CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #16

[margarita25]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/kdvr.c...-town-to-honor-shanann-watts-2-daughters/amp/

The entire town is draped in purple ribbons. You can pick them up for free.

No way could a jury pool come from this area.

(This was the same for Jessica Ridgeway. Many huge trees wrapped in huge purple ribbons...

)

“FREDERICK, Colo. -- The town of Frederick has started placing purple ribbons around town in memory of Shanann Watts, her two young daughters and her unborn child.

The ribbons have been placed on light poles along Fifth Street in downtown and in Wyndham Hill, the town said on its Facebook page on Thursday.

The town said the ribbons are available for residents at...”
More information at link below:
Purple ribbons hung around Frederick to honor Shanann Watts, children

 

[BabyButterfly]

Actually, I have the experience of having that happen with a medication that was not an antidepressant. It's a very common non-opioid, non-addictive, pain medication. Happy thoughts of causing a very dangerous and violent accident suddenly entered my head out of the blue. Luckily, I snapped to and looked at the situation objectively. It was, like, "what the
heck? Where did that come from?" And within a minute, "oh, the meds..." Immediate call to the doctor....
This would be "medicine as a cause for violent behavior". Ya never know what's lurking in a pill that will react to your biochemistry.

I could not agree more! Neurontin for my lupus/fibromyalgia pain was fine for 5 years, then out of no where, I was crazy. I stabbed my own leg with scissors, so deep it went into muscle. I, too, knew immediately what med it was, and stopped. I do think that some people may never put 2+2 together. Maybe they don't have a clue they are acting out of the norm?

 

[Bill Carson]

Preach it!

In general, however, I have zero compassion for him.

SBM

The only comment I can add to your brilliant post is this: I hope you don't think that those of us who are analyzing and questioning and theorizing are doing those things out of compassion for him. I don't have compassion for him, but I want to try to understand why this happened. I am not interested in blaming anyone except him, but I want to get into his mind and wander around and see if I can find an answer. Because the simplest answers---that evil exists in this world, or that a certain percentage of people annihilate their families---just aren't very satisfying.

Thanks again. Good post.

 

[margarita25]

Wasn't there mention early on of a gas can being found?

Yes.

 

[Jennifer17]

I could not agree more! Neurontin for my lupus/fibromyalgia pain was fine for 5 years, then out of no where, I was crazy. I stabbed my own leg with scissors, so deep it went into muscle. I, too, knew immediately what med it was, and stopped. I do think that some people may never put 2+2 together. Maybe they don't have a clue they are acting out of the norm?

I cannot take anything with codeine in it. It makes me super anxious.

 

[MerryB]

Thank you. I think I was down some other rabbit hole when many of you were discussing the financial stuff. Do you happen to know how much of the $70k unsecured debt in 2015 was student loan debt?

You’re welcome, Pommy. $11,245 was student loans.

 

[MyBelle]

Yes, but that was very early on, and they had to file the motion right away because the autopsy was about to happen. In other words, the defense hadn't had much time at all to investigate the case, and the only evidence they likely had access to was the arrest affidavit and any communications with their client. That doesn't lock them in to that theory or anything.

I'm not sure how a Defense could come up with something else if he did, indeed, say it to LE. It would be a giant elephant before the jury.

 

[margarita25]

Funeral service held for Colorado woman and 2 daughters allegedly killed by husband

““Shanann was a woman of love, she loved God, she loved her family and she loved her friends,” the pastor at the funeral said, according to Fox 31. He also said of the two young girls that they were filled with life and joy "and shared it with those they encountered.””

 

[PommyMommy]

Yes, but that was very early on, and they had to file the motion right away because the autopsy was about to happen. In other words, the defense hadn't had much time at all to investigate the case, and the only evidence they likely had access to was the arrest affidavit and any communications with their client. That doesn't lock them in to that theory or anything.

So, is it your opinion that they will come up with another version of the truth? How is that going to look to the jury? Because so far we have the following:

1. CW told NUA that Shanann was on a playdate
2. CW told Coonrod that Shanann was going over to a friends house, but didn’t know the friend’s name
3. CW told Baumhover that Shanann was going to a friends house that day
4. CW told reporters that he had no inclination where Shanann and the girls were
5. After speaking with his father, CW admitted to strangling Shanann to death and hiding the bodies

1-3 are basically the same, but all of them are lies. Do you think they're going to add another one? MOO

 

[pocketaccent]

I also believe he was intending to start a fire and then large explosion . Possibly he was waiting until he got the remainder of "evidence " from home? Sheets, bedding, medications, etc.

I think so too. But he forgot to bring some matches or a lighter.

 

[Bill Carson]

I'm not sure how a Defense could come up with something else if he did, indeed, say it to LE. It would be a giant elephant before the jury.

True. They would eat him alive on cross examination. Use the old "were you lying then or are you lying now" technique.

But OTOH, as an officer of the Court, the defense attorneys can't allow him to testify if they know he is going to lie or mislead the court or jury. That's subornation of perjury, and a lawyer can lose his ticket for that. (i.e., get disbarred)

I personally don't think he has a prayer.

 

[PommyMommy]

Discussing this case is weird. No matter how you try to explain it, it sounds like you're victim blaming and it's mostly because we just don't have a lot of information of things prior to the crime. Here are a few things that people have said that "may" have lead to his state of mind: they were spending too much, she was traveling a lot, he was taking care of "small children" after work, her career was taking off, they were in financial trouble, he was tired of trying to live up to the perfect life that she showed on social media, he couldn't keep up with her ambitions, he was gay and stuck in his marriage...

Perhaps some of those things affected his mental health or something. If it did, then that's too bad and I am sorry that he didn't seek help. In general, however, I have zero compassion for him. MANY men are single dads or house husbands or full-time caregivers for their children and they don't flip and take out their whole family in one night. They were having financial trouble? Welcome to 2018. I don't have a single friend right now who isn't living paycheck to paycheck. My husband and I are self-employed and our incomes depend upon how the general public feels about us; it's feast or famine. Lots of people who run small businesses or are self-employed live this way. We don't actually know that they were overspending, that's something that was ascertained from looking at her social media pages and from the $1500 HOA court fee (which, again, we don't know a lot about). She seemed to travel a lot for work, but he mostly seemed to be with her. If this was a problem for him, he didn't have to go. However, if we're drawing conclusions from social media, I'd say he looks pretty happy.

As far as the "perfect" life she presented on social media? Again, let me introduce you to my friends' list where 80% of the people are the perfect business women with immaculate homes who throw their angelic and super-intelligent children perfect Pinterest-worthy birthday parties.(The fact that the majority of their house is actually a pig sty and their children are bratty little ninjas that curse better than me is a non-issue on Facebook.) My husband can't stand the whole FB and IG thing...so he doesn't get on there. I snap lots of pictures of him. It literally takes less than a second and then he has no idea what I do with the picture afterwards.

He was having sexual feelings towards the same sex, then he could have addressed that in the same way that many men in similar situations have before: address the feelings with a marriage counselor or separate from his wife while he explores these feelings and decides what he wants to do.

If CW was having issues with anything then he had two choices: address them with a marriage counselor or get out of the marriage.

At the end of the day, he had no more "issues" in his marriage and home life than many, MANY other men have. (I, personally, drive my own husband crazy.) These men, however, do not kill their wives and they certainly don't kill their children. I don't believe in internet diagnosing from a few interviews and social media posts, but IMO whatever finally tipped the scales was his problem and not anything that Shanann could have controlled.

Bumping so I can read this again when I get caught up. Excellent post!

Two words: NO EXCUSE!

 

[Hazelnutty]

Wasn't there mention early on of a gas can being found?

Yes. IIRC it was in the back of his truck.

 

[margarita25]

I am absolutely mortified, disgusted and saddened that Boles Funeral Home, who streamed the live service today for Shanann and the girls, just had to post this:

Boles Funeral Homes & Crematory

—see post from 3 hours ago today
(That they are “feeling heartbroken”, as they had to delete negative and unnecessary comments made throughout the live stream and that it’s a shame that they even had to do this.)

 

[Bill Carson]

So, is it your opinion that they will come up with another version of the truth? How is that going to look to the jury? Because so far we have the following:

1. CW told NUA that Shanann was on a playdate
2. CW told Coonrod that Shanann was going over to a friends house, but didn’t know the friend’s name
3. CW told Baumhover that Shanann was going to a friends house that day
4. CW told reporters that he had no inclination where Shanann and the girls were
5. After speaking with his father, CW admits to strangling Shanann to death and hiding the bodies

1-3 are basically the same, but all of them are lies. You think they're going to add another one? MOO

As I was saying to MyBelle, I would be shocked if this case goes to trial. I think he'll plead for life without parole. If they seek the death penalty (which I doubt), then it may go to trial.

Keep in mind that they don't have to have a defense. They can just sit back and throw rocks at the state's case. It's the state's burden to convince the jury that he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and it's the defense's job to try to poke holes in the state's case. Now, I don't think the state will have any problem proving its case. (But Marcia Clark thought she'd win, too.)

Edited for clarification.

 

[MyBelle]

True. They would eat him alive on cross examination. Use the old "were you lying then or are you lying now" trick.

But OTOH, as an officer of the Court, the defense attorneys can't allow him to testify if they know he is going to lie or mislead the court or jury. That's subornation of perjury, and a lawyer can lose his ticket for that. (i.e., get disbarred)

I personally don't think he has a prayer.

How does the Defense know for certain that he's lying when he said he saw SW on the baby monitor? I think he has a prayer of escaping the death penalty if he has competent counsel.

 

[Bill Carson]

Here's an excellent article that details the procedure for death penalty cases in Colorado.

Colorado capital punishment: Could Christopher Watts face the death penalty?

 

[Mrspratcher]

The photos are heartbreaking. From the Denver Post...

Shanann Watts, Frederick daughters funeral in North Carolina

My heart cannot take this. God bless them and may they Rest In Peace.

 

[margarita25]

As I was saying to MyBelle, I would be shocked if this case goes to trial. I think he'll plead for life without parole. If they seek the death penalty (which I doubt), then it may go to trial.

Keep in mind that they don't have to have a defense. They can just sit back and throw rocks at the state's case. It's the state's burden to convince the jury that he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and their job is to try to poke holes in the state's case. Now, I don't think the state will have any problem proving its case. (But Marcia Clark thought she'd win, too.)

Gosh I really really hope there is not a trial. The thought of her family being in the courtroom while photos of their dead bodies soaked in crude oil are presented...and having to hear the Defense’s victim bashing nonsense...

 

[skyedaze]

As I was saying to MyBelle, I would be shocked if this case goes to trial. I think he'll plead for life without parole. If they seek the death penalty (which I doubt), then it may go to trial.

Keep in mind that they don't have to have a defense. They can just sit back and throw rocks at the state's case. It's the state's burden to convince the jury that he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and their job is to try to poke holes in the state's case. Now, I don't think the state will have any problem proving its case. (But Marcia Clark thought she'd win, too.)

So why do you think the state will not seek the death penalty?