Found Deceased CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #19

[Allabouttrial]

Finally got my posting privileges!

From what I saw of this, it was a comment from the babysitter's father on a post on FB, I believe from when they were just "missing".

Welcome!

 

[ColoradoLove]

Hi all, finally joining you lovely group of sleuths. I've been following since the beginning as this case is very close to home, they lived about 10 minutes from me and it's affected me deeply. I just moved to the area a few months ago and everyone here is truly just so friendly (not the fake kind of nice) with a close community feel. It's shaken me that a family that seems so close and happy and normal could have such a horrific thing happen to them, by their father and protector, no less. I have a neighbor that worked with CW in the past, and he has some very choice words to say about how he and his crew feels about all of this. May Justice prevail.

(Edited thanks to auto correct)

 

[Allabouttrial]

I am bringing up something as speculation only... I read where SW had been looking at homes in north carolina as if she was thinking of moving back home. Has anyone else read this. I can't remember where I read that.

It was misquoted along the line. When she was in NC she posted about checking her friends new place out.

 

[Thepoet]

I didn't follow that case but wasn't there a lot of criticism about sloppy crime scene and evidence gathering? I think that is his basis for his latest appeal.

Yes, at the onset there was problems with the evidence gathering and crime scene. It was 1970 and it was on a military base. However the prosecution was meticulous and amazing. MacDonald has lost every appeal he's filed, including to the Supreme Court. The current one is without merit; claims of unidentified hairs and a Marshal's claim. The hairs were not removed forcibly and ALL houses have stray hairs in them. Marshal Britt has already been proven, with documentation, to be a liar. He claimed a witness, Helena Stoekley told him, while being transported, that she was threatened by the D.A. with prosecution if she said she was at the MacDonald house the night of the murders. Problem is, Marshal Britt was never involved in her transport.

At one time MacDonald and his attorneys swore that DNA evidence would clear him and prove who did it. When the results finally came back it proved who the murderer was; MacDonald!

 

[JudgeJudi]

I don't know. There have been repeated lists of family annihilators who killed their kids because they wanted to be free. It's simple. No further explanation needed. No they overheard something or walked in on something and also had to be killed. Nothing. Just they wanted to be free from all family obligations.

And have control over whatever they wanted to do, whenever they wanted to do it, without having to answer to anyone.

 

[Thepoet]

Hi all, finally joining you lovely group of sleuths. I've been following since the beginning as this case is very close to home, they lived about 10 minutes from me and it's affected me deeply. I just moved to the area a few months ago and everyone here is truly just so friendly (not the fake kind of nice) with a close community feel. It's shaken me that a family that seems so close and happy and normal could have such a horrific thing happen to them, by their father and protector, no less. I have a neighbor that worked with CW in the past, and he has some very nice words to say about how he and his crew feels about all of this. May Justice prevail.

(Edited thanks to auto correct)

Welcome ColoradoLove.

 

[MassGuy]

Yes, at the onset there was problems with the evidence gathering and crime scene. It was 1970 and it was on a military base. However the prosecution was meticulous and amazing. MacDonald has lost every appeal he's filed, including to the Supreme Court. The current one is without merit; claims of unidentified hairs and a Marshal's claim. The hairs were not removed forcibly and ALL houses have stray hairs in them. Marshal Britt has already been proven. With documentation, to be a liar. He claimed a witness, Helena Stoekley told him, while being transported, that she was threatened by the D.A. with prosecution if she said she was at the MacDonald house the night of the murders. Problem is, Marshal Britt was never involved in her transport.

At one time MacDonald and his attorneys swore that DNA evidence would clear him and prove who did it. When the results finally came back it proved who the murderer was; MacDonald!

Yeah. I think that just about everyone who reads about that case, comes to the same conclusion. He did himself no favors by going on tv while he was still a free man. He claims that it was just a coincidence that he had a copy of an Esquire issue on his coffee table at the crime scene, that detailed the Manson Family murders. What a dope.

 

[molly1255]

You are so right. MacDonald will not change his story and there are still people who believe him. The courts continue to give him another bite of the apple. There's been a filing before the Fourth Circuit since Jan. 2017. BTW I've read he didn't know about the blood types and they told the whole story. Also, the prosecution only used about 60% of their evidence in the case.

It has been a while since I've read or watched anything on him. The prosecution used the blood evidence, didn't they? Hard to believe MacDonald, as a physician, didn't know they all had different blood types. He must have been totally checked out when it came to his own family's healthcare! I know he has believers and he now has a wife. Lucky for her that she doesn't have to sleep under the same roof with him!

 

[Layla123]

Hi all, finally joining you lovely group of sleuths. I've been following since the beginning as this case is very close to home, they lived about 10 minutes from me and it's affected me deeply. I just moved to the area a few months ago and everyone here is truly just so friendly (not the fake kind of nice) with a close community feel. It's shaken me that a family that seems so close and happy and normal could have such a horrific thing happen to them, by their father and protector, no less. I have a neighbor that worked with CW in the past, and he has some very choice words to say about how he and his crew feels about all of this. May Justice prevail.

(Edited thanks to auto correct)

Would love to hear what the crew think!

 

[Thepoet]

It has been a while since I've read or watched anything on him. The prosecution used the blood evidence, didn't they? Hard to believe MacDonald, as a physician, didn't know they all had different blood types. He must have been totally checked out when it came to his own family's healthcare! I know he has believers and he now has a wife. Lucky for her that she doesn't have to sleep under the same roof with him!

Yes, the blood evidence was a major part of prosecution's case. MacDonald was and is arrogant and a narc, in the worst way!

LOL! Yes, he did remarry and she is very lucky she doesn't sleep under the same roof with him!

 

[Thepoet]

Yeah. I think that just about everyone who reads about that case, comes to the same conclusion. He did himself no favors by going on tv while he was still a free man. He claims that it was just a coincidence that he had a copy of an Esquire issue on his coffee table at the crime scene, that detailed the Manson Family murders. What a dope.

The tv appearance really hurt him. In many ways he was a dope. BTW the Esquire had a bloody fingerprint smear on it and his glasses were found on the living room floor, under a table I believe, with a drop of his youngest daughter's blood on them.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Yeah that sounds paraphrased as it’s a phrase that LE would use. If he said something like “I saw her strangling the kids,” paraphrasing it that way would be accurate. But I agree, most people wouldn’t say it like that, and if he did, it sounds completely contrived.

As in,

Q. Did you see her actively strangling the child?
A. Yes.

And he uses that expression thereafter.

 

[MassGuy]

This talk about the MacDonald case is interesting, because there was no clear motive, and it’s quite ooss

As in,

Q. Did you see her actively strangling the child?
A. Yes.

And he uses that expression thereafter.

Thays absolutely possible. Also:
Q: Why did you Kill your wife?
A: I looked at the baby monitor, and saw her strangling my daughter.

LE could then paraphrase in the way they did: Actively strangling...
Both have the same meaning, but one is typically used by LE and the other isn’t.

He didn’t have to use that phrase specifically, in order for it to be in the affidavit.

 

[MyBelle]

Yes, at the onset there was problems with the evidence gathering and crime scene. It was 1970 and it was on a military base. However the prosecution was meticulous and amazing. MacDonald has lost every appeal he's filed, including to the Supreme Court. The current one is without merit; claims of unidentified hairs and a Marshal's claim. The hairs were not removed forcibly and ALL houses have stray hairs in them. Marshal Britt has already been proven, with documentation, to be a liar. He claimed a witness, Helena Stoekley told him, while being transported, that she was threatened by the D.A. with prosecution if she said she was at the MacDonald house the night of the murders. Problem is, Marshal Britt was never involved in her transport.

At one time MacDonald and his attorneys swore that DNA evidence would clear him and prove who did it. When the results finally came back it proved who the murderer was; MacDonald!

1970? Wow. If he lost an appeal at SCOTUS, I'm baffled why he's still allowed to appeal. Seems like an incredible waste of taxpayer money and resources. JMO.

 

[BelleIsle]

True. But if they go to bed at 6:30 or 7, they'd likely be asleep before he left.

To me, that would be even stranger than leaving them w/a sitter for a couple of hours during the day. They had just returned to their old environment after being away, with their mom, for weeks. A more sensitive parent would have stuck around in case they weren't easily readjusting to their bedtime routine, IMO.

 

[JudgeJudi]

In the Thayers’ 30 min. interview with 9News, Amanda said that she and her husband Nick had been talking about having a second child for quite some time and Shanann was always supportive of it.

One day when Shanann and Amanda were going to have their nails done or something similar, Shanann told her that the night before, Chris told her that he wanted another child. Shanann was all onboard. She and Amanda talked about being pregnant together including all the ups and downs of pregnancy and having their babies be best friends. “So yes, her pregnancy was planned”.

Importantly, it was CW who wanted another baby and Shanann was obviously more than happy to oblige. Why would he want a further child at a time when he was actively engaged with other partners.

 

[katydid23]

I don't get why he didn't at least take her purse, the epi pens, etc and dump them along the way.

If he had done that at least, and unlocked the inner front door lock, then it might be believable that she and the girls were picked up by someone, after the argument.

ETA:
Of course, that was when he didn't realize there was a neighbors camera watching the front yard.

 

[Tricia]

Hey Everyone,

Time to shut down for the night but we will reopen before 7:30 AM Mountain.

Tricia

 

[Seattle1]

We can’t link it here bc it’s on the father’s FB. But he posted that his daughter babysat for them Sat night. CW & the girls also attended a birthday party at his home Sun. He has been interviewed on MSM but unfortunately the TV interview doesn’t give specific dates.

It was determined in prior thread that this witness daughter baby sat the weekend before and not Saturday 8/11.

 

[gitana1]

What worries me is that there ARE people out there who totally believe his story. A walk through Facebookland is scarily eye-opening. All it takes is for one of them to find their way into the courtroom and then we have a hung jury and the family has to go through this all over again.

Yessssss. I've made that walk. It's truly frightening. There's not a few people who seem to really hate her and want to blame her. There are a lot. And many appear to be moms. Some of the most vicious ones.

Is it possible to be jealous of a murder victim?