AB 9/27/18
1. Revolting new details. Bodies were not discovered or recovered easily. Took close to 8 hours to get children out of oil tanks. Had to drain up to 700 barrels of oil. Guests, Professor Wesley Williams and Joe Scott Morgan, explain how children were put in and removed from tanks. Took a great deal of effort and technical knowledge to do this. Can’t see how C.W. pulled it off without thinking about it ahead of time. Because LE was trying to preserve forensic evidence they probably brought in a vacuum truck, works like a wet dry shop vac. Insert hose and drain. Have to empty oil before entering and opening hatch on side. Standard API12F tank design. There are Thief Hatches on tops of tanks, 8” in diameter, (very small) you can open and close them. Bottom of tank square opening is called Clean Out Manway, 2’ by 3’ rectangular port. Takes 64 bolts to open, but tank must be empty to open, or you leak oil all over the place. Thief hatches (8” wide) are designed to take a measurement of tank level. Children were found in tanks that were nearly full. At best that tanks were producing about 200 barrels per month. CW probably shifted oil from one tank to another in order to get girls in them. Requires knowledge and time to do it. If tanks were nearly full, estimating 500 gallons, it would take 3 months at 200 gallons per month to completely fill them up. Bodies wouldn’t have been discovered for at least 3 months. There is a pump that goes between the two tanks, CW could pump 1 tank into the other tank, and open the Clean Out Manway. No way could children fit in the Thief Hatch. CW left house at 5:30, it would take an hour each to empty each tank. (Using the pump between, not the vacuum truck.) Removing 128 bolts takes a lot of time. Because CW didn’t have enough time to do all this work, CW would have had to shoved them through the 8” Thief Hatches. Bodies had to have been manipulated (twisted and contorted) postmortem, in order to fit them through the 8” Thief Hatches. Rather gruesome task. When Jessica McClure fell into an oil well in 1987, that well was 8” wide, but Jessica McClure was 18 months old.
2. Guest, Police Officer, Sean Sticks Larkin explains that this situation is far from normal. Officers most important job is to contain the scene and to recover the evidence. If there’s no danger of evidence being contaminated, they call professionals for advice.
3. Guest, Wesley Williams, explains oil is fluid, flows quickly. Oil is not very difficult to remove from skin.
4. Yesterday, both SW’s mother and father were at SW’s house removing the belongings. SW’s brother and SW’s friend, Lauren Arnold, was there, too. This move was about removing memories. Children’s clothes and toys will be donated to local churches. Family heirloom pieces from SW’s side of family will be kept by family.
5. Social media has been ruthless and cruel to family and family is aware. Statement from family spokesperson. (See photo)
6. Guest Steve Helling from People Magazine agreed that people have been awful on Facebook.
7. Family stayed in a hotel, and besides removing articles from SW’s home, they attended a private memorial for SW at the Carbon Valley Rec Center. Watts family originally had family passes to rec center but they expired in March. SW’s mom, Sandy also visited with the District Attorney today. Family is part of the investigation.
8. New documents today. CW must turn over DNA and prints to DA.
9. Other evidence found at site according to Helling. Bag was marked Evidence #26, that means 25 pieces of evidence came before it. Most we don’t know about.
10. Autopsies will remain private for now. When they are completed they will be handed over to Defense, and Court will make decision to make them public.
11. Guest, Defense Attorney, David Beller, explained Defense Attorneys are doing own investigation with information that is available to them now.
12. SW’s Mom’s meetings with Prosecutor is fulfilling Colorado State Law. Prosecutors must keep family up to date on all aspects of case, every step. In the end, Prosecutors will likely ask SW’s family what they want to see happen. Do they want a trial, do they not want a trial?
Viewer Question
1. Will attorneys ever offer a plea deal where C.W. will be required to tell full, honest truth of his motive and exactly what really happened, and in return they would take the death penalty off the table? It happens. Plea discussions happen all the time. Conversations start early. Yes, they could make such a bargain, but it doesn’t happen often. Since Defense doesn’t have any discovery, they don’t know what they’re up against, so they’re not talking plea, yet.
2. When do you believe we will see autopsy results, forensics, and an actual trial on Chris Watts? Beller said, It’s going to be a long time, at least a year. AB agreed, and added if it’s going to be a Death Penalty case, 3 years. Elizabeth Smart case took 10 years to bring justice.
3. Do you think the family has come back to be told some things in person before autopsy is made public? The DA may want to spare family shocking details before public? Prosecutors do work with family, they do tell them things before public. Guest, Sea Sticks Larkin explained, DA offices have Victim Witness Centers. Advocates deal directly with family. A case of the magnitude will offer family support, so family is not blindsided in public. Sometimes these situations are hard on LE, there are counselors to help LE, as well.
