Crime & Safety
Chris Watts Pleads Guilty: Avoids Death Penalty
BREAKING: With consent of Shanann Watts's family, DA Michael Rourke agreed not to ask the death penalty, in exchange for guilty pleas.
GREELEY, CO – Christopher Watts pleaded guilty Nov. 6 to murdering his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and two children, Bella, age 4 and Celeste, age 3 in August, the Weld County District Attorney's Office said.
Watts, 33, plead guilty to nine counts, including first-degree murder charges, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body. Watts and his lawyers agreed to the plea deal, with the consent of Shanann's family, in exchange for District Attorney Michael Rourke's agreement to eliminate the death penalty in sentencing.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Watts on Monday, Nov. 19.
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Watts, of Frederick, 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 owned by his employer, Anadarko Petroleum, and buried Shanann's body near an old drum. He told police he dumped his daughters' bodies into different oil drums on the site. Watts 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.
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- 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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