US4 min(s) read
Published 15:00 25 May 2026 GMT
Chris Watts is said to have one major regret over the gruesome murders of his wife and two young daughters.
It may be one of the most chilling and disturbing cases in recent times, with Watts currently serving five life sentences without the possibility of parole at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin.
The horrifying case unfolded after Watts was found guilty of killing his wife, Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and their daughters, Bella, four, and Celeste, three, in Frederick, Colorado, in August 2018.
It was revealed that Watts had strangled his wife and smothered his daughters, before shoving their remains into oil tanks with eight-inch openings, while Shannan was buried in a shallow grave near the tanks.
A documentary would be released by Netflix, revealing the grueling details of the case. But there is still more to the case than we may be aware of.
A lot was revealed about the father, such as his affair and the effort that his wife Shanann put in to trying to save the relationship.
But it's something else that Watts wished he hadn't done, as the 41-year-old had allegedly come clean to his cellmates.
They believe he is feeling remorseful for the wrong thing though, as Watts also infamously acted like a concerned dad when his family vanished.
Cellmates in his bible study group claim that he now regrets trying to pressure Shanann into an abortion, as she was carrying their unborn child when he strangled her to death on August 13, 2018.
After reporting the family missing, police would find their bodies in the oil field within days, and Watts confessed just two days after murdering his family.
The convict told his wife he was cheating with a coworker and wanted a separation on the day he killed her, news she didn't take well, as she threatened to take their children away.
Miguel Canteras, who was in the BIble Study group with Watts last year, told The Daily Mail that Watts would often speak about pressuring his wife to get an abortion.
His behavior while at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun has been questioned due to instances like this.
"He wanted her to have an abortion. He said he really felt bad about that, asking her to get rid of the baby," Canteros revealed.
The former inmate revealed that he didn't speak about the murders themselves, adding: "He's really focused on the abortion. That's what he confesses about, that he was ungrateful for the gift of a new baby."
As part of several jailhouse love letters to female pen pals, Watts said similar, writing to a 43–year–old woman in 2021 that he "was selfish".
Speaking to the publication but remaining anonymous, she recalled him saying: "I didn't want another child, I was selfish. I didn't want more responsibility. It was wrong of me to tell her to do that, because that's not what she wanted."
Shanann was opposed to the abortion as a devout Catholic, and Watts was not happy with this, though the former texted a friend about how it had affected her, just a week before her death.
Dating back to August 7, 2018, she wrote: "Chris told me last night he's scared to death about this third baby and he's happy with just Bella and Celeste and doesn't want another baby."
She noted that he claimed they were "not compatible anymore," and he refused a hug, further saying in another message: "I grabbed his hand during ultrasound and he didn't grab back."
Watts would undergo a religious transformation in prison, becoming a devout Christian, said a cellmate in 2020.
