Chris Watts's Lawyers Allege Prosecutors Leaked Info To Media

GREELEY, CO – Lawyers for a Frederick man accused of killing his pregnant wife and young daughters in August evidently asked the court for an investigation into whether prosecutors and law enforcement agencies leaked details to reporters.

Lawyers for Christopher Watts filed documents Aug. 29 that are now under seal by a court order, but a response from the Weld Count District Attorney's Office Sept. 6 denied that information had been leaked to the media.

"The District Attorney strives to protect both the rights of the individual defendant or suspect, and the need of citizens to be informed and aware of public dangers and the conduct of public judicial proceedings," the response said. "There is no evidence any lawyer or other employee of the District Attorney’s Office has violated any rule of professional conduct or corresponding order of this Court."

Christopher Watts, 33, was arrested arrested Aug. 15 after his daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste and wife Shanann, 34, had been missing for two days. During the search, Watts had appeared on local TV stations and asked for help in finding the missing mom and girls.

When Watts was arrested, Denver7 television reporter Jace Larson tweeted that "two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation" told him Watts had "confessed to killing [Shanann and daughters] and officials believe they know where the bodies are."

However, the District Attorney's response brief does not mention that specific incident.

The arrest affidavit, which contains details about Chris Watts' conversations with investigators was sealed by a judge until he was charged Aug. 19. Until then, reporters covering the case used documents filed with the court, the DA's office said, to glean details of the case.

The body of Shanann Watts was recovered from a Anadarko oil and gas site, and the two girls' bodies were pulled out of two oil tanks.

The District Attorney's brief mentions that media reports speculated that the two daughters had been strangled, based on a request by the defense attorneys to have a forensic expert with expertise in strangulation examine the girls' bodies.

When the arrest affidavit was finally released, it became clear that Watts had not admitted to strangling the girls, but told police a story that he witnessed Shanann strangling them in a baby monitor screen and then claimed he had strangled his wife "in a rage." Prosecutors did not believe his account and charged him with 9 counts including three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of murder of a child, one count of murder of an unborn child and three counts of tampering with deceased bodies.

The prosecutors' brief says that the DA's office followed protocol when they held two press conferences on Aug. 16 and 20.

"During the press briefing on formal charges, and subsequent to reading the charges, the District Attorney explained that the rules of professional conduct prevented his office from answering questions specific to the investigation, and further reminded the media that charges are simply allegations and that the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," the brief said.

Prosecutors said the extreme media attention for the case, even extending internationally, means that court documents will be scrutinized and media reports will be made.

Watts appeared in District Court Aug. 21 where Judge Marcelo Kopcow told him that if found guilty, a minimum sentence would be life imprisonment without possibility of parole and that the maximum penalty would be the death penalty.

Kopcow did not yet rule whether an investigation into whether law enforcement agencies or prosecutors leaked information would even be possible.

Watts is being held in the Weld County jail on no bond. His next court date will be in November.

• Related: Funeral For Shanann Watts And Daughters Livestreamed In NC
• Related: Colo. Dad Blames Wife For Girls' Deaths, Says He Killed Her In Rage: Cops
• Related: Chris Watts 2012 Video May Hold Clues To Killings Motive: WATCH
• Related: Vigil Held For Slain Pregnant Frederick Woman, 2 Girls
• Related: Colo. Girls May Have Been Strangled, Court DNA Filing Suggests
• Related: Frederick Couple Faced Economic Pressure, Had Filed Bankruptcy
• Related: Christopher Watts Was "Smartest Student:" Former NC Teacher
• Related: 5 Fast Facts About Homicide Of Shanann Watts And 2 Daughters
• Related: Bodies Found On Anadarko Property May Be Missing Children, 3, 4

Image Christopher Watts glances back at a Weld County Sheriff's Deputy as he is escorted out of the courtroom at the Weld County Courthouse Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, in Greeley, Colo. Watts, of Colorado, whose wife and daughters disappeared this week was arrested on suspicion of killing them. (Joshua Polson/The Greeley Tribune via AP, Pool)

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