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Tag: TWO FACE book series (Page 2 of 3)

BREAKING: Chris Watts Made a "Second Confession" on February 18 disclosing when, how and why

February 28, 2019 / / 160 Comments

On March 7th, Weld County will be releasing a small but vital tranche of information: Chris Watts’ confession. But didn’t he confess already? No, this time it’s the real thing.
According to the Greeley Tribune:

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation possesses documentation, including a written report and audio file from its interview with Watts. The information will be released to the public March 7.
Although he pleaded guilty, Watts never disclosed how or why he carried out the murders. Sources close to the investigation say Watts has finally confessed those details.

I don’t want to appear too cynical about this. Obviously, six months after the murders, this is exactly what we need – a genuine confession. But is it? Because it didn’t happen during the polygraph on August 15th, nor during Watts’ recorded confession to his father and the cops. Watts also didn’t take the opportunity to say anything in court on November 19th, although there seemed some evidence of contrition.
So what’s this? A change of heart? Have his parents – or the Feds – successfully appealed to his better nature? Or has someone twisted Watts’ arm?  Has someone pressured Watts in some way?
Bear in mind, Watts took a plea deal back in November 2018. We assumed then that Watts took the deal in order to avoid telling the world what really happened. We assumed he took the deal to avoid putting himself and perhaps certain people he still cared about, through a criminal trial. Have his feelings changed?

One aspect I consider a real possibility is the notion that Watts might be bisexual. This could explain his introversion and the seat of his dual identity and double life. On the other hand does it explain how Watts could fall head over heels with a woman, and then wipe out his family to be with her?
If Trent Bolte is to be believed, and since he’s already engaged with the press, and possibly even with Watts himself since his incarceration, perhaps Watts feels like “setting the record straight” about him being gay, so to speak.


There’s also Nichol Kessinger. Over the past few months Kessinger has been “implicated” in the court of public opinion as an “accessory”. I don’t believe this to be true, but for as long as a fake confession hangs in the air, a cloud will continue to hang over Kessinger.
If anyone could convince Watts to come forward voluntarily, in my view, it’s the person he said he’d felt feelings for like no one else in his lifetime.
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Watts’ “true confession” [if that’s what it is this time] could potentially help clear Kessinger, and if that is the case, it’s to be welcomed.
 

TCRS welcomes the opportunity not only to examine the second confession on March 7, but also to test the contentions and speculations published consistently here over the course of six months, and in the TWO FACE series, thus far. What did we get right? Where did we we completely miss the boat? How accurate are the hypotheses for 1. the scene of the crime, 2. the order of the murders, 3. the time the crimes were committed, 4. how the crimes were committed, 5. the actual disposal of the bodies and what that involved, and 6. the motive.
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It is the contention at TCRS that the District Attorney was incorrect in claiming “Bella fought back”. Her wounds rather than being defensive in nature were rather a byproduct of being forced through the narrow thief hatch orifice, and suffering damage to her jaw and frenulum as a result.
Of late, many in the public have grown impatient and begun the process of contacting Weld County with record requests. I made my own on February 20th.
So it’s also possible Watts’ confession isn’t entirely voluntary.
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The TWO FACE pentalogy is available at this link.

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The 102 References to the word "Alert" in the Chris Watts Discovery

February 22, 2019 / / 6 Comments

When I wrote the first book in the TWO FACE series, I was convinced that the cadaver dog evidence would be instrumental in solving this case. I was also certain Chris Watts made a fatal error in allowing the canine units into his home. This suspicion seemed to be confirmed by the loud barking of these dogs while he was giving his Sermon on Porch. I assumed those barks were the dogs alerting to cadaver traces. I was right. And wrong.

It’s true that Jayne Zmijewski’s K9 alerted in several places. But Jeff Hiebert’s K9 did not. For there to be “reasonable cause” to suspect a crime, an alert requires corroboration.  This may be physical evidence, or a second dog showing a strong alert separately but in the same area. If this happens it’s considered “confirmed”.  But this didn’t happen in the Watts case.
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In fairness to the dogs we have to acknowledge that in this instance the dogs weren’t just scenting for one cadaver but three, and making it even more complicated was the fact that all three cadavers occupied the search area in life, which had been extensively cleaned prior to the search. Adding to this was the possibility that scented items were contaminated by Watts himself.
Although the shoes of the children were used to scent off, it appears these had been washed and touched by Watts.
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Normally the brief for a cadaver dog is simple: find evidence of a dead person. In the Watts case the dogs had to identify the dead, and there were three identities to juggle in their noses.
When the discovery was made available, I made a beeline for the cadaver evidence but was sorely disappointed at how iffy it all was. Watts obviously had reason to be confident in letting the dogs in. He’d prepared and processed the house from top to toe. It’s not that he completely boggled the animals, just that he compromised the crime scene enough to produce a confusing and contradictory result. The dogs were interested in something, but they couldn’t agree on where. Nevertheless it’s a mistake to assume there were no alerts. The word “alert” appears 102 times in the Discovery Documents. Let’s examine a few of them:
1. Cadaver Alerts
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2. Vivint Security Alerts
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3. Transactional Alerts
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4. Chemicals/Drugs causing reduced alertness and impaired muscle coordination
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5. Ordinary Alerts [Notifications]Fullscreen capture 20190222 135848

6. Missing Endangered Alert
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What both dogs have in common is that they both alerted to the basement stairs. According to the discovery, one dog alerted at the bottom, the other at the top, or both at the bottom. The Discovery Documents are somewhat inconsistent and unclear on this information.

 

Two Recent Reviews of DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY by British Readers

February 11, 2019 / / 1 Comment

I try to be balanced when blowing my own trumpet with book reviews, by also providing a poor review, and dealing with the criticisms. This time I’m not going to do that. I do find it strange how the reviews differ in that some [a minority] accuse the writing of being “badly researched”, while others refer to it as “superb journalism”. So which is it?

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It is important to note that, as “Liverbird” points out, one should read the books in the order they are written. The theories presented in the later books are “built” in the first narrative, and tested, developed and improved upon as more and more information is analyzed, integrated and the overall case understood.

More reviews from British readers for the first four books in the series, provided here in reverse order. RAPE OF CASSANDRA is the 4th book in the series.

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Below is a review, also from “Liverbird”, on TWO POLLYANNAS, the 3rd book in the series.

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British review for the 2nd book BENEATH THE OIL.

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I sincerely appreciate the reviewer “madbmad” for pointing out how accurate the first book was [published in mid-September] even though the book was only read in February. It’s easy to forget what we didn’t know prior to the discovery document dump in November. THE MAN UNDERNEATH CHRISTOPHER WATTS referred to the “other Chris” and a “second Chris” two full months before FBI agent Grahm Coder’s interrogation was made public, where he put it to the suspect that there were “two Chrises”.

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More: The Tale of Two Chrises

For American readers, follow this link to read samples or purchase the TWO FACE series from Amazon.com.

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Latest Review of DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY

February 5, 2019 / / 4 Comments

This book was just so incredibly well done! To anyone that is interested in this case, this is vital reading. It walks you through the interrogation from many different perspectives. I found myself, as I tend to do with Nick’s books, reflecting on this case and gaining incredible new insight into what, when, where, how, and most importantly, why. If there are questions as to why this book isn’t released in hardcopy form, it really isn’t meant to be. The links provided by the author, (peppered through the book) when clicked on, invoke stronger understanding. Nick has such a brilliant mind and was born to do this! I’m ready to go back and start reading the other books in the series for the second time. I just can’t get enough! I’m hooked!

 

DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY now #9 Amazon Bestseller in Hoaxes & Deceptions Category

January 29, 2019 / / 28 Comments

fullscreen capture 20190130 045617DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY is the most expensive of the 5 TWO FACE books, but at 259 pages, it’s also the longest. It was by far the most difficult to write simply because so much information had to be assimilated, filtered, transcribed and then analyzed.

Sometimes when you analyze information there’s nothing in it. There’s an aspect to that in Watts’ interview with the FBI. Large segments of monologue start to feel like circular hogwash that doesn’t get you or take you anywhere. It feels bland, even boring.

What made the fifth narrative so difficult was not simply rehashing everything we already know. Instead I wanted to look for new information hiding [or withheld] in the discovery. I wanted to see the negative space between the stars and dots of data and see if something was hiding there.

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What was incredibly compelling, was approaching the FBI interview and the subsequent interrogation from the perspective of law enforcement. How much did they really know and how soon did they know it? What didn’t they know? How did they decide to deal with this guy? What was their strategy? When exactly did they decide to tell him what [or some of what] they really knew? How should they say what they needed to say to get him to start giving them something they could really use, instead of endless bullshit?

It was also weird how I initially regarded Agent Coder as the “bad cop” in the interrogation, and Agent Lee as the friendlier, more benign “good cop”. But as the interrogation goes on, Coder seems to soften, and Lee seems to harden. It’s amazing to follow and watch, and readers are recommended to click on the many links provided at crucial parts of the questioning process.

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The other aspect that was difficult but very meaningful was putting the timeline pieces into place. This contextualized the puzzle and makes many things that are puzzling or strange, less odd. For example, Watts seems to be one of the dumbest criminals in high-profile true crime history. But a cursory look at the timeline reveals an obvious and understandable reason for why he made some elementary mistakes. 

It was also interesting to see where the research took the original theories, such as the contentions that the children were murdered first, and that Shan’ann was murdered earlier in the morning, not later.

It’s taken a long time, and it should, but after five narratives we’re only starting to figure out the enigma that is Chris Watts. What I didn’t expect was for a psychological symptom many of us are [or were] very familiar with to reappear in this story. It seems all this talk of narcissism has blinded us from something else all of us know all too well, not only about ourselves but each other.

QUIZ: Want to Win Book 5 in the TWO FACE Series? See how many of these 10 Questions you can Answer Correctly

January 20, 2019 / / 9 Comments

The fifth book in the TWO FACE series is the most voluminous and in-depth yet. With each successive narrative we not only get to know all the characters and players more thoroughly, we’re also able to sketch and color the context of the crime in increasingly vivid detail.

5 months after the murders, and despite unrelenting and focused research, we’re still in the process of getting to know the criminal psychology of Watts himself. Although our understanding is definitely more intimate today than it was before Christmas, to feel our way to the real people, real motives and real circumstances of this unique case has clearly taken time and effort, and though we’ve made substantial progress, we’re not quite there yet.

True crime research is strange. With more information new questions and possibilities arise. Inevitably the basic arc of what we know [and the why] shifts perceptibly forward, but frustratingly, some simple answers remain frustratingly out of reach.

Please note if you wish to stand in the running to win the 5th book please begin your comment with: #Kindle. If you have never read a Kindle book, don’t have an Amazon account or don’t know how to download or read a book on Kindle, please don’t use #Kindle in your comment because you won’t be able to claim/download/read the book.

For more on this read “Why are your books only available on Kindle – and how do I get one?”

Some of the questions asked and answered [and in some exceptional cases not answered] in DRILLING FOR DISCOVERY include the following:

1. Why did Nickole Atkinson go to 2825 Saratoga Trail in the first place on Monday morning? There are two reasons to this answer, one of them obvious, but the other is not very well known.

2. What shoes did Shan’ann Watts wear on the airplane? Motivate your answer.

3. Name three locations for the girls’ shoes that appeared out of place on August 13.

4. When was the first time Watts was asked whether he [or Shan’ann] was having an affair, and who asked him?

5. When did law enforcement become aware that Watts was likely having an affair with a co-worker?

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6.  When did Nichol Kessinger speak to the cops for the first time?

7. Who found Shan’ann’s purse, when and where was it?

8. The colored object on the left hand side in the drawer beside the bed in the master bedroom, is it a kid’s toy or anal beads?

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9. When Watts was asked to suggest various ways of making someone disappear, which answer tied in directly with the way/circumstances surrounding how this crime was committed?

10. The District Attorney believes the children were smothered. Were they? Did Chris Watts confess to smothering his children?

The degree of difficulty for these questions is tougher than for the last quiz. The winner will be selected on Sunday 27. Only one comment per user is allowed.

TWO FACE DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY will be available before the end of January.

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7th Review of RAPE OF CASSANDRA

December 28, 2018 / / 5 Comments

The latest review, posted yesterday [December 27th], is the 7th straight five star review for RAPE OF CASSANDRA. RAPE  OF CASSANDRA is currently a #1 Bestseller in the Trial Practice category on Amazon, and #18 in the Hoaxes & Deceptions category.

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One reason, I think, for the strong ratings, RAPE OF CASSANDRA is by far the most voluminous of the four books currently available in the series, and for that reason it’s also the most expensive.

While writing RAPE OF CASSANDRA the intention was  to cover essential narrative territory, including the status conference [when the plea deal was announced] and the sentencing hearing. The idea was not to drill into the discovery. I wanted to leave that for the fifth book in the series. In the end, I decided to do some analysis from the discovery dump, simply because the books are meant to be the most current narrative available when they come out, so to not refer to the discovery in some detail would be a failure to do due diligence.

Unfortunately, dealing with the discovery meant sacrificing a fair amount of trial coverage and analysis. Even so, the discovery is only glimpsed at in RAPE OF CASSANDRA. The fifth narrative focuses entirely on the discovery; analyzing, filtering and organizing the information in an effort to make sense of it. That analysis goes way beyond the superlight coverage here on CrimeRocket.

RAPE OF CASSANDRA’s high rating isn’t bad, especially considering the string of poor reviews for the first book that have been coming through of late.

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Many of the complaints about the first book are from folks who are only coming into the narrative now. The complaint is that there’s nothing new in the first book. Personally, I don’t think that’s true, especially the narrative around the dogs which even the Discovery Documents don’t deal with in detail, and much of the information around the dogs is muddled and unclear.

When the first TWO FACE was published on September 10th, the information and the chronology was brand new. The power of the first narrative – in my view at any rate – lies in its prescience. The crime scene and execution of the crime was intuited and three books later, many of those original intuitions still appear to hold water. So the complaint that the first book was written “too early” misses the point – it was intended to be written early for two reasons:

1. To meet the demand of regular Rocket Science [originally #Shakedown] readers who have come to expect and rely on rapid delivery of true crime narratives.

2. To test and challenge my ability to fathom a brand new case while being mostly in the dark about many, if not most aspects of the crime, crime scene and characters involved.

So, to be fair, the first narrative ought to be evaluated within those parameters.

It should also be mentioned that in order to enjoy these books, to get the most out of them and the series as a whole, it’s important to catch the narratives as soon as possible after they come out. Besides being the first narratives to bite at the various cherries in this case, many of the links referred to work early on, but over time are sometimes removed by the original source. That is one reason why CrimeRocket exists. It serves as an archive of content – including photos – for the narratives to refer to, without the risk of them being removed months or years later.

Coming in January…

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“When is RAPE OF CASSANDRA coming out and what’s it about?”

November 23, 2018 / / 11 Comments

There have been a number of eager inquiries about the next book on the Chris Watts case. When is it coming out? The fourth book in the ongoing TWO FACE series will be available in the first week of December.

What’s it about?

The current narrative of the Watts Family Murders is as follows*:

In the early morning hours of Aug. 13, a doorbell camera recording Shanann coming home from a work trip about 1:45 a.m.  Chris Watts was seen on a neighbor’s doorbell camera about 5 a.m. backing his truck into the driveway and going back into the house and out to the truck three times, likely as he loads the bodies, Rourke said, though the bodies can’t be seen on the camera.

Exactly what happened between those two camera recordings is still not certain.

Rourke said investigators do not know the exact sequence of events, partially due to how the bodies were disposed of, but it’s not uncommon for investigators to have difficulty establishing exact times of deaths.

RAPE OF CASSANDRA investigates the exact sequence of events, from the time of death in the Watts home, to how and why a “normal” family man wreaked a holocaust on his own family, and ultimately, himself.

*Source: Coloradoan, November 19, 2018

Available early December 2018…

Cassandra

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