Hey everybody say hi. Say hi. Oh, you can't say hi She is a hat You have to take a leap of faith in yourself no matter what It is in life like take that leap of faith and know that you can do whatever you want to do. I Was in a really really really bad place and I got friends to friend request from Chris on Facebook And I was like what the heck I'm never gonna meet him except a one thing led to another and Eight years later. We have two kids We live in Colorado and he's the best thing and that has ever happened to me and because of my health challenges Because I got so sick. I let him in and He only knew me at that time. He knew me at my worst and he accepted me You know through Your vows like through sicknesses and everything. He's been there He was the one that let me lay on him and fall asleep for three and a half hours on his lap while he had a pee He is the best thing that has ever Ever happened to me. So but that being said know that no matter would and I can go on forever with a story like but I want to cut a short set up for you guys know that No matter how hard life gets no matter How low you feel? Know that deep down like in your heart that there's a purpose There's a reason for everything. We may not understand it at the time So pink means that's just the tacit anyone there just says the pink is gonna be girls know Just the chest. That's awesome Cool when I'm calling because I'm concerned about a friend of mine. She's not answering the doors She's not responding text messages phone calls, and there's no movement in the house whatsoever She's 15 weeks pregnant She wasn't feeling well And she had a doctor swimming this morning at 9:00 and they told her to let me know if she needed me to take her she's got two little girls and She was very distraught over the weekend wasn't eating normally or drinking and we kept trying to force it on her because she's pregnant Her husband and her supposedly are separating, but she didn't know that she thought they were just having issues He disclosed that to me today Because I called him and I was like have you talked to her from Stan's and she left for work this morning? Because I can't get hold for him. I called I texted her cars in the garage her shoes She wears every single day. I ran the front door show us one vehicle. No, they only have the one Okay In a car Police departments, but the ones inside make yourself know Police the puppets for anyone's inside make yourself know Both in the garage from the outside. What is it his mom's gonna get it, okay Hey Chris monster Coonrod for the police department pretty good. So did you have any idea where your wife is? Yeah, I mean I don't see anything out of place I'm not hearing kids I'm not hearing anything Yeah, and all of her stuff is here tonight set off the dog by trying to encourage forcefully, and that didn't work so And their alarms one of the ones where it goes off and it goes I guess making years food. Mm-hmm So she was in there tutor earth Yeah, she would have lost you to sleep because they have little things on the wall on every world to go off The neighbor has a camera system I'm here Scot oh you don't know so this is the only vehicle she would have she would drive, okay Food chuck in the house look and say oh Well Any friends she you know, she would be hanging out with I mean, I know I guess her Her parents or out-of-state bus across country, North Carolina. Oh, yeah, so that's not happening All the girls 20 strong They're likely to sleep if they don't leave any we've done but Nothing else piers be missing though just stuff you'd take for a quick trip Boom proposed here that performs here Does she work yes yours kimono from home shorts. This is their lifeline He has have any kind of issues marital issues or Your yes bio yet or anything or you just talking down through a long forgotten saw the house Now is that going There was no note or anything by the wooden ring Good in the box you went through in fact Although it's kind of hard to tell if she took a little bit or and ease it up to the lot but it's hard It's a little bit or not. Okay? She tell you anything about leaving moving out not moving out. I mean Blossom Foster was this morning. She said she's gonna take the kids To a friend's house unless you that's where she's gonna be and then I've text her today. I've never heard anything But cars car sir come right here. Unless somebody came to pick her up, but the people that I know Don't I start from there no, but I see Definitely not one This you would be Tourists, you know Mike's co2 I mean just like Dry. We're like this we don't if you the school People that I know that lives down there people the Kristin lives down that way and That's the only people only rocks like noticed you rotate You go to their house frequently or not much Yes way burger Well, I've got my detective coming there's because this is kind of an odd situation So we try to get her pinpoint down find a friend or something You may have you call the bank Let's do that, have you heard from tram today? What's that You know this long contumely, yep recording yep, well it's not visitors Okay, the spokes motion any motion event that happens. I get cars driving from this street from this street My detective just showed up so he'll probably want to talk to you you'd probably I Said you might have you call it the bank and see if there's any kind of activity Because if there is any sort of action under his cameras, I would I got issues the other other week when people were stealing stuff out of like garages and stuff like that and Yeah, there's someone das I'm gonna try to Jenny with a flathead screwdriver But if any action that would happen in any card or anything letters your house All right, I appreciate your time But you just want to go talk to him I'm gonna get his info real quick Shannon watts and her two daughters three-year-old celeste and four-year-old Bella Vanished on Monday their startling disappearance triggering a statewide alert as police and the FBI Focused on her home outside Denver where she was last seen when I got home yesterday I was like it goes town like she wasn't here kids weren't here I have no idea like where they went Chris watt Shannon's husband says his wife was also 15 weeks pregnant came home from a business trip at 2:00 a.m Monday the couple having an emotional conversation. He says before he left home around 5:00 a.m Watt says Shannon never returned text messages later that morning never answered the door when her friend arrived at the home and knew watt says Something was wrong I was trying to get home as fast as I can and I was going through stuff by itself through everything Just trying to get home as fast as I can cuz know this made sense Police who had searched the family home an area with dogs safer. Now, there are no significant leads 34 year-old Dodie mother's car still in the garage. She left her phone at home her purse her wallet All of her money her ID So we need to have everybody step out of the house So you can leave that there They moved in just before I did five years ago, in fact before the children were even born, okay Yeah, how would you describe your relationship with them? Hey Joe I saw the father and I see dad And the last week maybe, okay Yeah, when I was asking him about the lawn because my lawn has started to die and no What are you doing to keep you on green? I would never have known Jeez that's scary Mom and dad used to live over there too with them. Okay. Yeah one time you saw mama did oh I believe it was dad and that could have been maybe three weeks ago in the back. Yeah, okay Anything different over the last I don't know two days three days Vehicles odd noises out lights There was a truck out here yesterday. In fact, that's why I thought you were here yesterday. Maybe someone complained about that I hadn't seen off saying before we're telling the truth It was kind of almost it's still great Okay, but that was way down to you the dad has a great big truck and it's gray This is unusual very quiet Yes. Yes. This is very unusual That's why we're trying got a lot of resources out here trying to find him and make sure they're okay I Didn't know she was pregnant again. I had we ever see her. Okay, how do I know she's pregnant? It's dead in our neighborhood watch. Okay, I gotcha, but you didn't know it. No, I hardly ever see her just normally Thank you very much to themselves when you did see her did you ever see her around her husband yeah, how Abiquiu right friendly or was she kind of quiet reserved? How was they both are very quiet reserved. Very quiet. Okay You spoke to her. Oh my gosh. I don't think I've seen her all summer. All right, okay Kiddo You're making me Really digging deep in me. It could be Four to six weeks since if and how they have all their little stories, they don't know outside in the heat of the day At least that's kind of what I noticed and they don't go outside and less an adult. Is there wonderful. I'm good I mean, yeah, the two little bi by themselves. Yeah. Oh, yeah, what are they three five acre? to employ Three and four three and four. What is your my wish my template? Yeah, so little thing Anything that I haven't asked that you think I should know it was just odd or something you thought was weird I wouldn't think anything is weird from over there because Normally you Hadley ever see anyone go in come out now. I saw his Charlie yesterday Which is unusual without more help I didn't leave in the morning only fools like me arrow You know here they see him leave at that time within I Was at the great truck or truck was that there was his regular truck big truck Okay, can you speak up just a little bit so the recorder I know you're tired and you're stressed And we won't be here any longer than we have to be that you've already had a conversation with people before You came here on your own free will to talk to us. We picked you up and at your request and brought you here you Can get up and leave at any time. You don't have to talk to us if there's a question You don't want to answer don't answer it if you don't want to talk anymore, just tell me I want to tell me I want to leave and I'm kind of in the way of the door, but you're not being You're not being Interrogated as a criminal suspect we're here to understand your relationship with Chris and what you know about Chris and his family and Events relating to Chris Watts. Okay. So let's just start with like a timeline of your Getting to know Chris how you guys met where you met all those things. Let's just run and I'm not gonna ask you specific questions with us I think it's necessary. I'll let you just tell me your story I think it's a little bit easier that way so I just want to know how you met him where you met him How long you guys were dating? To measure the flow through your body during the test Let's look back for the math. Oh, sorry Man What that does is obviously detect motion and movement in your body So that how important it will be that you remain completely still during the testing If you move your little toe yeah, you know, it's lifting weight of everything happens from your core You move your little toe our suit and a register online on my iPad. So it's very very sensitive so that's how important to be a feeling completely still so what we call a Directed line rektage test, okay My chair over here so obviously a director by factor test and it gets you a Indication that it probably wanting to lie on the practice. I'm sorry. I don't want you to lie yet I will tell you what at that point that I want you to lie, okay? How many numbers you get into paper for which what's been named three? I want you to write the number three online works missing Okay correctly use your right or your left hand Are you right-handed? Right, okay Pretty good Okay a lot of time. Hmm. So this is the door to my practice head So what that means is I'm going to ask you if you row every single number on this piece of paper Okay, so I want you to be truthful to all the numbers But I want you to like when I asked you if you wrote the number three You really did write the retrieve that I want you to say no that you did not want you to lie to me. Okay? Okay, so during the trust me I'm gonna leave this right here. You need to look in the area of this clipboard you can't look side to side up down wherever Chris wants to look you don't have the six a online or three but you're gonna Be looking Visually in this general area right here. Okay, so I will tell you when the test is going to begin and then I will tell you where the test is going to end You The test is about to begin please remain still Regarding this number URL and piece of paper. Did you write the number one? Did you write the number two Did you write the number three No Did you write to number four no Did you write the number five No This portion of the test is complete please remain still I take the instrument out of Operational Valley and feel The gray noise remember to lie and everything I was awesome those So you always be a really bad liar have people told you that before like the thing you tell a lie, like they can tell like on your face that Because it's shaking you lied to them over three Like I know if you heard me cooking and like turn down the sensitivity because you're starting to go off the page So that is what I need to see as the pellagra fer because that telling me that you know, what's wrong to tell a lie And you're actually having a significant reaction when you lie, so that it's awesome. So thank you for being a liar Thing that's a good thing. We don't want to because liars. So, thank you for being a horrible liar he doesn't have a wedding ring on his finger and Every time I talked to him, he didn't tell me that he was in a relationship. He didn't mention his kids right away either And then one day and he told me that he had two kids I was like that's pretty cool And they're talking about his kid that sounded like a sarcastic. Um, no, I thought it was kind of cute I was like, oh, he's a dad. It was like right around Father's Day, too Because we don't have it on tape we discussed prior to turning the tape on on Tuesday, which would have been the 14th of August you Had read some newspaper articles on the 13th from the 14 that regarded this case Yeah, almost I had a conversation with Chris at some point during the day on Monday and on Tuesday Because of what you found specifically what you said was and I'm telling them he put words in your mouth but you found out that his Wife was pregnant Yes, and you did not know that prior and you found that out via the newspaper articles, and that caused you Well, I just realized that he was lying to me and I was like well if you can lie to me about this what else He lying to me about and it made me realize that maybe his wife was in danger at that point and it was day 2 - and she still wasn't home Tonight we have someone who claims to be from Chris Watts past Chris Watts recent past and we are not going to show you this person because he wants to continue his life without Consequences for speaking out in this case, but we are going to let him tell his part of how he connects to this story This is a story that we have to be honest with you We can't independently verify but it is a story that could be extremely telling as we try to figure out What happened in the Watts family? This is a man who claims to be Chris Watts former lover and he joins me now live sir. Can you hear me? Okay, I count Some of the stuff you're talking about. It's pretty hard to believe And we're getting to the point where we're wondering if you're wasting your time I mean, is there a question or I mean? I don't know how you want me to respond that I didn't know what else you want me to These are the challenges getting them, right You told us that you watched a video over and over Okay, so we know that you're aware of everything that's out there and all you've talked about are things that anyone else knows you haven't Brought forth any information you're having sex with a guy in this car You don't know anything about him other than what the public knows about. Okay, he took $60 from him You yourself admitted boutique home And so now we're wondering if you're a hooker Who maybe blew a guy who? Was a murderer and maybe feels guilty about it or maybe feels like you're going to get in trouble about it. I don't know What's going on with you? But I don't know why you're here tonight So you just you already said but you remove the text messages I don't even all of his stuff because he lied to me I mean, that's what it was. It was it was a hurt. That made me Delete it. And then it was the lie that made me start questioning everything else He'd been telling me for the last few days and that's when you decided to come forward. Yes So just for context. Yeah, when people delete stuff off phones, usually we go He he He lied to me. It just hurt Like I had never felt like he never lied to me before and it was a big lie I mean telling somebody that you're in the midst of a divorce and then you Have a wife that has a 15 week old baby on the way is a Huge huge thing and I was very taken back and I was just it was hurt. And so at that point I just I Like deleted it I had it I had a few more quick things to say to him and then I just Got rid of him. That's literally what I did. I just cut him out of my life It would honestly been like a bad breakup kind of thing. Like if none of this other stuff would have happened That's what it would have been that would have been end of it. The information was not destroyed because there was anything in there that would help be Harmful to you or potentially to Chris at this point, but harmful to you in particular. That's not what you do know Excuse my language this guy's an asshole So I'm getting it rid of it and I'm getting this stuff off my phone that was like me kicking him out of my life And then like I said, and then realizing that he lied that was when I was like, okay Maybe his family is in danger and they're not coming back and they're not staying with a friend Okay, you let me know when you're ready begin during this part of time I want you to hug me from the back of the chair. Okay, not looking up downward side to side anything like that was Your mom. No, it's getting race you Onto the clipboard go now. So your area of selfish is going to be like in this area. Okay. Yes. All right. You ready? okay, so This is about to begin it remains still Regarding Shannon's disappearance you intend to answer all of the questions truthfully. Yes Your first thing Christopher yes Did you forgive me Tasha man's disappearance Were you born in 1985? Yes Are you lying about the last time you saw sugar no Do you know where she is now? This portion the test is complete Sushma shall I take an instrument out of operation Did he ever tell you that he loved you? Yes, he did. Did you ever tell him the same a couple times? Now we're standing that today because that made those thoughts may have changed for you but on let's go One Sunday into Monday or Monday. Did you did you still love him on those days? I think it was something where as I said it a few times and I meant it but he definitely felt the urge to say it to me a lot more than I did to him because it was just all very new to Me and I was like take your time with this like you don't need to To like rush that you know, like I remember when he was in, North Carolina and he was like trying to patch things up with his wife and he told me he loved me and I was like don't say that to me like Please go try to fit and I mean that not might even be in that text to it's like don't don't like don't say those words to me and Then go try to make peace with your wife and lay in bed with another woman Like just don't do that and I was like, it's not that I don't Appreciate what you're saying to me. It's like just It just didn't sit right for me, you know So I just feeling was like an insecurity where he had to say that to you. I don't know. I think he he like Looking back at all this now I don't think he was trying to fix things with her so saying I love you to me seemed like probably something that he genuinely meant like I love this woman and Regardless of where he was gonna end up that night Clear Testimony here, you know that He did not match the polygraph test. Sure, okay So now we need to talk about what actually happens thankfully here probably ready to do that. I Didn't lie to you on that polygraph, I promise Chris understo I Fell for me take a deep breath. I Want you to take a deep breath right now We're not we're not here to play games we're not here to do any of that. We just want to know what happened So, can you start a new beginning to tell us what happened? Everything that I've told you I cannot lie on this polygraph I am How much I get I tell you right now like it's not An option right now. We cannot you do not ask why I don't know. I know you're being set this shows That's why I'm a nation in issue right now the issue right now is what happened to Cheyenne? Ella and Celeste This is where this is where the rubber meets the road with courage Like don't let this continue any longer, please I'm not trying to hide anything. Continue. I want them back whole of like But you know, they're not coming back home. We're confused as to why you're not taking care of your beautiful children I'm on site area right now, right? They're bad We're for that Chris right. Now your dad's outside across the country - hello, okay We know that something happened to all three of them, but I want to know If something happened to these baby girls first that you had to take into your own hands and deal with you're the queen of that portion and Maybe they're cleaned up after Shannon or you make the mistake and I want to believe that maybe I ended it and you felt compelled to Fix this though should end it look bad That's what I that's what I want to believe But I don't know you're not telling me that so makes me think the worst like Did you I did not turn on three anomaly class your internship What if she Manziel tell us Chris Chicks are crazy my daughters of us to do you want to bring him in here the Bike flew across the country and crashed him. How about this? If we bring it down in here, would you please tell them what happened? I Come out here for like five hours and I'm like Absolutely before we get in tengo el dorado Well, I don't know that you want to get out there because there's a lot of people will go through the halls Should we bring them in here? Don't step out Well, how about this? If we bring in your dad, will you promise me he'll talk? The things you need Hey Christopher you have a how much timing you okay Kurt he was an Erica. Yes Was no longer And this polygraph failed it Is a regional I should women anything They know I had a fair And then they know I can't think about that The ocean will tell them what's going on Really thing one Protector what I want to protect their you don't want retirement she hurt And one of our New Yorker Shamino folks is the total death Most attention Joker Not just this screech Going to be all the bodies off is on And you know what that I myself and nothing else to do After days of searching and hoping for the best possible outcome Yesterday Chris Watts the father and husband of those missing was arrested on suspicion of murder And shortly after a body believed to be that of Shannon Watts was located nearby So what I would like to do is explain the procedures that we're going to use Regarding this sentencing hearing. Let me first say that I realize that the sentencing hearing is emotional for many of us and I Expect that your behavior in the courtroom both in this courtroom and the overflow courtroom is appropriate if the court determines that your demeanor behavior while in the court during the hearing is not Appropriate I have advised the deputies that I will be asking you to be escorted out of the courtroom. So please Be mindful of your demeanor during the sentencing hearing So these are the procedures that we are going to use for the sentencing hearing First the prosecution will have an opportunity to present evidence Once the prosecution finishes the defense will have an opportunity to present evidence Then if there are any Victims under the Victims Rights Act including Cindy and Ronnie Ronnie watts that have not been called by the prosecution or the defense or any other defined victims under the Victims Rights Act They will have an opportunity to make a statement to the court as it relates to their rights under the Victims Rights Act Good morning, mr. Risley. Good morning I'd like to say to the corset Jana Bella and Nico 11 caring people that loves life Did love being around people who loved him They all said they always had good times This is the first time they went to the beach this year and they'd loved it But god only knows what happened that night life will never be the same without seeing it it's less than Eko Had all their lives to live They were taken by a heartless woman This is the heartless one the evil monster Who dare you take the lives of my daughter Shannon Bella Celeste and Nico. I Trusted you to take care of them and not kill them and they also trusted you The heartless monster and then you take them out like trash You disgust me They were loving and caring people You may have taken their bodies from me but you will never Take the love they had for me They loved us more than you will ever know Because you know what? Look you don't know what love is Because if you did you would not have killed them you monster Thought you would get away with this. I Don't know how the cameras do not lie. You carry them out like trash of the house Yes I seen the videotape You buried my my daughter Shannon and Nikko in a shallow grave and then you put balance the less in huge containers of crude oil You heartless monster? you have You have to live with this vision every day of your life And I hope you see that every time you close your eyes at night. Oh I forgot you have no heart or feelings or love Let me tell you something. I will think of them every day of my life and I love them every day of my life Prison is too good for you This this is hard to say, but may God have mercy on your soul. I Hope you enjoy your new life. It's nothing like the one you have out here May the courts have no mercy on you It's hard every day. It hurts in so many ways. I Have heard people say that you're not a monster. No, you are not you're an evil monster Thank you, love you Shannon bail and you go Love you pop up and dip and one other thing and Shin says She is super excited for justice today, thank you Your Honor Frankie Bruce of jr He has asked me to read his statement before him but he would like to stand with me if that's okay Of course you went from being my brother. My sister's protector One of the most loved people in my family to someone I will spend the rest of my life trying to understand What gave you the right to put your hands on a woman? Let alone my best friend my beloved sister your daughters and your son. Why weren't they enough for you? In the blink of an eye, you took away my whole world the people that mattered to me the most Everything in my life. I loved your children. They trusted you they loved you They looked up to you because you promised to keep them safe Instead you turned on your family My blood is boiling as I write these last words because they are the last you will ever hear from me I can't even think of the right words to describe the betrayal and the hate I feel And to be honest, you aren't even worth the time and effort. It takes to put my pen to this paper There isn't a day that goes by that. I don't cry for my family. They were my whole world All I do is ask myself. Why why would you do this? You don't deserve to be called a man. What kind of person slaughters the people that love them the most? Did you really think you would get away with this? Did you really think that this was your best option to throw away your family like they were garbage? They deserve better and you know it I hope you spend the rest of your life staring at the ceiling every night Being haunted by what you've done None of us deserve this hearing my mother and father cry themselves to sleep in this hotel room Causes me anguish that as we onwards I can't describe how this feels how badly my heart is breaking for my poor parents We trusted you you have taken away my family from this earth, but you can never take them from my heart You took away my privilege of being an uncle to the most precious little girls I've ever known I will never hear the words uncle Frankie again But you will never be called dad again either You'll never be able to put your hands on another woman. Let alone my best friend my beloved sister and your son I just can't comprehend how they weren't enough for you Shan and Bella and CeCe loved you more than anyone you were their hero How could you destroy the people who loved them the most I? Pray that you never have a moment's peace or a good night's rest in the cage You'll spend every day of your life in a cage You are privileged to live in because my family isn't evil like you We begged the district attorney to spare your life despite because despite everything We believe that no one has the right to take the life of another even so even someone like you I Feel sorry for your family I know the pain that they must feel knowing that they can't hug you Because that's how my mother father and I feel every time we cry for our family Nothing hurts more than watching or hearing my family weep for their loved ones I just wish that I could tell that that you would tell the truth but I know that that is asking for more than you are capable of I Stayed up all night writing this statement. I don't sleep because of you My life will never be the same because of you But at least my conscience is clear I get to live free but I can't say the same for you. I Haven't slept in two days because I've been anxiously waiting for this moment the moment I get to tell you how I feel how this has affected my family and I My family and I can finally grieve after today If anything we will come out of this stronger today than we were before and we will continue to pray for your family sincerely Frankie Rousseff My name is Sandra psycho Shannon's mother I Wanted to say thank you for this moment. I Wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has prayed For our beloved family once in gifts cards to us from all over the world I know God will put the evil people where they need to be So want to take the time to thank the town of Frederick? Greeley FBI the DA's office the CBI for exceptional work We thank Nicole Atkinson Shannon's neighbor Nathan and his family To me. They're our heroes. They really they really are god bless God makes no mistakes on who he puts in. Your life marriage is about love trust and friendship and unity We married for sickness and health to death do us part Our daughter Shannon loved you with all of her heart your children loved you to the moon and back Shanna's family was her world Shannon put a crown on your head but unfortunately The day that you took their life God removed that crown We loved you like a son we trusted you Your faithful life trusted you your children adored you and they also trusted you Your daughter Bella Marie sang a song proudly And I don't know if you got to see it, but it was daddy. You're my hero. I Have no idea who gave you the right to take their lives But I know God and his mighty angels were there at that moment to bring them home to paradise God gives us free will So not knowing did you take the family for your family and for you took your own life I Want the world to know that our daughter and her children were so loved by us There will always be protected by God and his mighty angels. I Did one death for you because that's not my right Your life is between you and God Now and I pray that he has mercy for you from Shannon's mother Bella Marie Celeste Katherine and Nico Lise nan Thank You Jana Your Honor that's all the witnesses that I had intended on calling and I know that a court addressed this during the procedural Posture I'm aware that mr. And mrs. Watts would also like to address the court I would certainly invite the court If you want at this point to call upon them or we can certainly do it after any evidence that the defense has as well The Cindy or Ronnie wants wish to make a statement confront cement Morning on I'm Cindy Watson Rhonda Bob said interview with Melanie have authorized you to infestation to the court at Franklin Children They can choose not to make a statement but your designee miss powers chooses to she can do so as well How would you like to? Do it's almost art I'm gonna start that I would like to make each other be speaking first your honor initially They've asked me and they're hoping that they have the strength to speak But if they do not get written out their statements and asked me to finish for them second, that would be fine I'd like to go first if I could start Your Honor On behalf of the Watts your honor and to the community We thank you for the opportunity and the recognition under the victim Bill of Rights we come today as the grandparents and the Parent of the daughter and children whose life was taken in this case We are not here to ask for leniency we are not in any way condoning or tolerating The crime that has occurred and the pain that has been caused we join In our daughter-in-law and grandchildren's family and saying this should never have happened This is not condone about This is something that we will never get over We appreciate the consideration That everyone has paid most especially the families that have lost everyone We appreciate that they begged for Christopher's life We agree and echo what they have said that it is not his place to take anyone's life Nor would it be our place as a community to take his life? So we thank you for the opportunity and for every consideration and effort that's been put out The prosecution in this case has in fact respected the victim Bill of Rights. They took the time to Explain that the information that my clients had at the time that they were interviewed was not correct They were misinformed They were searching for answers they were not intending to cause any pain to anyone and they appreciate that the prosecution answered their questions and gave them the time and the respect and the Consideration so that they could tell this court and everyone in this community that the interview content was not their message That they accept that their son has done this That they accept that he chose to plead guilty That he sought and requested their consent and agreement for a life sentence they Appreciate that. He has given the opportunity to serve that life sentence. It is his responsibility it is his sentence and it is not enough to make up for What has done? We understand and we join the family and that we have questions We don't know how such a thing could possibly happen or that a man that was responsible for raising his children and protecting his wife Would take the steps that he did and that he would disregard their bodies and the love that he had for them and they had for him and everyone else and take the gestures and put this community through the investigation and the discovery and the Responsibility of bringing justice, we do not understand that. We do not think it was appropriate We cannot begin to think that an explanation will ever justify it my clients indicate that they understand that a Full opportunity for a confession with all of the responsibility and accountability Has not occurred when they support the family and the request that that happened if not today At an appropriate time in an appropriate manner so that everyone can have peace to understand to the best of their ability the details that they need and to have their questions answered and By giving this opportunity of a life sentence. We hope that he Embraced at that moment that had the death penalty been pursued there would not have been an opportunity to be accountable and to give a full confession and had the death penalty been sought Counsel would have fought for his life. The prosecutors would have been engaged in a multiple year battle The families would have been torn apart This community would have had to subsidize it and endure it and we have so much respect and gratefulness that that did not happen We would strongly encourage Christopher Watts to give that full confession in the tone and in the timing that he thinks is appropriate with the guidance of his counsel we feel that it would be appropriate and helpful to ease the pain and the suffering but we also say We don't think that there's anything that he can say that will ever account for his behavior There's nothing that can be done to cure the harm he has caused and he has the responsibility to serve his sentence with dignity and With regard for everyone and to spend every breath that he has left in an atonement for what he has done Cindy watts My name is Cindy watts, I am the grandmother of two beautiful granddaughters Bella Marie Celeste Katherine watts I am also the mother of Christopher watts who I will be directing most of my statement to First I'd like to begin by recognizing the absolute horror of this crime And acknowledging the devastating loss except both the Rousset family as well as our family have faced Our families have been irreparably broken by the needless deaths of Shannon Bella CC and Miko This is something we will never get over We will always mourn the loss of our family and in that we are united in our grief. I Am still struggling to understand how and why this tragedy occurred? I May never be able to understand and accept it but I pray for a peace and healing for all of us now to my son Christopher I Have known you since the day you are born into this world I've watched you grow from a quiet and sweet curious child who Bella reminded me so much of Joy, a young man who worked hard in sports and later mechanics to achieve her goals You're a good friend brother father and son you have a We have loved you from the beginning and we still love you now This might be hard for some to understand How I can sit here under these circumstances and tell you although we are heartbroken Although we can't imagine what could have led us to this day But we love you Maybe you can't believe it either As the Lord said in Jeremiah three 31, I have loved you with an everlasting love therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you and you as your mother Chris I have always loved you and I still do I Hate what has happened your father and sister and I are struggling to understand why But we will remain faithful as your family just as God remains faithful Because of his unconditional love for love for us We love you If I could read the mr. Waadt statement My name is Ronnie watts and I'm the grandfather of Bella Celeste Niko watts Honey, I'm the father of Shannon I am the father of Christopher watts as well And one of the most important things I've done in my life is to raise my children and to watch as they started their own families, I Spent many years coaching Little League and talking to my son Taking him to the races and sharing my love and knowledge of cars with him He was just as involved with his girls. I Believe he loves his girls. I know he does This tragedy has impacted my family in so many ways Beyond losing my precious grandchildren our beloved daughter-in-law we are forced to question everything we Still don't have all the answers and I hope one day Christopher you can help us Chris I want to talk to you as a father and son you Are here today accepting responsibility but I want to tell you this now I Love you Nothing will ever change that and I want you to find peace and today is your first step the Bible says if we confess our sins God is faithful and just And will forgive us Chris I forgive you and your sister forgives you and we will never abandon you and we love you dad So thank you for the opportunity to address the court Your Honor there are no words to adequately describe the unimaginable tragedy that brings us before this court today By my comments. I'm not even going to try to express the horror the pain Or the suffering that the defendant has caused to these families to this community and to all who were a part of this investigation However, I do want to spend a few minutes Sharing with the court the details of the crime has so far You've only had an opportunity to review the affidavit and a few facts here and there that have been offered to the court in the motions and pleadings that have been filed the Questions that have screamed out to anyone who will listen since August 13th of 2018 are why and how Why did this have to happen? How could a seemingly normal husband and father annihilate his entire family for what? these are the questions that only one individual in this courtroom or on this planet knows the answers to I Fully expect we will not receive the answers to these questions today Normally will we at any point in the future? I? Don't expect that. He will ever tell the truth about what truly happened or why even if he did there is no rational way that any human being Could find those answers acceptable responses to such horrific questions The best we can do is try to piece together some kind of understanding From the evidence that is available to us and the evidence tells us this The defendant coldly and deliberately ended four lives Not in a fit of rage Not by way of accident but in a calculated and sickening manner Xi9 was 34 years old. She had married the defendant in November of 2012 Over the weekend leading up to August 13th. She had been at a work conference in Phoenix, Arizona and returned home in the early morning hours of August 13th We know that she got home about 1:45 in the morning the doorbell camera on their home shows her arriving back home from the airport Shortly thereafter at least according to the defendant. They had a what he referred to as an emotional Conversation about the state of their marriage and about what their lives would look like going forward What was said during that emotional conversation only he knows? What we do know is that shortly after that the defendant strangled her to death with his own hands We know that he slowly took her life the morning of August 13th We know that this was not done in an uncontrolled vengeful manner that he tried to describe to agents from CBI and the FBI If that were the case, you would expect to see vicious horrible bruising about her neck shoulders and face You would expect to see the hyoid bone in her neck broken You would expect to see some kind of defensive wounds on his body as she struggled and fought for her own life None of those are present The only injuries that were on Shannon's body Were one set of finger or bruising what appeared to be fingernail or finger mark bruising to the right side of her neck We know that our experts will tell us that it takes two to four minutes to strangle someone to death manually with their own hands the horror that she felt is the man that she loved wrapped his hands around her throat and Choked the life out of her must have been unimaginable Even worse what must Bella age for and Celeste age three Must have experienced her thought is their father the one man on this planet who was supposed to nurture and protect them was snuffing out their lives They both died from smothering Let me say that again the man seated to my right smothered his daughters Why imagine the horror in Bella's mind as her father took her last last breaths away Your honor understand very clearly Bella fought back for her life The frenulum the connective tissue between her upper lip and her gum had an inch and a half. Excuse me a centimeter and a half laceration She bit her tongue multiple times before she died She fought back for her life as her father smothered her Celeste had no such injuries In fact, she had no external injuries at all. But according to the medical examiner, she was smothered nonetheless The defendant then methodically and calmly loaded their bodies into his work truck Not in a hasty hasty or disorganized way He was seen from the neighbors doorbell camera Backing his truck into the driveway Going back and forth into the house and back out to the truck three different times one time for each of their bodies He then drove them away from their family home one final time Intent on hiding any evidence of the crimes that he had just committed In one final sign of callousness for his wife his daughters and their unborn son and their remains He drove them to a location that he thought no one would ever find them To one of the oil tank batteries with which he was so familiar He knew this was safe He had texted a co-worker the night before Saying I'll head out to that site. I'll take care of it He had carefully insured that he would be alone in the middle of the plains To secrete away the remains of his family in a place that he hoped. They would never be found in one final measure of disrespect for the family he once had he ensured that they would not be together even in death or he so he thought He disposed of them in different locations He buried Shanon and Nico in a shallow grave away from the oil tanks Bella and Celeste were thrown away in the oil tanks at this facility Different tanks. So these little girls wouldn't be together in death Imagine this Your Honor This defendant took those little girls and put them through a hatch at the top of an oil tank eight inches in diameter Bella had scratches on her left buttocks from being shoved through this hole a Tuft of blond hair was found on the edge of one of these hatches The defendant told investigators that Bella's tank seemed emptier than CeCe's because of the sound That the splashes made These were his daughters Significantly when his co-workers arrived at the tank battery later that morning to a person they all described him as acting completely Normally, it was a normal workday Even while his daughter sank in the oil and water not far away from him and then his efforts at deception truly began We've all seen the emotionless interviews that the defendant gives to the local media Asking for help in locating his family. We watched as he claimed that the house was empty without them and That he hoped that they were somewhere safe and he just wanted them to come home He told investigators that they were at home sleeping when he left for work that morning and that Shannon had told him that he was she was taking the girls to a friend's house for the day What is striking about this case your honor beyond the horrors that I've already described to you Is the number of collateral victims that he created by his actions? While he stood in front of TV cameras asking for the safe return of his family scores of law enforcement officers neighbors friends and family scoured the area Fretted for their safe return they texted him begging for any information and sending him their best wishes all the while He hid what he had done The list of indirect victims does not end there think of the firefighters and the Colorado State Patrol hazmat experts who had to Don protective suits and Who were called upon to pull Bella and Celeste out of those oil tanks? Or the coroner employees who had to conduct these autopsies Or the victim assistance who franked frantically attempted to ease the suffering of those affected All of this your honor for what? Why? Why did this have to happen His motive was simple your honor he had a desire for a fresh start To begin a relationship with a new love that overpowered all decency and feelings for his wife his daughters and unborn son While Shanon texted the defendant over and over again in the days and weeks leading up to her death attempting to save her marriage the defendant secreted pictures of his girlfriend into his phone and Searched and texted excuse me texted her at all hours of the night While Shannon sent the defendant self hoped self-help and relationship counseling books one of which ironically enough was thrown in the garbage He was searching the internet for secluded vacation spots to take his new love in researching jewelry And while Shannon took the girls to visit family in, North Carolina The defendant went to car museums and the sand dunes with his new girlfriend The stark contrast between the subjects of their internet and text content is absolutely stunning Even the morning after he killed them and disposed of their bodies He made several phone calls One was to the school Where the girls were supposed to start? Telling the school that he would that the girls would not be coming to school any more that they were being unenrolled Presumably to give him some more time before long for law enforcement notification about them going missing He contacted a realtor To start discussing the selling of his house and he texted with his girlfriend about their future None of this answers the questions of why however if he was this happy and wanted a new start get a divorce You don't annihilate your family and throw them away like garbage Why did Niko Celeste Bella and Shannon have to lose their lives in order for him to get what he wanted? Your Honor justice demands the maximum sentence under the agreement reached by the parties as you will recall the agreement calls for life sentences as to Shannon, Bella and Celeste and all of those to run consecutively to one another it also calls for the count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy as to Nikko to run consecutively to counts 1 2 & 3 I Would suggest that the extreme aggravation present in the defendants conduct? And is that the efforts that I have described? Mandate that the sentences for count seven eight and nine the tampering with the deceased human body Each be the maximum of 12 years and that those sentences run consecutively to one another It is very clear that each of these acts Excuse me that these were not the subject of one act but each oil tank that he walked up with his daughter's bodies and The hole that he dug for his wife and unborn son mandate and mandatory consecutive sentence It's been alluded to this morning But the defendant was certainly eligible for the death penalty in this case under the existing law in the state of Colorado as you heard Shannon's family strongly opposed my office seeking the death penalty and Being bound to the groom of the criminal justice system for the next several decades That's in large part as you've heard why we have reached the agreement that we have Four lives were lost at the hands of the defendant on August 13th for reasons that we will never fully Understand nor will we know in? The end the rusik family was much more merciful towards him than he was towards his wife his daughters and his unborn son prison for the remainder of his life is Exactly where he belongs for murdering his entire family. Thank you One days while the cost for restitution I am your honor, please Good morning Your Honor mr Watts has asked us to share this morning that he is devastated by all of this and although he Understands that words are hollow at this point. He is sincerely sorry for all of this. Thank you Showing mercy on mr. Watts is understood. I Respect that decision to Request that the district attorney not seek the death penalty in this case And so the court is going to accept This plea bargain under the circumstances Words that come to mind when I hear The evidence in this case are a senseless crime and Viciousness of the crime and equally aggravating in this court's determination is the despicable act of disposing of the bodies in the manner in which they were Done in this case I've been a judicial officer now for starting my seventeenth year and I Could objectively say that this is Perhaps the most Inhumane and vicious crime that I have handled out of the thousands of cases that I have seen and Nothing less than a maximum sentence Would be appropriate and anything less than the maximum incentives would depreciate the seriousness of this offense So the court is going to sentence mr. Watts as follows With regard to count number one Murder in the first degree as it relates to shin and Watts The court has got a sentence. You served to a life sentence in a Colorado Department of Corrections followed With no possibility of parole And that is going to run consecutively to All but counts three and four With regard to count two as it relates to murder in the first degree With Bella the court is going to sentence you to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections with no possibility of parole With regard to count number three the court is going to sentence you as it relates to Celeste it's a life in the Colorado Department of Corrections with no possibility of parole With regard to counts four and five relating to Bella and Celeste as a different Theory of first-degree murder the court is going to sentence you to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections and Legally those sentences must run concurrently as different theory of first-degree murder Recognizing The unlawful termination of pregnancy for the unborn child that's has been named eco The court absolutely believes that the maximum sentence of 48 years would be appropriate to run consecutive to the other charges with an additional mandatory parole period of three years SF forth by statute With regard to count number seven as a relates To tampering with a deceased body as well as counts eight and nine each a class three felony the court is going to impose a Maximum sentence of twelve years each for those temps to run consecutively to the other accounts The court is going to one of that Statutory fees be paid in court cost the courts anagram of the prosecution 91 days to file a notice of restitution and That will be the sentence of the court We will Shortly be in recess I would respectfully ask the parties that You remain in your seat. There is a plan by the deputies on allowing people to exit the courtroom so please remain seated until you are authorized to leave the courtroom based on the direction of the deputies Deputies I would respectfully ask that take this defendant into custody and have serve the rest of his life in the Department of Corrections We are Please right. I Don't know many of you Should see
I can’t with him. Looking at him just makes me sick.
Christ. Between him - Patrick Frazee and Scott Peterson- I just want a cast iron skillet...right in the face.
I despise this piece of shit
He is dead in the eyes! I hope he lives a very long and miserable life feeling haunted by his sins!!
what are peoples theories (or what did he say) as to why he committed these murders?
Classic covert narcissist. I've learned so much about the psychology of a narcissist from his behaviors.
Not sure if anyone else realized it. But you could see the smile he was trying to hold when he had the news interview. I bet he was thinking he could gonna go away without getting caught.
Again seriously? This is so old. People seem to obsess over this guy and how he behaved and how he reacts as he's being caught. He's in jail for life.