1) Shan'ann Watts was murdered by her husband Chris Watts along with their two daughters, Bella and Celeste. Chris had begun an affair with a coworker, Nichol Kessinger, and strangled his wife and smothered their daughters in their home.
2) Chris pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Shan'ann's parents filed a lawsuit against Chris for wrongful death and emotional damages.
3) Details of the murders were revealed over time, including Chris showing investigators where he buried his wife and hid his daughters' bodies at an oil site where he worked. The case drew national attention.
1) Shan'ann Watts was murdered by her husband Chris Watts along with their two daughters, Bella and Celeste. Chris had begun an affair with a coworker, Nichol Kessinger, and strangled his wife and smothered their daughters in their home.
2) Chris pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Shan'ann's parents filed a lawsuit against Chris for wrongful death and emotional damages.
3) Details of the murders were revealed over time, including Chris showing investigators where he buried his wife and hid his daughters' bodies at an oil site where he worked. The case drew national attention.
1) Shan'ann Watts was murdered by her husband Chris Watts along with their two daughters, Bella and Celeste. Chris had begun an affair with a coworker, Nichol Kessinger, and strangled his wife and smothered their daughters in their home.
2) Chris pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Shan'ann's parents filed a lawsuit against Chris for wrongful death and emotional damages.
3) Details of the murders were revealed over time, including Chris showing investigators where he buried his wife and hid his daughters' bodies at an oil site where he worked. The case drew national attention.
Shan’ann Cathryn Rzucek, an American businessperson, had just been recovering
from a divorce which she claimed made her feel empty because it took everything away from her. She tried her best to heal from it and work hard to achieve her dreams. At the age of 25, she bought her new house which made her happy again according to her Facebook post, but, that happiness didn’t last very long because she got diagnosed with lupus. That was the time when she met Chris Lee Watts, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Chris exerted efforts into pursuing Shan’ann no matter how many times she rejected him. As time passed by, she realized all his efforts and so she decided to marry Chris, and that was when her life got directed towards calvary… JUNE 11, 2018 – After their four-year-old daughter, Bella Marie, and three-year- old daughter, Celeste Cathryn were born, Shan’ann surprised Chris with her pregnancy wearing a shirt that has a statement, “Oops…we did it again.” The video posted on Facebook showed how Chris was shocked and happy because Shan’ann’s condition made her acquire fertility and high-risk pregnancy issues but still, she gave birth to two healthy daughters and was carrying another one again. JUNE 17, 2018 – On Father’s Day, Shan’ann posted a video on Facebook as she expressed her gratitude to Chris. She mentioned that he was very hands-on to both her and their children and even does the dishes, laundry, and even shower their kids to lessen the workload of Shan’ann who is a work-at-home mother. JUNE 2018 – Nichol Kessinger, Chris’ new co-worker in Anadarko Petroleum Environmental Department, often saw him and the other operator on her way to the company’s fridge and eventually developed feelings for him as days went by. Later that month, Nichol and Chris had started dating outside the vicinity of their work. JULY 2018 – After a couple of dates, they extended it to 4 to 5 times a week and even commenced to a physical relationship. Shan’ann had had slight suspicion with Chris’ actions still, she continued going to North Carolina, Shan’ann’s, and Chris’ hometown for their children to spend time with their grandparents for 6 weeks. During Bella’s and Celeste’s visit to Chris’ parents, Cindy Watts, Chris’ mother, gave Celeste a pistachio ice cream which the child is allergic to. Due to worry, Shan’ann became furious and said words which made Cindy felt disrespected so she made Shan’ann leave the house. Shan’ann then texted Chris about how angry she was at his mother and Chris took Shan’ann’s side. JULY 31, 2018 – Chris joined in late to their family vacation because of work and when he finally flew to North Carolina, for Shan’ann, he seemed to be a lot more suspicious than before in Colorado. Shan’ann was expecting that Chris would express how much he missed her because they were not together for more than a month but what happened was the complete opposite. Chris only kissed Shan’ann once when he arrived at the airport and that was it. In their stay there, Chris was focused on his workouts and their children only and didn’t give Shan’ann the slightest care and love that she needs which made her sad and upset according to the text messages she sent to her best friend. AUGUST 9, 2018 - Shan’ann left a letter to Chris and flew for her business trip together with her very close friend Nickole Atkinson who knows all her problems even the ones that were going on with Shan’ann and Chris. Nonetheless, she still left Chris responsible for their children although Chris was already acting “weird” for her. AUGUST 11, 2018 – While Shan’ann was still on her business trip to Arizona, Chris hired a babysitter to take care of Bella and Celeste because he and his co-workers will go to a baseball game. But when Shan’ann checked their bank statement, it turned out that he went to Lady Dog Restaurant & Bar Co. and had spent money greater than how much an individual would usually spend. AUGUST 13, 2018 – Shan’ann went home upset due to the pieces of evidence that supported her assumption about Chris having a mistress and that was also the time when Shan’ann, Bella, Celeste, and the baby in her womb, Nico Lee, spent their first day in heaven. Without everyone knowing what happened to them, Nickole got worried because Shan’ann usually leaves her a message in the morning, and during that day she hasn’t. Nickole was also informed that Shan’ann had missed her doctor’s appointment. These happenings made Nickole called the police to come over to Shan’ann’s house if ever Shan’ann had fainted. Since they do not have permission from the house owners to enter, they waited until Chris came there. As they were checking the house, they found that Shan’ann’s medication for that day wasn’t taken, her phone was turned off, her wedding ring was left on her bedside table, and the house was unbelievably clean to support their assumption that someone had snuck into their house. When Chris was asked about Shan’ann’s whereabouts, he told the police that she was going to a friend’s house together with Bella and Celeste but he didn’t know where. AUGUST 14, 2018 – With Shan’ann, Bella, and Celeste not giving out any sign, Nickole thought of scenarios like Chris harming or even killing them but she didn’t publicly tell it because she wanted to think positively for her best friend’s life. On the same day, Chris went to Denver’s ABC affiliate and ask for his family to return because he missed them and could not sleep properly without knowing where they are. AUGUST 15, 2018 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined Colorado Police in investigating the loss of Shan’ann and her daughters and asked Chris to take a polygraph test. He failed the test and so they were convinced that he is responsible for the loss of his family but he didn’t admit it until his father Ronnie Watts talked to him. Chris then admitted that he killed Shan’ann only because he claimed she killed their daughters which she didn’t. He also confessed he hid their dead bodies in his worksite. AUGUST 16, 2018 – The three bodies were recovered. Shan’ann was buried with an “S” mark on top of the shallow grave while Bella and Celeste were inside the oil tanks. This was also the time when Nichol was interviewed by the police and it came out that the same day when Chris murdered his family, he called the school of her daughters that they were being unenrolled, talked to the realtor that he will sell their house, and even discussed his future with the mistress. Also, Nichol’s phone data showed that on August 4, 2018, few days before the murder, she looked for a wedding dress and searched for blogs on Reddit about dating a guy who has a wife. In contrast to that, she denied that she knew Shan’ann and Chris were still together because Chris told Nichol that Shan’ann and he was in their last phase of divorce. AUGUST 20, 2018 – With all the evidence, Chris was charged with a total of 9 cases and consisted of three counts of first-degree murder; two counts of first-degree murder for causing the death of a person under the age of 12 while being in a position of trust; one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased body (Inside Edition, 2020). SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 – A tribute to the murdered souls were given in front of their house in Colorado and a funeral in North Carolina. NOVEMBER 6, 2018 – Chris pleaded guilty to all the nine accounts of injustices that he had done to his own family. The parents of Shan’ann, Frank, and Sandra also gave their last word to Chris and expressed how angry and disappointed they are with him because they treated him as a son but he killed their only daughter. Despite the anger in their hearts, Shan’ann’s family did not approve of Chris’ death penalty and even asked God to have mercy on him. NOVEMBER 19, 2018 – Chris was finally sentenced to life imprisonment without parole by Judge Marcelo Kapcow and tagged this case as the most inhumane and vicious crime he had encountered. This was also the time when Shan’ann’s parents filed another case against Chris for accusing Shan’ann of killing her daughters because according to them, she would give her life for her daughters and would not do things that would harm them. Also, his father gave out a statement that said he was convinced that Chris had altered what happened on that day. Aside from accusing Shan’ann of being a murderer, Frank was convinced she was not killed while they were discussing their separation rather was killed in her sleep because in his assumption if she was awake, she would surely fight back and would leave a mark on Chris’ body. DECEMBER 3, 2018 – Since the case was made publicly, Chris was moved to Dodge Correctional Facility in Waupun, Wisconsin from Colorado because he had been receiving love letters as well as death threats. FEBRUARY 18, 2019 – Chris then provided a detailed explanation of what happened during the day of the murder. He also mentioned how Bella realized that she was going to die and even tried to fight back. NOVEMBER 18, 2019 - Weld County Judge Todd Taylor told Chris that he owes Shan’ann’s parents six million US dollars. Three million US dollars for killing Shan’ann, Bella, and Celeste and another three million US dollars for the emotional pain that their death brought Shan’ann’s parents. Though Chris can't pay them the money, he will still get charged with eight percent interest if he didn’t. Now, Chris has been allegedly exchanging letters with a lover that has constantly sent him love letters since he got imprisoned. Though no strong and valid evidence was shown in the public to prove this true. As for Nichol Kessinger, she had been living away in Colorado and was allegedly given a new name by the government because of the death threats she had been receiving.