Found Deceased CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #44

[human]

Maybe he killed them not knowing there would be a delay. And when there was one, he freaked, because he now has much less time to get rid of the bodies and stage the scene.

I can imagine him relentlessly texting her and checking the flight tracker online, freaking out wondering what would happen if she didn't make it home that night.

He was supposed to work that day. She would expect him to get childcare for them but how could he for two dead corpses?

That could explain why the scene wasn't so well staged. He had run out of time due to the delay.

What time was her original flight?

If she came home at a time when the neighborhood would be awake, would he not risk discovery by her screaming or something that might be revealing to people in homes merely feet away from their home?

It depends on the flight delay type as to how soon people would kmow there is a dealy. I wonder how much warning there was.

 

[gitana1]

What time was her original flight?

If she came home at a time when the neighborhood would be awake, would he not risk discovery by her screaming or something that might be revealing to people in homes merely feet away from their home?

It depends on the flight delay type as to how soon people would kmow there is a dealy. I wonder how much warning there was.

I believe she was supposed to be home around midnight but instead got home close to two.

 

[Tortoise]

He was very cagey in his media interviews about what he was doing when Shanann arrived home. I don't think he ever said he was in bed. Didn't feel confident enough to lie about that or to tell too many lies that he could get caught out on - always steering towards what he had rehearsed in his head beforehand. IMO.

 

[PommyMommy]

He was very cagey in his media interviews about what he was doing when Shanann arrived home. I don't think he ever said he was in bed. Didn't feel confident enough to lie about that or to tell too many lies that he could get caught out on - always steering towards what he had rehearsed in his head beforehand. IMO.

CNN.com - Transcripts
WATTS: Yes, because her flight got delayed from Arizona because like other storms around the nation. She was supposed to get home at 11:00. She got home like about 1:48. I left for work early that morning, like 5:15, 5:30. She is like, she barely got into bed.

04:06
Q: (Inaudible) she gone…she was she…she came back Sunday you said at 2 at night…
Yeah cos, her flight got delayed from Arizona cos like other storms around the nation, so she was supposed to get home at like 11, she got home at 1:48, she got to bed about 2.

 

[Tortoise]

CNN.com - Transcripts
WATTS: Yes, because her flight got delayed from Arizona because like other storms around the nation. She was supposed to get home at 11:00. She got home like about 1:48. I left for work early that morning, like 5:15, 5:30. She is like, she barely got into bed.

Thanks. "about 1:48"

 

[MsBetsy]

To treat the bodies of your loved ones as if they are garbage, is not normal behavior. It is the opposite of a loving act.

I find the idea that one has to be on “a religious high horse” to find body desecration appalling, quite frankly appalling in and of itself.

This has nothing to do with religion, and everything to to with being human.

I don’t understand how people are able to excuse it, even if they don’t have a visceral reaction to it.

What he did with the bodies is evidence of “consciousness of guilt,” something entirely relevant to the murder charges.

Good luck to the defense, who will seek to downplay these actions.

Yes, the rituals of proper burial have been consistent throughout time in just about every culture. In ancient times, the ommission of burial rites was considered an insult to human dignity. This belief is very much alive today. To say the jury will not take the way CW disposed the bodies into consideration is just not realistic, in my opinion.

 

[Thepoet]

THE PHONE (SW's)

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my earlier post about the phone. You gave me a lot to think about. I've formed an opinion I believe covers all the facts,

CW had SW's phone after he murdered her. He would want to know who called and he would want to search the phone, when he had time, to see who she had talked to (an atty maybe?), texts, etc. It would also tell him who was calling or texting SW that day, looking for her. NUA then shows up at the house forcing CW to race home where NUA and LE are waiting. Perhaps if CW hadn't been in a panic to get home, he would have dumped the phone on the way home. Or maybe he really wanted to search the phone before he dumped or destroyed it and figured all he had to do was deal with NUA. On his way home LE called for the code and he knows they're there. SW's phone wasn't just for personal, but also for business and it was always with her. Leaving it behind messes up his "she left with the girls and disappeared" story and maybe that's why he later hinted at a kidnapping scenario. So, he's at the house, with the phone, NUA and LE. At the first opportunity he hides the phone, by shoving it behind cushions or pillows on the sofa. Or maybe he just tossed it there. He knew he had to get rid of it and he probably knew someone was going to suggest calling or pinging the phone, since SW didn't or couldn't answer. It had to be done quickly, before more LE showed up (which they did) and he was more closely watched. I have to believe the first officers at the house were more interested in, and distracted by, looking for evidence of a crime, than watching CW.

Your comments made me think about how important SW's phone would have been to CW as a source of information (calls, texts, downloads, etc.) and as a forewarning (who's calling SW, how many times, etc.) which leads me to believe that one of the first things he did after the murder, was to acquire the phone. It was a little over three (3) hours from the time that SW entered the house until CW backed the truck into the garage. If he spent time searching the phone, that would explain why other things weren't done, like the dealing with the bedding, suitcase, etc. He could easily spend hours searching her phone, and not just for info about her, but to see what she may have communicated about him, and if she tried to track him on SM, etc. I have no doubt he's paranoid. It would explain how the time was used after the murder(s), if they took place early.

If this scenario is true, then his fingerprints would be all over her phone obscuring and covering other prints. I would think this could be evidence. I would also think that LE could tell if anything was removed/erased (by him) from her phone and might be restored.

 

[MsBetsy]

CNN.com - Transcripts
WATTS: Yes, because her flight got delayed from Arizona because like other storms around the nation. She was supposed to get home at 11:00. She got home like about 1:48. I left for work early that morning, like 5:15, 5:30. She is like, she barely got into bed.

04:06
Q: (Inaudible) she gone…she was she…she came back Sunday you said at 2 at night…
Yeah cos, her flight got delayed from Arizona cos like other storms around the nation, so she was supposed to get home at like 11, she got home at 1:48, she got to bed about 2.

Maybe she barely got to bed because he actually killed her at 2:00. Jmo

 

[MassGuy]

Yes, the rituals of proper burial have been consistent throughout time in just about every culture. In ancient times, the ommission of burial rites was considered an insult to human dignity. This belief is very much alive today. To say the jury will not take the way CW disposed the bodies into consideration is just not realistic, in my opinion.

Exactly. It will affect them emotionally but that’s not all it does.

It demonstrates that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and was trying to commit a coverup.

It’s very incriminating.

 

[Mark Morris]

I also believe he hastily hid the phone when he first came home. He obviously didn't know NSA can track a phones location even when it's turned off. The fact he needed to hide it suggests that he left it in the house and had to locate it before placing between the cushions, I'm sure he would have thought about this on the return journey, and his story. He probably didn't want to risk leaving the phone in his pocket but turned off incase LE searched him. Finding the phone would have been instantly incriminating. All IMO

 

[Thepoet]

I believe she was supposed to be home around midnight but instead got home close to two.

I believe she was supposed to be home by 11:00, there was a three hour delay. If the girls were killed earlier, and he had a plan for killing SW quickly, him leaving the house between 11-11:30 would not have raised suspicions if he was seen. IMO He would have had more time to hide the bodies and then deal with the house later.

 

[mrjitty]

Exactly. It will affect them emotionally but that’s not all it does.

It demonstrates that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and was trying to commit a coverup.

It’s very incriminating.

These kind of post facto actions are one of the strongest ways to infer guilty intention

 

[MassGuy]

These kind of post facto actions are one of the strongest ways to infer guilty intention

Absolutely. They are what a family killer does, not an innocent man.

Even if his story were true (it isn’t), his postoffense actions still don’t jibe with those of someone who only killed his wife and unborn child.

If you are so upset about the loss of your children that you kill your wife, then you don’t treat their bodies like he did.

Guilty as charged.

 

[MsBetsy]

THE PHONE (SW's)

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my earlier post about the phone. You gave me a lot to think about. I've formed an opinion I believe covers all the facts,

CW had SW's phone after he murdered her. He would want to know who called and he would want to search the phone, when he had time, to see who she had talked to (an atty maybe?), texts, etc. It would also tell him who was calling or texting SW that day, looking for her. NUA then shows up at the house forcing CW to race home where NUA and LE are waiting. Perhaps if CW hadn't been in a panic to get home, he would have dumped the phone on the way home. Or maybe he really wanted to search the phone before he dumped or destroyed it and figured all he had to do was deal with NUA. On his way home LE called for the code and he knows they're there. SW's phone wasn't just for personal, but also for business and it was always with her. Leaving it behind messes up his "she left with the girls and disappeared" story and maybe that's why he later hinted at a kidnapping scenario. So, he's at the house, with the phone, NUA and LE. At the first opportunity he hides the phone, by shoving it behind cushions or pillows on the sofa. Or maybe he just tossed it there. He knew he had to get rid of it and he probably knew someone was going to suggest calling or pinging the phone, since SW didn't or couldn't answer. It had to be done quickly, before more LE showed up (which they did) and he was more closely watched. I have to believe the first officers at the house were more interested in, and distracted by, looking for evidence of a crime, than watching CW.

Your comments made me think about how important SW's phone would have been to CW as a source of information (calls, texts, downloads, etc.) and as a forewarning (who's calling SW, how many times, etc.) which leads me to believe that one of the first things he did after the murder, was to acquire the phone. It was a little over three (3) hours from the time that SW entered the house until CW backed the truck into the garage. If he spent time searching the phone, that would explain why other things weren't done, like the dealing with the bedding, suitcase, etc. He could easily spend hours searching her phone, and not just for info about her, but to see what she may have communicated about him, and if she tried to track him on SM, etc. I have no doubt he's paranoid. It would explain how the time was used after the murder(s), if they took place early.

If this scenario is true, then his fingerprints would be all over her phone obscuring and covering other prints. I would think this could be evidence. I would also think that LE could tell if anything was removed/erased (by him) from her phone and might be restored.

Wow, you certainly have put a lot of thought into the mystery of the phone. It all makes sense. Maybe he even originally planned to send a text from her phone indicating that she left with the girls and needed time to think about things, but of course had to change his story since it did not go as planned. Jmo

 

[mrjitty]

CW ticks the following boxes for being a family annihilator

* Few family annihilators have a criminal record or were known to mental health services beforehand
* This is overwhelmingly a male crime
* 55% were in their thirties
* August was the most common month for family annihilator killings
* Just under half of all murders were committed over weekends, especially on a Sunday
* 71% were employed
* The majority of murders were found to take place in the home

The study refuted the idea that murderers may be unhappy or frustrated men with a long life history of failure.

81% of the men attempted suicide after the act.

Family breakup was the most common cause, accounting for 66% of cases.

Financial difficulties were the second most commonly cited motive.

“The family annihilator should be seen as a specific category of murderer, for a crime which appears to be increasing. To begin solving this problem the role of gender must be recognised, acknowledging that it is mainly men who will resort to this type of violence.”

Characteristics of Family Killers Revealed | Australasian Science Magazine

Hi Judy

Which type do you think CW is?

He does seem to be in effect transferring blame to SW in his coverup ...

I wonder if that is more significant than simply trying to get away with murder

 

[Thepoet]

Profiling has become an important part of investigations (criminal, terrorist, etc.) and profilers learn a lot from a person's behavior, including the way they do things. I will be interested to see if the prosecution calls an expert witness (es) to testify about how and where CW hid the bodies and what it means. I believe there is a reason for all three bodies being separated and for the girls bodies being desecrated. In his mind it had meaning and fulfilled him in some way!

 

[Thepoet]

Wow, you certainly have put a lot of thought into the mystery of the phone. It all makes sense. Maybe he even originally planned to send a text from her phone indicating that she left with the girls and needed time to think about things, but of course had to change his story since it did not go as planned. Jmo

(slapping my head) Yes! Another reason to have and keep the phone, to send text messages from SW! Probably to himself, NUA, and maybe her parents. NUA sure created a hairball for him, didn't she!

 

[Best of What's Around]

Hi Judy

Which type do you think CW is?

He does seem to be in effect transferring blame to SW in his coverup ...

I wonder if that is more significant than simply trying to get away with murder

It certainly might be indicative of something, but then again, at the point of his confession, I do not see what other scenario he could come up with to mitigate culpability. They had the location of the bodies and GPS to put him going straight there I assume. Knowing he strangled them all, it would be too much of a stretch to say either someone else did it all or she strangled herself. While his story strains the bounds of logic IMO way too far, it was the best of all possible choices left to him at that point, IMO.

 

[mrjitty]

It certainly might be indicative of something, but then again, at the point of his confession, I do not see what other scenario he could come up with to mitigate culpability. They had the location of the bodies and GPS to put him going straight there I assume. Knowing he strangled them all, it would be too much of a stretch to say either someone else did it all or she strangled herself. While his story strains the bounds of logic IMO way too far, it was the best of all possible choices left to him at that point, IMO.

I meant the original story that she had left to stay with a friend after an emotional discussion

We see in the interviews he has no empathy towards his children let alone his wife.

So the study is quite interesting in terms of whether he blamed them. The way the children died was quite personal and specific

 

[MassGuy]

It certainly might be indicative of something, but then again, at the point of his confession, I do not see what other scenario he could come up with to mitigate culpability. They had the location of the bodies and GPS to put him going straight there I assume. Knowing he strangled them all, it would be too much of a stretch to say either someone else did it all or she strangled herself. While his story strains the bounds of logic IMO way too far, it was the best of all possible choices left to him at that point, IMO.

I agree. His story is absolutely insane, but it probably gives him the best shot in regards to a defense.

As we’ve seen, some people actually find his story to be plausible.

I doubt a jury will see it that way though.