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Published 09:41 01 Jun 2026 GMT
Nearly eight years after Chris Watts killed his pregnant wife and two young daughters, terrifying photo evidence from the investigation is once again drawing attention.
The 41-year-old is serving five life sentences without the possibility of parole at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin for killing his wife, Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three, in Frederick, Colorado, in August 2018.
At first, Watts told police that his wife and daughters had disappeared. When that story fell apart, he claimed Shanann had killed the girls and that he then killed her.
He later admitted to killing his entire family as he pursued a relationship with coworker Nichol Kessinger.
According to a woman who spent years communicating with Watts while he was behind bars, the convicted killer was concerned about how the public viewed the crimes and allegedly wanted some of the most graphic details to remain hidden.
She claimed that Watts was particularly troubled by the findings contained in the autopsy reports for his daughters.
"He didn't want it to get out," she said, per Daily Mail. "I think once he realized what he had done, the idea was just too gruesome."
Watts strangled Shanann before smothering Bella and Celeste. He then transported their bodies to an Anadarko Petroleum oil site where he worked.
Shanann was buried in a shallow grave nearby, while the girls' remains were forced through eight-inch openings into separate oil tanks.
"Think of a dinner plate; he was stuffing the girls through a hole smaller than that," she said. "Just really awful."
"If you read the reports, they're horrifying. He didn't want that to be out there, because that makes him look like even more of a monster," the woman added.
During the early stages of the criminal case, prosecutors tried to temporarily seal autopsy reports, photographs, and forensic evidence ahead of a trial, claiming that public release could affect jury selection and reveal key evidence.
That changed when Watts pleaded guilty in August 2018, eliminating the need for a trial.
According to the woman who remained in contact with him, Watts later privately asked attorneys whether there was any way to stop the records from becoming public despite his confession.
But that failed because, under Colorado law, autopsy reports become public once an investigation is completed, unless a judge decides that their release would harm the public interest.
When Bella's body was recovered, she was still wearing a pink pajama-style top decorated with hearts and butterflies.
The clothing had been saturated with crude oil, and she was wearing only oil-soaked underwear underneath.
Pathologists found green-black oily fluid and debris inside her stomach. The examination also documented injuries inside her mouth, trauma to her jaw, and bite marks on her tongue.
Her younger sister, Celeste, was recovered wearing a pink-and-black t-shirt, a diaper, and underwear, all covered in oil and debris.
Both girls showed severe decomposition after spending days submerged in the tanks. Despite the condition of their remains, investigators determined that both children died from smothering.
Investigators also uncovered details that have sparked speculation that the murders may have been planned.
Days before the murders, Shanann received a picture from Watts showing a large plastic doll wrapped in sheet-like fabric. Watts later claimed the girls had staged the scene while playing.
The image gained attention because of its similarity to the way Shanann's body was eventually discovered in a shallow grave.
Some psychologists have described such behavior as "duping delight," a phenomenon in which deceivers leave subtle clues for their own satisfaction.
Other photos from the investigation documented the clothing Shanann was wearing when she was killed, including a heavily soiled shirt, blue underwear, and a black bra recovered from the burial site.
Watts later claimed during police interviews that he and Shanann had sex on the night of the murders.
Text messages Shanann sent to friends during the final weeks of her marriage suggested the couple's relationship had deteriorated significantly.
On August 7, 2018, less than a week before she was killed, 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 also revealed that Watts told her they were "not compatible anymore."
In another message, she wrote: "I grabbed his hand during ultrasound and he didn't grab back."
Years after the murders, former inmates who interacted with the killer claimed he frequently discussed one particular regret.
Members of a Bible study group at Dodge Correctional Institution said he often spoke about pressuring Shanann to terminate her pregnancy before the murders.
Miguel Canteras, who participated in the group, told The Daily Mail: "He wanted her to have an abortion. He said he really felt bad about that, asking her to get rid of the baby."
Canteras said Watts rarely focused on the murders themselves. "He's really focused on the abortion. That's what he confesses about, that he was ungrateful for the gift of a new baby."
A woman who exchanged letters with Watts recalled a similar admission in correspondence from 2021.
According to her, he wrote: "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, a devout Catholic, opposed abortion.
Former inmates have also claimed that Watts underwent a religious transformation while incarcerated and became a devout Christian.
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