The word 'monster' is crude, and yet it aptly sums up who Chris Watts is.
He is currently serving three consecutive life sentences for the murder of his 34-year-old pregnant wife Shanann, and their daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three, in Colorado in August 2018.
Watts made the choice to murder his family in cold blood. Yet he blames one person for his decision — the woman who he was having an affair with at time. And in his prison letters referencing her, he only refers to her as "Jezebel".
In the Christian religion, a Jezebel is considered an immoral woman who deceives people in order to get what she wants. In Watts' mind, his former mistress Nichol Kessinger is to blame for his callous actions.
Watch the trailer for American Murder, the Netflix documentary that follows this case. Post continues below.
Watts originally fronted news cameras with a desperate appeal for help when his wife and two young daughters were reported missing, the truth soon emerging when the bodies of Shanann, Bella and Celeste were recovered from an oil field owned by the petroleum company that Watts worked for.
His wife and his unborn son had been buried in a shallow grave, and his daughters submerged in crude oil vats.
Initially his story to police had been that his wife had left him and taken the children. He later tried to claim that she had killed the girls, but eventually confessed to the crimes and pleaded guilty.
A more accurate version of what happened that night was then revealed.
In his confession interview, Watts detailed how Shanann had returned from a work trip at 2am, on the morning of August 13, 2018, and that they were in an argument during which he admitted to having an affair.
He claimed that when Shanann threatened to leave and deny him custody of the children, he "snapped" and strangled her. He then transported her body to an oil field that belonged to his employer, and buried her. Their two children were alive in the car. He then smothered his two girls with a blanket, and disposed of their bodies in vats of crude oil.
Nichol Kessinger was a crucial witness in the case.
The pair both worked at the oil company where Watts ended up hiding the bodies of his wife and girls after murdering them. Kessinger said he introduced himself to her at work in June 2018. She thought Watts was divorced, as he didn't wear a wedding ring and he had claimed that he was separated from his wife.
Kessinger believed him and they began a sexual relationship in July, seeing each other four or five times a week.
"He made me believe that he was doing all of the things that a rational man and good father would do. He's a liar. He lied about everything," she said to the Denver Post.
Kessinger was not and is not suspected of any wrongdoing or involvement in the murder.
"I kept asking him, 'What did you do, Chris? What did you do?'" she said to police at the time. "I asked, 'Where's your family?'"
"So I texted Chris one last time, and I told him, 'If you did anything bad, you're going to ruin your life and you're going to ruin my life. I promise you that'. And he responded, 'I didn't hurt my family, Nicky.' And that was the last text. I never said another word to him after that."
Watts will spend the rest of his life in a small cell at a notorious maximum security prison in Wisconsin.
In the years since being convicted, several handwritten notes from Watts have been obtained and published by various media outlets. The latest have been published by the New York Post.
In one of them, Watts admitted that he had been plotting the murders for some time, so that he could be with Kessinger. It's in this letter where Watts described Kessinger as a "Jezebel".
"I was having an affair with this girl and I ended up in love with two women at the same time. It's what led up to what happened. She is of evil spirits, like Jezebel."
A similar note from 2020 read: "The words of a harlot have brought me low. Her flattering speech was like drops of honey that pierced my heart and soul. Little did I know that all her guests were in the chamber of death. How did I let this happen? The blessings you have bestowed upon me were right in front of me, and still I followed the perfume of a strange woman."
He added: "Jezebel was the forbidden fruit, and it was costly."
It's been reported that Watts has become heavily religious amid his time incarcerated.
Watts said he never read the Bible before entering prison, but has now read it cover to cover.
"I never knew I could have a relationship with God like I do now... it's like the amazing grace with all of this," he said, according to a transcript from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
For Shanann, Bella and Celeste's family, they have to live with the grief of losing their loved ones.
"We would die for our family to be back right now. (I have) a lot of memories. When I walk through that front door I look up at the balcony, and that is where my grand girls would be every day when I came home from work. To this day I look at that balcony. It is very hard," Shanann's father told CBS News through tears.
"Now, we have to look back on memories every day of the good times. And we had good times."
If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.
Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a national organisation that helps women, children and families move on after the devastation of domestic and family violence. Their mission is to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most. If you would like to support their mission you can donate here.
Feature Image: Facebook.
Top Comments