True Crime Analysis, Breakthroughs, Insights & Discussions Hosted by Bestselling Author Nick van der Leek

How Happy were Celeste and Bella?

Someone left an off-the-wall comment on a YouTube video saying how sorry they feel for Deeter. He never seems to get any attention, does he?

What about the children?

This question is for the mothers out there. There are plenty of videos and photos with the kids in them. Do they seem generally happy to you? Were they normal, healthy children? Did Shan’ann’s autoimmune disease make her overly anxious as a mother, in terms of how she treated her daughters’ health?

What impact does social media addiction in the home have on small children, especially excessive focus on social media and selfies? What impact would the constant shepherding of kids as Thrive props have on their relationship with their mother. It’s now no longer fun and games, or spending time with mom in the kitchen, it’s the colder and more mercenary business of performing for and with mother towards a device – constantly.

My impression is that the children quickly began to associate the camera negatively. Just as children can be jealous and possessive of a parent, they can also feel their space impinged by the things that distract attention from themselves, especially the wholesale distraction which is social media.

The disastrous Christmas video is an excellent example of how this fixation on social media can spoil something as special and important for children as Christmas. Truth be told it can spoil it for everyone.

Social media seems to have had an above normal impact on the Watts home. It wasn’t just the photo taking, it was the extended videos on a daily basis, some lasting more than half an hour on a Saturday morning.

This continual distraction, especially of their primary care-giver, could have made them desperate to get their mother’s attention. In some videos one or both of the children are screaming, but Shan’ann continues recording regardless.

Another aspect is the napping of the kids. They both took regular naps with clockwork regularity, and Shan’ann often said they were napping while she was elsewhere in the house recording her sales pitches. As mothers, does this raise flags that they may have been sedated?

What’s your experience, and your observations? Do two and three-year-old’s easily nap together in the day.

Finally, well-balanced and attentive parents are better able to raise well-balanced children. Not always, but generally. Did an unbalanced family dynamic in the Watts home cause the children to feel more anxious and unsettled than they otherwise would, causing them to act out? Because of Shan’ann’s “health challenges”, did the children inherit poor health by default?

I guess the question we’re asking here indirectly is: Was Shan’ann a good mother?

Please leave your thoughts and impressions in the comments below. Additional examples from Shan’ann’s social media to illustrate your answer will be appreciated if you can find them.

105 Comments

  1. Pauline

    There are a few videos where Sha’nann mentions she’s sent them to bed for misbehaving. I know it’s difficult as a parent trying to find the right kind of punishment, but being sent to bed – I wouldn’t call that punishment at all. There are countless things to do in one’s room when mom is out of earshot. That was more for her I think, so she could do her sales pitches. But she also seems very put upon as a mother. Calls Celeste her little monster frequently. That’s not cool. Children hear things like this and internalize it. She also doesn’t let them just play. Bella do this, no no CeCe give that back to her, Bella don’t push your sister missy. But I think all of this was used, captured on cell phone and posted, to not so much advertise for Thrive because it’s not good advertisement, but to show how put upon she was. And as such, it was a plea for sympathy. Always needing the sympathy but showing how you can overcome the situations you have created for yourself in the first place.

    • Ralph Oscar

      All that sympathy-mongering about how put upon and exhausted she was (or should be) was part and parcel of her Thrive angle. With that many “Thrivers” in the area, Shan’Ann had to have a way of making herself appear uniquely positioned and more interesting than the others. Otherwise, why would potential customers choose to buy from her and not, say, NUA instead? Shan’Ann’s “friends” were also her competition, you see. I agree with Nick’s earlier assertion that it appears that Shan’Ann wanted her third pregnancy to be a “Thrive”-branded pregnancy, something unique to her that her friends/competitors couldn’t approach. But that plan fizzled when Shan’Ann learned (too late) that it’s not safe to use Thrive during pregnancy. Nick has two articles on this:

      https://crimerocket.com/2018/10/30/when-shanann-watts-hinted-she-was-pregnant-this-happened/
      https://crimerocket.com/2018/11/02/shanann-watts-intended-to-brand-baby-niko-and-credit-thrive-for-her-perfect-pregnancy-but-her-plan-backfired/

      What we do know is that, in the last two months of Shan’Ann’s life, her video production dropped to nothing, compared to earlier months where she was posting videos pretty much daily.

      As far as how that social media addiction might have affected the girls, I’d say that having a distracted parent is definitely a negative, and addictions definitely cause the parent to be distracted, whatever the distraction is. You look at the pictures, and they had all nice stuff. Very nice stuff. Surrounded with, drowning in nice stuff. But I agree – the obligatory naps at that age, plus going to bed so very early (those two typically do not go together) does suggest perhaps they were using something to sedate the girls. Add into the scenario all the girls’ medication. Allergy medication in particular is often used by parents to sedate their children, and in one post above, Shan’Ann’s complaining about Bella’s allergies.

      • Shannan C

        Shannon talks about giving the girls benadryl so they would sleep. They had to of built up a tolerance to it and were probably being given more than the recommended dose. I have had to take it around the clock for about two in a half months now for a retty severe allergic reaction I have been having to a n unknown something. At first two would take bcc care of the reaction and knock me out for hours. I progressed to eight and was no longer getting a ny sedation from it. It probably wouldn’t have taken long before t heir parents tr ied to get them a script for xanax or something like that so they would continue to go to bed at 630 and rake their three naps each day, one of which was a three hour nap.

        • Ab

          They had to HAVE built up a tolerance ( not of)
          And it’s not
          Two in a half , it’s two AND a half (as in fractions)
          Just fyi

    • Jill Cohen

      I don’t understand what anybody saw that she did wrong as a mom ? What’s wrong with saying “ give that back to your sister ? “ or no no missy ? “ I don’t think they needed any big punishment either.by the way . They were like 2 and four . She seemed happy being a mom and the girls seemed happy and just Like normal kids . I mean you can’t tell everything from what you see on some social media clips but it just seems like victim blaming ? I don’t know about the napping? I can’t comment on that ? I guess it depends on their sleep schedule? I know that her mother in law said In some interview that their mom gave them stuff for sleep all the time but I feel like I can’t really Trust her to be a reliable witness? If so that Part would seem a little bit strange but I’m still not going to say that the kids weren’t happy or loved .

  2. Pauline

    I don’t remember forcing naps at age 3 and 4. I was forced up until age 6 so I suppose I didn’t want to do any enforcing myself. I also got them to put away their toys at ages 3 and 5. Made it a game with new containers to put the toys in. At pre school depending on how long they spend there, they do enforce naps. In our household we were anti-drugs, sedatives, pills, sugar. I made their babyfood in a blender. I read on some anti-LeVel site that one of the ingredients for their powders and potions is caffeine. Try getting a kid to sleep hopped up on caffeine.

    • coolgirlrocks

      My son, when he was a toddler to age five, napped regularly. Until age three it was two hours morning, two hours afternoon. From three to five, it was two hours afternoon. He needed those naps and so did I, ha ha.

    • Shannan C

      Yes when my daughter was 3 and 4 she went to all day preschool and there was a three hour nap incorporated into the schedule. Drove me crazy becsuse she was always one of the first kids to fall asleep and would sleep the entire three hours. Due to this nap she was not tired at night and there were nights at eleven pm we were still trying to get her to sleep. Because she feel asleep so late at night, she was always very ready for nsp time at school. It was just a no win situation for us. So Idk how these little girls were sleeping from 630 pm to 6 am, and tsking three naps a day with one of those neing 3 hour nap.

      • Shannan C

        They were sleeping at least 17 hours a day. That is more than most two day old infants. Imo.that is neglect. They were being forced to sleep so much so they didn’t have to be dealt with or taken care of. Shame on both parents.

        • Darah

          She was abusive with an entitlement MENTALITY. Her kids were neglected. Poor kids never had her undivided attention. She was a hardcore social media addict and was constantly seeking validation. She literally thought she was too good for Chris. It was all about her. She was a grotesque mother and her actions were abhorrent. I would have squeezed the life out of her too.

          • jillkristina

            Just…wow. You are a disgusting and cold hearted human being.

          • emilyblack2070

            The only grostequeness I am seeing here is yours. You seem to have a fleeting grasp of reality, at best, and your thought form and content seem utterly bizarre. Get help.

          • Dana

            Agree!!

          • Eva

            You need to seriously self reflect.

            To end your pathetic opinion with “ I would have squeezed the life out of her too” already tells the reader that you yourself are a tragic excuse for a human being.

  3. Meagan

    My daughter used to take naps in the middle of the day. If not, she became irritable. That’s how we always knew it was time for her nap. She was about 3 or 4.
    I don’t se anything suspicious about these two little girls.
    Some parents are hypochondriacs and will pass it onto their children. I have one of those in my family.

    • nickvdl

      Did you sometimes give your daughter anything to help her sleep?

      • Winter Davenport

        I see a lot of individuals here pushing their personal assumptions and feelings onto the lives of complete strangers based solely on what was portrayed via social media when I think we can all agree, too some extent, that social media is rarely an accurate portrayal of what’s happening in someone’s world.
        You judge this mother for working but only because her work was done from home and because of it’s nature, is now available for the world to see and form opinion. I feel fairly certain she spent more time with her children than moms who work outside of the home. People seem to forget this, that she was pulling in a salary close to that of her husband’s. People also seem to forget that her video posts were rarely nothing more than advertisements for her business, hence, the ‘bizarre’ props to Thrive constantly woven into the heart of them.
        I see two very happy girls. These girls are well taken care of with their needs being met. I dare to daddy that many complaining so not know the reality of a child ‘actually’ neglected. Having worked in social work, with parents who were actually neglectful and/or abusive, the very fact that one would suggest that same reality for these girls, not to mention the other completely unsupported claims such as drugs is ridiculous and irresponsible. I sincerely hope your grasp on this topic has since matured.

        • nickvdl

          social media is rarely an accurate portrayal of what’s happening in someone’s world.>>>When you’re posting social media on a daily basis, of yourself and your family over a period of years, it does end up portraying something. But you’re right, the portrayal of a happy family fairy tale wasn’t accurate.

          People seem to forget this, that she was pulling in a salary close to that of her husband’s.>>>Actually she wasn’t. In fact on the morning she was murdered, her credit card was declined and her husband pulled her kids out of school and began efforts to sell their house. MLM is well-known for promising wealth and lifestyle benefits, when less than 1% of those involved in the pyramid scheme make any money.

          https://www.scarymommy.com/mlm-failure-rate-99-percent-lularoe/

          https://blog.usejournal.com/why-are-people-still-defending-mlms-c1d6ea878f83

          https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-likelihood-of-mlm-success-1794500

          I see two very happy girls. These girls are well taken care of with their needs being met. >>>On the night before they were murdered, Bella couldn’t sleep, and confided in her babysitter that she was worried if her sister went to sleep, she [Ceecee] would never wake up. This was more than a month after Nut Gate, an incident where their mother led everyone to believe Ceecee had almost been killed by her evil grandmother. One has to make a decision – was the family truly happy, or was the social media thing a fairy tale. True crime requires us to look further and deeper than the veneer, and not take the approach that perfect, happy people are murdered by monsters. Life is seldom as simple as that.

    • HILLARIE BETHANCOURT

      My son slept like clockwork. Two hour nap at noon up until he was 4 years old. In bed asleep by 7:30 pm every night. Never gave him anything to help him sleep. Just was very consistent with his routine.

    • Jen

      She stated that they slept 3 hours a day and then went to bed by 6:30/7.
      When they were at school, they didnt even get home until after 4:30. That’s really not much time for a stay at home mom to spend with her children.

      • Ana

        A stay at home mom doesn’t only take care of her kids, she also has to take care of all household chores, which can be tiring with two young children because you never have some time to breath or rest. Chris doesn’t cook so she has to take care of him too – something not uncommon for stay at home moms. I’m one, so I can tell.
        Some children sleep more than others. My boys unfortunatelly sleep poorly and I envy people whose children sleep more than 9h per night (it’s usually the norm). This my youngest at 2,5 years can do, but without a nap. Sometimes he needs a nap in the afternoon because he’s cranky, then he sleeps after 11pm at night that day. A nightmare. My oldest was worse though and I’d never survive him without a full time preschool. I had chronic fatigue because he’d never sleep enough. When he was 6 months old he’d take a 40min nap at 10am, another 40min nap at 4pm, and only slept at 11pm and woke up at 5am, waking up hourly to breastfeed. He’s 8 now and has been diagnosed autistic with a pda profile, and I see it’s common that they have trouble sleeping.
        So yeah I don’t think she was giving them any sedatives.
        I don’t like the way she treated her husband though. If she can treat him that bad in a video camera, can you imagine what she did behind them? She seems clueless to me. But she might have had some depression, and depression can do this. It can make people irritable, not only “sad”.
        Of course this has nothing to do with defending Chris. And I don’t understand how people can believe this moron didn’t kill the kids – if he didn’t have killed them, he’d be crying for the girls in the interviews where he says “please just come back home”. He’d know they were dead already, but if he were normal he would cry for his kids’ deaths. I could even believe she killed the kids and he snapped and killed her if after that he’d call the police, or cry for his kids in the fake “they’re missing” interview. But no, he had the cruelty of getting their small bodies and ditching them in oil tanks. Nobody normal could do that, seriously, I don’t care how much desperate he was to not be caught.
        So, he planned this whole thing. He probably killed the kids before she arrived, who knows. But he planned when he went to work to let some time pass by and then report them missing. Her friend didn’t let him go as planned, I’m glad she went to Shannan’s house to check on her.
        Anyways this relationship was long gone and they tried to have another baby to save the relationship? No baby can save a fucked up relationship, in fact they can end up one that was working quite well.

    • Shannan C

      Meagan but was she sleeping 17 to 18 or more hours a night? Naps are pretty normal, sleeping 17 to 18 hours a day is usually indicative of a medical
      issue, some pretty severe medical issues will cause a person to be tired enough to sleep like that but it’s just not healthy to be that inactive. That much inactivity everyday is supposedly worse than smoking and obesity.

  4. Seymour Glass

    Bella and CeCe always looked clean and adorably dressed. They appear to be happy children and well taken care of. Shan’ann’s home looks clean, colorful and well-organized. No visible home safety concerns from videos.

    There were two videos that did bother me though. The one where Shan’ann repeatedly squirts Bella in the face with water from a spray bottle on the back deck. It was obvious from Bella’s facial reaction and body language that she did not like it, and wanted her mommy to stop spraying her, but Shan’ann kept going. I think Bella, at one point, even tried to open the sliding glass door to escape the non-stop spraying. We then see the bottom half of Chris come over for a moment to open the door for Bella, and Shan’ann said something to Chris (can’t remember what) and he shuts the door on poor Bella.

    The other video was of CeCe (maybe around 1 1/2 – 2 years) trying to get water from the bathroom sink. We see Shan’ann creeping outside the bathroom door from the reflection in bathroom mirror with the phone up recording CeCe struggling. So many things could have gone wrong here. CeCe could have slipped and hit her head on the toilet. We see no urgency to drop the phone and run to help her baby.

    Another video was of the arrival of new thrive bars – cinnabon and birthday cake. Shan’ann was waiting with glee for Chris to arrive home from work so they can taste them. Bella was so hungry and I believe said so on video. Shan’ann kind of ignores Bella cries of hunger, and starts eating a Thrive bar in front of her, raving how good it was instead of giving Bella choice of bar first and then get a brand new one for herself. Then Bella got upset that her mommy bit into her bar. My oldest child is just like this. If any of us takes a bite of her food, she doesn’t want it anymore. Not uncommon for kids to feel this way.

    Shan’ann was a very good mom, and was a good person. She had the love and respect of her friends and family. There is no way Shan’ann hurt Bella & CeCe – No WAY!

    No mother is perfect because human beings aren’t perfect. She did seem to get caught up in Thrive to the point it became a little like a Black Mirror episode. I think Shan’ann got addicted to doing those live chat recordings. They came across as disingenuous, almost like she was playing a role of TV host on Food Network, especially the way she open and tasted the Thrive products.

    I think Shan’ann’s story is a cautionary tale. These murders did not happen in a vacuum. There were warnings leading up to that fateful night. I think Shan’ann’s preoccupation with appearances may have been her weakness. However, Shan’ann’s strength, and it’s a big strength, is her ability to create strong, loyal friendships. Her friendship with Nichole is the reason Chris is in jail now.

    If Shan’ann didn’t have strong friendships, no one would have checked up on her that day, which would have allowed Chris ample time to go back to the house and get rid of her personal affects like her phone, purse, etc. and go back and dig a deeper grave. He may have gotten away with it if no bodies ever surfaced.

    • piktor

      Exactly. Nickole Atkinson is the only reason CW could not get away with murder. She is the only reason police, CBI and FBI once alerted, had a full-blown investigation up and running. The killer had zero chance against Nickole.

      Nickole’s strong bond with Shanann solved this case.

      • nickvdl

        And the neighbor’s video surveillance.

      • Jill

        Nikole is the real hero here, for sure, if she hadn’t been such a good friend, Chris would’ve def come home from work, dumped her things somewhere, made it look like she took off, on her own with th kids, but as it turn d out there was no way he had time to stage his cover up. Stupid man, who I’m sure is paying the price for it, because he no longer has Thrive in his system, and his mind is going to clear, and he will see in his minds eye every waking moment what he did to those beautiful children and wife. Nickole on the other hand, is also going to have to rbe live it all, because think of her guilt (unfounded) that she dropped her friend off into the hands of that murderer. I hope she gets a lot of counseling and help, and the mistress, I hope she is sitting somewhere thinking of what she caused, and that we as taxpayers aren’t paying for any counseling for her.

    • Joyce

      I agree with your comment. I too felt sorry to hear shannan tell her girls they could wait for something to eat when it was obvious how hungry they were, and most the time got chocolate or thrive product and chicken nuggets. Never saw what I’d call real food in front of them and never sitting as a family eating together. I know times have changed but so odd that she got angry at mil for getting food the girls couldn’t eat, but yet she made them hold off for a stupid video… All that said… She still didn’t kill her babies that was all CW.. Because he’s so selfish and nuts. Prayers fit the families.

      • Joyce

        I meant prayers for the families

    • Ralph Oscar

      “I think Shan’ann’s story is a cautionary tale. These murders did not happen in a vacuum. There were warnings leading up to that fateful night. I think Shan’ann’s preoccupation with appearances may have been her weakness. ”

      This is my feeling as well.

    • Shannan C

      Idk really how good either of her parents were. These children were made to sleep 17 to 18 hours a d ay. Being inactive every dsy for lengths of time like that are extremely unhealthy. That much inactivity is as bad as smoking or obesity is on your heart. Not to mention increases the risk of obesity, blood clots, and other very serious medical conditions. The water in the face video, Bella is not laughing at either the beginning or end of video as some claim her shrieking screams are her laughing a loud. She is on the verge of having a panic attack at both these points in the video. Some say she was having fun or she would have ran off. I don’t think so. She tried to get away each time her mom squirted her in the face but was enjoying her mom’s attention because I don ‘t think she got it often. She didn’t really want her mom squirting her in the mouth either but again wanted the attention. She was laughing as she was getting CC through the glass. Her laughter here is much different than the screaming, about to have real panic attack beginning and end.

      The sink incident with CC didn’t bother me. Personally I probably would have swatted her butt as I was getting her down. She wasnt even supposed to be in there. I wouldn’t have immediately gotten her down either. Allowing her to be stuck for a moment probably taught her not to do it agsin.

      How nice the house was, and how cute their clothes were imo are a big reason people don’t see some stuff that others think are abusive and neglectful as problematic. However, take this way, put them in a trailer park and in tattered, hand me down clothing, no matter how clean and I think more people would see these things as abusive. Especially the 17 hours or more of sleep, thst by her parents own omission was helped my benadryl.

      And CW allowed all of it. He is just as guilty in this stuff.

  5. piktor

    This says a lot about a child’s life (@ 1:46)

    PREDNISONE is used to treat conditions such as arthritis, blood disorders, breathing problems, severe allergies, skin diseases, cancer, eye problems, and immune system disorders. Prednisone belongs to a class of drugs known as corticosteroids. It decreases your immune system’s response to various diseases to reduce symptoms such as swelling and allergic-type reactions.
    https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-6007-9383/prednisone-oral/prednisone-oral/details

    AMOXICILLIN is used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. This medication is a penicillin-type antibiotic. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria.

    This antibiotic treats only bacterial infections. It will not work for viral infections (such as common cold, flu). Using any antibiotic when it is not needed can cause it to not work for future infections.

    Amoxicillin is also used with other medications to treat stomach/intestinal ulcers caused by the bacteria H. pylori and to prevent the ulcers from returning.
    https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-1531-3295/amoxicillin-oral/amoxicillin-oral/details

    https://youtu.be/Z_25TM5vlMs?t=1m43s

    • Marie

      The children may have simply become asthmatic from being sick (viral or bacterial…doctors often do overprescribe antibiotics, so whether they actually had a bacterial infection of not, they could have been given antibiotics) and given prednisone to reduce inflammation.

    • Joyce

      Amoxicillian is an antibiotic penicillin… Should only take by prescription and for infection. Did sound like meds were misused…

  6. piktor

    Contrast this warm and approachable Santa (2016) with the utterly pathetic Chris Watts Santa a year later @ 3:03

    https://youtu.be/Z_25TM5vlMs?t=3m3s

  7. piktor

    Both girls are in fear of this Santa and want nothing to do with him @ 5:31

    Children pick up on tension within their circle. They express themselves, not with words but by other means. Their message is loud and clear.

    https://youtu.be/XI1Sb_btekg?t=5m31s

    • piktor

      As soon as Santa leaves, Cece stops raising hell and turns to being her peaceful self.

      Mom is not Cece’s problem. Mom is the girls’ protector.

      • BAMS13

        Aaahhhh I disliked this video. Chris was diligently being Santa – albeit awkwardly – just as advised by Shan’Ann. That was the least worrying part of the video.

        Shan’ann let CeCe cry hysterically for 20 minutes which made me so uncomfortable and honestly just isn’t very maternal at all. CeCe didn’t look comforted by her at all when she was FINALLY picked up. She held her body away, had her finger in her mouth (which is what she constantly did when anxious or frightened) The look on her face says it all.

        The cake and cinnamon Thrive bar video was another perfect example of Shan’Ann being Shan’Ann. Not only did she look like she was under the influence of *something* with her darting eyes, strange speech, laughing inappropriately and hyper mannerisms but she seemed unconcerned with Bella’s obvious hunger. She kept teasing Bella with the bars and even said at one point “these are mommies thrive bars, she EARNED them” while the poor kid was asked to hold the camera up to film her.

        I could honestly go on all day. Those girls looked clean and tidy as it was all part of her OCD and need to keep up appearances. I’m not saying she was a bad mother at all but I’m not alone when I say that something clearly wasn’t right. Those girls hated that camera but were always told to “say hi, say this, say that, do this do that” and so on. The vision board and water squirting videos were other examples of her strange militant style parenting. It seemed unnatural to me.

        The 6:30pm bedtime, the frequent naps, the day care and constant name calling like “monsters & devils” made me think she could only handle them in short doses. To me they looked cranky and dopey the way one might feel when they have over slept.

    • Kellie Bolton

      Most children are afraid of Santa at first! Please don’t read too much into this.

    • Elyse

      I always wondered about that video. Do you think it was weird for kids to be that scared of Santa? I dont have kids, so I dont know if that’s normal. CeCe was downright terrified. Was it because a big strange man was in the house or were they picking up on bad energy?

  8. Rebecca field

    This family while so beautiful and tidy, to me seem so weird. Their house looks like a model home that you see in new home estates, all the props from michael’s and so, so tidy. Maybe it’s just the way families do in that part of the country but it seems almost ‘stepford’ to me.

    • nickvdl

      Great observation.

  9. Shannon

    What I don’t understand, why Chris did not go to Trial so all this could come out in the Courts, I think he would have had a better chance defending his Actions. I know he took plea deal, but there’s a Clause he can ask for a Trial…… I hope he does this.
    If this Rourke guy hadn’t been so gun ho on death penalty…is he running for an election thing in Colorado?.
    Not all killers get death sentence, only because it’s in this state. Wonder how Rourke would have acted if not.
    I think Shanann contributed to her bring killed. There is so much in those Videos, that show…why this could have happened.
    These Site has So Many Interesting Theroies on here. I Enjoy reading them.
    The Author should be a Witness.

    • Ralph Oscar

      I would have loved to see the case come to trial, because then it would have come out how much Thrive contributed to the family’s financial disaster. I would have loved for everyone to see the real effect this noxious Le-Vel mlm had on this family and how much it contributed to the ultimate disaster. That would have been the most valuable thing that could have come out of this terrible tragedy.

      • emily2070

        What a disgusting attitude. So, according to your logically flawed argument, the annihilation of a family would be ‘worth it’ if it were to be used as a cautionary tale for pyramid schemes? Not only is your comment extremely callous, it’s also bordering on retarded in its egocentricity.

        • Jessica

          Emily you are taking the reply in the wrong way. Not that the tragedy is somehow worth it, but the warning of the danger of mlm’s to families would have been at the least a lesson the public could have learned from this disaster.

  10. Diana

    Wow! Just Wow! Can’t believe the beating Shan’ann has taken from the readers here! Let me start by saying that I believe Shan’ann loved her girls with all her heart. She may not have made the same parenting choices as the next person, but, her kids – her choices. Did she give her kids caffeine when she gave them Thrive? Maybe, maybe not, but Thrive does have a line of products for toddlers/children. But if she did give them caffeine she would’ve been like millions of other parents who allow their kids soda, ice-tea, chocolate…….! As for the squirt gun episode? Bella was laughing and egged Shan’ann on to do it over and over and over…Harmless fun! CeCe wanted no part of it and Shan’ann seemed fine with that. As for Shan’ann “ignoring” Bella’s hunger? OH, PUH-LEASE!! Now that’s really a stretch! We don’t know if she had just finished a snack or even supper! I’ll say something here that others may not like – but, oh well. My observation from viewing hundreds of videos was that Bella was one spoiled little girl. It came through on more than one video. She was used to getting her way and she wanted that Pro- Bar that her mom was hawking to all her sheep. But to say her hunger was ignored!? Just no! Will also say that it’s not unusual for kids to want what their parents are eating! Did Shan’ann use naps as punishment? She referenced the girls going in “time out” as punishment more than once. She put them in time out in increments that were appropriate – one minute for each year of their age. Naps at their ages was normal. I never saw what time they got up each day, but I do know bedtime was 6:30/18:30. Chris and Shan’ann were usually up at 4 AM. So say the girls were up at 6 to 7. Naps from 12 to 2ish after lunch, some days less napping than others. Perfectly normal.

    One person posted the following comments: “What I don’t understand, why Chris did not go to Trial so all this could come out in the Courts, I think he would have had a better chance defending his Actions”. “I think Shanann contributed to her (sic) bring killed”.

    Um, are you kidding me!!!! NOTHING, NOTHING SHAN’ANN DID JUSTIFIES HER MURDER!! You can argue you’re not saying it’s okay, but those words are victim blaming. Part of the reason I say the poster blames Shan’ann is because of the other comments about Chris should’ve had a trial. The poster says “he would’ve had a better chance defending his Actions”….That says you think that if Chris could just explain to a jury why he killed the wicked, evil Shan’ann that they’ll understand and let him off the hook!!?? He would’ve had a better chance at what!? Getting away with quadruple murder!!?? Do tell – what excuse would Chris have used for murdering his little girls and disposing of them in oil tanks!!??

    If I had to criticize Shan’ann for one thing it would most definitely be too much filming of her family. Way, way too much. A good analogy for what Shan’ann did was to think of reality shows on tv. Its a known fact that children who have been on tv in reality shows almost always have behavioral difficulties as they continue to get older and older. I’d compare what Shan’ann did to putting her kids on a reality show for sure! It’s just not normal. Plus it’s a huge invasion of privacy on her kids and they couldn’t say no or consent to it either. I think it hindered Bella’s personality when filming while it made CeCe “ham it up” even more! I believe Shan’ann felt she was “working” while doing the videos, and she was, but as organized as her home and schedule seemed to be, she should’ve been more diligent in scheduling “work” around her family. Will end this by saying I think Shan’ann tried to do what was best for her girls and I believe she loved them very much. I just hope she didn’t find out they were dead before she herself was murdered.

    • Jen

      I believe in that water gun video, Bella says, “Daddy, save me” a few times. It was disturbing.

      • Shannan C

        But Shannon squirting her in the face and continuing to do so despite Bellas’ shrieking screams where she is on the verge of a paic attack at both the beginning and end of the video arent disturbing to you? Bella WAS NOT laughing.

      • Miss Mensa

        Jen – I agree with you = that video was so disturbing – what is most disturbing IMO is that CW’s wife was abusing her by squirting her right in the face and laughing – saying “this is why we had kids” and telling CW DON’T YOU SAVE HER then CW retreating after being reprimanded by his wife.

        That video tells it all.

        Poor Bella and Ce Ce.

    • Ralph Oscar

      “I just hope she didn’t find out they were dead before she herself was murdered.”

      I don’t believe Shan’Ann ever knew they were dead. They were dead before she got home late that night, and that was when she had to be killed. If the girls had still been alive, it would have been possible to reschedule the murders, so to speak, for some time in the future when there was more time to attend to all the necessary details.

    • Pauline Gallagher

      AGREE 100% Thank the good Lord, someone sympathises with Shanann and recoognises what a wonderful, loving mother she was. She gave her all to that family and was desperately doing all she could via Thrive to save that home from foreclosure. She did her very best in difficult circumstances. Consider for example awful Cindy Watts, and her daughter, and the grandchildren Cindy made it clear that she preferred and loved MORE, simply because she hated Shanann! Those innocent wee girls didn’t stand a chance against Cindy and the sister. Chris didn’t defend his wife as he should to shut up his vicious, control freak mother. She couldn’t control Shanann, which is why she hated her even more. Don’t forget, Shanann loved Chris. She adored him and thought he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. He however was bored with his settled marriage and fatherhood, and along comes Nichol, young free and single and UP FOR IT. Despite knowing that Chris had a wife and two daughters and later was told a third child was on the way. What are people here even thinking, to be so hard on poor Shannan? Chris is a wimp. She made him a better man, but the better man wanted more adventurous sex and he found it. I detest women who get involved with family men, They make me sick.Shannan made a beautiful home, her daughters were very well cared for and deeply loved, Was she perfect? NO. Even so she was an earth angel compared to useless selfish Chris. Are any readers here angels? Do you keep a truly beautiful home, a good home job and two daughters? And somehow juggle it all AND save the bank from taking your home? For the love of God give her some pity. She did it all, with NO help, and now you cast her down. The man she loved throttled the life out of her after making love! She prayed as he strangled her. He suffocated their wee girls and chucked them in an oil tank. Try putting blame where it should lie, not on a hard working and loving young mother who died a ghastly death.

    • Shannan C

      First the Shannon who made the comment about Shannon Watts contributing to her murder and me Shannan C are two different posters

      Second I don’t necessarily agree with that but LE looks at victims all the time and classifies them as high or low risk victims based on many factors that predict how likely a person is to become a victim based solely on the victims’ actions.So I dont think looking at her actions in that regards is wrong.

      NEXt, forcing your children to sleep 17 or more hours a day is both neglectful and abusive. It is unhealthy. Being inactive thst long on a normal basis is just as bad as smoking or obesity o n your heart not to even mention what it does to the rest of your body. And then they were in day care. When did Shannon Watts even see hwr children except when she was filming them. And Chris allowed it so he is jyst as guilty as she was.

      The water video please so abusive. Read my other post.

      And Idk how spoiled it was on Bella’s part to want to eat when hungry. Maybe doesn’t she realize their are children starving in third world countries. How dare she cry about being hungry.

      • Miss Mensa

        abuse, neglect, munchausen by proxy, this case should have gone to trial so that all of the evidence could be shown to the jurors and they could have formed reasonable doubt as to whether he murdered bella and ce ce.

    • Miss Mensa

      I have NEVER said that anybody deserved to be murdered – shame on you “diane” for promoting slanderous and libelous attacks – shame on you.

      it sounds like you’re impressed with the parenting you saw going on in the videos. Not everybody shares your opinion. In my opinion, she was not alone with the children, was not expected to care for the children, and was obviously not their primary caregiver.

      they were both in daycare while she entertained herself with her camera, spending money she didn’t have, and pretending that buying a bunch of products from multiple MLMs was a “job”.

      Poor Bella and Ce Ce. IMO society failed them in their lifetimes and in their deaths by not fully investigating CW’s claim that he did not murder his daughters.

  11. Shannon

    This is and was not a TV Show. It was a Family being Exposed because Shanann was more interested in HER. She was Number 1 in this family.
    Just maybe if she had paid Attention to her Husband and Kids, and the Dynamics in her Life, this could have been solved in a more appropriate manner.
    I believe Chris grew to Hate her, dispise her over time.
    Maybe he wanted Total freedom…no Baggage…
    No one can think what he was thinking and feeling.
    This is how he dealt with his Situation. Is it right….or was it wrong.
    There were many warnings, interesting how None of her Family or Friends, Spoke up. Maybe they too….. were afaird.

    • Diana

      No kidding it’s not a tv show! This from someone who BLAMES the victim for her own DAMNED murder! Mm-Kay! I said I used it as an ANALOGY to compare children who have been excessively filmed to Shan’ann’s excessively filmed children! Your reading comprehension needs some brushing up on.

      • Shannon

        I stand by what I say.

      • Ralph Oscar

        On this forum, everyone has the same right to present their ideas about this case, mm-kay? Only Nick gets to tone-police and topic-police.

        • Shannon

          That was good.

    • Kellie Bolton

      Yep I too think he hated her and I don’t blame him for hating her. If he only killed Shan’ann & not the girls then he wouldn’t be hated as much, it’s the killing of the girls that I can’t get over. I wasn’t keen on Shan’ann at all, sending her kids to private school, kindergarten or whatever it was called, was just reckless and I don’t believe for a minute Chris wanted the 3rd baby, it was all her doing, as if Chris would have a say in the matter. She demeaned him and treated him like shit in other ways and she paid the price.

    • Shannan C

      Are you kidding? She wasnt doing ANYTHING to save her house. Making a mortgage payment would have been a start. The cost of everyone flying to and from NC would have made a payment. Truly being the stay at home mom she claimed and putting that 2000 dollars a month towards the mortgage would have saved the home. These kids slept slept at least 17 hours per day so it’s not like she would have been with them all day even then. What a joke sge was doing everything she could to keep rhe house outbof forclose.

  12. Atilana

    She was not a good mother. Her friends were more important to her and her thrive! Her videos prove that! The children always seem sick.

    • Kellie Bolton

      Shan’ann was a hypochondriac so of course she’d make out that the girls were always ill too.

  13. Pam Foldesi

    Will “Two Face Two Pollyannas” work on the free kindle download for PC?

    • Nick

      Yup.

  14. Ella

    Shanann filmimg sometimes for up to half an hour on a Saturday morning!? Shocking. She affectionately refered to her kids as little ‘monsters’ or ‘devils’?! Wow, just wow. She momentarily focused on something other than her whinging child? Smh, what a bitch.
    Do you know how petty and ridiculous you all sound!? Shanann was an exceptionally good mom. She was loving, patient, attentive, protective. Performing on social media WAS.HER.JOB. God forbid if she enjoyed it a little.
    My mom worked from home giving piano lessons and my siblings and I werent to interrupt her while she was working. It wasnt an issue. I think Shanann was incredibly patient attending to her girls whilst fullfilling her professional obligations. Watching her livestreams it annoys me when Im aware of Chris in the background doing nothing to help or divert the kids attention while mommys trying to work! Sometimes he interupts and just dumps the kids on her mid-stream. Half an hour to film isnt asking much

    • nickvdl

      Of course you’re right. A 30 minute video on a Saturday is no big deal. Except the bigger picture is she was filming every day, and in her own video, she walks out of the house, to get distance from her husband and the loud noises of the children. When you start examining the mosaic of hundreds of videos, you begin to notice how the children/family/friends/parents become progressively turned off and turned against each other because of MLM/Facebook. You begin to see how the videos are a constant intrusion and invasion from inside the home – in the kitchen, at dinner, in the bedroom, during play time.

      So you are perfectly justified to look at one video and scoff. But by the same token, it’s perfectly justifiable to expand the analysis of one video to several days, weeks and years, and to look at the ultimate annihilation of the whole family before the actual annihilation in terms of blood and heartbeats.

      You are more than welcome to see zero connection between everyday behaviors and murder, but then what are you actually trying to propose? What’s your explanation for what happened here? I know, it’s the “he just snapped” theory, and along with that, the “I have no idea why he did what he did” explanation. At this site we try to find answers, not insist on not knowing them.

      If you don’t want to attempt to answer the question why, then it’s good not to look at the people involved, and what they did every day. All families do things that rub its members the wrong way. It could be meaningful to look at these, and even to learn from them.

      It may be more meaningful for you to scoff at all of it, and say, no, this was a perfectly normal family/mother/children. Again, if it was perfectly normal, then why are they all dead? He just snapped and everything was normal, isn’t an answer to that question.

      • Ralph Oscar

        “if it was perfectly normal, then why are they all dead?”

        This is the question everyone should always keep in mind. We are all here, I’ll wager, because we want to understand what was *not* “perfectly normal” about this family, because it ended in multiple murders.

      • katherineurbahn

        Exactly. There are definite patterns of dysfunction.

    • Ralph Oscar

      You’re of course welcome to your opinion. Is it necessary for you to try and beat everyone else upside the head with it? No. Just state what you think and leave it at that. We’re all comparing notes here, not trying to one-up and “win” or shame others into submission or anything like that. This isn’t anyone’s forum to control but Nick’s.

    • Terri M,

      I’d be a great mom too if I only saw my kids 3 hours a day too. I’d be supermom on camera filming how great my monster are. Such crap

  15. NAN

    The whole household was run very weird . Chris was her puppet . She always told the kids what to say and do . She was that way with Chris also .

  16. Teresa

    I had 4 kids at a very young age. I had a rare medical condition called Ehlers Danlos syndrome. I lived in pain but had not been diagnosed yet, however I ran a tight ship. My house was spotless, my kids were always within earshot. They napped every day at 1 pm they went to bed at 8:30 pm. I never gave them medication unless it was for a fever. It’s easy to have control if you start out with rules from the time they understand the word no. I’m sure she didn’t drug her kids. The only thing I noticed is that cece was allowed to be too wild. I think the thrive during pregnancy and possibly breast feeding (not sure if she did) is not safe and contributed to her hyperactivity. I noticed on the video at Chris’s moms house when she is reading “no more monkeys jumping on the bed” that when cece is jumping constantly shanann says “that goes for you too cece” instead of actually doing something about it she just makes the comment with no follow through. I was frustrated for the grandma because the mom was right there and couldn’t control her! I have 5 grandchildren and not one will jump on my bed more than once.

    • nickvdl

      I was frustrated for the grandma because the mom was right there and couldn’t control her!>That’s an important point.

    • Ralph Oscar

      “The only thing I noticed is that cece was allowed to be too wild. I think the thrive during pregnancy and possibly breast feeding (not sure if she did) is not safe and contributed to her hyperactivity. ”

      Timeline: CeCe was born in the summer of 2015, around the time of their bankruptcy (they filed when Shan’Ann was 9 months pregnant). Shan’Ann didn’t start shilling Thrive until March (I think) of 2016. She definitely did not use Thrive while she was pregnant with CeCe.

  17. coolgirlrocks

    I have viewed several of the videos (there are just too many of them to watch them all) and several struck me.
    Probably the one that upset me the most was the “Vision Board” one. Poor Bella, who was maybe three at the time, had no interest, no concept, of what her mother was trying to force her to do there. She was making her repeat all these phrases and words which meant NOTHING to Bella “You are loved. Say it. Bella! Say it! “I am loved?” Yes, now “You are smart. SAY IT!! And on and on. Poor Bella just wanted to scribble on the bristol board. Far too young for this stupid exercise, which was clearly only a way to promote the MLM and fake fantasy fairy tale to other vulnerable young women. The house, the clothes, the cleanliness, even the children, all seemed to me to be a desperate attempt to promote this Thrive product. .
    I believe Shan’ann however really was a vulnerable soul who allowed an MLM company to brainwash her this way. And that is one of the true lessons of this tragedy Facebook is now full of these women – Reddit calls them “Huns” – who drink the Kool Aid and truly believe in this bullshit. Shan’ann was bullied in school, so her self esteem would have been demolished, and her whole Thrive narrative fits exactly the narrative that ALL of these MLMs promote.
    Yes, she was exploiting her children. Yes, she was placing them second, behind this Thrive bullshit. But she was doing that because she herself was a lost soul, I believe.

    • coolgirlrocks

      Also the Santa video. I was cringing to myself and thinking “Turn that stupid phone off and pick up and comfort your children! Abort this mission! It’s ok to abort abort a Facebook video in favour of your children, even if your Thrivers will be disappointed! Pick that baby up, turn off the bloody phone, and love them for Christ sake! (Also, they seemed overtired. Maybe put them to bed?)

      • nickvdl

        Maybe you could ask the forum why the Hun nickname. I’m genuinely curious. Morbidly curious.

      • Ralph Oscar

        “Also, they seemed overtired. Maybe put them to bed?”

        Those poor children already spent half their lives or more in bed!

    • Nick

      Why are they called “Huns” do you think?

      • coolgirlrocks

        I haven’t figured out that out yet, still r’eading Reddit’s fascinating thread.
        https://www.reddit.com/r/antiMLM
        I think it is a play on Attila the Hun and also that they are all young women.
        The thread is fascinating itself in that it shows just how these MLM companies are using the psychology to prey on many more Shan’anns.

      • Marie

        “Hun” is a term of affection in the South

        • nickvdl

          Like “honey”?

          • Ralph Oscar

            Precisely – “hon”. The “hun” spelling has the same sound, but it’s fun because of Attila the Hun and the MLM “huns” run roughshod all over everyone and everything. Maybe I already said that somewhere earlier…

      • CD

        Hunbots = MLM-ers are called hunbots because many use ‘hun’ to address their targets/fellow MLM-ers when using FB messages. They also follow scripts for their recruiting/selling messages; that is where the “bot” comes in.
        An interesting blog to learn more about MLM’s is http://www.ellebeaublog.com. Elle Beau was recruited for Younique and she tells in several episodes about how that went and how she got out. On her blog is also a link to the anti-MLM coalition. Very interesting if you want to know more about this subject!

      • Ralph Oscar

        CD mentioned Elle Beau’s blog – “Former Younique (#Poonique) rep – Anti-MLM coalition blogger” – that’s a longtime fave. I re-read it from time to time – it always makes me chuckle in the midst of horrifying me.

    • Ralph Oscar

      “But she was doing that because she herself was a lost soul, I believe.”

      This is an important observation. Having small children can leave a parent feeling drained, exhausted, and starved for adult interaction. Chris was nice enough, but very passive and “gray rock”, so their dynamic probably wasn’t very satisfying. In her videos, Shan’Ann could be the exciting, interesting person she wanted others to see her as, and within her Thrive “community”, she could count on getting lots of “likes” and attention. Unfortunately, it wasn’t genuine attention – they were all programmed to upvote each other even though they were each other’s competition.

      And it wasn’t genuine friendship, either – there was a strange dynamic that I noticed in one of the first of Shan’Ann’s videos that I ever saw. It was the one where she had two ladies over (NUA and someone else) to taste-test some Thrive bars. And NUA wasn’t happy with this situation at all! She gets testy and accuses Shan’Ann of “always pushing us outside of our comfort range”. To which Shan’Ann replies, “You love me.” It’s a statement, not at all open-ended, and with that statement, Shan’Ann feels entitled to abusing her friends and tricking them into appearing in her dumb videos. Similarly, she frequently posts on Facebook “He loves me” about Chris.

      To Shan’Ann, others’ “love” seems to mean she can do whatever she wants to them, take advantage of them – their “love” is Shan’Ann’s permission slip to treat them however she pleases. Because they “love” her – and her girls obviously do (small children + moms) – she can trample boundaries, take advantage of them, move them around like dolls in a doll house, all for her own convenience. You know those girls weren’t choosing their own outfits! How sad, the way she would film CeCe’s tantrums instead of comforting her! That’s so distasteful to me – of course she didn’t have CeCe’s consent to film her at her low point! But Shan’Ann never seemed to consider that the children even had any right to consent – it was all what Shan’Ann wanted.

      Even with NUA being obviously annoyed, Shan’Ann never says, “Sorry.” Never says, “Perhaps we can reschedule this for when you’re more in the mood.” No, Shan’Ann says, “You love me.” That gives her the right to annoy and take advantage of her friends.

      Shan’Ann’s interactions with her friends often have an “Island of Misfit Toys” quality – I suspect they were all dysfunctional in similar ways, which enabled them to make a community of sorts.

    • emily2070

      Plenty of children are bullied in school. Nevertheless, in my experience, it’s far more likely that the perpetrators’ ‘self esteem was demolished’ than the bullied child. In fact, it’s usually the bullied child who develops into a more resilient, resourceful person, with a strong sense of who they are and an enviable self knowledge. You don’t develop those traits and skills without a level of pain. Conversely, the need to externalise discomfort and social unease, which are the hallmarks of bullies, are strongly associated with weaker character, emotional vulnerability, antisocial traits and psychopathology. I know plenty of folks who would collapse into a screaming heap at the first sign of adversity because they have no idea who they are and even less idea about how to cope with life’s inevitable challenges. I know who I would rather be.

      • nickvdl

        it’s usually the bullied child who develops into a more resilient, resourceful person, with a strong sense of who they are >>>So bullying is to be encouraged. Where do you draw the line between bullying and abuse, or is it okay to bully men? Ever heard of Elliot Rodger?

  18. Marie

    Nick, yes, as in “honey”

    • nickvdl

      Wouldn’t Hun be Hon then?

      • Marie

        I guess it’s in the way we pronounce it. We spell it Hun.

        • coolgirlrocks

          Read the Reddit thread. It is terrifying.

      • JC

        It looks like it’s showing up in some dictionaries. I hadn’t heard the term “hunbot” short for “honey robot” I assume.

        https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/hun/

      • Ralph Oscar

        In regular terms, “Hon” is the contraction, yes. Within the MLM context, the convention has become “Hun” because they don’t ever say “Honey” to each other, they say, “Hun,” even when there is not an established-enough relationship for this sort of intimacy. As in “Are you ready to order the new $90 Lash Booster, hun?” and “Hey, hun, haven’t seen you since high school. Want to start selling for Thrive?”

        It’s a term of affection that, in the MLM context, is false and manipulative – trying to give the impression there is caring with regard to the targets, when actually it’s all to get them to do what they want them to.

        So “Hun” has taken on a definition specific to the MLM community, and I frankly love the similarity to “Attila the Hun”. Because these “Huns” are known for steamrolling over everyone and bulldozing their way toward getting what they want.

  19. Marie

    I read the Reddit comments Cool girl,, you are right. Terrifying! I have never heard of this

  20. coolgirlrocks

    As a former journalist myself, I really feel the “Hun” invasion is worthy of a deep investigative effort. All of these pyramid schemes are using very deep psychology and research into the minds of young, insecure women with little education but social media savvy to buy into these “dreams”. They pre-write the narrative for them, provide the messages in advance. It shocked me, truly.

    • Jessica

      You are right on with that idea. I think all of American society is ripe for the plucking for any brainwashing mlm or political cult because they are desperate. American’s are learning they don’t have the opportunity anymore that their parents and grandparents had, and they are bewildered and are desperate for a solution/ someone to blame. It just takes a career criminal like a Manson/ Trump type or MLM pyramid scammer to swoop and then it seems quite easy to use the known brainwashing tactics. The cult creators have studied how to control their targets, an investigative effort would be valuable to expose what is happening in mass scale.

  21. coolgirlrocks

    Girls who used to sell Girl Scout cookies now selling Magic Shit!

  22. Ralph Oscar

    I was thinking about all the MLM scams Shan’Ann has been involved in – I wanted to do a quick analysis:

    1) Amway – cleaning products
    2) Origami Owl – custom jewelry kits
    3) Thirty One – fashion totes, handbags, home decor
    4) LulaRoe – leggings and clothing
    5) Younique – makeup
    6) It Works – “wraps” for slimming, diet products, “healthful living” focus
    7) Le-Vel Thrive – patches, diet products, “healthful living” focus

    I don’t know what order these came in, except that Amway was first and Thrive was last. But notice there’s only one repeat – It Works and Thrive (I put these two together because they’re similar). I believe Shan’Ann was involved in LulaRoe and Younique at the same time – in one of her makeup tutorials for Younique, she draws attention to her LulaRoe leggings that she’s wearing (and how “fun” they are).

    So here is my question for today: Clearly, Shan’Ann tried and then abandoned six other mlm scams. If any of them had met her expectations, she would have continued with them, wouldn’t she? So she has 6 MLM fails under her belt before she starts up with Thrive. Why didn’t she learn from the previous 6 failures?

    And why did she choose *another* mlm (Thrive) that was so similar to one she’d already discarded (It Works)? Was she incapable of learning from her mistakes?

    This is why I describe her as an “mlm addict”. And no addiction is healthy.

    • Ralph Oscar

      Ooh, forgot to add: Both It Works and Thrive products contain caffeine.

  23. Kat5566

    I don’t think that Chris Watts’s recent confession about what happened that night surprises anyone. Anybody with a few brain cells can figure out shannan did not murder her children. I think a lot of people forgot that the situation which sparked that theory in the first place was the police interrogation of Chris. The detective, Tammy Lee, threw that to Chris as bait, and he snapped it up. The detectives just wanted to know where shannan and the girls’ bodies were. The police already figured they were dead at this point…., and knew the best way to get Chris to tell them anything was to switch tactics, and blame everything on his wife. And it worked like a charm. Now, as for Bella and Celeste Watts being happy, normal children? I think so. For the most part. But I do believe that shannan was extremely self-absorbed. I’m sorry, but I do. She was constantly on Facebook live. Constantly recording her entire family. And you can see a lot of times they didn’t want to be recorded. Also, I think at 6:30 is way too early for bedtime. These girls went down for a nap at noon until 3. Then bed at 6:30…. wow.

  24. jillkristina

    I am shocked at this entire article and the context of judging shannan as a mother. FFS, the woman, along with her unborn son and two daughters, were horribly murdered. Her parenting techniques have nothing to do with the tragic loss of life. It isnt anyone business how she raised her children. It seems shannan is on trial for committing a crime when SHE was the victim here. If each person here (who made a comment) had everyone dissect their life, I am sure negative comments would follow. I agree that her overly accessible life via social media isnt the “norm” but she also wasnt planning on being a murder victim and having these videos go viral. Before you all make horrible and hurtful comments, try to imagine the pain and heartbreak her family is suffering (and has suffered for the past year). Think of the IMPACT not the INTENT when you write. Thank you.

  25. emily2070

    How are you at elementary math? Purporting neglect because the mother took a half an hour out of her 24-hour day to record videos as part of her job seems rather a stretch considering the remaining hours she had to give her undivided attention to the children. As to whether the children napped excessively, I would suggest you have little to no context to make that call. For instance, did the children have multiple naps per day at 0 and 19 months, did the amount of napping change as the children got older, and other factors, such as illness and familial variations in the amount of sleep needed depending on the child… This list is not exhaustive, and various factors would need to be known before you could make any kind of intelligent inference about the children’s schedules, let alone the quality of Shanann’s parenting. The fact that you’re discussing this at all suggests that you have limited to no understand of child psychology and development and even less understanding of positive parenting practices.

  26. jay

    I cant stand it when people think they are the perfect mother, partner, or know better than others. so your child didn’t nap a lot, dosent eat sugar or fat, has your 100 percent full undivided attention, your a stay at home parent, your child didn’t need to go to child care or ore school…..we bring our children up best we can, what works for some dosent work for others, some things you would do i wouldn’t dare and vice versa. No such thing as perfect we all wish we had did some things differently. I saw a normal mother trying her best, sure she did some things differently to how I would but that’s life, it’s 2019 now and wether or not I agree with social media it’s gona happen and will only get worse as technology becomes more and more accepted in society.

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