Christopher Lee Watts and Shanann Cathryn Rzucek met in North Carolina in 2010 through a Facebook friend request.12 Christopher was from Spring Lake, while Shanann was from Aberdeen.1 They married on November 3, 2012 in Mecklenburg County.1 The couple had two daughters - Bella Marie Watts (born December 17, 2013) and Celeste Cathryn "CeCe" Watts (born July 17, 2015).12 At the time of the murders in August 2018, Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with a son they planned to name Nico.1

The Watts family resided in a five-bedroom home at 2825 Saratoga Trail in Frederick, Colorado, which they purchased in 2013 after moving from North Carolina.1 Despite Christopher's employment with Anadarko Petroleum and Shanann's work selling nutrition supplements, the family had filed for bankruptcy in 2015 due to a combined $70,000 in unsecured debt on top of mortgages and loans.12

On the surface, the Watts clan appeared to be a typical happy American family frequently documented on Shanann's social media accounts.24 However, unbeknownst to most, Chris Watts had been engaged in a secret affair in the months prior and was exploring options to leave his wife, setting the stage for the brutal killings that would soon transpire.45

In the early morning hours of August 13, 2018, Chris Watts strangled his pregnant wife Shanann to death in their Frederick, Colorado home after an argument about separating.45 Watts then drove with Shanann's body to a remote oil site where he worked for Anadarko Petroleum. There, he smothered his two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste, one after the other.15 He buried Shanann's body in a shallow grave and dumped the girls' bodies into separate crude oil tanks.12

In his eventual confession, Watts provided chilling details of how he killed his family. He claimed Shanann had told him he would never see the kids again after he admitted not loving her, prompting him to strangle her in a rage.5 Watts said he loaded all three bodies into his truck, with the girls' bodies on the truck's bench seat.1 At the oil site, Watts recalled smothering Celeste first while Bella watched, then smothering Bella next inside the truck.5 He described the horrific act as if he had an "out-of-body experience," stating "I didn't want to do this, but I did it."5

The murders sent shockwaves through the Frederick community and around the world.24 Watts initially lied to police, claiming he had no idea what happened to his family after Shanann allegedly took the girls and left.3 However, he failed a polygraph test, and surveillance footage showed him backing his truck into the garage after Shanann arrived home, contradicting his story.1 Faced with mounting evidence, Watts eventually confessed to killing his entire family.3

Initially, Chris Watts lied to everyone, including law enforcement and the media, claiming he had no idea what happened to his pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters after they went missing.134 He made public pleas for their safe return and feigned concern over their disappearance.15 However, Watts soon failed a polygraph test administered by investigators, and surveillance footage contradicted his story by showing him backing his truck into the garage after Shanann arrived home that morning.12

Faced with mounting evidence, Watts eventually confessed to killing Shanann, but he initially claimed she had strangled their daughters Bella and Celeste first after he told her he wanted to separate.5 This was proven false when Watts later provided a full confession, admitting he killed his entire family after Shanann threatened to leave and never let him see the children again following his admission of no longer loving her.135 Watts revealed disturbing details of smothering Celeste while Bella watched, then smothering Bella next, before disposing of their bodies in crude oil tanks.15