Who is Chris Watts?

American convicted murderer Christopher ‘Lee’ Watts was born in Spring Lake, North Carolina USA, on 16 May 1985, making Taurus his zodiac sign. Chris, his wife Shanann and their two daughters Bella and Celeste lived in Frederick, Colorado where Chris worked as an oil field operator; on 13 August 2018, Chris killed his pregnant wife by strangulation, and their daughters by smothering. Although he tried to hide his crimes by burying his wife’s body in a shallow grave and throwing his children’s bodies into oil tanks, Chris eventually admitted to their murders.

Education and early life

Chris was raised in Spring Lake, but hasn’t shared any details about his parents, brothers and sisters; it’s believed that he’s an only child, and that both his parents were in the real estate business.

He studied at a local high school in Spring Lake and had a rather normal childhood; Chris often played soccer with his friends, and also enjoyed appearing in school plays.

He matriculated in 2003, and although he’s yet to speak about his higher education, it’s believed that he enrolled at college in 2003, and that he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2007.

Marriage and children

Chris and his wife Shanann Cathryn Watts met in 2010, and exchanged vows in a private ceremony in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on 3 November 2012; Shanann was born in Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina on 10 January 1984, and was 34 when Chris murdered her.

Shanann gave birth to their first daughter Bella Marie Watts on 17 December 2013, and their second daughter Celeste Cathryn ‘CeCe’ Watts followed on 17 July 2015; at the time of her death, Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with their son who was to be named Nico.

The family purchased a five-bedroom house in Frederick in 2013, but declared bankruptcy two years later, then moved to Colorado because Chris was offered a job by Anadarko Petroleum, and Shanann soon found a job at the marketing company Le-Vel, selling the product Thrive from her home.

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Murdering his family

After having returned from a business trip on 13 August 2018, Shanann was told by her husband Chris that he had been unfaithful, and that he wanted a divorce. The two got into a heated argument, with Shanann threatening Chris with never seeing his children again; the conclusion of the argument was that Chris strangled his wife.

Bella, who was four years old saw her mother dead and asked her father what was going on, to which Chris responded that Shanann was ill, and that they were going to take her to the hospital. He loaded Shanann’s body into his car, and together with his two daughters drove to his work site at Anadarko Petroleum.

He first smothered his younger daughter CeCe to death with her favorite blanket, and threw her body into an oil tank; she was only three years old. Chris’ second daughter Bella begged him not to kill her, but he nevertheless smothered her as well, and threw her body into another oil tank; he then proceeded to bury his wife’s body in a shallow grave at his work site.

Trial

A day after the above mentioned events, Shanann missed multiple appointments at work. One of her closest friends Nickole Atkinson became worried about Shanann, and thus phoned both Chris and the local police department.

The police’s main suspect was Chris, but he denied knowing the whereabouts of his wife and children; he only claimed that they had marital problems, and didn’t care where she was. Chris failed a polygraph test on 15 August, and then admitted that he had murdered Shanann and their daughters two days earlier; the three bodies were recovered on 16 August, as well as the body of their unborn child.

Chris was charged with five counts of first-degree murder on 21 August (two charges per each child under the age of 12), three counts of criminally disposing of a deceased body and one count of illegal termination of pregnancy. On 6 November 2018, Chris pleaded guilty and was given five life sentences plus 84 years on 19 November.

He was transferred to Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin in December 2018; he gave an interview in February 2019, claiming that he regretted his actions, and that he had found God.

The funeral for Shanann and her daughters was held at a Catholic Church in Pinehurst, North Carolina on 1 September 2018, and was attended by Shanann’s parents and brother; numerous other people were also in attendance, while thousands watched a Facebook livestream.

Chris’ lover

Chris’ lover was identified as 30 years old Nichol Kessinger, and she spoke about their affair in an interview in November 2018.

Nichol revealed that they’d met in the summer of 2018, and had sex for the first time in July; she also revealed that Chris had told her that he was going through a divorce, and that he and Shanann only had to straighten out the financial details.

Nichol went on to reveal that, after learning about Chris’ missing wife and children, she immediately called him and began asking him questions. She revealed that she instantly understood that he was lying, and that it was her who phoned the police, as well as collaborated with them; Nichol also told Chris that she wouldn’t speak to him again until his family was found.

She hasn’t given any interviews since then, and it’s widely believed that she broke up with Chris the moment she learned about what he’d done.

Height, eyes and wealth

Chris’ age is 38. He has brown eyes and hair, is 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall and weighs around 160lbs (72kgs); Chris has a muscular body, as he often worked out at the gym prior to his imprisonment. He’s a fan of tattoos, and has several inked onto his arms.

Chris’ net worth’s been estimated at $6 million in debt..

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