It was most important to hear from “the evil monster” today, and yet the monster – true to his mostly introverted form, chose to remain silent. On his behalf, the District Attorney has described Watts’ motive as simply “a desire for a fresh start, to begin a new relationship with a new love”. But there’s a problem with that. Tens of millions of married couples have exactly the same motive when they choose to get out of their marriages. They separate and divorce with no harm done, no foul.
So was Chris Watts too lazy to get a divorce? Was he too dumb to get a divorce? We know that prior to the murders he’d communicated to his own parents and to Shan’ann’s parents that they intended to separate, and incidentally, he communicated the same thing to his mistress, Nichol Kessinger.
One of the big questions that still remain is when did he express the desire to leave his wife for the first time? Was it before his wife became pregnant or shortly after? We know from Kessinger that their affair apparently began in mid-June, exactly when Shan’ann announced her third pregnancy. Was the third pregnancy an Oops we did it again! – or something else?
At 23:41 in the above conference, a reporter asks the District Attorney a question about why. He’s answer is slightly different to the one given in court. Let’s look at the transcript:
REPORTER: I know you don’t know why exactly [Rourke nods, sniffs, purses his lips] but can you talk about what the motive…was…or the reason for it [Rourke abruptly looks down]. Or the reason for a seemingly normal father to-to do something so horrible?
ROURKE [Gazes down, purses his lips]: Like I said this morning [gazing into the middle distance, Ren is in picture, glancing up at him]…I think that…based upon his…um…Google searches, his cell phone searches, some of things he was doing while Shan’ann and the girls were in North Carolina, I think it became pretty obvious that…he found a new love interest. And for whatever reason in his mind [blinks], divorce wasn’t an option. Um…I can’t speak as to why [shakes head] anyone…would take the…take the steps that he did…but during the course of our investigation, other than the normal stressors of financial stress, that I think most of us have, um…the occasional marital stress, we couldn’t find anything else [shrugs] that was a significant enough motive [gazes up and to the right, glances back at reporter] to…annihilate your family [purses lips]…in the manner that he did [purses lips again].
In my opinion, Rourke either knows the real reason and isn’t telling [and that’s part of the plea deal], or he doesn’t know. Which is worse?
Welcome to what appears right now to be the end of the legal road in the Chris Watts case. November 19 is just three months and six days after the tragic murders that rocked the small, thriving Colorado town of Frederick in mid-August.
Today the legal journey is expected to conclude with Judge Kopcow officially accepting Chris Watts’ guilty plea [on all charges]. In exchange Chris Watts will be spared the death penalty and sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
Irrespective of the legal outcome in this case, an entire family has been completely destroyed through the events that played out sometime between August 12 and 13 this year. According to the District Attorney, they have – and are satisfied with – a “partial motive” to this crime. This “partial motive” will be revealed in court today by Michael Rourke.
1. Chris Watts’ parents do not want him to accept the plea deal and have claimed they’ve been denied access to their son, and that the plea deal was/is coerced. If that’s true, the plea deal is invalid. The District Attorney has not responded to these allegations, but the Rzuceks have through an anonymous legal representative.
2. According to the Tribune:
…on Monday [November 12], the court received an email from a “K Almand,” an assumed representative for Cindy and Ronnie Watts. In the letter to Judge Kopcow, Almand claims the Colorado Public Defenders Office, which is defending Watts, has denied Cindy and Ronnie access to their son.
Cindy, Ronnie and an unnamed sister finally gained access to Watts for 30 minutes each the night before the sentencing hearing, Almand claims. Cindy asked her son if a plea deal is what he wanted.
“Do not ask him that or we will shut this (expletive) down now,” said an unnamed attorney before Watts could respond, according to Almand’s letter.
Almand said that type of “bullying” has been common in the Watts family’s dealings with the public defender’s office.
“It is the opinion of Mr. Watts’ family that he has been coerced, has been denied his constitutional rights and more — all in an attempt to quickly close this case,” Almand wrote. “They want to have a new attorney speak to Chris, on their behalf, to determine if this is a true confession or one that is based on inhumane treatment at the hands of the Public Defenders Office of Weld County.”
Almand closed the letter by saying Cindy Watts wanted to speak to Judge Kopcow about her son’s case and possible mistreatment. Kopcow issued an order saying he was barred from having any conversations about the case outside of the courtroom.
3. The autopsy reports regarding the remains of Shan’ann Watts [34], Bella Watts [4] and Celeste Watts [3] have not been released prior to sentencing. These reports, completed on October 2, will be released after sentencing according to the District Attorney. This release of the autopsy reports will likely neutralize a civil hearing on the matter that was originally scheduled for December 21. The District Attorney’s original position on the autopsy reports was unusual in that it was claimed their release “could taint witnesses, make it difficult to seat an impartial jury and the victim’s cause of death would be critical evidence at trial”. If Rourke felt the autopsy evidence was so sensitive, then why did the defense feel they had no case to plead? Why did they make/accept the plea deal?
Welcome to a bitterly cold day in Greeley, Colorado. Minimum temperatures today were 17°F [-9°C] at 06:00 and may climb to a crisp 46 °F [7°C] by the time the press conference is scheduled at 13:00.
The day will start mostly sunny in the early morning, and remain bright and sunny throughout, a typical early winter’s day in Colorado with a slight breeze blowing over the snow-covered prairie.
This is a big change from the weekend, which saw a big cold front roll in and dump snow and drizzle over the mountains and plains surrounding Denver. On Thanksgiving Thursday, another cold front is due to move in and change the regions weather, for the worse.
Today #ChrisWatts will be sentenced for the deaths of his pregnant wife Shannan, and their two daughters, 4 year old Bella and 3 year old Cyleste. He's expected to get live in prison, as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penality. Complete coverage on #9news
It’s 05:55, one hour until sunrise. Sunrise on August 13 was at 06:08, 42 minutes earlier than today. At this time three months ago Chris Watts was on the road, driving to CERVI 319.
In ten minutes the sun will rise over the sandstone courthouse in Greeley, Colorado. Did you know Greeley was the setting for Pulitzer prize-winning historical fiction author James A. Michener’sCentennial. Michener studied in Greeley, and was so inspired by the setting and the history of the region, he used it as the backdrop for his bestseller, which was also made into a miniseries in the seventies.
The scene in front of the Weld County Centennial Center. Notice the spattering of snow in the background.
In the morning news, two large fires are under investigation, including one that started as an explosion in Aurora. The Aurora fire included reports of a gas leak days prior, and conflicting reports on whether the gas company notified residents in advance via email.
Other news making the headlines – the weather on the run up to Thanksgiving on Thursday, Black Friday sales, a shocking report on flu vaccinations, rezoning plans, a new name for a baseball team, a new Disney on ice show, getting water supply from a distant mine to Aurora, a new Marijuana store opening in Longmont [Longmont is a town close to Frederick where Chris Watts and Shan’ann worked at a Ford dealership], how to prevent peanut allergies, a surge in porch piracy, Denver-based Furniture Row Racing finishing second at the NASCAR championship, Christmas tree-cutting tips, a Christmas countdown, what teens want for Christmas according to a recent survey and lower gas prices.
Happening in less than four hours: Chris Watts will be formally sentenced to prison for the murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters. Here’s a look back at how this case unfolded. @DenverChannelpic.twitter.com/QXX5W28HTg
Chris Dekker defense attorney: “I wasn’t surprised…I think Michael Rourke deserves quite a lot of praise. He was smart and brave, and acquiesced to their [the families’] desires.”
David Beller defense attorney: “The speed at which this deal was reached…is extremely unusual…”
There’s a line already forming outside the courtroom for the sentencing for Chris Watts. There’s lots of media here and a few family friends. @DenverChannelpic.twitter.com/Lw7bJ8yk0J
I’m in line at Weld Co Court for the sentencing hearing for Chris Watts. It’s mostly reporters, with a few people who have been following the case as well. pic.twitter.com/WNHYWOTwPy
What to expect from today’s sentencing hearing in a nutshell:
Megan Lopez has tweeted a couple of photos about the media presence outside court. Wish we could see more pictures of the court building. Just a wide shot to get a sense of the whole area.
~40 people including national media have lined up for a courtroom seat this morning. Court staff have prepared an overflow room with video stream for those who can’t get in. #ChrisWatts
Meghan Lopez says she’ll be tweeting from outside court because no tweeting is allowed inside court. Seems excessive and extreme, doesn’t it?
They started letting people in the courtroom. No electronics are allowed inside. @Tomas_Denver7 and @JennKovaleski will be in there. I’m going to stay outside and tweet the proceedings for people who don’t have access to our @DenverChannel live stream.
Michael Rourke reads Frankie Rzucek's statement on his behalf. #ChrisWatts glances quickly up at him, and then back down. #tcrs "To be honest, you'rte not even worth the time to pen to this paper…why?…did you really think this was your best option…?" pic.twitter.com/S6xf0cxr6n
#ChrisWatts looks down, swallows hard. Frankie choking back tears while Rourke continues to read his statement. "No one has the right to take the life of another, even someone like you." #tcrs
#ChrisWatts on the morning of the murders called Primrose school to tell them the girls wouldn't be enrolled any more. He called a realtor to discuss the selling of his house. And he texted his girlfriend. #tcrspic.twitter.com/WVjtws12aO
"He was seen from the neighbors doorbell camera going back and forth to his truck three times. Each time for each of the bodies." #ChrisWatts#tcrspic.twitter.com/ndWKjds1b7
So from beginning to end the sentencing hearing lasted less than 45 minutes. A total of about six people spoke, including Cindy Watts, a representative on behalf of Ronnie Watts, Frank Rzucek, Michael Rourke reading Frankie Rzucek’s statement, Sandi Rzucek, a brief 15 second statement by Chris Watts’ legal representative, and then a delineation of the evidence by the District Attorney, which lasted about ten minutes.
Throughout the proceedings Watts drummed his foot on the floor, and appeared to struggle to contain his emotions. He breathed heavily, but made no sound, and repeatedly curled his lip and bit it. At one point, while his father was speaking I believe, a single tear streamed down his cheek.
At the end, when Judge Kopcow asked him if he wished to say anything, Watts answered softly, “No sir.” His legal representative spoke briefly on his behalf, saying that he was “truly sorry”.
What was unreal was the mismatch between the crime the District Attorney and the Judge were describing, a vicious, calculated, monstrous act, and the demeanor of the defendant. Passive. Voiceless. Trying his best to be emotionless, as if a lack of emotion under these circumstances was some sort of virtue.
When he rose and walked out of the packed court, Watts looked down, not making eye contact with anyone. Not his mother. Not his father.
#chriswatts has now been led out of the courtroom after hearing his life sentences for murdering his family in Colorado this summer. He said nothing… Nor did he seem to even shed a tear during the victims impact… https://t.co/QOaHDcDeri
There were a few things that were downright weird about the hearing. No actual witnesses testified, only family members, and although each statement was emotional and tugged at the heartstrings, it did precious little to advance the narrative of the Watts case.
Rourke did that himself in a ten-minute or so summary, in which he provided a few [very few] insights into the case. He mentioned Bella biting her tongue and fighting for her life, a tuft of her hair snagged on the side of the thief hatch, and scratch marks on her buttocks incurred when she was forced into the tank.
What was more interesting in the sentencing hearing wasn’t what was mentioned, but what was left out. Nothing about time of death whatsoever. No one close to the Watts family in Colorado testified for or against him. The Thayers didn’t appear to be in court, neither did Nickole Utoft or Nichol Kessinger.
In fact the families appeared to be ushered into court via a private entrance, and ushered out privately too. It was all conducted with seamless precision. The crowds roared afterwards, justice is served!
Whether it’s a British or American court, the format in a sentencing hearing is pretty much stock standard. In broad strokes, the sentencing hearing is really a conversation about aggravating and mitigating factors [and in that order], and whether there are any substantial and compelling factors that cause a court to deviate one way or the other in sentencing. Should the sentence be more severe or should the court use its discretion and be lenient. But there’s more to it than just a tug-of-war between aggravation and mitigation.
Here’s what else to expect from today’s sentencing hearing at 10:00 [some have reported a 10:30 start] in the Weld County Court, in Greeley Colorado.
It’s also likely to be held in the newer complex, rather than the old pillared building.
There will be no jury present.
Judge Kopcow will consider the evidence in the case, and hear the prosecutor [Michael Rourke] and his submissions on whether Chris Watts has had any priors. According to his mother he has [or had] a single traffic fine for speeding.
There will also be evidence led on whether Watts was the primary offender in this case, or whether he had an accessory. This is a potential stumbling block if Watts decides to change his mind. His initial version was that the victim was an accessory, though not in the usual sense of the word.
The serious nature of the crime in terms of the respective victims will be outlined. The autopsy evidence may be referenced here to reinforce the injuries and suffering of all three victims, and possibly Niko as well.
In line with this, the prosecutor will specify if there was any unusual cruelty involved in the commission of the various acts. In this respect he may refer to contusions, defensive wounds as well as the heartless disposal of all the remains.
The prosecutor will probably make a case for premeditation. Once again, this may involve referencing specific evidence, and if available, the autopsies my show a significant span of time separating the time of death between one victim and the others. If the autopsy results cannot be relied on in this sense, it’s possible other data might, including evidence such as microscopic human tissue and/or cadaver traces [and odor] left at the scene. Premeditation obviously goes to the calculated, cold-bloodedness of a crime.
The court will consider whether the defendant destroyed evidence, whether he took the court [and/or law enforcement] into his confidence, or whether he attempted to misdirect, mislead or cover-up his crime in some way.
The court will consider whether or not the defendant expressed any genuine remorse.
In the Jodi Arias trial, when Judge K. Stephens announced her judgment on the sentence, Jodi’s mother petitioned on her behalf, and Jodi petitioned at some length for herself. A lot of baby pictures were presented to curry sympathy, and these were actually on-screen when the Judge pronounced sentence.
Judge Stephens was clear in noting Jodi’s “expressed remorse” which, given the sentence [life without parole] shows the Judge didn’t believe it was genuine or a mitigating factor, whatsoever, especially given the cruelty of the Arias’ act against the victim in that case, Travis Alexander.
In terms of Aggravation:
Expect a lot of emotion in this aspect of the trial. Family members, both parents, and Shan’ann’s brother will make statements about the emotional, financial, psychological and spiritual impact of the murders on each of them personally. Shan’ann’s health issues [lupus, fibromyalgia and her pregnancy] may be raised as an aggravating issue in the sense that her compromised condition made her more vulnerable
There may be an attempt to show Chris Watts’ lack of remorse or honesty toward’s the victim’s family following the crime.
Nickole Atkinson will possibly be called to testify in aggravation, including about Watts’ lack of remorse at the scene. Ditto one or both of the Thayers. However given the time constraint, and thus far no motions have been led indicating they will be testifying, this seems unlikely at the present time.
The fact that Chris Watts accused the victim of committing a crime he committed will be seen as aggravating in the extreme.
It’s probable that Nichole Kessinger will testify in aggravation, bolstering the notion that Watts deceived her and deceived everyone. If Kessinger does testify it’s also possible she will be cross-examined by the defense.
State law enforcement and officials, including the CBI and FBI may be called to testify very briefly about how they were able to nail Watts down as quickly as they did. This may involve dog handlers, the detective-on-scene and possibly the county coroner as well.
Again, given the short nature of the hearing, it’s more likely that only the District Attorney and the aggrieved parents will be called to address the court.
In terms of Mitigation:
Since only two hours have been set down for the proceedings, it’s unlikely the mitigation will go on for much longer than one hour.
Chris Watts appears to have female state appointed defense lawyers. If that remains the case, we’ll see them in action [so to speak] for the first time. If there is a withdrawal of the guilty plea, we could see a motion fielded in court for new defense counsel.
The Judge will consider the health issues – if any, and possibly including any psychological syndromes, disorders or impairments – of the defendant.
The Judge will consider the defendant’s access to support from family and members of the community.
The defendant’s childhood background and family history may also be considered.
Given the short nature of the hearing, it’s more likely that Watts’ legal representative and his parents will be the only one’s called to address the court.
The Defendant May Make a Statement
Chris Watts, like Jodi Arias prior to her sentencing, may elect to read a brief statement to the court. It may involve an apology, a demonstration of remorse through words, actions, gestures or commitments. It may also involve a plea for mercy and/or forgiveness.
Scrapping the Plea Deal?
There is also a significant possibility that Chris Watts may elect to withdraw his guilty plea. Although he may or may not do so on November 19th, he could also change his plea during December when the media circus will have shifted gears and moved on.
It seems likely that no matter what happens on the 19th, the case [and the aftermath] is far from over, and far from any kind of satisfactory closure for anyone, including the Rzuceks.
Does anyone think #ChrisWatts is going to withdraw his guilty plea tomorrow?
Chris Watts thought he could get away with the annihilation of his family by crafting a story about just one thing.
Spite.
At 06:35 in her interview with 9News, Cindy Watts is asked how she found out about “them being reported missing”.
CINDY [Touching her mouth with two fingers, pressing them against her lips]: I think Ronnie called me. Ronnie called me and said that they’re missing…and, I thought…[swings head] I don’t believe it.
CINDY: I didn’t believe they were missing. I believe that she…was going to punish Chris.
Notice Watts’ mother says this in the present tense.
I believe that she…was going to punish Chris.
So the full psychological equation here, which isn’t elucidated very well right here by Cindy or the reporter, is that Cindy Watts knew over a period of time that her son was leaving Shan’ann, and so within that context, her taking off with the kids made sense to her. Because Shan’ann was a spiteful person, or she was often capable of being spiteful. Spiteful is an ugly, cutting word, so let’s consider it’s permutations:
Maybe, according to him, she was just being mean or unkind. Or was she being cruel, or malevolent, or vicious? Of course, whichever one you think Chris Watts is accusing Shan’ann of, is the word we must accuse him for this murders. Was he just unkind or hurtful, or was this barbed, bitter wounding from him the barbed, bitter wounding that would eclipse all barbed and bitter wounding that had gone before?
We must look at the Sermon on the Porch through his psychology, and when we do, we can see why it must have felt good for him to stand in front of his house, and for him to be afforded the chance to speak for Shan’ann for once.
Instead of her always speaking for him, always drowning him out, now he could do what she did to him, he could be her voice. It must have felt good to suggest things about her, knowing the truth was his preserve, and his only, and that through the media, he he had the power to craft any narrative about her.
Whatever he said became her reality, almost like an enchantment. What a turn-around after all the months of MLM madness, all that time of being being pushed, moved and prodded like a pawn through all those meaningless spiels. Well how about this spiel! This was him getting his comeuppance. And not without a little of his own spite peppering proceedings, but carefully hidden behind a friendly manner and an armor of folded arms.
At this point we’re not interested in finding out whether Shan’ann did or didn’t kill the children, what we’re after is the psychological portrait Watts was sketching of her.
It was of a vindictive, reactive, spiteful person. He makes a move against her, he tells her he’s leaving her, and then BAM she reacts. She reacts mercilessly, like a scorned tyrant, on her own children. And to Cindy this makes absolute sense. Chris Watts had to have known it would make sense to his mother. It had to be important that the scenario felt right.
In Watts’ affidavit and in his Sermon on the Porch his original version was that he told Shan’ann he wanted to separate and she immediately went into reprisal-mode – punishing him by killing the children.
This scenario of going missing to punish him, his original scenario, also felt right to the Thayers.
In their interview with 9News they also though Shan’ann had taken the girls in a huff after some minor or major disagreement. They thought this because that’s what Chris Watts told them, but it also made sense. It sounded to them like something Shan’ann might do, didn’t it?
NICK: I mean [Amanda chokes up on his shoulder] we really thought [wipes his nose with his forearm]…Monday night when we kind of heard about all this going on [before the Sermon on the Porch] we kinda thought ‘we’ll see her tomorrow. We’re gonna be with the girls tomorrow.’ [Shakes head]. I guess…I haven’t even processed the idea…that our friendship with Chris is no longer.
Again, Nick Thayer isn’t very specific about it here, but what he’s saying is he was also led to believe – directly, personally – by Chris Watts, that Shan’ann had just taken off with the kids. Maybe she was upset about something and she left so score a point.
A few days later they realized they’d been duped, betrayed, but they were duped because the lie fell on fertile soil. The scenario Watts was sketching made sense because they knew Shan’ann.
If we watch his Sermon on the Porch again, his demeanor is based on a scenario where him and Shan’ann had had a simple argument, he cares about her and the kids is how he’s presenting himself, but he’s no longer in a committed relationship, and she knows that, and that’s why she’s left.
Interestingly, he makes an “anonymous friend” the reason why she’s missing, a mirror on his own anonymous friend, and a mirror on his own knowledge about how and why this friend [potentially] is the “reason” they’ve gone missing.
In the first minute of that interview, when the reporter asks what happened – a wonderfully open-ended question – Watts sketches it as Shan’ann comes home [no big deal], he goes to work [no big deal] and then he gets a call from one her friends [is it a big deal?] and he returns from work, and he’s the last to know what’s going on [what’s the deal?]. Where’s Shan’ann? Where are the kids? He has no idea. Maybe she left. Maybe someone came and took them [according to an arrangement she made, and a subtle up-yours to him through that, leaving him in the lurch]. And if she doesn’t get back to him that’s fine [because stuff is going on between them], but if she’s not getting back to her people [he’s not her people], well that’s a concern.
All of that within the first minute. It’s a clever ruse except the part that he’s revealing is that it’s only important to worry about Shan’ann because everyone else is.
WATTS [Tongue flick, lowers head]: Uh, she came home from the airport, 2am, and I left around 5:15 [glances up] , she was still here [a lie, she was dead]…and…like…about 12:10…and that afternoon a friend Nickole showed up at the door [nods to the front door] , like I had texted Shan’ann a few times that day, called her, say, you know, but she never got back [slight asymmetric curling of the lip] to me. But she never got back to any of her people as well. And that’s what…really concerned a lot of people. Like, if she doesn’t, like if she doesn’t get back to me [shrugs] that’s fine, she gets busy during the day, but she diodn’t get back with her people which was very concerning. And Nickole called me when she was at the door [opens folded arm and motions to the door] and that’s when I came home. [Dogs barking in background]. And then walked in the house and [looks sidelong into the house] nothing [a slight smile and curl of the lip here too. He’s pleased with his handiwork]. Just vanished. Nothing was here. I mean she wasn’t-wasn’t here. The kids weren’t here. No-nobody was here.
In this version, Chris Watts is leading his audience into a scenario where he goes to work, is summoned home and his wife and kids are gone. Just vanished. He called her, she never got back to him or anyone else. He’s shifting the buck to her. He wants his mother and the Thayers and those close to him to think not what has he done, but what has Shan’ann gone and done?
When I first came to this case, I wondered why there is this extraordinary degree of sadism involved. There’s not just the killing of a woman, but a pregnant woman. Not just the killing of one daughter, but two. Not just the killing of these four flesh-and-blood beings but the unholy dumping of their bodies in oil and dust. There’s sadism – and shame – there too. The psychological mirror for sadism is humiliation. In some way, Chris Watts felt intensely humiliated over a long period of time. The narrative that so many are opposed to [understandably at this stage], that there was a spiteful aspect to Shan’ann’s personality, awakens the possibility that this was the root of his sadism.
It doesn’t make it right or reasonably, but it may go towards explaining why, not so?
And there’s an added reason why so little of the Sermon of the Porch made little sense, and stretched Chris Watts’ credibility to breaking point. There was one word he didn’t mentionduring the interview. This is a question for those who haven’t read any of the TWO FACE books. What word should have been the first word to use during the interview, and it’s a word he simply never mentions once. I’ll deal with that in a separate post, but you can start pondering on this so long.
CINDY: I wake up every-every morning just crying, you know [voice breaks] thinking this is not gonna be…[paddles with her hand]…what’s gonna happen every single day…[with emotion] it’s just so hard to get through it. Mm…[voice breaks, sniffles] I just don’t know how to get through it. [Sighs].
REPORTER: Tell me about his childhood. Did he play sports, was he in scouts, what kinds of things…did…
CINDY: Yes, he played sports…he played sports from the time he was five years old, up until he was seventeen. And he was in basketball, he was in baseball, he was in football. And uh…loved NASCAR. He and his dad went to the NASCAR races all the time. Uhm…loved sports. Loved sports. And he had…he was a good kid. Uh…had…two best friends. And…that’s who he grew up with and still are friends with them today. And uh…there’s nothing…nothing that would have…predicted any of this [shakes head rapidly] could have ever happened.
REPORTER: Yeah.
CINDY: Nothing. Nothing in his childhood…at all. I would’ve never thought in a million years something like this could happen…to him…[licks lips] at all.
REPORTER: Yeah. You didn’t see things like him get into fights or…
CINDY: No. No fighting. He was…quiet…and he…got along with people. And he didn’t start anything. And he…was the perfect teenager to tell you the truth [laughs]. He did not even rebel. [Sniffs] He wanted to go to NASCAR-Tech. We…made that possible for him.
REPORTER: What did he do after he finished school.
CINDY: He worked at the dealership as a service technician…and…was making good money, and…loved it. He…bought a uh…toolbox…and he started buying his tools…and uh…um…[shrugs] enjoyed it. He was [shakes head] doing well.
CINDY: They met and [looks down with sadness]…he liked her, she liked him but I don’t think [sneering] it was love at first sight [jolts head] or anything, [sighs] they took a little while and I guess got to know each other…and you know, dated. Um…it was always a little…a little strange…that [asymmetric curl of lip] she always said a lot of things about Chris in front of me [nods with conviction] that…I didn’t like.
CINDY: Like this isn’t the kind of person I would date. Uh, he doesn’t know how to…do this…or he doesn’t know to do that [leans in one way, leans in the other to give sympathy and emphasis]. Um…he looks like a skater-boy. Look at his hair. Look at how much stuff he puts on his hair. It’s just…it was just on and on and on and I just got a bad feeling.
It’s worth breaking in here to note that Cindy’s experience with Shan’ann parallels that of Amanda Thayer. Shan’ann also told Amanda that she doubted her husband was having an affair because “he had no game”. And Amanda laughed when she repeated this during an interview. When she did, her husband Nick sitting beside her sighs uncomfortably at this compromising and undermining disclosure.
If Shan’ann was undermining of him to his mother and their best friends [and on Facebook], it suggests she was probably very undermining [rightly or wrongly] to him directly.
When Cindy quotes Shan’ann saying this isn’t the kind of person I would date I don’t think it was as much a comment on Chris Watts’ personality, temperament or looks, but his social status. Shan’ann’s first husband, Leonard T. King, was an attorney. That’s quite a status slide – from legal professional to mechanic, and in that sense then, in the social status sense, Shan’ann seemed to think she was better than he was, or that he wasn’t good enough for her.
Maybe she was right. But maybe if she didn’t think that things may have turned out differently. Maybe.
When this class divide forms the backdrop to a relationship, it can be fatally undermining, like someone putting you in a cage. And we know even before Watts met Shan’ann, all his school and college buddies described him as a very diligent, hard-working type. It appears that he brought this same work ethic into the marriage, and into his child-raising, and it was his efforts that paid the bills. But one has a sense – somehow – that no matter what he did it was never going to be good enough. It wasn’t going to get them out of their colossal debt situation, but more significantly, how it felt to him was nothing he did was ever going to be good enough in her spiel. And that I think was the source of his rage, against her, then against the pregnancy, and then while babysitting all weekend, against his entire family.
At around ten minutes into “Sesh 16” Jay & Kay discuss information from an anonymous source close to the investigation. The remains of Bella and Celeste were so saturated with oil, according to the source, they had to be flown separately to North Carolina for burial because they were considered combustible. This suggests the remains were significantly chemically degraded by the time investigators retrieved them. Whoever the source is, it sounds like they’ve had access to the autopsy reports.
To get an idea just how toxic petrochemicals can be to human tissue, consider this comment posted on social media. Someone who works in the industry was saying simply walking around a gas site gave them nosebleeds.
Also that the temperature in those tanks is extremely high, which would accelerate the breakdown of human tissues, boiling the remains, dissolving them to nothing within days.
At about 12:20 in “Sesh 16” Jay & Kay discuss “the condition of Shan’ann’s body” according to their source. Shan’ann’s body was in “really, really, really bad shape. Lots of bruising. Lots of contusions. Lots of defensive wounds. The defensive wounds are indicative of a brutal struggle. And it is…uh…was readily apparent that she was strangled with bare hands…she struggled very hard for her life.”
Jay & Kay then go to some length speculating on why the murder wasn’t a stealthy “ninja attack”. I’m not sure one can draw inferences like that. Once Chris Watts started strangling her, the fight was on. But let’s move on.
What the extensive tissue trauma suggests, if the source is accurate, is the rage – the hatred in fact – that was brought to bear by Chris Watts on Shan’ann when she was murdered. He was determined to snuff out her life. A strangling is a silent crime, but asphyxiation as a manner of death is the slowest and most agonizing death of all. It’s a death that’s usually slower than being stabbed, and much slower than being shot. One literally has the breath, the life, the fight, slowly, steadily, squeezed out of one’s body.
Murder Rap Sesh have done some amazing work, but not all the commentary is entirely accurate. Jay & Kay mention that the couple never fought, for example, but there’s at least one eye witness account where they did as recently as the summer of 2018.
On the whole, however, the point Jay & Kay raise is valid, Chris Watts seemed like a mild-mannered, calm, quiet, reserved guy. So what drove him to break the mold of his own identity? It’s a question worth asking, but it’s also one worth pausing on and making an effort to answer.
What drove him to break the mold of his own identity?
What drove him to break the mold of his own identity – and to commit triple murder?
I think people have it the wrong way round. They keep looking to Chris Watts for signs of abuse, for domestic violence, for bad behavior and violence. They don’t want to entertain a mechanism for this crime; it simply erupted out of thin air as evil does. Why does there have to be a reason?
Nobody likes to entertain the idea that Shan’ann was the pushy, controlling, coercing personality in the house, and Chris Watts – for eight years – did as he was told.
And the rage simmered. And the rage eventually boiled over.
People don’t like that dynamic because it sounds like Shan’ann is to blame, or is being blamed. So they prefer the idea of Chris Watts and Shan’ann as one-dimensional cardboard cutouts, where he is an evil monster, and she is an innocent victim. People like this cartoon because it’s comfortable. But the reality is, no one is all good or all bad, not you, not me, not murderers, and not their victims.
The bottom-line isn’t that Shan’ann deserved to die, or that Chris Watts was justified in killing her. That’s not what’s being argued, certainly not here. What is being argued is that there was a real dynamic going on, just as all marriages and relationships involved idiosyncratic dynamics, so did this one.
Eventually, that dynamic got so rough and raw and chafing it was like a tangible thing. It was becoming unbearable. And that dynamic, that conveyor, is what drove someone who seemed nice on the outside, and who started off nice on the inside – to commit a holocaust against his own flesh and blood.
“That piece of shit may he rot in hell…” – Frankie Rzucek
“He’s a liar.” – Nichol Kessinger
“He has no game.” – Shan’ann Watts and Amanda Thayer
“I knew [Chris Watts] had something to do with it the day I was at his house. She texted me and said she was going to need a friend now more than ever when she got back. He wasn’t being the loving Chris that he normally was. He wasn’t touching or hugging or doing stuff like that. And he wasn’t being as attentive to the girls as he normally is….something had changed.” – Nickole Atkinson
Nichol Kessinger sketches a portrait of Chris Watts as a lying, duplicitous slimebag, who duped her into thinking he was divorced. She had no idea, she maintains, that Watts’ wife of eight years was a few weeks pregnant when they started sleeping together.
But why would the finality of Watts’ divorce or the status of his kids be so important if their relationship wasn’t serious? And why did Chris Watts disable his Facebook a week before the murders if it wasn’t important to hide the truth from a serious relationship-in-the-making? And why would Watts ask her to help him [them?] find an apartment that “would be good for him” [them?]. And did she start prospecting for a new place for Watts to stay?
No matter how you cut it, if Watts was trading out of his family to start a new chapter with Kessinger, it’s difficult to imagine it wasn’t serious. Chris Watts believed their dalliance was serious enough to murder his pregnant wife and both daughters. Did he do something as serious and significant as commit triple murder because the mistress in the wings wasn’t serious?
In the Casey Anthony case, Tony Lazzaro was a serious flame in her life at the time Caylee went missing. Ditto Scott Peterson. In fact Peterson was so fixated with him [and vice versa] he maintained serious contact with her for weeks after Laci’s disappearance. Wasn’t that relationship really serious too?
On the other hand, Nichol Kessinger may have had a point. She may have put the brakes on, letting Watts know they could take things to the next level once Shan’ann and the kids were taken care of. Not murdered of course, but no longer in the picture. If that’s the case, then Watts started calculating how best to go about that. Separation? Maybe. Divorce? Alimony? Custody? How about making them disappear literally…
Kessinger wanting to take it slow and wanting Watts to take care of his daughters within the schema of a divorce suggests a deeper level of commitment to the relationship and his children than the impression of a “brief affair” with a dude she “barely knew”.
It’s also worth noting that Watts worked at Anadarko from January 2015. The way Kessinger sketches it, each morning Watts gathered in an office break room and Kessinger walked through the operators – including Watts – to place her lunch in the refrigerator. Every day. But she never spoke to Watts until one day in the middle of June when he approached her.
Really? But wasn’t he supposed to be shy, cautious and not having any game?
In POST TRUTH, the 100th True Crime Rocket Science [TCRS] title, the world’s most prolific true crime author Nick van der Leek demonstrates how much we still don’t know in the Watts case. In the final chapter of the SILVER FOX trilogy the author provides a sly twist in a tale that has spanned 12 TCRS books to date. The result may shock or leave you with even more questions.
SILVER FOX III available now in paperback!
“If you are at all curious about what really happened in the Watts case, then buy this book, buy every one he has written and you will get as close as humanly possible to understanding the killer and his victims.”- Kathleen Hewtson. Purchase the very highly rated and reviewed SILVER TRILOGY – POST TRUTH COMING SOON.
TCRS MERCH available now – just in time for Christmas!
Book 5 – ALL NEW! “I have thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook…” – Connie Lukens. Drilling Through Discovery Complete Audiobook
Read the entire 9-Part TWO FACE series, the most definitive book series covering the Chris Watts Case
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Book 4 in the TWO FACE series, one of the best reviewed, is available now in paperback!
“Book 4 in the K9 series is a must read for those who enjoy well researched and detailed crime narratives. The author does a remarkable job of bringing to life the cold dark horror that is Chris Watts throughout the narrative but especially on the morning in the aftermath of the murders. Chris’s actions are connected by Nick van der Leek’s eloquent use of a timeline to reveal a motive.”
It’s also likely to be held in the newer complex, rather than the old pillared building.
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