Watts not fighting wrongful death lawsuit filed against him

Christopher Watts isn’t fighting the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by the family of his wife, Shanann Watts, whom he murdered along with their two young daughters, the family’s attorney said.

Watts, who is serving multiple life sentences for the murders, failed to file a response to the suit by the court’s deadline, said Steven Lambert, an attorney with Greeley’s Grant & Hoffman Law Firm who is representing Shanann’s parents.

Lambert said he has spoken with Watts via telephone at least three times.

“We have talked to him and he admitted to us as well that there was a felonious killing,” Lambert said. “Based on our conversations with him, he is not fighting this.”

Watts pleaded guilty Nov. 6 to murdering Shanann, 4year-old Bella and 3-yearold Celeste in August and disposing of their bodies at a Weld County oil site near the family’s home in Fred- erick. Shanann’s parents, Sandra and Frank Rzucek, filed the wrongful death suit Nov. 19, the day Watts was sentenced to life in prison.

The suit is intended to make sure any profits from the sale of the family’s home go to the Rzucek family, Lambert previously said. It would also keep Watts from making any money if he should choose to write a book or sell the rights to his story.

Watts has not hired an attorney in the case and has not filed a single document in the suit since it was filed, court records show.

The Rzuceks filed a motion for default judgment on Monday, court records show. A default judgment can be awarded if the defendant doesn’t respond to a suit, triggering an automatic win for the plaintiffs.

“He has failed to answer the case against him,” Lambertsaid.

Lambert said he expects the judge to make a decision on the motion in the next week or two.

If the judge finds that Watts is in default, the court will next have a hearing in which a jury decides how much money the Rzuceks should be awarded in damages.

Watts likely will appear by telephone for that hearing, Lambert said. Watts was transferred from Colorado’s Department of Corrections to a prison in Wisconsin shortly after his conviction. Corrections officials have refused to confirm where he is located, but an online system that allows people to send money and mail to inmates showed he was still in the custody of Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections on Wednesday.

The judge on Tuesday granted the Rzuceks’ request for exemplary damages, which means that any monetary damages awarded will be multiplied. Colorado law allows a multiplier to be applied if the defendant acted intentionally and with malice.