Judge: Watts’ defense will be given autopsies
Prosecutors said reports include critical evidence
The Weld County District Court judge handling the Christopher Watts case has ordered the prosecution to provide autopsy reports to Watts’ defense attorneys by Tuesday after they accused the prosecution of withholding evidence.
Judge Marcelo Kopcow also denied the defense’s motion for a protective order that would prohibit the Weld County Sheriff’s Office from disclosing information about confidential jail visits.
District Attorney Michael Rourke on Sept. 17 filed a motion requesting the court allow the coroner to deny public records requests for the autopsies of 34yearold Shanann Watts and her two daughters, 4yearold Bella and 3yearold Celeste, on the grounds that those reports will be critical pieces of evidence at trial and could taint witnesses or future jurors.
Christopher Watts, 33, is accused of killing the three in August and then disposing of the bodies on property owned by the Anadarko Petroleum Co., where he worked.
He is charged with five counts of firstdegree murder, one count of firstdegree unlawful termination of pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
Kopcow in his ruling filed Friday, said the prosecution must hand deliver the autopsy reports to the defense by Tuesday. The defense will have until Friday to respond or object to the motion to keep the reports from being released, and the prosecution can reply by Oct. 2.
The Weld County Coroner will keep the reports confidential until the court files an order on the issue.
Watts’ defense attorneys filed a motion on Sept. 21 saying they could not respond to the prosecution’s request because they did not yet have the reports.
The motion argued the prosecution has not met its “constitutional obligations” to turn over evidence to the defense, and thus was in violation of due process of law and was undermining the fairness of the proceedings.
Watts’ attorneys also filed a motion requesting a protective order that would allow them to withhold information about confidential jail visits. While Kopcow denied the request, he provided an alternative for the defense. In his ruling, Kopcow acknowledges that confidentiality is important if the defense uses experts to make its case. He therefore ordered the sheriff’s office to prevent the release of information from Watts’ visitor logs to “anyone affiliated with the prosecution team.”