CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #18

[NuttMegg]

No way a tank that holds tens of thousands of gallons would be so sensitive the mass of a child would trigger an alarm.

There could and very well should have been (IMO) some kind of digital alarm, just when the hatch/manhole is opened.

 

[Layla123]

There could and very well should have been (IMO) some kind of digital alarm, just when the hatch/manhole is opened.

You can bet money C.W. knew what he was doing. He researched it. He had to have believed they would never be found when he dumped them there.

 

[NuttMegg]

I think I explained in my posting. It is a personal preference how one wishes to be disposed of. Personally, I can think of nothing worse than to be buried. It could also be the case, that crude oil isnt as horrific as one would initially think. It could be the case that CW was familiar with what grade of crude was in the tank and thought it would be a better option for the girls, than burying them. JMO

Why should an oil and gas company be drawn into a murder case just because some person wants to either be buried in crude oil or wants to bury someone in crude. How can you have a personal preference to taint, possibly destroy, and trespass on private property to achieve your personal burial preference? Is this a sincere conversation?

 

[OTPTarheel2018]

Seems to me people are failing to realize the role SW's Mum played in prompting NAU's quick action. At last contact, SW was at airport waiting on her delayed flight, and Mum set off the alarm when she could not reach her pregnant daughter Monday morning, or granddaughters with life threatening allergies. SW wasn't answering or responding to texts from anybody, something was definitely wrong! NAU was local, and went to house after Mum called her. It was also Mum and NAU that contacted police to report SW missing.

Where was it reported SW mother called NUA?
I missed that.

 

[NuttMegg]

yes, it does, because not all crude oil is 'dirty; and 'black'.

But, unless you were around when the La Brea Tar pits still consisted of crude, you might find it difficult to find crude oil these days that is not already owned by someone else, and stored on private property in privately owned tanks.

 

[Inthedetails]

If C.W. could strangle his children, he would have no problem dumping them in oil. What’s the difference?

He claims he didn't kill them. It's unbelievable that a father would dump his children in a container of oil if he wasn't the one who killed them. I don't think a jury will buy his story and one big reason is where he chose to put them as their final resting place.

But I totally understand that some people don't care how the bodies of the two daughters were disposed of. Others of us do think it's significant.

jmo

 

[Thepoet]

I think I explained in my posting. It is a personal preference how one wishes to be disposed of. Personally, I can think of nothing worse than to be buried. It could also be the case, that crude oil isnt as horrific as one would initially think. It could be the case that CW was familiar with what grade of crude was in the tank and thought it would be a better option for the girls, than burying them. JMO

Preference? Shanann and the girls had no preference because they had NO choice. They were brutally murdered and then, I hate saying this, disposed of! This was not a funeral choice, this was a horrible crime and attempted cover up! We're not discussing anthropology here, we're discussing brutal, vicious crimes against a loving wife and children and the reactions to what was done, not what might have been done!

 

[Coolmomof4]

Honestly, I fail to see the significance of arguing what kind oil it was other than how it affects decomp. Even IF his story is completely, 100% true (which I am sure it's not IMO) he dumped his babies in a huge vat of oil, obviously hoping they'd never be found. I don't see how ANY grieving, distressed parent can do something like that.

 

[Thepoet]

But if he killed her shortly after she arrived home... it still gives him at least 2 hours of sitting there doing nothing as far as I can tell.

Maybe he made a 'move' on her some time later, she declined (for probably many reasons we now see)
and it started then.
I am still conflicted about the timing of when he killed everyone. Maybe 4am WAS a turning point or time of death. That would better explain the lack of him doing anything to cover up what happened... except loading them into the truck. I am a little stumped on that.

It's hard to say what or why. Jeffery MacDonald took time to flip through an Esquire Magazine that had an article about the Manson murders. He then spent time doing, what he thought was a perfect cover-up. These are sick individuals and probably see things differently than we do. Maybe CW thought things were in order. Maybe he was tired and needed a few hours sleep and thought he would have time later to finish the clean up and set the stage. We all know how that worked.

 

[Layla123]

He claims he didn't kill them. It's unbelievable that a father would dump his children in a container of oil if he wasn't the one who killed them. I don't think a jury will buy his story and one big reason is where he chose to put them as their final resting place.

But I totally understand that some people don't care how the bodies of the two daughters were disposed of. Others of us do think it's significant.

jmo

Oh, I care how the bodies were disposed of! I don’t think C.W. cared. I think CW thought he was in the process of committing the perfect murder when he dumped them there.

 

[gitana1]

I don't know Nicole and dont want to seem obsess with her well intentions to help a friend and immediately get detectives trapping the real killer on day 1.

But my question is. Do y'all know of any cases where a friend like Nicole immediately took action on a day 1 welfare check case and immediately helped LE realize that the family has only been missing for 10 hours. But the husband definitely disappeared them for sure. And also had LE start to crash his world and other secrets that very same day?

Some people wonder if the walls could talk. And I'm truly glad that Nicole was that wall via Sw previous discussions she had with Nicole.

So both SW and Nicole are considered spiritual sisters in my book.

And CW was no match at all for the 2 of them. Jmo

You know I think most friends who are moms would jump quickly to act when a pregnant friend who hadn't been feeling well, with two small children, a car and car seats still in the garage, door chained from the inside who missed a doctor's appointment, failed to answer calls or the door.

Unlike many on here I don't think Nichole had to have any further info to be as concerned as she was. It's enough. And she stated that's exactly why she called the police.

I believe her. At this point there is nothing to indicate SW warned her or expressed any misgivings about CW. His behavior did concern her though.

 

[Inthedetails]

Oh, I care how the bodies were disposed of! I don’t think C.W. cared. I think CW thought he was in the process of committing the perfect murder when he dumped them there.

Sorry! I misunderstood. We're in agreement.

 

[gitana1]

No that's not accurate. There is a deck on the back of the house that you can see in the pics of him mowing the yard. There are steps from the deck to the ground that are visible. So there must be a door from the interior of the house to that deck.

Edited to add: Oops. I didn't mean your post was inaccurate, @OTPTarheel2018
I was referring to the post you were responding to about the doors. I'm sorry!

Yes. And the slider was locked with a stick in it from the inside.

The following was written by Nick van der Leek, a well-known South African true crime author and investigative photojournalist. It’s lengthy but has lots of info and many previously unseen pics. There’s one of CW before he lost all the weight. For those who were discussing the size of the children’s coffins, they were definitely child size. There are also the last pics of SW while she was in AZ.

CW’s colleagues seemed to be aware that he was having an affair (SM images).

Christopher Watts: What else do we know? [UPDATED]

Thank you so much for that!!

The plans may not be exact, as stated on the website, but the model name "Lenox" matches the sketch on the Weld County Property Assessor's site. I've also flipped the images since the Watts' garage was on the left side of the home.

Thanks! So there WAS a side door from the garage. I wonder if it was locked. Can't wait to find out.

 

[gitana1]

You know I think most friends who are moms would jump quickly to act when a pregnant friend who hadn't been feeling well, with two small children, a car and car seats still in the garage, door chained from the inside who missed a doctor's appointment, failed to answer calls or the door.

Unlike many on here I don't think Nichole had to have any further info to e as concerned as she was. It's enough. And she stated that's exactly why she called the police.

I believe her. At this point there is nothing to indicate SW warned her or expressed any misgivings about CW. His behavior did concern her though.

Quoting myself to add, when I was an undergrad I came home from classes and took a nap. I kept hearing a puppy crying though. After about an hour of that I got up and tried to look over the fence to see what was up. I just thought someone got a new puppy who was upset to be alone.

But the barking sounded super distressed once I got closer and not knowing the neighbors, or who was home or whatever, I still jumped the damn fence.

Puppy was in the pool, paws bloody from holding onto the side for dear life. Couldn't get out.

I don't think Nichole needed anything more that we don't know about than just what she was presented with, to cause her alarm.

 

[Inthedetails]

delete

 

[gitana1]

So if this floor plan is accurate for their home, there's a door to the side out of the garage (trying to read backwards on the flipped image!) that she could have theoretically left through to go to the rear of the house? I think that was what CW was implying could have happened in his fantasy version of events he gave the cameras.

ETA: I think he was really going to try to push the kidnapping angle, having found himself with less time to stage her and the kids' 'voluntary departure', get rid of her car, etc.
When asked in his porch interview: "How would she have left the house if she did leave the house?"
CW goes straight to: "I don't want to put anything out there like... suspecting, like if somebody pulled in there in the back and because we have driveway back there from the new town homes but... It's so hard to tell, like. There's no cameras in the back yard or anything like that, so... It's really hard to even suspect anything right now as far as how she could have left. Or if somebody came and picked her up... or somebody took her."

SO composed for someone whose wife just murdered their babies.

 

[Inthedetails]

Quoting myself to add, when I was an undergrad I came home from classes and took a nap. I kept hearing a puppy crying though. After about an hour of that I got up and tried to look over the fence to see what was up. I just thought someone got a new puppy who was upset to be alone.

But the barking sounded super distressed once I got closer and not knowing the neighbors, or who was home or whatever, I still jumped the damn fence.

Puppy was in the pool, paws bloody from holding onto the side for dear life. Couldn't get out.

I don't think Nichole needed anything more that wendont know about than just what she was presented with, to cause her alarm.

The fact that she went to SW's house that morning is what makes me think that the friend knew about something that worried SW. I would totally check on a sick PG friend by calling or texting, but not sure I would be so quick to physically go to the house - I would probably keep trying to reach her by phone/text until later in the day. My first assumption would be that the doctor's appointment was keeping her from answering my calls/texts.

However, if my friend confided in me something worrisome about the household or marriage situation, then I can see myself going to the house right away to check.

It all moved so quickly - that's why I think the friend knew "something."

Whatever the case, I do look forward to her testimony at trial.

jmo

 

[Mo Thuairim]

SO composed for someone whose wife just murdered their babies.

Yes, it struck me as so sketchy at the time! He was quite upbeat and enthusiastic in postulating this scenario where some randomers sweep up to the back of his house and spirit his wife and kids away...

 

[OTPTarheel2018]

The fact that she went to SW's house that morning is what makes me think that the friend knew about something that worried SW. I would totally check on a sick PG friend by calling or texting, but not sure I would be so quick to physically go to the house - I would probably keep trying to reach her by phone/text until later in the day. My first assumption would be that the doctor's appointment was keeping her from answering my calls/texts.

However, if my friend confided in me something worrisome about the household or marriage situation, then I can see myself going to the house right away to check.

It all moved so quickly - that's why I think the friend knew "something."

Whatever the case, I do look forward to her testimony at trial.

jmo

But wasn’t NUA supposed to meet her at Dr. appointment?
And did SW mother really call or text NUA as @Seattle1 posted? I had not heard/ read that.

 

[kebdal23]

She just walked away? What was he going to be able to do with her keys/shoes/purse/car/etc? LE was going to be watching his every move unless he actually thinks NOBODY is going to be concerned not hearing from SW all day when she has a doctor's appointment/etc that she already had plans to attend. Even a dummy would not believe that. She had people already concerned about her and her well being.
Is/was he planning to just work all day and come home and 'fix' things? Like how?

IMO - his story was that they had an emotional argument/discussion and she left with the kids, went to a friend's house or whatever. He might have figured he had 48 hours to file a missing person's report before LE would get involved. He and the house were NOT how he wanted things left IMO. Her friend NU really did save the day in catching this guy. All MOO.