CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #10

[ketel0ne]

I'm not sure we ever saw the truck, or that it was an issue until it was being towed and newscaster mentioned it was parked a couple blocks away. I read elsewhere that CW helped friends move the earlier birthday party set up, and conveniently left truck parked there (i.e., 2 blks from home). Regardless, I believe truck not home was intentional. Sure didn't want to be seen cleaning the truck at home!

Night time scene of the Watts home as investigators tow the truck of Chris Watts

 

[Seattle1]

Am I remembering correctly that the neighbors heard shouting or arguing of some sort?

Not that I recall... I think we posters were speculating that CW response about "emotional conversation" was in anticipation of a possible report by others of domestic/loud conversation during the time in question.

 

[Layla123]

I have never understood the logic of a person having an affair and then killing their spouse.

Like the AP isn't going to find out that they were married/are a suspect/are a murderer.
They can't really believe they are are going to be able to stay in the affair while their murdered spouse is missing.
How do they see this as a bridge to a new life, it baffles me.

I know we see this time and time again but it still seems like such a weird motive.

I know! Then when they do it and get caught, they don’t admit it, end up in jail, and claim innocence to their grave!

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

Just out of curiosity, did you watch any of SW's FB videos?

Yes, I watched a couple.

 

[Amonet]

In this video, an expert in the field suggests that the cadaver dog is hitting on an "active alert" on the front porch.
CW did an interview standing on the front porch, he could have sat down on the patio couch at some point before or after the interview. There is a possibility that CW had the smell of death still on his body or his clothing but more likely it would be his shoes from either wearing them when he disposed of the bodies or wearing them in the truck afterwards and got cross contaminated. We know that CW removed the bodies through the garage therefore why does it appear that the dog is reacting to the cushion and/or the porch itself as an "active alert"?
Cadaver dogs are also trained to indicate on human remains in varying states of decomposition.Cadaver dogs can be trained to indicate with a passive (sit) or active (scratch) alert. All of our cadaver dogs are trained to locate human remains on land, whether it is at ground level, suspended or buried.

LOOKS TO ME THAT THE DOG IS SCRATCHING IN THE VIDEO WHICH IS AN ACTIVE ALERT!

View attachment 143595
Watch video for active alert on porch.

That's really interesting. Thanks for posting it for us to see.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Yes, I watched a couple.

I only ask because I watched most of them and not once did I see them walking on eggshells or being deprived of affection by him.

 

[JusticeFever]

I just read the new People Magazine and was surprised to learn Chris & Shannan actually met through FB, Chris sent her a FB friend request, she accepted thinking they would never meet. This was 8 years ago.

 

[Medstudies]

I have never understood the logic of a person having an affair and then killing their spouse.

Like the AP isn't going to find out that they were married/are a suspect/are a murderer.
They can't really believe they are are going to be able to stay in the affair while their murdered spouse is missing.
How do they see this as a bridge to a new life, it baffles me.

I know we see this time and time again but it still seems like such a weird motive.

Scott Peterson and Drew Peterson come to mind. Textbook narcs/sociopaths. They truly believed they were the smartest men in the room. (Heck, Drew nearly pulled it off! - double heck, Scott almost did too except for the weighted bodies eventually washing to shore)

It’s every narcs dream! Attention and adulation! (Swoon!, such loving men that have their loving family torn from them!) They can sell books, get lots of love from the media and society. They can get insurance money! They can get on their white horses and ride off into the sunset with their mistress.

I can only understand this stuff on an intellectual level. I cannot wrap my head around it on an existential level because I’m not a sociopathic narc.

 

[Bill Carson]

Very interesting. Did they mention what day he helped with party clean up?

I wonder where he normally parked his truck, you know on days where he hadn't murdered his family.

Many of these tightly-spaced subdivisions have regulations against parking on the street at night. He may have regularly parked a vehicle in front of a vacant lot to avoid that rule.

Do we if CW had his own vehicle in addition to his work truck?

 

[Gingerbread7]

Did the search and rescue dogs show a response to the vehicle CW transported the bodies in? I wonder if he backed the truck in Monday night, researched online how to clean up a crime scene, then furiously cleaned out the vehicle and house. I wonder how different the house looked 24 hours later.

 

[PommyMommy]

I'm not sure we ever saw the truck, or that it was an issue until it was being towed and newscaster mentioned it was parked a couple blocks away. I read elsewhere that CW helped friends move the earlier birthday party set up, and conveniently left truck parked there (i.e., 2 blks from home). Regardless, I believe truck not home was intentional. Sure didn't want to be seen cleaning the truck at home!

Right! Or have those dogs anywhere near it...

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

Many of these tightly-spaced subdivisions have regulations against parking on the street at night. He may have regularly parked a vehicle in front of a vacant lot to avoid that rule.

Do we if CW had his own vehicle in addition to his work truck?

I've read he also had a car through Thrive.

 

[gitana1]

So it was a "really quick emotional conversation."

How's that work, I wonder?

Like when you grab the other person by the throat and begin choking the crap out of them. You know, that kind of quick, emotional conversation.

 

[molly1255]

Their taxes are escrowed. See "Payor"on the receipt. It says Chase.

This - and without more information, this tells me they were current on their mortgage.

 

[Auburnlucky7]

Yes. Unanimous. My guess is they can’t come to a verdict.

IMO it is waaaaaay to early to even consider that a jury can’t come to a verdict. A jury will see and hear way more than anything we’ve seen to date.

 

[gitana1]

Legal question please .
So does the defense motion to redact inadmissible evidence on arrest warrant mean that is the items blocked out or no?
*attached file from this site

Colorado Judicial Branch

Looks like that's exactly right.

 

[cattlekate]

I think CW knew they were going to get a divorce. He loved the girls, but in an unhealthy way. His whole identity was wrapped up in being a father. We don't yet know what caused his emotional separation from SW, or when it began, but there was evidence of it while SW was in NC. SW could see it coming.

I think CW knew that their world was about to come crashing down---they were going to lose the house (IMO). An ugly custody battle was about to commence that he probably knew he would lose, and he wanted to spare the girls all of that. Or he felt helpless because he didn't have the resources to fight it but she did.

So I think this is a case of "if I can't have them, then you can't have them, either." And "I love them so much that I can't bear to be separated from them." His attitude toward SW might have been the very same (even though he had been cheating)--I love SW so much that I can't bear the thought of losing her.

So he killed them. Grief and the prospect of permanent unbearable loss fuels rage sometimes.

I would be very interested to know if his parents were divorced when he was young, and whether there was a bitterly contested custody case where one parent did not let the other parent see the children.

ETA: I am surprised, if the above is correct, that he didn't kill himself, too.

I think a defense attorney could argue that he SNAPPED and killed the girls in an altruistic way. To “make it stop!”
Arguing that use of kids in a marketing scheme wasn’t right, and that Le-Vel THRIVE was encouraging sharing intimate photos, videos, on a public page. CW could change his story, as we saw that with Casey Anthony.

Just saying with all honesty, so don’t pile on me. But broadcasting, on a public page, the news of pregnancy and childhood illnesses is just wrong, imho. It’s like exhibitionist behavior, and some people don’t like that. Moo.

 

[SuperTmo]

I could be wrong, but I think her choice of employment, and what she thought it would bring her was fantasyland. She needed a more stable job with a better future is what I’m trying to say. And I know she was pregnant, so she couldn’t at that time, I’m talking long term future had she not been murdered.

I think this is not accurate. Her friend posting here said she was marching up the ranks and very successful. She probably made more than the guy who killed her.

 

[Deleted member 117120]

Did the search and rescue dogs show a response to the vehicle CW transported the bodies in? I wonder if he backed the truck in Monday night, researched online how to clean up a crime scene, then furiously cleaned out the vehicle and house. I wonder how different the house looked 24 hours later.

I think NU-A circumvented CW from being able to do a thorough cleaning of the house and his truck. JMO because police were involved from that point forward.

 

[Seattle1]

Does anyone know if a trial like the one CW is likely to face requires a unanimous jury decision to convict/not convict? I've learned not to say "acquit", I don't think the jury does that, either convicts or not. But does it have to be unanimous?

Re. murder: The jury must be unanimous for death. Also, any verdict of guilty must be unanimous. If there is disagreement between the jurors, the judge can instruct jurors to continue to strive to reach a verdict.