Chris Watts Sentenced To 5 Life Sentences Without Parole

GREELEY, CO – Frederick husband and accused murderer Christopher Watts was sentenced in Greeley Monday morning to five sentences of life in prison without parole. Weld County District Court Judge Marcelo Kopcow said the case was the "most inhumane and vicious crime" he had presided over among "thousands of cases."

Watts, 33, pleaded guilty in Weld County District Court on Nov. 6 to murdering his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and their two daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in the couple's Frederick home and dumping their bodies on the property of an Anadarko oil and gas facility, where he worked.

Watts pleaded guilty to nine felonies – three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of murder of a child under age 12, felony tampering with a deceased body, and the unlawful termination of the pregnancy of his wife.

In emotional victim statements, the family members of Watts's murdered wife Shanann Watts, 34, and his own parents thanked the court and addressed statements to Watts.

"[Shanann, Niko, Bella and Celeste] had all their lives to live, but they were taken by a heartless, the evil monster," said Shanann's father Frank Rzucek. "I trusted you to take care of them, not kill them. They also trusted you – then you take them out like trash."

"I can't comprehend how you destroyed the people who loved you," said Shanann's brother Frank Rzucek, Jr.

Her mother thanked the Frederick police department, as well as the Weld County District Attorney's office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. "Your life is between you and God and I pray he has mercy for you," she said.

Judge Kopcow accepted a plea deal with Watts and his lawyers to to avoid the death penalty. Prosecutors accepted the deal after getting permission from Shanann Watts' family.

Watt's own parents also addressed the court, saying they accepted that their son was guilty of the murders and that they appreciated the efforts of the Rzucek family to "beg the district attorney for his life." A family representative told the court that Watts's parents begged Watts to give a "full confession."

Tears rolled down Watts's face as his mother Cindy said that she loved him.

Watts strangled his wife and smothered daughters

District Attorney Michael Rourke said evidence showed that Watts strangled his wife and smothered his daughters in a "calculated way, not in a fit of rage."

"We know experts say it takes two to four minutes to strangle someone to death manually," said Rourke, asking the court to imagine what was going through Shanann Watts's mind as her husband "choked the life out of her."

Rourke said that daughter Celeste's body showed no signs of struggle when she had been suffocated, but that Bella had struggled and fought and that injuries in her mouth showed Bella "bit her tongue multiple times before she died; She fought back."

Rourke also said that Watts loaded his family's bodies into his work truck "methodically and calmly," as seen in surveillance video.

Rourke said further evidence of Watts's heartlessness was that he shoved the bodies of his daughters through holes in oil tanks that measured "eight inches in diameter" and that a tuft of hair was found on one oil tank and the bodies had scrapes from being pushed through the holes.

Rourke said Watts wanted to start a new life with a "new love" and computer and phone records showed that Watts had called the school where his daughters were to attend and said the family was withdrawing them. He had also called a realtor to arrange for the selling of his home.

Rourke asked why Watts did not ask for a divorce instead of killing his wife and children.

"You don’t annihilate your family and throw them away like garbage, why did they have to lose their lives in order for you to have a new life?"

Watts declined to speak at the sentencing, appearing to tremble as multiple life sentences were read by Judge Kopcow.

His attorney said, "[Watts] is devastated by all this he is sincerely sorry for all of this, thank you."

Mistress comes forward before the hearing

Last week, Nichol Kessinger, a work-colleague with whom Watts was having an affair, went public with her story, saying Watts lied to her and said he was finalizing a divorce when the two began a physical affair in July. She said she went to police in August, when Watts announced Shanann and the girls had gone missing.

Watts was arrested Aug. 15 after his daughters and pregnant wife had been missing for two days. According to an arrest affidavit, Watts claimed to police his wife had strangled the two girls after he told her he wanted a separation and that he then strangled Shanann Watts in "a rage."

He then said he took the bodies in his truck to an oil well site and buried Shanann's body near an oil drum. He told police he dumped his daughters' bodies into different oil drums on the site. Watts admitted he was having an affair with a colleague from work, the arrest affidavit said.

Prosecutors didn't believe him and charged him with the deaths of all three family members.

Watts told police his wife strangled girls and he strangled her "in a rage."

The arrest affidavit said police were alerted by a friend of Shanann Watts that she had missed a 10 a.m. doctor's appointment on Monday, Aug. 13. The friend had dropped Shanann off at home after driving her home from the airport around 2 a.m. The friend told police she called Christopher Watts to check on his wife, since she feared Shanann might have been having a medical emergency.

A police officer came to the house and called Christopher Watts, to ask for the passcode to their home security system. Watts came home instead and allowed the officer into the house, the affidavit said. The officer searched the house, but found no signs of the mother or her daughters. Christopher Watts told the officer that he and his wife had discussed marital separation around 5 a.m. and "informed her he wanted to initiate the separation." He told the officer it was a "civil conversation and they were not arguing, but were emotional."

Officers found Shannon's keys, purse and medication on a table and found her cell phone shoved between two cushions on a couch. Watts originally told police he had loaded up his truck with work tools around 5:27 a.m. and left for for work. The truck leaving the home was recorded by the neighbor's surveillance camera.

Over the next two days, police initiated a neighborhood canvas and asked for the help of the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigations. While conducting interviews, police found out that Christopher Watts had been having an affair with a work colleague, the affidavit said. The affidavit did not name the individual with whom he was allegedly involved.

Watts was arrested Aug. 15 and his father spoke to him while he was in custody. At that point, "Chris said he would tell the truth after speaking to his dad," the affidavit said. Watts then told police again he had told Shanann he wanted a separation, but then "walked downstairs for a moment and returned to his bedroom..." Watts told police that he looked at the image on the video baby monitor on Shanann's nightstand and "observed Bella 'sprawled' out on her bed and blue, and Shanann actively strangling Celeste." He told police he strangled his wife after he "went into a rage."

He then told police he loaded all three bodies into the backseat of his work truck and took them to an oil work site, where he told police he buried Shanann near two oil tanks and dumped the girls' bodies inside the oil tanks, the affidavit said.

Investigators went to the oil field called CERVI 319 and, with Anadarko permission, used a drone to search the property. They found a bed sheet matching those found in the Watts home and evidence of disturbed dirt, the affidavit said.

Watts gave multiple television interviews pleading for the safe return of his family.

Friends told news reporters that Christopher Watts had stayed at their home after his wife disappeared. Amanda Thayer said Shanann had confided to her that she feared her husband was cheating.

On Aug. 14 and 15, before being taken into custody, Christopher Watts gave interviews with multiple news stations. He said Shanann and his daughters had disappeared with his wife leaving her purse and keys on the table.

"I walked in the house and nothing. Just vanished. She wasn't here, the kids weren't here," he told Denver7. Watts claimed he and his wife had "an emotional conversation, I'll leave it at that."

The Watts family had undergone financial difficulties, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2015.

The family had moved to Colorado from Moore County, North Carolina, according to television reports. Chris Watts was remembered by a retired former high school teacher as "the smartest student in the class" with "a photographic memory."

Public records showed the family had financial difficulties, including a bankruptcy in 2015, when the couple reported they were $448,000 in debt. Shanann had been previously married and had used the name Shanann King. The couple owned a house in Belmont, west of Charlotte, which Shanann had bought in 2009. The couple were married in North Carolina in 2012. According to the Denver Post, the new owner, Byron Falls said the Watts's were in a hurry to sell and left all the furniture behind.

The couple lived in Broomfield for a year, then in 2013 bought a newly constructed five-bedroom, 4,177 sq. ft. home at 2825 Saratoga Trail for $399,000.

They were also sued by their homeowner association, Wyndham Hill Master Association Inc., in July, 2018.

• Related: Chris Watts' Mistress Went To Police Before His Arrest
• Related: Chris Watts Pleads Guilty: Avoids Death Penalty

• Related: Colo. Dad Blames Wife For Girls' Deaths, Says He Killed Her In Rage: Cops
  
• Related: Death Penalty Possible For Colorado Dad: Judge
• 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, booking photo via Weld County Sheriff

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