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

[borndem]

Psychologist reviews interview with Chris Watts, man accused of killing family

Unsure if this was previously posted. Very interesting.

Thanks for posting the interview/evaluation.
I'm surprised the psychologist -- and maybe he did later -- didn't mention that this is a good example of a sociopath. That's what his actions and answers indicate to me -- smooth, riding above it all, putting in all in a compartment on a shelf somewhere else, no remorse, no regret, in control, etc. He seems to have no remorse, he can look at it as if it doesn't involve him. Cold and cool at the same time. No conscience.

 

[wary]

Did the judge approve this notice or was it just a request?
I can't imagine ME wanting to delay autopsy as I'm not sure
that cold storage completely halts decomposition. Doesn't it
just slow things down?

I think I picked up that the judge said to give the defense as much notice as possible.

I just can't believe that they'd deliberately delay it for 48 hours--if they did that on their own, I could just imagine the defense making a big deal of that in front of a jury, and pretending they could have found a lot of exculpatory evidence if they'd only done a prompt autopsy!

 

[bluesneakers]

It appears to be in a kitchen. It reminded me of the types of things Travis Alexander did. Travis was killed by Jodi Arias.

In a kitchen with other students present. I wonder if it was practice for a class presentation?

 

[Betty P]

Where was it reported that she was planning on leaving him? Is there a link or is it speculation?

There was a link somewhere back in the last thread. IIRC, the info came from her friend.

 

[patty24]

He had to have killed them first. Maybe he lost it. Freaked out. Knew she was coming home and had to silence her either when she found out or before she figured out they weren’t there. I just hope she never knew about the kids. he had to sit there waiting for her, right? Knowing at that point he had no other option? Wow. Just....wow.

Sounds like a “laying in wait” charge if there is one in Colorado. Perfect definition for this scenario.

 

[bluesneakers]

Thanks for posting the interview/evaluation.
I'm surprised the psychologist -- and maybe he did later -- didn't mention that this is a good example of a sociopath. That's what his actions and answers indicate to me -- smooth, riding above it all, putting in all in a compartment on a shelf somewhere else, no remorse, no regret, in control, etc. He seems to have no remorse, he can look at it as if it doesn't involve him. Cold and cool at the same time. No conscience.

But what I noticed is (granted I'm no expert) he doesn't come off intelligent and confident the way others (Drew Peterson, for instance) do. No emotions, in control, but not bright and manipulative. It's why I figured he would confess because it doesn't seem like he thinks he's smarter than LE.

 

[audge86]

How do you even look at your lawyer and say “yeah I killed my kids and put them in an oil tank”. Geeeez

I watched his court appearance and it stood out to me that his lawyer seemed to have no interest in him. Didn't seem to want to be near him.

Is he a public defender? If so, not so sure he's thrilled about being assigned this case.

 

[molly1255]

That's true about student loans. I'm wondering if they may have also had problems with the IRS. Shanann was very likely responsible for paying taxes on any earnings she had with the MLM company and they may have not planned for taxes on that money, especially if it was needed to pay monthly expenses. IRS debt can grow rapidly with penalties and interest and they are known to be quite aggressive in their collection attempts. Just a thought.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

In a kitchen with other students present. I wonder if it was practice for a class presentation?

I think it was a friend group type thing.

 

[RavenCC2020]

Family friend talks about seeing Chris Watts and his girls just days before the murders

Just as I suspected and mentioned earlier. The income they made when they bought the house drastically reduced. Unless he had a different job now then he did then, Shannan's sales plummeted. This confirms it with a combined income of 147k down to 90k. Losing 57k in a situation where one was living above their means to begin with puts you in dire financial straits very quickly.

I am totally sickened not only the fact he killed his wife and children, but how he disposed of them is so horrific and also telling. My first thought was so he was ok with going to work every day knowing his baby girls were close by and a constant reminder of what he had done. Then I realized one, he doesn't care about them and two, he had no intentions of sticking around anyway. He was already talking about selling the house. He was going to be out of there as soon as possible.

Gitana the video you posted of Bella was the saddest thing I've seen since reading about this case. It brought her to life and emphasied the cruelty and horrificness of this crime. Having 2 young granddaughters of similar age and knowing how much they adore my son and are totally daddy's girls makes it all so real to me. Such a sweet little girl and one that loved her daddy...UGH.. the betrayal here is disgusting.

 

[tigertales]

My own opinion regarding domestic violence victims (based on my experience working with victims orgs.)

Domestic violence is not just physical but emotional as well. The victim can believe that everything that is happening is their fault and that can be re-enforced by the abuser. Pregnancy can be a way for the victim to try to please the abuser or create a scenerio of protection (I’m pregnant and therefore he won’t hurt me for awhile) or other complicated reasons for the victim.

Hiding abuse is so common. Victims can be very well adept at hiding it even from the closest of friends. It’s never as simple as why didn’t she just leave or why didn’t someone help her. It is so hard to break free for so many reasons and can be complicated more when children are involved.

I can only speculate that SW was abused for a very long time.

The family annihilation is a very extreme measure for exacting control. Ownership over the victim and the children.

This is such a gut-wrenching and sickening thing. Even more so with the fact that CW did this and did not commit suicide. He lives and they don’t and he now has ultimate control over his family.

This is just my opinion.

 

[Sconnie]

I think I picked up that the judge said to give the defense as much notice as possible.

That is how I understood it as well. That it didn't have to be 48 hours, but a sufficient amount of time to the defense.

 

[borndem]

But the family doesn't have to see what it doesn't want to. They have victim's advocates.

I kind of think the ugly underbelly of this person needs to be revealed. Appearance was so important to him. The reality of who he is - a despicable coward- and the cowardly things he did, needs to be publicized.

bbm
Yes, and it needs to show the real husband/father with whom his family had to deal. This cold-hearted manner didn't start the day he killed his family.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

That's true about student loans. I'm wondering if they may have also had problems with the IRS. Shanann was very likely responsible for paying taxes on any earnings she had with the MLM company and they may have not planned for taxes on that money, especially if it was needed to pay monthly expenses. IRS debt can grow rapidly with penalties and interest and they are known to be quite aggressive in their collection attempts. Just a thought.

I honestly don’t think it would matter how much money they made. They would continue to live beyond their means. If you file bankruptcy once and a few years later you’re in the same position - it’s most likely the way it’s going to be.

 

[KathrynL]

I'm so grateful to Kelsie for the link. I usually eat this stuff up. But a couple minutes in I turned it off. Psychologist doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. He watched part of the interview and then asked if it was before he confessed. Then he talked about how there were no signs of deception and he seemed genuinely concerned about his family.

I turned it off then.

I did too. I thought if I watched any more my head might explode.

Interestingly he has been hired as an expert for the defense in 60% of his 50 times he has testified.
Max Wachtel, Ph.D. :: JurisPro Expert Witness Directory :: Colorado

Makes his analysis that CW seemed genuinely concerned make a little more sense.

 

[wary]

That is how I understood it as well. That it didn't have to be 48 hours, but a sufficient amount of time to the defense.

I'm glad that that's how you understood it, too. I started to worry that it was wishful thinking on my part. 48 hours delay seems like such an outrageous request. (Of course, as usual, I don't have a link. )

 

[Sconnie]

I'm glad that that's how you understood it, too. I started to worry that it was wishful thinking on my part. 48 hours delay seems like such an outrageous request. (Of course, as usual, I don't have a link. )

I know I paid special attention at that point, because it seemed like a strange request. The prosecution seemed to clarify it with the judge who said they had to give ample notification (my words, not his, as I don't remember his exact terminology).

 

[Tippy Lynn]

I’m not convinced he confessed prior to his arrest. The company he worked for or LE looked at the company security video. That’s how I think it played out. He was fired either shortly before or shortly after his arrest and they knew where to locate SW right after the arrest.

 

[NervousNellie]

There was a link somewhere back in the last thread. IIRC, the info came from her friend.

It's a People article, if that helps.

 

[wary]

Or another scenario I've seen is when the couple married,
she "seemed" to defer to a patriarchal husband but as she matured and grew, she also realized she wanted more out of life
that maybe her 'ordinary' husband could not provide.
Her successes in the business world dimished his view of himself as 'the provider'.
She 'outgrew' her husband in many ways.

I'm prejudiced by my intense dislike of MLM, but I'm not at all confident that she was having successes in the business world.

On the other hand, maybe she focused so hard on projecting the image that his reaction was as you described above, anyway.