After reading the shocking affidavit yesterday, I have to admit that I, too, was fooled by CW.
I did not think he was innocent; in fact, I thought he was guilty upon viewing his first interview.
But, there was something seemingly weak about him that led me to surmise that he had committed this heinous crime in the heat of the moment out of a twisted desire to keep his family together. I thought SW was the one who had gained financial independence and the confidence to leave the relationship.
Now knowing what we know from the affidavit, it makes me not only realize that I was wrong, but that CW is a worse monster than I ever imagined, because this crime was definitely premeditated and committed with the intent to make his family disappear.
1. I think CW attacked his wife and children while they were sleeping, or at least in bed. That's why he stripped the sheets (per affidavit).
2. Because of the short time frame (Shannon arrived home at almost 2 AM and we know he was loading up his truck around 5 AM, so an approximate 3-hour time frame per affidavit), I think CW killed his children 1st. They may have been in their beds when SW finally got home. My interpretation from the affidavit is that he put all 3 bodies into the backseat of his truck at once, and drove out to the oil field to dispose of them.
3. Also, as I've stated before, with SW being 3 hours late, why would CW proceed with the murders at that point if he didn't "have" to? Why not do it another night when he'd have more time to clean up/set the scene/dispose of the bodies? I believe he'd started by killing the girls and had to finish the crime by attacking his wife.
4. I hate to even talk about this, but frankly, strangulation is not a quick or easy death. I'm actually a bit surprised that he didn't smother them instead, because he could cover their sweet, innocent faces with a pillow and not be looking at his babies as he literally choked the life out of them. That right there is seriously disturbing. Add to that the fact that CW didn't do it just 1x, but was able to do it over and over 3x!! Think about that! And then to dispose of their bodies that way...
(From Wikipedia: "In cases of airway compression, manual strangling leads to the frightening sensation of air hunger and may induce violent struggling.")