CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #11

[gitana1]

SBM

Actually, you are both right and wrong. (This is what I do for a living.)

With respect to decision-making, joint decision-making is favored unless the parents just can't get along. This is the right to make decisions for the child's health, education and welfare.

We don't use the term "custody" in Colorado, we use the term "parenting time." Colorado doesn't have a standard parenting time plan or possession order like some states. The parenting time is customized in each case depending on the facts and circumstances and the proximity of the parents to each other. The amount of parenting time is determined by counting the number of "overnights," that is, the number of nights the children sleep at each parents house.

Nowhere does the Colorado law specifically say 50/50 parenting time, but that is the customary practice through much of the state. Judges in Colorado don't like to hear contested cases about parenting time, so they often just split p-t 50/50 unless there is a really good reason not to. Sometimes this looks like week on/week off, where the child spends 7 uninterrupted days and nights with each parent. Sometimes it is a 4/3/3/4 plan; sometimes it is a 5/2/2/5 plan. Or one parent could get most of the time during the school year and the other parent gets more time during the summer and holidays. It gets complicated.

Judges are not supposed to "restrict" (this is another term of art) a parent's parenting time except under extreme circumstances, and the standard is endangerment to the child's physical health or mental wellbeing. What "restriction" means is debatable. Typically giving one parent weekdays and the other weekends is not considered restriction, but limiting one parent to every-other -weekend might be.

Now, all of the equal parenting time scenarios presented above assume both parents live close enough to each other and the children's school that equal time is workable. If they don't live close enough for it to be workable, then the court will necessarily have to make one parent or the other the "primary residential parent," and that parent will have the children during the school year, and then they will try to give the other parent as much time as possible during the summer and weekends. This is not considered restricted parenting time, so you don't have to show endangerment.

In this case, if the parties separated, I have presumed that the house would have to be sold, since neither party would have enough money to keep up house payments on one income. And then I presume that SW would most likely desire to move back to NC, which I believe she would. (CW might move back, too.) I think it is most likely that SW would be named primary residential parent in this case, although some judges will surprise you.

ETA: Colorado is also a no-fault divorce state, meaning that it doesn't matter who is at fault for the breakup of the marriage. You can't allege fault grounds as an alternative theory. This means that CW's affair is simply not relevant to the divorce or parenting time, and would not be discussed in the divorce case unless CW's paramour is somehow a dangerous person for the children to be around.

Hmm. I mean I'm seeing that it's favored but not that it's guaranteed:


Criteria for Determining Living Arrangements
Parenting time is the actual time the parent is physically with the child. As mentioned above, this may not be divided equally.
Another criteria that is very important is each parent’s previous pattern of involvement with the child. An active parent who has long been the primary caregiver is more likely to receive majority parenting time. Parental conduct is also a factor as are support systems such as grandparents.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.denverfamilylawmatters.com/blog/joint-child-custody-colorado?hs_amp=true

I see link after link of CO family law firms discussing primary parent and the best interest standard and how equal parenting time is not standard.

Top 10 Child Custody Mistakes in Colorado | Tolison & Williams, LLC

If it was typically or automatically 50/50 why would so many law firms be making statements like this?

And why would this article (posted today it appears) , be discussing the push for a bill that would make it easier for parents to get equal parenting time in CO?

"On the one hand, Colorado Senate Bill 15-129 — the 50/50 parenting bill — would recognize parental rights as fundamental rights, and it would allow parents to have equal chance for custody in a divorce."
Child Custody Could Have More Chance of a '50/50' Split If Bill Passes in Colorado - In Denver Times

There is nothing in the law that I've found in CO that states equal parenting time is automatic there. Or even typical. Just that having a child spend as much time with both parents is favored. It sounds like it comes down to best interest of the child standard as in most states in the US.

Otherwise, you are saying that if a couple has toddlers or even babies and one parent was a stay at home parent and has more availability to care for the kids, the other parent will get equal time and shove the babies in daycare. Even though one parent is available to care for them while the other is not.

I don't practice in CO but it doesn't seem to me at all that he was guaranteed an equal time share.

 

[katydid23]

I haven't been on in a few days. Has anyone talked about the possibility that LE is extracting data from Alexa (if they had one)? Also, the doorbell camera, does it record data or is it just streaming? Does it have an audio feature? I'm just curious to see what was heard/recorded on those devices that night and when Shanann got home from her work trip.

I am SO CURIOUS about their Alexa as well. Apparently, they did have one. Did CW unplug it before the attack?

I was visiting my son and his family on Sunday and asked them a zillion questions about their Alexa.

My DIL said she thinks it would hold some clues for IT guys to try and unlock. She said that the company claims that Alexa only records and 'pays attention' when someone says 'Alexa...'

But she says that is not true. They have had creepy experiences, as she calls it. Alexa will just chime in on their conversations, uninvited.

Like last week my son did a load of laundry, [ I raised a nice son...] and he called out to his wife, saying 'we are out of detergent' ....and Alexa said ' shall I reorder laundry detergent..?'' So she was listening...

And one night at dinner their 3 yr old was looking at the back cover of one of her books, and said ' I want Lady Bug Girl and the Rescue Dog ' Book ...and Alexa piped in and said 'shall I order ....


So my DIL said that Alexa is lurking and listening, even when not called by name. The question is, how long are those recordings kept for retrieval?

Hopefully, LE looked into that immediately.

 

[PommyMommy]

Am I right that COD of SW and her daughters has not been made public yet? And that we’re assuming strangulation based on CW’s statement alone? Not sure why we should believe this over anything else he’s said (except the detailed way in which he describes the girls’ death could be a real description how they died, with him replacing Shannan).

But in the affidavit, it states that Shannan died as a result of her pregnancy being terminated. Unless the autopsy has already been completed, there would need to be visible evidence indicating that’s what happened (I don’t want to speculate what that would be but can imagine). Either way, it suggests that CW didn’t strangle SW as that’s not listed as her COD.

JIMO

You are right. Cause and Manner of Death have not been made public. The strangulation assumption comes from both the affidavit and the DNA motions.

Here are two articles that describe how the unlawful termination of pregnancy charge applies:
Chris Watts charged with murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy in deaths of wife, daughters

Why Chris Watts likely won't face murder charge in death of unborn child

 

[NuttMegg]

If he just did away with her, he'd be "stuck" with the kids -- fixing their food, cleaning their clothes, tend to them when they were sick, dressing them, hauling them around, entertaining them, reading to them, can't leave the house without them, cleaning the house, groceries, washing his own clothes, etc., etc., etc. Girlfriend may not want to help. Bummer. Nope, that won't do at all. Because it is all about ME. I want a do-over.

He already referred to some of those in his media appearances, IIRC there was something about the kids not eating their meals, and a few separate references to "This has got to stop" (that they left, were abducted, were with a play friend, whatever). I think we'll find, as a couple of others have also mentioned, that there are snippets of truth in his soliloquy.

 

[dgfred]

Also seemed he got some joy out of knowing what nobody else knew for sure... at least for a litttle while.
Even Scott Peterson showed some fake concern.

 

[Inthedetails]

Like last week my son did a load of laundry, [ I raised a nice son...] and he called out to his wife, saying 'we are out of detergent' ....and Alexa said ' shall I reorder laundry detergent..?'' So she was listening...

And one night at dinner their 3 yr old was looking at the back cover of one of her books, and said ' I want Lady Bug Girl and the Rescue Dog ' Book ...and Alexa piped in and said 'shall I order ....

SBM

Creepy!!

jmo

 

[The Saint]

When I read about Chris having steel-toed work boots, it made me think
that he might have been wearing those boots and kicked Shanann in the stomach
before strangling her. He knew that he was going to have to dump her body and maybe he still had the girls' bodies at the house, so he'd wear his work boots to go to the oil tanks or oil field.

 

[katydid23]

Can’t link because it’s on SM. But in Shanann’s own words, regarding the nuts at her MIL’s house:

“... I arrived and on the floor shelf of her center island was a bag of pistachios (big bad one). I removed...”

Before I saw this, based on the rumors I’d read on FB, it seemed that the MIL had left an open dish of nuts on a table where the kids could get them. Shanann’s post paints a slightly different picture. Even though the MIL didn’t comply with Shanann’s request to remove all nuts from her home (she should have moved them out of reach entirely, like in a plastic bin in the garage or something!), it doesn’t sound as malicious as FB commenters made it sound.

My point is that things get distorted in the telling.




"...on the floor shelf of her center island..."

The floor shelf of the center island in the kitchen===prime location for a 4 yr old's chubby fingers. That is a very dangerous location to keep something toxic to a young child. IMO

 

[dgfred]

I have wonderered if CW already knew that SW had found out about his indescresions... maybe saying they would talk about it on her return. A txt/message from a mad husband would explain it.

 

[NuttMegg]

SBM

Creepy!!

jmo

I have Alexa on my new 10" kindle. I toggle it off, I never have even used it. Yet, it turns itself on sometimes and says something weird in the middle of the night, as I leave the kindle on for the alarm. Probably LE is already on it, but it could turn out to be revealing.

 

[gitana1]

So in Cw's court appearance, he waived having a preliminary hearing and I believe the reason his lawyer gave is that they need to see the evidence. To me, this means he doesn't want to plea until he knows how much they have on him. I believe this is also to leave open the possibility of a plea deal (I hope they are dreaming on this option). I think he might plea guilty to the termination of pregnancy and body disposal but not guilty to the murder charges since he will say SW's murder was not first degree. Or is it all or nothing, i.e., can he plea guilty to some charges and not others? I work in the legal field but don't know anything about criminal law so sorry if this is a stupid question.

He can definitely plead guilty to some but not all. But I'm positive he will initially plead not guilty to all, in contemplaion of a possible plea deal.

I don't think the state is going to let him skate on responsibility for the deaths of the girls though.

 

[SaguaroSpirit]

The Siri on my ipad pops on once in awhile chiming in on my conversations at home too. Not all the time, but occasionally, and it's unsettling.

 

[gitana1]

I have Alexa on my new 10" kindle. I toggle it off, I never have even used it. Yet, it turns itself on sometimes and says something weird in the middle of the night, as I leave the kindle on for the alarm. Probably LE is already on it, but it could turn out to be revealing.

Man that would freak me out.

 

[The Saint]

Got a link for all this?

It's from about 4 different sources. I don't think we are supposed to post links to Facebook.

 

[Coolmomof4]

I have wonderered if CW already knew that SW had found out about his indescresions... maybe saying they would talk about it on her return. A txt/message from a mad husband would explain it.

I've been thinking this too. She had already been thinking maybe he was having an affair... there has to be a reason. Maybe over time this summer she found out more. Anyway, she had a feeling, and said something to friends. This is why CW's story doesn't add up. If she already knew it was possible, then I don't think she would've freaked out and killed her girls. In her mind, she probably would've been thinking about it a lot, mulling it over. It wouldn't have been as much of a shock to her for him to say he wanted a separation. As opposed to her being completely blindsided.

Even if she was blindsided, I don't believe she would've responded by killing her girls... kicking CW's butt to the curb maybe, but not kill her children.

 

[Starkville]

The floor shelf of the center island in the kitchen===prime location for a 4 yr old's chubby fingers. That is a very dangerous location to keep something toxic to a young child. IMO

I totally agree. My point was that on the internet rumor mill, a bag of pistachios on a shelf became an open dish of nuts on a table.

Things get distorted in subtle ways on these forums...

 

[gitana1]

The Siri on my ipad pops on once in awhile chiming in on my conversations at home too. Not all the time, but occasionally, and it's unsettling.

You can change the setting so it can't listen.

 

[NuttMegg]

I've been thinking this too. She had already been thinking maybe he was having an affair... there has to be a reason. Maybe over time this summer she found out more. Anyway, she had a feeling, and said something to friends. This is why CW's story doesn't add up. If she already knew it was possible, then I don't think she would've freaked out and killed her girls. In her mind, she probably would've been thinking about it a lot, mulling it over. It wouldn't have been as much of a shock to her for him to say he wanted a separation. As opposed to her being completely blindsided.

Even if she was blindsided, I don't believe she would've responded by killing her girls... kicking CW's butt to the curb maybe, but not kill her children.

How long had he been working for the oil company? Maybe she had met some of the co-workers, and maybe some sympathetic person tipped her off.

 

[SN76]

I think it goes back to the Facebook video (the 30 minute one on her page). She appears as though she has been crying and appears down or depressed. IMO

Can you please provide a facebook link as I am a proud ex-facebooker now for three years

 

[SN76]

I hope our daughters and granddaughters can exist in a world where it is not open season on women.

This is beautiful SaguaroSpirit, let's hope so.....