Chris and Shanann Watts.Photo: Shanann Watts /Facebook
Under police questioning last week,Colorado triple murder suspect Chris Wattsallegedly admitted he killed his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, but only after, he claimed, he “went into a rage” when she strangled one of their daughters, court documents show.
Chris’ startling explanation for how his wife and their two children —4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste— all ended up dead was revealed in a newly unsealed affidavit supporting his arrest.
In the intervening days, as investigators worked on what appeared to be a missing persons case, Chris initially said that he had talked to Shanann on Monday after waking up about 5 a.m., after she got home from a work trip just before 2 a.m., and he told her he wanted to separate, the arrest affidavit alleges.
Shan’ann Watts (right) and her daughters.Shanann Watts /Facebook
Chris said that while he and Shanann “were emotional,” the conversation was “civil,” according to the affidavit.
Speaking with authorities later, Chris again said that he saw Shanann on Monday — this time around 4 a.m. — and “informed her he wanted to go through with a separation and they were both upset and crying,” police said in the arrest affidavit.
Chris claimed Shanann “told him she was going to a friend’s house that day.”
Finally, in another police interview, and after law enforcement allegedly uncovered that he was having an affair with a coworker, Chris said he would “tell the truth.”
At that point, Chris claimed, he “went into a rage and ultimately strangled Shanann to death” before loading “all three bodies onto the back seat of his work truck,” according to the affidavit.
Causes of death in the three killings have not been confirmed and neither has what authorities suspect to be the motive — though, in charging Chris with murder, they dismissed his account of what happened.
Shanann, though, adored her family.
“That’s all she talked about,” Kris Landon tells PEOPLE. “She talked about her girls as miracles, because she had some health problems and didn’t know if she’d have kids. But she really embraced motherhood, and I thought she embraced her marriage, too. They seemed like partners. Amazing partners.”
At a Monday news conference where Chris’ formal charges were announced,Shanann’s father spoke briefly, sharing his family’s gratitude for the community’s support.
“Keep the prayers coming,” he said.
Chris is next set to return to court on Tuesday. He has not entered a plea and his attorney did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
