Watch Chris Watts confession video to his father, Ronnie Watts.
Colorado law enforcement released a chilling video in which convicted family killer Chris Watts confesses to his father, Ronnie Watts, that he killed his wife, Shanann.
In the video, which you can watch below, Chris Watts is bent over and speaks in quiet, methodical tone, not showing any dramatic bursts of emotion. His father mostly listens and periodically chimes in, also without any dramatic bursts of emotion, as he hears his son confess to the unimaginable. At times, Ronnie Watts puts his hand on his forehead.
To his father, Chris Watts detailed a story that prosecutors ultimately rejected. He claimed that he killed his pregnant wife because she “smothered” their two daughters, 3-year-old Celeste and 4-year-old Bella, to death. Prosecutors don’t believe that story; they say Watts killed his family because he wanted to start a new life with the mistress he had in secret, for one.
In this longer video, Chris Watts talks to investigators as well.
Bizarrely, Chris Watts starts the video by saying to his dad, “I don’t want to protect her.” After his dad asks what he’s talking about, he says, “She hurt ’em…and then I killed her. And then I freaked out and hurt her.”
Ronnie says, “So she started hurting the kids?” Chris tells his father: “She smothered them.” He says he was downstairs, and then came back up and they “were gone.” He said he was “talking to her about separation.” He added, “I freaked out and had to do the same (expletive) thing to her. Those are my kids.” At one point, Chris Watts says the kids were both blue.
Ronnie responds at one point, “Oh my God.”
Thousands of Documents Were Released
InstagramChris Watts with his wife, Shanann Watts.
The video release was part of a massive dump of documents in the disturbing case, more than 2,000 of them. The Denver Post has compiled them all in one spot if you want to go through the documents, which contain police reports, detectives’ notes, and even text messages from the parties involved. According to The Denver Post, the above video was recorded on August 15, 2018, two days after Shanann Watts and her two daughters, Bella and Celeste, were reported missing. Watts ultimately pleaded guilty to murdering all three in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
“Police quickly suspected Watts’ husband, Christopher, in their disappearance. Christopher Watts sat for an interview with law enforcement on Aug. 15. After failing a polygraph test, he confessed to his father that he killed his wife,” The Post reports.
Chris Watts’ parents were already controversial in the case for several reason. One was because they refused to cast their son aside, speaking out in defense of him. Another point of controversy came when it emerged in documents that Shanann was upset in the days before her death because Chris Watts’ mother allegedly gave their daughter ice cream with nuts in it after Shanann told her the girl had a nut allergy.
FacebookChris Watts, pictured in his mugshot and with his wife, Shanann and daughters, has been charged with murder in their deaths.
Ronnie and Cindy Watts have said in interviews that they wish their son had fought the charges against him. “I just want to make sure he’s doing the right thing,” Ronnie Watts said in one interview. “If he didn’t kill the children, I want him to say that and let them prove it.”
In an interview with ABC11, Ronnie Watts said: “It boils down to: I just want the truth of what really happened. If he did it all, I can live with it. If he didn’t, I want him to fight for it.” Cindy Watts criticized the victim, saying it was a “hard relationship” with Shannan, and she couldn’t do anything right.
Shanann’s parents have rejected those comments, saying to ABC11, “Shanann Watts was a faithful wife, and the most gentle and loving mother in the world to her children Bella, Celeste, and Nico. She was also the best daughter any parent could ever hope for. Shanann was a wonderful soul.”