As promised, I read “Two Face: The Man Underneath Christopher Watts” by Nick van der Leek. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited and $3.99 if you don’t have it.
Fortunately I didn’t have to pay for it, as I can think of better ways to spend $3.99 (like buying 4 packs of gum and chewing them all at once).
The book presents the timeline and evidence, as we know it. From there, the author speculates as to C.W.’s motive, how the crime occurred, and analyzes some of the major players.
He recounts a premeditated scenario, where C.W. is lying in wait for Shanann as she returns home that fateful night.
He speculates that the kids were killed first, because cadaver dogs were heard barking during CW’s interview with the media. The logic is that cadaver dogs bark when they get a hit, they would only get a hit if there was the scent of decomposition, so the kids must have been killed before Shanann arrived home.
As for motive, the author says that their entire life was a facade, both were living a lie (not happy), and financial problems were compounding their struggles.
Chris was overshadowed by Shanann and was losing his identity. The prospect of another child was too much to handle, and Chris felt that he was in too deep.
He speculates that Shanann and the kids returning to North Carolina, was a trial separation of sorts.
The decrease in Facebook videos leading up to the murders, is a sign of a marriage that is no longer a viable one.
*He makes an interesting point when he says that the kids may have been placed in different tanks, because the oil levels would have triggered a sensor if they deviated too much.
Some tid bits:
Author blasts Thrive for isolating Shanann from her real friends. People get sick of all the posts, and the only friends left were people within the “Thrive Cult.”
Her entire life was revolves around this MLM company, and her Facebook posts paint a picture that is in direct conflict with the truth. She is “faking it, until she makes it.”
He blasts fellow Thrivers for using her death to promote themselves, all of them changing their Facebook profile photos, to make themselves the center of attention.
*He cites a 2013 family annihilator study from the Harvard Journal of Criminal Justice. All were loving husbands and good fathers. The motives generally included family breakup, financial problems, and greed (killing his family would solve these problems).
The reason I don’t think this book is worthwhile, is because it does exactly what we do on here. We use the evidence and timeline to build a narrative in regards to what we think happened.
There’s just not a lot here, and his scenario of this being quite premeditated, is contingent on some barking dogs. It’s definitely plausible, but just too flimsy for me.
Read his blog, not his book, unless you have Kindle Unlimited.
hard to impress in an orange boilersuit though, dont ya think?
