US dad held for murder of family

Bodies of pregnant mom, two daughters found

AFTER his pregnant wife and two daughters disappeared, Christopher Watts, right, stood on his porch in Colorado, in the US, and lamented to reporters about how much he missed them.

He longed for the simple things, he said, like telling his girls to eat their dinner and gazing at them as they curled up to watch cartoons.

“Last night, I had every light in the house on. I was hoping that I would just get ran over by the kids running in the door, just barrel-rushing me, but it didn’t happen,” he told a TV station.

On Thursday, Watts was in jail after being arrested on suspicion of killing his family, probably before he spoke those words. Authorities did not offer a motive.

The body of 34-year-old Shanann Watts, 34, was found on property owned by Anadarko Petroleum, where Christopher Watts worked, police said. Investigators found what they believe are the bodies of Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, nearby on Thursday afternoon.

“As horrible as this outcome is, our role now is to do everything we can to determine exactly what occurred,” John Camper, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said in Frederick, a small town north of Denver.

Watts, 33, has not been formally charged. A judge ordered him held without bail and told prosecutors to file charges by tomorrow afternoon.

As he was escorted into the courtroom, Watts did not speak. He looked down for much of the hearing, but made eye contact as the judge reviewed his rights.

A family friend reported Shanann Watts and her daughters missing on Monday, police said.

In previous TV interviews, Watts said his wife of nearly six years had returned home at about 2am on Monday after a flight for a work trip was delayed. He said the two had an “emotional conversation” before he left for work a few hours later and that he became concerned after she did not return his calls or texts or those of her friends.

Shanann Watts’s Facebook account paints a portrait of a happy married life.

Her comments were typically upbeat, whether she was running errands, playing with her kids or promoting a health programme.

She posted selfies of her and her husband smiling in restaurants, at the sea on holiday and at their house. On May 5, she wrote: “I love this man! He’s my ROCK!”

On June 19, she posted a photo of some texts with her husband after sending him a picture of a sonogram. He replied that he loved the baby already. She posted: “I love Chris! He’s the best dad us girls could ask for.”

The couple’s 2015 bankruptcy filing captures a picture of a family caught between a promising future and financial strain.

Shanann Watts’s friend Ashley Bell and her family added several items to a memorial of stuffed toys, candles and flowers on the lawn of the Watts family home.

Bell said she never detected anything was wrong between Shanann and her husband. Bell also got to know Christopher Watts and described him as a loving father.

“I just don’t understand it,” she said, reaching out to accept a flower that her daughter had picked from a nearby lawn.

Shanann worked from home as a saleswoman for a freeze-dried food company and took her two girls everywhere, Bell said.

“She was always about her girls,” Bell said. “She would do anything for her girls.” – Ap/african News Agency (ANA)