With two young daughters, a gorgeous home in Frederick, Colorado, and an impending baby, the Watts family appeared to be the epitome of perfection. But a world-shocking nightmare was developing behind closed doors.

Chris Watts, then 35, stood in front of news cameras in August 2018 and begged for assistance in locating his wife Shanann, who was missing, along with their daughters Celeste, 3, and Bella, 4.

However, the frantic plea quickly gave way to the horrifying discovery that Watts had ruthlessly killed his whole family.

There is graphic content in the article that follows.

The family appeared to be content and whole to those who knew them.

However, Watts smothered Bella and Celeste, two children who pleaded for their lives, after strangling Shanann at their house.

Later, it came to light that Watts had been having an affair with Nichol Kessinger, a coworker who allegedly severed his relationship with him after discovering his wrongdoings. Kessinger left Colorado and changed her name. However, the world’s focus remained on the gory reality: Watts had murdered the wife and kids he was meant to be protecting.

The crime’s specifics shocked people all over the world. The bodies of Bella and Celeste were concealed in an oil tank where Watts worked, and Shanann was discovered buried close by in a shallow grave.

Confronted him

Watts was given five life sentences, three consecutive, after Shanann’s parents asked prosecutors to spare him the death penalty.

Mirror US reports that Watts admitted to strangling Shanann and his daughters after they begged for their lives. Years later, Watts acknowledged in letters that he had spent weeks plotting the killings and that he had attempted to give Shanann OxyContin to terminate their unborn child.

According to Watts, the crimes started after Shanann confronted him, and the affair was discovered that summer. Shanann said, “You’re never gonna see the kids again,” after Watts revealed in a terrifying February 2019 interview with ABC News that he didn’t love her.

He explained how he used his bare hands to strangle her, saying:

Thinking about it always makes me ask myself, “Did I know I was going to do that before I got on top of her? It seemed as though I had no control over it and that something had already been ingrained in my mind that I would do it when I woke up that morning.

A haunting query

According to Watts, Shanann didn’t fight, and their daughter Bella horrifyingly entered the room during the assault and inquired, “What’s wrong with mommy?”

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation claims that Watts placed Shanann’s body on the floor of his truck and loaded his daughters into the back. He claimed that while he was driving to the oil site, the girls dozed off in each other’s laps.

Celeste allegedly questioned him, “What are you doing to mommy?” as she buried Shanann. Watts acknowledged that he was unable to recall what he had said to her.

Bella said nothing as Watts strangled Celeste with her Yankee blanket. “Am I going to experience the same thing as Cece?” Bella asked before she passed away. and “Daddy, no!” were her final words. Watts acknowledged that each time he closes his eyes, those two words follow him around.

In order to give the false impression that Shanann wanted a divorce, Watts later acknowledged that he had left her wedding ring on the kitchen counter.

Investigators claim that Watts also placed additional objects throughout the house to give the impression that Shanann had left the house and abandoned the marriage.

Additionally, Watts informed his mistress that Shanann had left with the children. She advised him to remove all information about her from his phone and to refrain from contacting her “until this is done.”

The truth came to light.

During his August 2018 media appearances, he also acknowledged lying, stating: “There was nothing when I got home and entered the house. disappeared. There was nothing. My life revolves around my children.

When the bodies were discovered a few days later, the truth came to light, and Watts was taken into custody.

Watts stated in interviews that he was unable to acknowledge his actions, neither to law enforcement nor to himself. He even asserted that it was only after being suggested to him later that he considered holding Shanann accountable for the children’s deaths.

Prosecutors agreed to drop the death penalty in exchange for Watts entering a guilty plea to all of the charges against him.

As a somber reminder of the atrocities that can occur behind a flawless façade, the Watts family murders continue to rank among the most horrifying family murders in recent memory.