Published 14:22 IST, October 1st 2020
How many members were there in Watts Family? Here is their tragic story
Netflix released its new documentary 'American Murder: The Family Next door' on September 30, 2020. Find out who are the members of the Watts Family.
- Entertainment News
- 4 min read
Netflix released a new an hour and a half long documentary called American Murder: The Family Next Door on September 30. The documentary dives deeper into the Watts family murders that had shocked the nation of America and the entire world in 2018. The murders had occurred in the early morning hours of August 13, 2018, in Frederick, Colorado, US.
The cops had responded to a distress call made by Nickole Utoft Atkinson, who was Shanann’s friend and colleague. Nickole revealed that Shanann had not been answering her calls and messages and her husband Chris was unresponsive too. It was later found that Shanann, her unborn son Nico Lee Watts and her two daughters had been murdered. Read on to know more about the Watts family.
How many members were in Watts Family?
Shanann Watts and Chris Watts
Source: Shanann Watts (Facebook)
According to the Netflix documentary American Murder, Shanann Watts was 34 years old in 2018. While Christopher Lee Watts (Chris) was 33 at the time. Both Chris and Shanann were natives of Spring Lake and Aberdeen, North Carolina. The couple had met in 2010 and got hitched on November 3, 2012.
The couple had two daughters, Bella Marie Watts (2013) and Celeste Cathryn "Cece" Watts (2015). The family lived in Fredrick, Colorado, in a five-bedroom home. Chris and Shanann had reportedly declared bankruptcy in 2015, following which Chris took up a job at Anadarko Petroleum. Shanann on the other hand became an independent representative for the multi-level marketing company Le-vel. She was selling a product called Thrive.
Chris Watts’ daughters: Bella Watts, Celeste Watts
Source: Shanann Watts (Facebook)
Source: Shanann Watts (Facebook)
Chris Watts’ daughters were Bella and Celeste. Bella was five years old while Celeste was 3 at the time of the murder. At the time of her death, Shanann was fifteen weeks pregnant with a son. The couple had named their unborn son Nico Lee Watts. Shanann was due on January 31, 2019.
Did Chris Watts kill his family?
The Netflix documentary revealed that Shanann had returned home from a business trip to Arizona at about 1:48 a.m. on August 13, 2018. Her friend colleague Nickole Utoft Atkinson had given her a ride. Chris Watts was home with the children. Later that day, Shanann was reported missing and so were her two children. She had also missed her OB-GYN appointment. As Atkinson grew more suspicious, she went to the Watts' home at approximately 12:10 p.m. The doorbell and knocks went unanswered and Atkinson soon notified Chris, who was “at work.” She also called the Frederick Police Department and soon an officer arrived to conduct a welfare check at 1:40 p.m.
Chris too arrived home soon after and is seen on talking with the officer in a video. He discussed ways to locate his missing family. He gave the police officer permission to conduct a welfare check in their house. The searchers discovered Shanann's purse which had her phone and keys. Her car was searched too and still contained the children's car seats, was in the garage. Shanann’s wedding ring was found on the couple's bed.
At this point, Chris was taken into custody and as the investigation grew severe he admitted to killing his pregnant wife Shan'ann Cathryn Watts by strangulation and their unborn son too. Chris also admitted to killing their daughters, Bella and Celeste by smothering them with a blanket. He, then carried Shanann's body, along with his two, living children, to an oil field where he had been working.
Chris then suffocated his two little girls. After their deaths, he hid their bodies in the oil tanks, while Shanann was buried in a shallow grave. Chris pleaded guilty on November 6, 2018, to multiple counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Image Credit: Shanann Watts (Facebook)
Updated 14:22 IST, October 1st 2020