Solved Shanann Watts - American Murder: The Family Next Door

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ms finch

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I hope it is OK that I start a thread about this. I thought some people might find it interesting.

Netflix have a documentary about the disappearance of Shanann Watts in Colorado a couple of years ago.

*Spoiler Alert for comments further down the post*.

It has been put together entirely from police footage, social media comments and videos, MSM footage, interviews and messages between Shanann and others prior to her death. It is one of the most chilling things I’ve watched and gives quite an insight into what people can do and how they behave.

Shanann disappeared after returning from a business trip at 2am in the morning. Around lunchtime the next day the friend she had been with on the business trip raised the alarm when she couldn’t get in touch with her (she appears at that point to have been more concerned Shanann might have harmed herself). Police began to investigate and eventually it emerged that her husband, Chris, had been having an affair and murdered her and their two daughters so he could start a new life (what actually happened when they were killed is not fully known because we only have his story and he’s a total liar).

This is the chilling part:

While Shanann was frustrated with her husband’s withdrawal from her (which was due to the affair), there seems to have been little to no indication he was likely to physically harm her. There was no mention of ongoing violence or that anyone thought he was dangerous in advance. All of the information prior to this was that he was a loving husband and father.

The morning after he murdered them he continued sending messages to her phone pretending he was worried about her. He showed no emotion about their disappearance and it was only when police pointed out this was odd that he started to display some pretend emotion. He subsequently concocted a story that Shanann had killed the kids and he’d then killed her in a fit of rage about it, again after police put this possibility to him in an attempt to get him to confess. His eventual confession was that he’d murdered her after a fight and then killed the kids because they were witnesses, but given his history of lying to protect himself and using the suggestions of others to concoct stories, it’s quite possible he murdered them all while they were sleeping.

Total psychopath. A very interesting insight into some killers in my view.

One of the other really interesting things to me was that his neighbour was onto him immediately. The neighbour had security footage that showed part of the street and he instantly noticed that what Chris did with the car that morning (driving it into the garage briefly) was different. He also commented to police that Chris seemed out of character.
 

zedx

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I hope it is OK that I start a thread about this. I thought some people might find it interesting.

Netflix have a documentary about the disappearance of Shanann Watts in Colorado a couple of years ago.

*Spoiler Alert for comments further down the post*.

It has been put together entirely from police footage, social media comments and videos, MSM footage, interviews and messages between Shanann and others prior to her death. It is one of the most chilling things I’ve watched and gives quite an insight into what people can do and how they behave.

Shanann disappeared after returning from a business trip at 2am in the morning. Around lunchtime the next day the friend she had been with on the business trip raised the alarm when she couldn’t get in touch with her (she appears at that point to have been more concerned Shanann might have harmed herself). Police began to investigate and eventually it emerged that her husband, Chris, had been having an affair and murdered her and their two daughters so he could start a new life (what actually happened when they were killed is not fully known because we only have his story and he’s a total liar).

This is the chilling part:

While Shanann was frustrated with her husband’s withdrawal from her (which was due to the affair), there seems to have been little to no indication he was likely to physically harm her. There was no mention of ongoing violence or that anyone thought he was dangerous in advance. All of the information prior to this was that he was a loving husband and father.

The morning after he murdered them he continued sending messages to her phone pretending he was worried about her. He showed no emotion about their disappearance and it was only when police pointed out this was odd that he started to display some pretend emotion. He subsequently concocted a story that Shanann had killed the kids and he’d then killed her in a fit of rage about it, again after police put this possibility to him in an attempt to get him to confess. His eventual confession was that he’d murdered her after a fight and then killed the kids because they were witnesses, but given his history of lying to protect himself and using the suggestions of others to concoct stories, it’s quite possible he murdered them all while they were sleeping.

Total psychopath. A very interesting insight into some killers in my view.

One of the other really interesting things to me was that his neighbour was onto him immediately. The neighbour had security footage that showed part of the street and he instantly noticed that what Chris did with the car that morning (driving it into the garage briefly) was different. He also commented to police that Chris seemed out of character.
So so so often family and friends go the 'oh he was such a nice guy', for so many reasons and somehow forget/omit to tell/say what the person was really like. I think we can tell this by the neighbors actions, he must have seen or heard something in the past, that gave him a gut feeling or definite knowledge that something was not right with this guy.
 

ms finch

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So so so often family and friends go the 'oh he was such a nice guy', for so many reasons and somehow forget/omit to tell/say what the person was really like. I think we can tell this by the neighbors actions, he must have seen or heard something in the past, that gave him a gut feeling or definite knowledge that something was not right with this guy.
The really weird thing with this story is that it was ONLY the neighbour that seemed to know what he was like. The neighbour, in an extended interview, heard them fighting and said that he sounded crazy.

I‘ve listened to a few podcasts on it over the last few days. Shanann’s parents truly had no idea whatsoever. He was never violent or aggressive or controlling. And I know people say things like that, but they were clearly genuinely shocked and the examples they were giving of all of his “good behaviour” were above and beyond what I would usually expect if there were cracks. He supported her through really rough times with her Lupus, doted on her, showered the kids with affection.

And her friends had no idea. They have all said, in various ways, that she gave no inkling there was any danger of anything like this. She was worried about how withdrawn he was and that he was having an affair, but that was it. Given how upfront she appeared with a couple of her closest friends about how she was feeling, she was either concealing what was going on (very common and understandable) or had no idea herself.

What I will say is that Shanann absolutely lived for her kids, and I think if she had even the most remote inkling he would harm them she wouldn’t have hesitated to leave. She had a very supportive network around her and she was an astute woman. She can’t have seen the gravity of what he was capable of, even if there were other issues.

That’s what struck me in this case - that it didn’t seem to be a typical case of “oh he seemed like such a nice guy”. Rather it was a case of him perfectly playing the nice guy and completely concealing who he really was.
 

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zedx

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The really weird thing with this story is that it was ONLY the neighbour that seemed to know what he was like. The neighbour, in an extended interview, heard them fighting and said that he sounded crazy.

I‘ve listened to a few podcasts on it over the last few days. Shanann’s parents truly had no idea whatsoever. He was never violent or aggressive or controlling. And I know people say things like that, but they were clearly genuinely shocked and the examples they were giving of all of his “good behaviour” were above and beyond what I would usually expect if there were cracks. He supported her through really rough times with her Lupus, doted on her, showered the kids with affection.

And her friends had no idea. They have all said, in various ways, that she gave no inkling there was any danger of anything like this. She was worried about how withdrawn he was and that he was having an affair, but that was it. Given how upfront she appeared with a couple of her closest friends about how she was feeling, she was either concealing what was going on (very common and understandable) or had no idea herself.

What I will say is that Shanann absolutely lived for her kids, and I think if she had even the most remote inkling he would harm them she wouldn’t have hesitated to leave. She had a very supportive network around her and she was an astute woman. She can’t have seen the gravity of what he was capable of, even if there were other issues.

That’s what struck me in this case - that it didn’t seem to be a typical case of “oh he seemed like such a nice guy”. Rather it was a case of him perfectly playing the nice guy and completely concealing who he really was.
People can be so naive, honestly sometimes I'm absolutely shocked. Maybe its me? People don't go with their gut instinct. They so want to believe in the good.
Example - SIL meets new guy. MIL loves him. I say 'Can't you see he's a lying drug addict?' MIL says 'No no no, shes finally found some one wonderful." This is what the MIL wanted to believe. One year down the track, sadly, they're both in the gutter.
Seems like Shanann's husband went above and beyond until it didn't 'suit' him any longer. Did they ever interview any x's?
 

ms finch

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People can be so naive, honestly sometimes I'm absolutely shocked. Maybe its me? People don't go with their gut instinct. They so want to believe in the good.
Example - SIL meets new guy. MIL loves him. I say 'Can't you see he's a lying drug addict?' MIL says 'No no no, shes finally found some one wonderful." This is what the MIL wanted to believe. One year down the track, sadly, they're both in the gutter.
Seems like Shanann's husband went above and beyond until it didn't 'suit' him any longer. Did they ever interview any x's?
Not just you. I’m the same. I kept waiting for some indication that they’d all just ignored things, but there wasn’t anything. And what I also find is that while one group (eg family) might not notice things usually another group does (eg friends). Even the friend who raised the alarm was worried about self harm; it wasn’t on her radar that the husband might have done something. And she raised the alarm fast - first thing in the morning when she couldn’t get in touch with her friend.

They had been together for eight years, married for six. I haven’t heard anything from exes, but they might not have gone as far back as that. The woman he was having an affair with at the time came forward and exposed his lies. He’d told her he had separated from his wife and she commented that his behaviour had changed over the few days before they went missing. They’ve shown some of her police interview. He was still lying to her after their disappearance but she started to figure it out and went to the police herself. She’s in a state of shock and confusion.

The people I think should speak are his parents. There was an incident a few weeks prior where his mum tried to give one of the kids something she was allergic to even after Shanann told her not to due to allergies and when Shanann went ballistic about it she cut Shanann and the kids off. Who the f*** does that? Knowingly gives a kid something that could kill them and feels entitled to do so? Apparently they never liked Shanann because they never thought she was “good enough” for their son. You’d think afterwards they’d be thinking, “We got that completely wrong. How awful are we? Our son is a monster. That poor woman.” But no: at his sentencing hearing they said they loved him and forgave him. He murdered his own little kids in cold blood! It was so awful I was crying and wanted to climb through the TV and go after him and yet they FORGAVE HIM IN OPEN COURT.
 

Angus Young

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This is the police cam footage the day she was reported missing

The neighbour is showing the cop and police cctv video footage of Chris's front yard showing how Shannon never left the house etc.. Chris ute backs up.

Chris has his hands on his head like he's stressed about his wife and kids bt he's shitting himself about the camera footage. He can't wait to get out of there.

The neighbour is looking at Chris watching his reaction.

When Chris leaves the house the neighbour basically says to the cop he's acting all suss. This neighbour solved in straight away.

 

ms finch

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This is the police cam footage the day she was reported missing

The neighbour is showing the cop and police cctv video footage of Chris's front yard showing how Shannon never left the house etc.. Chris ute backs up.

Chris has his hands on his head like he's stressed about his wife and kids bt he's shitting himself about the camera footage. He can't wait to get out of there.

The neighbour is looking at Chris watching his reaction.

When Chris leaves the house the neighbour basically says to the cop he's acting all suss. This neighbour solved in straight away.


Yes, there was the point where the neighbour says he’s acting really strangely and actually describes the difference and the cop is saying, “Well his wife’s missing so he’s probably not his normal self” and the neighbour is like, “Nah dude, that isn’t it.” I’m not sure if it is in that clip or in the extended one I saw. The neighbour was completely onto it. I got the impression in the documentary that he was itching to say what he thought from the moment he realised there were police next door.
 
such a dumb criminal, not much of a plan

his mum seems a bitch

fascinsting part is you can basically watch the investigation in full, his tv interviews are terrible , seems unconcerned

the mistress is interesting, her google searches etc
 

ms finch

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He is utterly sick. He’s reveling in what he’s done and the attention he’s getting.

But I also think that article is incorrect when it says this is the first time he has admitted to killing his kids. While there is more detail in these letters, he gave the story about what happened at the site in an interview as that interview was included in the Netflix documentary.

It is the first time he has admitted it was all pre-planned and that he actually drugged his wife first. He maintained it was rage-induced, even though it always looked like it was cold blooded premeditation.

His story changed multiple times, always based on what he thought was in his best interests at the time. Now it seems his best interests are served by some sort of narcissistic worship of his own psychopathy.

They need to stop this. People should not be getting this type of attention for cold bloodedly murdering innocent children (of anyone). They should be consigned to the dust bin and be treated with total anonymity. He shouldn’t be given an audience.
 

ms finch

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right..but here we all are reading about it.
I get your point, but prior to opening the article and reading it, I had no idea that this was as a result of Chris writing letters to an author who was publishing a book based on what he’d sent her titled as it is.

It’s one thing to read about a case and get information. It’s quite another for the killer to be encouraged to have a voice in such a way that allows him to bask in his own wrongdoing and allows him to feed his narcissism off murdering people.

I would never have read the article if I’d thought that was what it was.
 

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footy75

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The crazy thing is.... if he didn't talk he may of gotten away with it.

All they had was a bit of circumstantial stuff and a failed polygraph test.
 
The crazy thing is.... if he didn't talk he may of gotten away with it.

All they had was a bit of circumstantial stuff and a failed polygraph test.


would have been interesting if he just walked out and refused a polygraph etc

his mistress coming forward hurt and the gps in the truck meant they would have found shannan surely? making him a suspect

i wonder what he does next if not caught though
 
Maybe I missed the signs but the movie didn't really go into the details of why he went all the way to murder. Maybe that was the point though - nobody had any idea what he was actually capable of and there was no signs that it was coming! There would be tens of thousands of blokes out there with mistresses who want to get a divorce but they don't just massacre their entire family!
 

ms finch

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The crazy thing is.... if he didn't talk he may of gotten away with it.

All they had was a bit of circumstantial stuff and a failed polygraph test.
The woman who did the polygraph was awesome. When she did the test she did the blonde bimbo act to perfection, and I could really see Chris thinking, “Stupid twit. I can play her easily.” Then afterward she became the decisive, on the ball, smart hard ass that she really was. She played him beautifully.

She did it later as well when she acted all sympathetic to his story about Shanann murdering the kids. Then again she went back to being a hardened police officer. It was great to watch.
 

footy75

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would have been interesting if he just walked out and refused a polygraph etc

his mistress coming forward hurt and the gps in the truck meant they would have found shannan surely? making him a suspect

i wonder what he does next if not caught though

right .

The cops would of just kept working and working....tapping his phones, pressure on him and friends, setting traps getting him to talk etc until they felt they had enough circumstantial stuff and presented that.
 

PetterdHoisted

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I hope it is OK that I start a thread about this. I thought some people might find it interesting.

Netflix have a documentary about the disappearance of Shanann Watts in Colorado a couple of years ago.

*Spoiler Alert for comments further down the post*.

It has been put together entirely from police footage, social media comments and videos, MSM footage, interviews and messages between Shanann and others prior to her death. It is one of the most chilling things I’ve watched and gives quite an insight into what people can do and how they behave.

Shanann disappeared after returning from a business trip at 2am in the morning. Around lunchtime the next day the friend she had been with on the business trip raised the alarm when she couldn’t get in touch with her (she appears at that point to have been more concerned Shanann might have harmed herself). Police began to investigate and eventually it emerged that her husband, Chris, had been having an affair and murdered her and their two daughters so he could start a new life (what actually happened when they were killed is not fully known because we only have his story and he’s a total liar).

This is the chilling part:

While Shanann was frustrated with her husband’s withdrawal from her (which was due to the affair), there seems to have been little to no indication he was likely to physically harm her. There was no mention of ongoing violence or that anyone thought he was dangerous in advance. All of the information prior to this was that he was a loving husband and father.

The morning after he murdered them he continued sending messages to her phone pretending he was worried about her. He showed no emotion about their disappearance and it was only when police pointed out this was odd that he started to display some pretend emotion. He subsequently concocted a story that Shanann had killed the kids and he’d then killed her in a fit of rage about it, again after police put this possibility to him in an attempt to get him to confess. His eventual confession was that he’d murdered her after a fight and then killed the kids because they were witnesses, but given his history of lying to protect himself and using the suggestions of others to concoct stories, it’s quite possible he murdered them all while they were sleeping.

Total psychopath. A very interesting insight into some killers in my view.

One of the other really interesting things to me was that his neighbour was onto him immediately. The neighbour had security footage that showed part of the street and he instantly noticed that what Chris did with the car that morning (driving it into the garage briefly) was different. He also commented to police that Chris seemed out of character.
I liked the cops 'you lost a lot of weight..you been cheating on your wife?'
I wouldn't have immediately thought that, cops must see so much of this stuff it becomes formulaic.
 
That’s what struck me in this case - that it didn’t seem to be a typical case of “oh he seemed like such a nice guy”. Rather it was a case of him perfectly playing the nice guy and completely concealing who he really was.

There's a clip of Watts talking to the press here and unlike other men who have killed their wives where most of us can read their nerves and guilt, Watts doesn't falter. It's really disturbing.

 

ms finch

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There's a clip of Watts talking to the press here and unlike other men who have killed their wives where most of us can read their nerves and guilt, Watts doesn't falter. It's really disturbing.


Yep, he just never displays the usual tells that make me think something isn’t right. The absence of certain reactions and emotions is telling, but you are spot on that he’s missing the active signs something is amiss. His capacity for self control is extraordinary. I’m not surprised nobody spotted it in advance. It scares the beejezus out of me.
 

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