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Tag: pregnancy

The Moment Kessinger Finds out about the Pregnancy: Do you believe Lifetime Movie’s Dramatization?

February 1, 2020 / / 1 Comment

52.25 into the Lifetime movie we see a dramatization of Kessinger finding out Shan’ann was pregnant. After cutting to a close-up of Kessinger’s eyes peering at a computer screen we hear a voiceover from a reporter saying:

“Shan’ann is fifteen weeks pregnant. I know this may be a tough question, but did you guys get into an argument before she left or anything…?”

Watts answers:

“It wasn’t like an argument or anything. It was like an emotioonal conversation…”

The actual moment a similar question was asked was at the very end of the Sermon on the Porch, basically 15 minutes into it.

Listen a clip of that moment here.

In the dramatization Kessinger is shocked. Scene cuts to her calling Watts that night and him saying the child isn’t his.

A few obvious problems with this scene:

1. Kessinger was likely at work when the news footage first aired, whereas the zoomed-in scene suggests she’s at home. Although the TCRS position was initially that Kessinger had to have known about the pregnancy all along, this position changed in late 2018 to one where she found out about the pregnancy on Monday afternoon or Monday night [when Watts told her the baby was not his], or very early on Tuesday morning after additional internet searches. Fullscreen capture 20200201 190516

2. More likely Kessinger found out online about the pregnancy, rather than from television footage or from Watts. It’s unlikely the clip where a baby is mentioned actually even made it into the news reporting. It’s an open question whether Kessinger ultimately found out the truth about the pregnancy via Facebook or on the news. One good reason to believe she didn’t find out via Facebook is because Kessinger herself wasn’t on Facebook. The first report of Shan’ann missing – and that she was pregnant – was this one on Facebook.

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The first online news report was from KDVR[Fox Denver] published late Tuesday morning:

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This timeline corresponds to Kessinger’s marathon internet search starting at Tuesday noon for news.Fullscreen capture 20200201 185607

3. In a recent documentary, Agent Tammy Lee said law enforcement watched the Sermon on the Porch at approximately 17:00 on Tuesday afternoon. It’s unlikely Kessinger – who was at the center of things – would have found out was going on when everyone else did, including law enforcement.

4. Kessinger was already actively Googling for news about Shan’ann starting at midnight  on Monday and – as mentioned – around noon on Tuesday. It’s likely during these searches she would have discovered news of the “pregnant mother” missing as early as Monday afternoon or as late as Tuesday at around noon.

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Clearly by 17:00 on Tuesday the penny began to drop for Kessinger that Shan’ann and the kids were in real trouble, and if they were, she was because she suspected – rightly – that Watts was involved, and why he was involved.

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The moment dramatized of the adulterers discussing the pregnancy likely didn’t happen on Ceecee’s bed, nor the bed in the basement, but the bed in the main bedroom. We know that by Tuesday Watts had put new sheets and pillow covers on the bed in the main bedroom, and also laid on that bed.

The conversation with Kessinger on the matress probably took place late on Monday night, and lasted 51 minutes, but there was also a second call at 02:07 early on Tuesday morning.Fullscreen capture 20200201 192916

Six of the Darker Aspects the Lifetime Movie Got Right  – Patreon

Shan’ann Watts intended to brand baby Niko and credit Thrive for her perfect pregnancy – but her plan backfired

November 2, 2018 / / 25 Comments

The ultimate test for whether Thrive really works or not centers around the question: should you use it while pregnant? Is it safe to use while pregnant or could it actually harm the growing fetus?

In Shan’ann Watts case this question was even more pertinent since she suffered from lupus, an autoimmune disease that in some cases can actually prevent conception and pregnancy.

We take it as a given that using Thrive supplements might have no effect or a negligible effect. But looking closer, even the arrest affidavit states that Shan’ann was not feeling well during the trip to Arizona.

In fact, the entire Watts case starts because of a check well-being call. Nickole Atkinson alerted the police not to report a crime but because she was concerned about Shan’ann’s health while pregnant.

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Atkinson had reason to be concerned on Monday morning. She’d personally witnessed Shan’ann not feeling well during their trip. On top of this, Shan’ann had a doctor’s appointment scheduled hours after her death.

Cut to exactly two months after the murders:

On October 12th, Watts’ attorneys filed a special motion to keep “health information” confidential. Since Le-Vel classifies itself as a health and wellness brand, and the Watts case is massively high-profile, it’s possible this instruction [or advice] actually came directly from Le-Vel.

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Watts’ financial situation is dire, but Le-Vel’s isn’t. So who is paying for his defense? Well, wouldn’t Le-Vel – the company that hit $1 billion in lifetime sales just a year earlier – have a vested interest in protecting their brand by controlling the health aspect of the criminal trial narrative?

The legal loopholes will be dealt with in due course. For now, let’s deal with Shan’ann’s intentions to Thrive-brand her baby and Thrive-promote her pregnancy and the speed of her conception. Is there any evidence that’s what she intended to do?

Yes, based on her social media statements, it was clearly and explicitly on the cards .

 

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Sounds like a fairy tale pregnancy already, doesn’t it? This was a far cry from her struggles to even have children once upon a time.

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Irrespective of Shan’ann’s strategy to use her pregnancy as a vehicle to promote Thrive, there’s also the reality. Are Thrive products truly healthy? As I’ve mentioned, if Thrive is genuinely life-enhancing, then this is the ultimate test: can Thrive be used while pregnant?

Shan’ann wasn’t the first promoter to be faced with this question. One woman posted a query in September 2015.

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Another in late 2017 expressed concern that she was 17 weeks pregnant and still losing weight because of the product.

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But what was a doctor’s advice likely to be?

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Apparently, Shan’ann had sought advice from her own doctor, based on these posts:

She hashtags both posts #DoctorApproved [implying but not saying directly that Thrive is approved by her doctor for pregnancy], but we see her wearing a patch so it must be, right? In the post on the left above #DoctorApproved she admits she’s “Not doing #burn!”

So evidently she has been advised, and has been advised not to use certain products after all. But was it really just certain products, or was she told, in lieu of her lupus, better be safe than sorry and stay away from Thrive completely in order to insure a healthy pregnancy?

We know that Shan’ann’s dizzy product promotion in July and August dropped precipitously, so if she intended to brand Niko a Thrive baby, something changed a few weeks into her pregnancy. There was definitely a shift in momentum, a reverse swing of the pendulum.

Over the last 7 months of her life the final 2 months showed the lowest output in Live videos, down from double digits to just 5, and then 0.

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Apparently the same warnings applicable to Thrive are standard with another health supplement – Herbalife. Even Herbalife shakes are considered dodgy enough to require a doctor’s approval.

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The advice from the medical professionals is pretty incredible. In order to enjoy a healthy diet one should simply eat a balanced diet. Talk about common sense operating as Rocket Science!

If Shan’ann had chosen to have a third child as a genius way to stand out among all the other promotors, finding out she couldn’t publicly endorse the product without getting herself [and possibly the company] into trouble would have been a huge blow. These health warnings would also have rung another bell, and one Chris Watts would have heard.

If Thrive promotion had to take a back seat during Shan’ann’s pregnancy, then their finances which were hanging by a thread were about to drop through the floor. And who would blame who for that?

A Thrive-themed Pregnancy – the straw that broke the camel’s back for Chris Watts?

October 30, 2018 / / 34 Comments

It’s hard to believe – Shan’ann hinted at least three times in early to mid-May that she was pregnant. On June 11th she said knew she was six weeks pregnant and that her due date was February 1st. This means conception was approximately April 30th.

I’ve speculated previously that the pregnancy videos were actually recorded on May 7th, the day Shan’ann snapped her husband dutifully mowing the lawn which is coincidentally immediately prior to the blitz of hints.

And yet, as is clear in the comments below, some of her friends felt Shan’ann had “fibbed” to them earlier, pretending she didn’t know she was pregnant [until early June] when she may well have known.

So, did she know?

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It’s vital that we know the truth about this, because if Shan’ann misled her friends [and there was no reason to, was there?] then she may well have misled her husband too. If she did, why?

I have a theory, but before we get to that, let’s look at the three hints she dropped in May.

#1: May 8

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#2 May 9

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See it?

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#3 May 15

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These hints unleashed a torrent of comments and responses. By the time Shan’ann announced she was pregnant in her two videos posted on June 11 there was an avalanche of interest – literally hundreds of promoters – almost all her key Thrive target market, mothers – congratulating her.

Just two weeks after the announcement [and there were actually several announcements besides Shan’ann changing her profile picture to also make the announcement stick], there was the Thrive event in San Diego.

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Where Chris Watts would have gone to that or not before everyone knew Shan’ann was pregnant is an open question.

Within the frenzied interactions were some mysterious responses from Shan’ann.

What did she mean by being nervous about being outnumbered?

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She inferred a leopard [leopard print clothing?] had something to do with falling pregnant.

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She was also concerned whether the third child would be as much of a handful as Ceecee was at the time.

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It also appears the pregnancy was either a change of plan or unintended, given that Shan’ann had given away her maternity wear.

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Within this bizarre period Shan’ann also posted an image of house in Mooresville North Carolina, and then posted it a second time.

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The timeline between May and June is also busy with Chris Watts’ birthday and several odes from Shan’ann to her husband about what a great man, husband and father he is. During this period it’s also Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, ironic giving what was soon to devastate this family a few short weeks later.

Shan’ann also noted in one of the comments that she intended to have a Thrive pregnancy, meaning, using the patches, pills and formulas to control her mood and appetite until she gave birth. She also said she got pregnant as quickly as she did thanks to Thrive, almost without trying.

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Of course, she could use the pregnancy to promote the patches in a way that would make her stand out compared to all the other female promoters jostling for social media support. And what do mothers like more than to talk about babies, baby clothes and the whole maternal narrative associated with the child birth fairy tale.

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But how would Chris Watts have felt about that?

What made Chris Watts STOP loving his kids?

October 10, 2018 / / 38 Comments

He seemed more of loving father than a loving husband. So what changed? Why did the children have to die?

On September 10th I analyzed the day Shan’ann told Chris Watts she was pregnant for the third time. This was a significant date in the Watts timeline, and if it plays directly or indirectly into motive, it’s vital that we know when the motive began to manifest.

A number of followers of this blog were critical of the idea that Shan’ann knew exactly when she fell pregnant, and were perhaps doubtful that she knew she was pregnant close to or immediately after conception.

It’s important to emphasize in this respect that Shan’ann’s her own person. Shan’ann’s Shan’ann and you’re you. Her pregnancy, her attitude to life, her personality etc is unique to her. In order to fathom the authentic interiority here, one has to look inside the developments not through our eyes but through her eyes. That’s not easy because it requires us to spend some time actually figuring out who she is.

That’s really the business of true crime over all, isn’t it? To figure out who people really are, and through that, to figure out ourselves and the agendas of those around us.

That’s also what True Crime Rocket Science is all about. #tcrs specializes in this most difficult area of all, human nature, and the unique natures of various identities in various cases.

When Shan’ann’s friend Nickole Utoft Atkinson described her as OCD, we get it. We know what OCD means, and we think that explains what sort of person Shan’ann was. But does it?

https://youtu.be/CIrN1TbQ6_A?t=215

What does it means to be OCD about one’s pregnancy?

Shan’ann found out she was pregnant with Bella, her firstborn, on April 16th 2003. Bella was born on December 17th, 2013. The span of time between those dates is 246 days, or eight months and two days.

Another important aspect Shan’ann had to deal with in terms of her pregnancy was lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own organs. Lupus is an important factor antagonizing against pregnancy: it can lead to miscarriage and premature delivery in the mother, and heart problems in the fetus.

So pregnancy was a far bigger deal with Shan’ann than it would be for most first-time mothers. It wasn’t just about the anxiety of getting pregnant, but the ongoing tension of managing the monitoring the pregnancy in terms of her own health and the health of the baby. The OCD in terms of controlling the pregnancy was also evident everywhere else in Shan’ann’s life. This need to control while rooted at the surface in health concerns was really about controlling the fear of death.

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It’s not clear whether Bella was born prematurely, but what is clear is that Shan’ann knew very, very early on in her first pregnancy when she fell pregnant. At most she became aware of it less than 4 weeks after the fact. If Bella was born prematurely, which is likely where the mother is a lupus sufferer, then Shan’ann may have been aware even sooner, within days.

It’s likely Shan’ann’s OCD/vigilance would have been even greater during her second pregnancy, and greater still during the third pregnancy.

The idea that Shan’ann was very aware of the timing of the pregnancy is enhanced by the blogs she kept in 2013. Not only does it show her meticulous record keeping, it also shows Chris Watts as an attentive and caring father. In 2013 he appeared to be just as caught up in the fairy tale they were embarking on as Shan’ann was.

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The blog involves careful documenting of each moment and milestone. This also sets the tone for Shan’ann controlling effectively her husband’s role in her narrative. She’s the active voice, he’s simply a bit player in her spiel.

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Chris Watts also makes his contributions to the blog, probably at Shan’ann’s prompting. Because it’s his first child, he’s happy to be part of her dairy. But how might these feel and play out for a parent a second time, and then a third?

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So what made Chris Watts STOP loving his kids?

There are perhaps two broad answers to this question. Firstly, in any family, the more people added to it, the more love is lost or redistributed simply as a matter of logistics. Each new person on the scene requires resources: attention, love, time and money. Each new person on the scene means fewer resources for everyone else: attention, love, time and money.

If any of these resources [especially love and money] are becoming thin to begin with, then an additional child could cause the credit in these accounts to run out completely.

Secondly, if the third child wasn’t part of his plan, if it was her plan – her scheme – then we can see how the fairy tale could begin to darken, and then unravel.

If Shan’ann was a particularly OCD and controlling sort of person, then Chris Watts may have felt that not only was the third child not his idea, but everything was starting to feel overwhelming. Shan’ann’s control over his life had become total, and thus oppressive and off-putting.

When everything was starting to feel foisted upon him, and he was merely a sperm donor, a pawn and a prop in Shan’ann’s fairy tale, where’s the fun in that? When he felt like he was drowning in her fairy tale, maybe that’s when his fairy tale ended. Maybe his love for his children changed not because of them, but because of her.

 

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