Man says he killed his wife after she strangled the kids
DENVER — A Colorado man told police that he killed his pregnant wife in “a rage” when he discovered that she had strangled their two daughters after he sought a separation, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday shortly after prosecutors charged the man with murder.
According to the affidavit, Christopher Watts said he told his wife, Shanann, early on the morning of Aug. 13 that he wanted to separate.
Watts told police that he walked downstairs after the conversation.
When he returned, Watts said he saw his wife strangling their youngest daughter while their older daughter sprawled on her bed, looking blue.
Watts, 33, said he then “went into a rage” and strangled his wife.
He told police that he loaded all three bodies into his work truck, and then buried his wife at an oil work site and dumped the remains of 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste inside oil tanks.
A judge on Friday denied a request by defense lawyer James Merson to require the coroner to collect DNA samples from the children’s remains.
Autopsies have been completed but not released.
The affidavit was sealed at prosecutors’ request until Monday. After nine felony charges were filed against Watts, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to unseal it.
Watts faces three firstdegree murder charges, two counts of murdering a child, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
The charges come a week after a friend reported Shanann Watts, 34, and the girls missing.
Before his arrest last week, Watts lamented in interviews with local TV stations about missing his wife and daughters. He spoke in front of their home in Frederick, a small town on the grassy plains north of Denver where fast-growing subdivisions intermingle with drilling rigs and oil wells.
The bodies were found on property owned by Anadarko Petroleum, one of Colorado’s largest oil and gas drillers, where Watts had worked as an operator. Court documents filed by Merson said the girls had been submerged in crude oil for four days.
The affidavit says Watts gave police an aerial photo of the area and identified three spots where he placed the bodies. Investigators used a drone to search the area and spotted a bed sheet that matched other linens found in the family home.
Watts is being held without bail.
Family and friends were shocked by the slayings, saying the family seemed happy and that Watts appeared to be a good father.