, safety equipment and work tools.
  6. Black rubber boots were found in the floor behind the front passenger seat.
  7. The front passenger seat is aligned differently, and with the backrest slightly more downward compared to the driver’s seat [in some images].
  8. The interior cabin and console is covered in a fine yellow dust.
  9. The dashboard console is fitted with an apparatus to hold/stow a work computer/laptop. Watts used [or referred to] this computer at CERVI 319 after digging Shan’ann’s grave.fullscreen capture 20190112 145551
  10. A disposable green cigarette lighter was seized from the door compartment on the passenger side of the truck. It’s not clear who this belonged to, as neither Watts nor his wife smoked. [Could it be Kessinger’s, Trent Bolte’s, Amanda McMahon’s or a co-worker’s?]

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The fuel gauge below appears to be around a quarter to half full. 49763002_10215224012408546_7046610090719182848_n49806311_10215224008888458_9012334175906168832_n49812730_10215224010368495_8165357807567110144_n49829585_10215224008648452_4147264908288851968_n49857681_10215224011608526_1791100297003663360_n49948336_10215224009608476_7792360208809852928_n50053184_10215224009848482_6415820222619451392_n50061169_10215224010088488_7534977808196435968_n50088516_10215224011248517_1082221223313670144_n50099182_10156036115938297_8983637467882061824_n50326156_10215224010568500_4031959287092740096_n

Thomas Mollett’s Forensic Report on Shan’ann Watts’ Post Mortem Blood Alcohol Level

December 17, 2018 / / 13 Comments

Immediately following the release of the autopsy reports on November 19th, I contacted Thomas Mollett, a forensic investigator, fellow true crime author and friend, and asked him his opinion on Shan’anns Blood Alcohol Levels. They were found to be three times the legal limit for driving. How likely was it, I asked, that these apparently high levels were from “normal” decomposition?

SUPPLEMENTAL

Autopsy reports show Shanann Watts, daughters were asphyxiated – TimesCall

 

Pathology is an extremely complex science, and many factors play into the biological processes that occur after death.

The three basic pillars one uses to calculate whether the BAC is “normal” or not are related to:

  1. the time the body is exposed to the elements [here time of death is a factor, unknown in this case, but with a relatively short window either way]
  2. the ambient conditions of the body [temperature, humidity etc.]
  3. circumstantial evidence is also a vital tool to gauge alcohol content, including eye witnesses, Shan’ann’s drinking habits, and her appearance in the Ring camera footage when she arrived home [described but not released thus far]

During our first communication I miscommunicated to Mollett that Shan’ann’s corpse was recovered after only 48 hours, which I guessed wasn’t enough time to reflect the high alcohol levels found. This was an initial error on my part; it took closer to 70 hours for Shan’ann’s corpse to be discovered and exhumed.

Based on this initial miscommunication, Mollett also believed the BAC level was likely higher than a natural rate [which as I say, was also what I suspected].

I asked Mollett to investigate the BAC levels and I’m grateful to him for doing so in detail. Obviously part of his thorough investigation corrected the original 48 hour error.

Below is Mollet’s unabridged report on the BAC levels.

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