CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #16

[Bluefield]

It’s encouraging to see technology come to the aid of crime solving. Cameras in most neighborhoods, gps on phones and in cars, social media, DNA websites, etc.

It’s damn near impossible to commit a crime now without getting caught......hopefully all of the evidence in this case will lead to a conviction and LWOP for CW.

Also, we can only hope that soon all of this technology will be a deterrent for others to commit crimes and we can live happily ever after

I wish that was true, but the Bureau of Justice Statistics says otherwise.

"Only about half of the violent crimes and a third of the property crimes that occur in the United States each year are reported to police. And most of the crimes that are reported don’t result in the arrest, charging and prosecution of a suspect, according to government statistics."

https://www.google.com/amp/www.pewr...property-crimes-in-the-u-s-go-unsolved/?amp=1

 

[margarita25]

You cannot prove what you can't prove. They can offer a theory of when the deaths occurred, but if they happened in rapid succession, it would be very hard to prove which one happened first. There would be no forensic evidence, re time of death.

I agree it could prove difficult to assert who was killed first.

So, if this is the case, would they just say “we don’t know who was killed first but we still assert CW killed them all”? I don’t think so but I don’t know. They might have to? As you said they can’t prove what they can’t prove...they might have to choose sooooooome sort of theory/approach though which they think is most likely, right? Idk.

@gitana1

 

[molly1255]

I really feel he had this planned out. I don't think it was a last minute thing. I think he planned it while she was gone.

I think it was planned in advance also, but that there was a catalyst that coincided with SW's trip to AZ, which might have been SW's discovery of his secret life.

Another thing, LE were called to the house on Monday afternoon and went through the house. They noted SW's phone, keys, etc. were in the house, and they noted the bedding on the floor in the master bedroom. There must not have been any signs that a crime had taken place, though. No overturned furniture, nothing broken, no visible blood, etc.

If SW had been home and alive when he went after the little girls, she would have gone after him with everything she had to try to protect them. He would have had scratches and bruises and there probably would have been blood. JMO.

 

[esmerelda]

r

Happened to me. One day the ex decided he was "done" with the life he had and stopped doing, talking, interacting, with us. He never verbally expressed this, there wasn't a blow out, just a sudden cutoff.

 

[molly1255]

I agree it could prove difficult to assert who was killed first.

So, if this is the case, would they just say “we don’t know who was killed first but we assert CW killed them all”? I don’t think so but I don’t know. They might have to? As you said they can’t prove what they can’t prove...they might have to choose sooooooome sort of theory/approach though which they think is most likely, right? Idk.

@gitana1

In the case of Jeffrey MacDonald, LE was able to determine what really happened because each member of the family had different blood types.

In this case, I'm wondering if it is a lack of blood evidence that tells the story, or part of the story? I mentioned in my previous post, LE was there on Monday and went through the house. They returned Tuesday morning when they found SW and the girls had not returned.

If SW had been home (and alive) when he was attacking the little girls, there would have been an incredible fight as SW tried to save her girls.

There may be something more, too, and we don't know about it yet. Perhaps something to do with SW's cell phone?

 

[margarita25]

In the case of Jeffrey MacDonald, LE was able to determine what really happened because each member of the family had different blood types.

In this case, I'm wondering if it is a lack of blood evidence that tells the story, or part of the story? I mentioned in my previous post, LE was there on Monday and went through the house. They returned Tuesday morning when they found SW and the girls had not returned.

If SW had been home (and alive) when he was attacking the little girls, there would have been an incredible fight as SW tried to save her girls.

There may be something more, too, and we don't know about it yet. Perhaps something to do with SW's cell phone?

Thanks for your response, these are good thoughts.

Which brings me to something I’m been wanting to mention since the beginning but keep forgetting: they said they looked at the bed and saw no evidence of foul play, right? (Will look for exact quote). This comment has actually bothered me. I realize they are talking about obvious signs of blood, struggle, etc but.. Actually before I elaborate further let me pull the exact comment then reply.

Again the initial search was a cursory search (Savanna Greywind’s case comes to mind) so I’m assuming luminol, etc hadn’t been utilized yet, laundry collected, etc. As I understand it, COD has still not been released, neither has any evidentiary analysis of the home, items collected, etc.

ETA:

“Once police and Chris arrived, he let officers into their home, where officers found Shanann’s purse on the kitchen island and a suitcase at the bottom of the stairs. Upstairs, the couple’s bed had been stripped of its sheets and blankets, but police wrote there were no signs of foul play.“

Chris Watts murder case: Everything we know so far about the deaths of his wife, daughters

 

[mickey2942]

It’s encouraging to see technology come to the aid of crime solving. Cameras in most neighborhoods, gps on phones and in cars, social media, DNA websites, etc.

It’s damn near impossible to commit a crime now without getting caught......hopefully all of the evidence in this case will lead to a conviction and LWOP for CW.

Also, we can only hope that soon all of this technology will be a deterrent for others to commit crimes and we can live happily ever after

Even in a rural area, cameras are everywhere. It hasn't made society any safer though. Interesting, that the technology also helped catch Mollie Tibbets killer as well.

I confess to having a webcam in my house, I check it a few times a day, just to see what is going on, the cat and dog wandering around, mostly sleeping, great crime stoppers!

 

[BabyButterfly]

Someone had pointed out earlier that this was because she was not a first time home owner.

Just to clarify, this FHA thing has come up so many times! You don't need to be a first time home buyer. A 2 second Google search gives the following info:

Candidates for FHA Loans
Borrowers will a low credit rating
Anyone that cannot afford a large downpayment
If you are receiving your downpayment as a gift
If your debt-to-income ratio is high
First-time homebuyers

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Makes sense, he must have been freaking out. NU called him and told him SW was missing, when he acted unconcerned, she told him things weren’t right, and she was going to call LE. At that point he said he was coming home.

And remember, she called him I think at around ?12:15 or after noon. Or perhaps that is when he saw her at the doorbell.

But the police did not arrive until ? around 1:40?, and he arrived after that.

So he could have left for the house anytime around 12:15 to head home. Not necessarily after he knew the police were called?

I'm not recalling the exact time frames, does anybody have them handy that they could throw them up for review. Thanks!

 

[margarita25]

Posting this comment again as I am sure I will want to refer to it in a future case:

““Shanann, Bella, Celeste: If you’re out there, just come back. Like if somebody has her, just bring her back. I need to see everybody. … This house is not complete without anybody here. Please bring ‘em back,” he said.“

Chris Watts murder case: Everything we know so far about the deaths of his wife, daughters

 

[molly1255]

Thanks for your response, these are good thoughts.

Which brings me to something I’m been wanting to mention since the beginning but keep forgetting: they said they looked at the bed and saw no evidence of foul play, right? (Will look for exact quote). This comment has actually bothered me. I realize they are talking about obvious signs of blood, struggle, etc but.. Actually before I elaborate further let me pull the exact comment then reply.

Again the initial search was a cursory search so I’m assuming luminol, etc hadn’t been utilized yet, laundry collected, etc. As I understand it, COD has still not been released, neither has any evidentiary analysis of the home, items collected, etc.

ETA:

“Once police and Chris arrived, he let officers into their home, where officers found Shanann’s purse on the kitchen island and a suitcase at the bottom of the stairs. Upstairs, the couple’s bed had been stripped of its sheets and blankets, but police wrote there were no signs of foul play.“

Chris Watts murder case: Everything we know so far about the deaths of his wife, daughters

Thanks - I recall this as well. We know that at some point in time on Wednesday, LE found the bed sheet and pillow cases in the kitchen garbage because that is in the arrest affidavit. We don't know what else LE found in the house on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will likely have to wait to learn what else was found.

 

[Inthedetails]

And remember, she called him I think at around ?12:15 or after noon. Or perhaps that is when he saw her at the doorbell.

But the police did not arrive until ? around 1:40?, and he arrived after that.

So he could have left for the house anytime around 12:15 to head home. Not necessarily after he knew the police were called?

I'm not recalling the exact time frames, does anybody have them handy that they could throw them up for review. Thanks!

IIRC, he was alerted that the friend was at the door and he contacted her to say, "What's up?"

Which is weird. If everything were okay, why would he call his wife's friend who stopped by? You'd assume your wife would do the communicating with her friend. The friend knew something was up, and CW's actions confirmed it.

So, perhaps he hopped in his truck and was already on the way home before he even called the friend. IDK, but I do think he was on his way home well before LE talked to him about the garage code.

jmopinion

 

[margarita25]

Wait what? Did this go over my head the first time?

“The documents state: "The woman died as a result of the unlawful termination of the pregnancy."

Chris Watts murder case: Everything we know so far about the deaths of his wife, daughters

 

[Gecko100]

(Hi Gecko100, I have to giggle at your post bc it appears you’ve been a member here since 2010 so I’m sure that you do have more than 3 likes with 522 posts lol. There was a forum transfer to a new software platform recently and in the process everyone’s “thanks” (now called “likes”) didn’t transfer...its funny because now for old members, on their profiles, it looks like they had a bunch of posts which nobody found valuable lol. Oh well . I did notice something however, there is a place on your profile (“postings”?) which pulls up the pages of all your thanked posts at the very bottom, I accidentally came across it the other day. I guess if one really wants to know how many thanks they have they could multiply the posts per page by the number of pages...I’ll try it and see if it works.
ETA: Ok it’s actually under “Likes You’ve Received”, if you scroll all the way down there’s a menu bar with pages of your likes, mine says 8694 pages. Now I will check the number of posts per page...ok it’s 20 posts per page. So, in my case that would be 8694 x 20, whatever that is. Eta: So that would be 173,880 likes/thanks out of 26,807 total posts (right now it just says 16,706 likes). I’ll add this post to the Welcome to Websleuths 4 thread for anyone who wants to try it. I think some other people might have asked about this as well.)

 

[Gecko100]

Ha ha I wondered what happened! I thought I was liked a little more. Still looking for the MSM article, big job as it was around thread 5 I think.

 

[molly1255]

Wait what? Did this go over my head the first time?

“The documents state: "The woman died as a result of the unlawful termination of the pregnancy."

Chris Watts murder case: Everything we know so far about the deaths of his wife, daughters

This is something that has bothered me because that is exactly what it states.

 

[margarita25]

This is something that has bothered me because that is exactly what it states.

I’m going back and frantically looking again. Maybe this is a reference to the other case (Dinah/Craigslist)??????

ETA: Correction, it was the baby who died, not the mother (I remember she actually openly forgave this woman)...I think what I meant was I was wondering if this statute was related to what constitutes charges in that case...

ETA:

“The unlawful termination of a pregnancy charge comes because Shanann Watts was 15 weeks pregnant at the time she was killed. The documents state: "The woman died as a result of the unlawful termination of the pregnancy."”

Link to “Documents”:
Chris Watts case: Read the full arrest affidavit compiled by Colorado investigators

Full Arrest Affidavit:
https://mediaassets.thedenverchanne...est affidavit chris watts_95256653_ver1.0.pdf

 

[Jax49]

Wait what? Did this go over my head the first time?

“The documents state: "The woman died as a result of the unlawful termination of the pregnancy."

Chris Watts murder case: Everything we know so far about the deaths of his wife, daughters

It means the pregnancy was terminated when she was killed. I know it's confusing but it was addressed about the 4:40 mark in the press conference.

Watch full news conference: Prosecutors discuss charges in deaths of Shanann Watts, daughters

 

[BUF]

IMO this was premeditated and he disposed of the two young girls prior to SW arrival and he killed her shortly after she came home. I think she dropped her things downstairs as she walked in, ran upstairs to peek in at the girls, freaked they weren't there and he strangled her on that couch and the phone fell out of her pocket into the couch cushions. SW seemed to have her phone close at hand taking photos and posting, so it makes sense it may have been in her pocket and fell out. Maybe it even ran out of juice if he was trying to locate it by calling it, so he couldn't find it.

 

[PommyMommy]

And remember, she called him I think at around ?12:15 or after noon. Or perhaps that is when he saw her at the doorbell.

But the police did not arrive until ? around 1:40?, and he arrived after that.

So he could have left for the house anytime around 12:15 to head home. Not necessarily after he knew the police were called?

I'm not recalling the exact time frames, does anybody have them handy that they could throw them up for review. Thanks!

1. 10:00 Shanann's doctor appt (she didn't show)
2. 12:10 CW says he saw NUA on the doorbell camera
3. NUA called CW at work
4. 1:40 Officer Coonrod was dispatched to the home
5. Coonrod called CW for garage door code
6. CW arrived and they searched the home
7. 2:35 PM Det. Baumhover arrived

#2 is from one of CW's interviews, I believe. The rest are from the affidavit.