Christopher Watts /// Part 1 /// 269 | Forensic Files

Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host Nick and
with me as always is a man that when asked why we feature a beer each week, he simply responded because we're
thirsty, dummy. He is our captain. Ahoy, me mateys. It's good to be seen and it's good to see you. Thanks for
listening and thanks for telling a friend. This week's beer of the week is Haze by
the geniuses over at Tree House Brewing. Garage grade A, strong, five out of five
bottle caps. Longtime listeners of the show will tell you that it's not frequently that we give a perfect score
for a beer. So when we do, that means you stop what you're doing, locate one of these beers and drink it immediately.
Haze by Tree House was brought to us by First Up. A big thank you to Kenny, who is my friend Ken on Untappd for sending
us some delicious Tree House beer. Big thanks to Ken. Please don't listen to the Colonel. You might lose your job.
And a big we like your jib to Saran up in Arlington. Here's a long distance cheers to Mark in
Sonora, California. And a big cheers to Gavin in Bay City, Michigan. Next, and I
love this one, Captain, we have Shelley in Gun Barrel City, Texas. And last but certainly not least, we have Shannon
from Westminster, British Columbia. So thanks to everyone for helping out this wonderful garage show. And if you would
like to make a contribution to the beer fund, go to truecrimegarage.com. And while you're there, you can sign up
on the mailing list or you can purchase a fabulous shirt so you can make your awesomeness a little more awesome. And
that's enough of the business. All right, thank you, Captain. Everybody gather around, grab a chair, grab a
beer. Let's talk some true crime. My daddy is a hero. He helps me grow up strong.
He helps me on the slide go too. He reads me books. He ties my shoes. You're a hero,
blue and blue. My daddy, daddy, I love you. Your first name is Watts? I'm Chris Watts. W A T T S.
Okay. What what's going on right now around your house? Well, right now it's got canine units,
the sheriff's department. Everybody's like they're they're doing their best right now to figure out like if they can
get a scent see where they went. If they went on foot, they went in a car, they went
somewhere. And right now it's just like they've they've been on point. They're going
through the house trying to get a scent and hopefully they can pick something up
to where it's it's going to lead to something. What happened? Your wife came home and told you didn't
know what's up. I see. Like she came home from the airport 2:00 a.m. and I left around 5:15. She was still here.
And like about 12:10 in that afternoon, her friend Nicole showed up at the door.
Like I had texted Shannan a few times that day, called her, said, you know. But she never got back to me, but she
wasn't getting back to any of her people as well. And that's what really concerned a lot of people. It's like
she's not getting back to her like she isn't getting back to me, that's fine. Like she gets busy during the day. But
she didn't get back to her people, which was very concerning. And Nicole called me when she was at the door and that's
when I came home. And then walked in the house and nothing. It's vanished. Nothing was
here. I mean, she wasn't she wasn't here. The kids weren't here. No nobody was here.
What's your wife's name? Shannan. S H A N N A N. What's your what's your kids' names? Bella and Celeste.
Bella and Celeste. Uh C E L E S T E. How old are your how old are your daughters? Four. Bella's four, Celeste
is three. And so how many times did you try calling her? I called her three times, texted her
about three times just to say, you know. What's going on? Like I didn't I could not after after after I called her and
texted her once it was like, all right. Maybe she was just busy. Like she just gotten back, you know, like everybody's
probably calling her from her trip. She just got back from Arizona. And I figured just she was just busy. But
when her friend showed up, that's when it was like it it registered. Like, all right, this isn't right.
Do you think she just took off? Do you think I I mean, right now I don't even want to just like throw anything out
there. Like I hope that she's somewhere safe right now and with the kids. But I mean, could she have been could
she have just taken off? I don't know. But if somebody has her and they're not safe, like I want them back now.
Like that's that's that's what's in my head. Like if they're safe right now, they're going to come back.
But if they're not safe right now, that's what that's the not knowing part. Like if they're not safe
last night, I was I had every light in the house on. I was hoping that I would just get just
ran over by the kids running in the door and just like barrel rushing me, but it
didn't happen. And it was just a traumatic night trying to be here. Can I ask some kind of tough questions
about relationship with your kids? Yeah, I mean, yeah, my my kids are my life. I
mean, those those smiles light up my life. And there's like I mean, last night like
during like at you know, when they usually eat dinner, it was just like I miss them. Like I mean, I miss telling
them, "Hey, you got to eat that or you're going to not going to get your dessert, you know?" Just like you're not
going to get your snack after. I miss that. Like I I miss them, you know, cuddle up on their couches. They have
like a Minnie Mouse couch and a Sophia couch that they cuddle up on and watch, you know, Bubble Guppies or something.
And it was just like, you know, I mean I I was it was tearing tearing me apart last
night and I needed that. I needed that last night. And for that for nobody to be here last night and to go into their
rooms and not and know that I wasn't going to turn the rain machines on. And know that I wasn't going to turn
their monitor on. And know I wasn't going to kiss them to bed tonight. It was it was I I
That's why last night was just horrible. I couldn't do it. I just I just want I want everybody to come
home. Like wherever they're at, come home. That's what I want. So she's where where was she gone for?
Um I she was she she was on um She came back Sunday. You said that to you at night. Yeah, cuz her her flight
got delayed from Arizona cuz of like other storms around the the nation. So she's supposed to get home like
11:00. She got home at like 1:48. Got in bed about 2:00. What was she what was she gone for? Like a family trip It was
a Thrive direct sales uh it was a local event that was down there with seeing a bunch of leaders in in the company.
And that night the day she was back, I mean I left I left work for work early that
morning like 5:15, 5:30. So like she barely let me she barely got barely gotten in the bed pretty much.
Now, this might be a tough question, but did you guys get into an argument before
she left? It wasn't it wasn't like an argument. We had an emotional conversation, but I'll leave it at that.
But it's I just want them back. I just I just want them to come back. And if if they're not safe right now, that's
what's that's what's tearing me apart cuz if they are safe, they're coming back.
But if they're not, this this this has got to stop. Like somebody has to come forward.
You spoke to her family like what are they saying? Yeah, they've been in constant contact like every hour. I
mean, it's I mean, everybody back in North Carolina and the East Coast. I mean, from Maine to Florida.
What is her parents saying to you like They're just like like if they need to get on a flight, just let them know cuz
I mean, they don't they they feel helpless right now cuz they they're on the opposite side of the country.
I mean, this Colorado is I mean can't just drive around and look. I mean, it's just like you wouldn't really
know what you're looking for. That's what the cops pretty much told me. That first day I was like, I want to get out
and drive around. They said, "You wouldn't know what to look for." Um last couple questions. Uh what is what
is law enforcement what are what are the police or the sheriffs or your neighbors, is anybody what is
what's what's police saying to you? Right now, this is what they're doing right now is with the K9s in the sense.
I think this is the biggest thing This is the biggest thing they've done so far because yesterday they all Frederick
Police Department did all the searching of the house and try to gather whatever information they could.
And with the detectives, officers, and sergeants, and today it's I mean obviously with all the activity
that's around, it's it's it's it's There's a lot going on around here, and I really hope that all
this can lead to something positive. What did um your neighbors, did they see anything?
Did your neighbors say anything? No, like we've we've uh the police department went door-to-door asking like
cameras and everything, just like nothing. And my last question, if you have any
feel free to stop me. My last question is if your wife can see this if she if she can watch this, what would
you What would you like to tell your wife and kids? Shannan, Bella, Bella. Celeste, Celeste. if you're out there,
just just come back. Like if somebody has her, just please bring her back. I need to see
everybody. On Monday, August 13th, 2018, the Frederick, Colorado, 911 received a call
from Nicole Atkinson around 1:30 p.m. Nicole reported that she dropped her friend Shannan Watts off at her home at
1:48 a.m. that morning after a business trip to Arizona. Nicole was very concerned because she had not heard or
been able to reach Shannan. Now, Shannan is diabetic and 15 weeks pregnant, so this is just adding to her friend's
concerns. Shannan missed a doctor's appointment that morning and was not responding to
calls or texts, and this was very much out of character. Nicole and her teenage son Nicholas went
over to Shannan's home to look for her. Nicholas on occasion dog sat for the Watts, so he was very familiar with
their home. Through the garage windows, apparently Captain, the teenage boy had to stand on
top of his mother's car to look into these windows. It sounds like they're quite high. They could see Shannan's
white Lexus SUV parked inside. Nicole knew the code to the front door, but upon attempting to open it, she
found that inside the latch was engaged on the door. This prohibiting it from being opened more than just a couple of
inches. Nicole could see the flip-flops Shannan was wearing on the plane right inside the front door. Now, she always
wore these flip-flops. Nicole contacted Shannan's husband, Christopher Watts, on
his cell phone. He was at work. She asked him to come home to check to see if Shannan was okay. Chris didn't
seem overly concerned and told her Shannan went on a playdate with a friend. Nicole felt that he wasn't being
appropriately responsive to this situation. Well, also she was fearing because her friend is in constant
contact with her. So, if she was on a playdate, wouldn't she reply to the text messages or the phone calls? Yes. So,
she had Nicholas try to force open the garage door. She knew that this would trigger the house alarm. And hopefully,
if Shannan was inside, you know, she's kind of assuming at this point that she might be incapacitated inside the home.
And she's hoping that the alarm will, you know, bring her back to you know, reality and answer the door or
check in with her friend. But Chris Watts disarmed this alarm from his phone earlier. This was at 12:41
p.m. So, concerned that Shannan and the girls did not appear to be at the house and
they're not reachable, Nicole and her son left and actually went to the OBGYN's office where Nicole knew Shannan
had an appointment at 10:00 a.m. that morning. She wanted to see if they had shown up to this appointment and found
out that she did not. Again, this was completely out of character. Nicole and Nicholas returned to the
Watts home and called Chris Watts again. They then told him that they were calling the police. Chris told Nicole
not to do so and that he was on his way home, but she had already called 911 by this time. In response to Nicole's call,
Officer Scott Coonrod was dispatched to the Watts home on Saratoga Trail. This is in a subdivision of new homes about
10 minutes away from Frederick. Yeah, they're roughly $350,000 Nice neighborhood. Yeah. Nicole and
Nicholas were waiting for him outside of the house. The officer opened the front
door just a couple of inches cuz remember we got the latch inside. Mhm. He called out to see if anyone was
inside the home, but saw no one and heard no one. Who we are looking for is Shannan and her two daughters, Bella and
Celeste, ages 4 and 3. All of the windows on the ground floor were locked as was the sliding glass
door at the back of the house. Nicole told the officer that Chris Watts, Shannan's husband, was somewhat unclear
as to what time he would be arriving at the house. Although Shannan was not known to pass
out or have seizures due to her diabetes, Nicole was concerned that she may be ill or have had an accident
upstairs and needed help. Shannan had a low blood sugar incident in Arizona just
a few days prior. Right, but even so, I mean you're calling out to people even though you can't get the door open, you
have a 4-year-old and a 3-year-old. You would think at some point you'd hear some kind of noise inside the house.
Yes, unless it was like nap time or the children were frightened for some reason, you would think you would hear
something going on inside the home. So, Nicole, Nicholas, and the officer are standing outside of the Watts' home.
Nicole is calling all of Shannan's friends and her parents to see if they have heard from her.
Nobody's heard anything. And meanwhile, after obtaining Chris Watts' cell number
from Nicole, the officer called Chris and asked for the code to enter the home through the garage using the exterior
keypad. Chris said the code didn't work from the outside and he would be home in
5 minutes. When Chris showed up, he accessed the home using his car garage clicker, then entered the home.
All of them entered the home together, to be clear. Yeah. Chris gave consent to check the entire house for any sign of
Shannan and the girls. So, they find no one in the home. They didn't find a note
or really any indication of where this young mother and the two little girls could be. But here is what they did
find. They found Shannan's small black suitcase still sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Chris found Shannan's
wedding ring on a nightstand. Chris and Nicholas went upstairs and Nicholas found Shannan's cell phone on the couch
in the loft area. Yeah, it was actually kind of stuffed in the cushions. Chris did not know the password to his wife's
phone, but apparently Nicole did. It was the due date for the baby that was on the way. Mhm. Chris authorized the
officer to look through her phone. He observed no calls were made that morning and there were a lot of missed
calls and unresponded to messages. The officer called in a detective to investigate further. So, they thoroughly
searched the house with Chris' permission. Now, while they're searching, Chris said that he was going
to go for a walk around the neighborhood to clear his head, but he ended up staying just outside of the home on the
deck to the backyard after taking the family dog outside. The police documented what they found. This
included Shannan's purse sitting on the kitchen counter containing her wallet, cash, ID, credit cards, a second cell
phone, and medication. We already know that they found her vehicle. This was with the keys on the
center console and the remote garage door opener on the visor. Well, and at this point it's like, where would she
go? I mean, she doesn't have a car. She's pregnant. So, we wouldn't think that she'd walk too far. She has two
girls with her. Maybe somebody came and picked her up. The tricky thing, too, Captain, it sounds like there's ways to
access this home without a key. You know, we referenced the keypad to the garage, which Chris says is not working.
Then the keypad to the front door, which you can't use because it's latched from
inside. Right. So, I'm having trouble here because we we have her keys. It says her car keys on
the center console in her vehicle. Most people, myself, I carry my house keys on my car key ring. Yeah, key fob.
Yeah. So, I'm kind of wondering here, the only really thing I could think of that could happen here is that somebody
would have picked them up, they went somewhere, or that they went for some kind of walk and maybe something
happened that delayed their return, but how were they going to access the home? You know, did she have or could she have
had any type of keys with her to get into the home? It sounds like no. Also doesn't seem like they're questioning
Chris much about this so-called playdate. Yeah, and a special note here, this was
interesting. Officers determined that someone would have had enough time to press the button from inside the parked
vehicle and run out the closing garage door. Right. And but but again, the garage was the only way someone could
have exited the home since the other doors were all locked. Now, finding the two cell phones was
very disturbing because Nicole told the police that Shannan worked from home and
she would never leave without her cell phone. Yeah, I believe they call it like direct
sales where you're you sell to your friends and family and and potentially other people and she worked for a
company I believe it was called Level. I have Thrive nutritional supplements but I mean it could be Level could be
the parenting company. Right. Um often there's different names associated with these direct sales businesses but I
think the key thing here and what her friend is going to point out to the officer is and keep in mind her friend
worked with her or did had the same similar line of work, right? The key thing here is being available to her
customers via phone 24/7. Right, or texts. Yes. And this with both these phones being at the home, Shannan not
there, that's impossible. So regarding the little girls, this is disturbing too because what police found was they found
asthma medication for one of the girls as well as an EpiPen for one of the other girls. You know, this girl, she
needed to have this with her at all times in case of an allergic reaction. The police report states, quote, "We
observed nothing suspicious inside the residence, vehicles, or garage that gave the appearance of an altercation." And
what's so interesting about this case is you can actually watch all of this footage. Yeah, this comes from the
police body cams. But the cops did note that the master bed was stripped bare down to the
mattress. The comforter, fitting fitted bottom sheet, and pillows were on the floor. Right.
There was no sign of the top sheet. The girls' beds in their bedrooms were unmade. In the unfinished basement, they
found an unmade bed with sheets and a blanket. Chris told them that he slept in the basement on occasion but when
Shannan got home last night, he was in the master bedroom. Officers noted a Ring doorbell camera.
Chris told them the only persons visible on it were Shannan arriving home from her trip and Nicole and Nicholas when
they showed up that day looking for her. Right. The authorities canvassed the neighborhood to see if anyone saw
anything. One neighbor in particular is named in the police report, Nathaniel Trinastich, lived next door and he has a
home video surveillance system. This shows Nicole's car leaving at 1:48 a.m. as she told police. Then at 5:27
a.m. on August 13th, the video shows Chris Watts in a black shirt walking out the open garage door and then shows his
brown extended cab Ford F-250 pickup truck backing into the driveway up to the garage with the rear of the truck in
the garage. The view of the rear of the truck was obscured from the camera. So Chris was
parked at the street but backed up to the garage and is seen on the video loading a red gas can into the truck
bed. Yeah, he claims he's loading tools for work. Yes. The video showed no other
vehicles coming or going. In the bed of the truck, police found a fire extinguisher, a large hose, a shovel, a
gas can, and multiple toolboxes. This pickup truck was issued to Chris by his employer. Well, and because it was
issued by his employer, the truck has GPS on it as well. So the police are going to eventually be able to track his
whereabouts using the GPS monitoring on the truck. Well, let's talk about Chris Watts's story because it's it's pretty
clear from the police report that the cops were suspicious of Chris from the get-go. Yeah. In fact, the officer's
report says this. Here is what Chris told the detectives on that day. He said that the family had
just returned from a vacation in North Carolina where they both had family. They flew home on August 7th. On the
10th, Shannan had a work trip to Arizona. Chris said Shannan got home from this trip that Sunday night which
was really early Monday morning, August 13th at around 2:00 a.m. We now know this was because her flight
was delayed so she arrived home later than planned. Nicole drove her home arriving at 1:48 a.m. Chris was asleep
in the master bedroom. He woke up at 4:00 a.m. and started getting ready for work and woke Shannan up.
Yeah, he claims because they were having some marital problems that he claims that they had an emotional conversation
about their relationship and talked about selling their house and moving towards a divorce before he left for
work. Yeah, he says this conversation lasted about 30 to 40 minutes and as you stated it was emotional but he was clear
that they were not arguing. He said they were discussing a separation for a few weeks. Then at 5:27 a.m., Chris backed
his truck up to the garage to load up some tools and left for work. When he left around 5:45 a.m., Shannan was in
bed. He went to work at a job site, an oil well location, to check on it. He was alone there for a few hours.
Chris was an operator for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Colorado's largest oil and gas producer. He worked
on oil wells and equipment. Chris told police that Shannan intended to spend the day with the kids at the house of a
friend but he didn't know who this friend was. He didn't know the name of the friend.
Right. He told police they were married for 6 years and that this disappearance was very unusual behavior.
He said that he blamed himself for her leaving because it clearly was the result of their conversation.
All right, we're back. Cheers, mates. Cheers to you, Captain. A big garage cheers to everybody out there. All
right, some alarm bells are going off here, right? Wait, and out there. And out there. And over there. And in the
back seat. And over there. All around the world. So let's talk about some of the alarm bells
here, right? We have a missing woman, two missing children, and we have the husband that seems to have a no care in
the world. Yes. Yes, thank you. And the officer notes that Chris's demeanor was, quote,
"nonchalant." It's very strange. I mean again, I I will try to get like clear footage of this and post it on our
website at True Crime Garage. So if you haven't seen it that you don't have to scroll through YouTube and try to
there's a ton of them out there. And the I believe the exact wording that the officer gave was that he didn't seem
that Chris did not seem overly concerned about the fact that his wife and little
girls were missing. Yeah, now I understand that you're having marital problems so maybe you're not so worried
about your wife but she's also carrying your unborn child, your unborn son. And then you have your two lovely daughters.
You'd think you'd be concerned about their whereabouts. The other thing too is like and I can't
really emphasize this enough. The little girls are nowhere to be found. Their medication that is very
much needed medication. We mentioned the EpiPen. Right. That would terrify me. That's what would terrify me if I were
Chris in this situation. Well, and when you look at behavior science and just his demeanor, constantly he is
crossing his arms almost like in a like he's defensive. Mhm. Without even talking, he's defensive. The other thing
too is Chris told the officer three times that he left the garage door open and received the alarm on his phone
notifying him of this around 12:40. Now, the officer thought that Chris's emphasis of this was unusual. And when
Nicole got there, we know that the garage door was closed. Right. So it seems to me like I mean he really keeps
going back to this, the no, the garage door was open and my phone tells me this.
Next, we also have Nicole and the neighbor who both told the officer that they, who knew Chris well, believed he
was acting extremely nervous and you referenced some of his mannerisms at that time. Yeah, cuz at some point
they're going to go next door to the neighbor's house. Mhm. I think to ask for the footage because they know that
they're viewing it together kind of, you know, with Chris there, the neighbor there, the officer. At some point, Chris
is like bending down and then leaning forward and crossing his arms and it's it's very strange because
I could understand movements like that if you're like, "Oh man, I just don't know where she's at. This is driving me
crazy." And you you start doing some erratic stuff but when you're your demeanor, it's it was almost like
he's having little freak out moments but he knows he has to try to keep it together. At some point, you can see
from the police body cam, Chris walk outside of the neighbor's house and the neighbor says something like, "He's he's
really acting strange, don't you think?" Yeah. I mean to me, that's like such a like the
neighbor is telling you like this is a guy that might like him. Mhm. And he's saying, "Dude, this dude's acting
weird." Yeah, and the feeling I got when I watched that video with the way that you talked about Chris moving about
Well, it's it looked to me like a guy that wanted to jump out of his own skin. And it wasn't it didn't appear to me to
be because he thought they should be out there looking around the neighborhood or
searching for his wife. It seemed like he wanted to jump out of his skin because he didn't want to be in that
room. He was very uncomfortable. You've seen this time and time again. You'll see where the husband will go like, "Why
are you talking to me? We should be out there looking for them." And he never does that. No. It's like
he's never seen the Hallmark Channel. Well, the neighbor told police that he had heard Chris yelling loudly at
Shannan numerous times in the past. And finally, the officer notes that while at
the Watts' home, he received a phone call from Shannan's mother, who he says, quote, "Was adamant that Christopher did
something and they should check the GPS on his truck." Now, I'm just going to stop you right
there because one, her friend has a gut feeling and does not stop. We need to get into the house.
Mhm. She does. Now, the mother has a gut feeling. Mhm. And and you'll you're going to see that
time and time again uh in this case where people follow their gut feelings. In fact, Shannan's mom, Sandra, she also
called another officer the next day and said that Chris was acting very odd and she and her husband suspected that he
had done something to the family. Officers asked Chris to check for any activity in their bank accounts, but
Chris said he could not log on to the accounts because Shannan handled the finances. Right. He agreed to call the
banks to find out. He couldn't verify if Shannan had any missing credit cards because the two used separate cards. So,
he says he wasn't certain which card she carried. He also did not know where she
kept her passport. The officer ordered a bolo, a be on the lookout for Shannan and the girls.
Right. So, we have a pregnant mother and her two small daughters have vanished leaving behind all of Shannan's personal
items, the girls' medication, and their car. Word of this spread among their family
and friends like wildfire. The police report says Shannan's phone was blowing up with text and calls from concerned
friends and family. Shannan had a very active social media life. Her role as a Thrive sales representative required her
to, quote, live the lifestyle. And she typically posted videos multiple times daily showing her and the kids and Chris
and their daily life. Yeah. Both she and Chris would be wearing their Thrive patches visibly in these videos. They
were, quote, selling the brand. Yeah, one of my favorite videos there's actually quite a bit of them
online, but one of them is Chris is almost like made to stand in the back. Mhm. Like, "Hey, honey, we're going to
make this video for not only the people that work cuz normally how it works is you get a team of people, so you're
selling to people, but your team is also selling to people. Mhm. It's very similar to a pyramid
marketing scheme. Yeah, they have nicer they have nicer words for it, but that's
essentially what it is. You're making money off of your sales as well as your team's sales.
Yeah, and so part of the thing though is that you get to work at home and then you get to spend time with your family,
so there are some perks there. But then you have to, you know, make these Facebook videos and she would have
Chris, you want, you know, smile on the video, Chris. And he's in the background
and there's one time where he just like turns the dog's head to like keep the dog looking more towards the camera.
Mhm. And she kind of snaps at him like, "Don't choke him." You know, and so if you watch those videos, I
it's it's a false narrative of how their relationship was, but you can see some inner workings there if you watch those
videos. Well, a little background on the Watts family. So, Chris and Shannan met
on Facebook in 2010. Uh Shannan had been married before. Both of them were from North Carolina and
that's where they met. Shannan was a year older than Chris. She was diagnosed with lupus, fibromyalgia, and migraines
and told friends she and Chris hit it off immediately and that he was very considerate and understanding of her
health issues. What was a little Okay, what was interesting to me was he actually tried
to add her on Facebook. Mhm. I know you're not big with the social media, so he tries to add her, she
deletes him. She declines it. Denied. But she just went through a a breakup she just went through a divorce. Mhm.
And then she's dealing with being sick and and and trying to overcome those battles and then her friend kind of
pushed her like, "Hey, this guy's a good guy." And she said, "Okay." Accepted the
friend request, figured I'll never talk to this guy again. He'll just be one of the friends on my Facebook and that's
what it will be. Right. Couple weeks later, they go out and she instantly kind of falls for this guy. Yeah, and by
all accounts, it seems like Chris was head over heels for Shannan. Uh at some point he started working a job as a
mechanic at a local Ford dealer and Shannan worked in the sales department. Yeah. They were married in 2012 and
moved to Colorado where in 2015 Chris got the job with the petroleum company. Shannan worked at a school for a little
bit and then at a local children's hospital before she got on with this direct sales marketing group.
But this is where it starts going wrong though. Mhm. So, when they go to Colorado, they're
going to have a house built and that house is worth about $400,000. Mhm. So, you're talking about a pretty
hefty mortgage. Well, they start racking up credit card debt and things of that nature. And they end up filing for
bankruptcy, which is I think well over $400,000 they filed for bankruptcy. Shannan was described as the
ultimate helicopter mom and Chris doted on his girls. They had two girls, as we mentioned, and he took care of them
after school. Both parents were very hands-on and both little girls had various health issues like asthma and
serious allergies. Everyone who knew Shannan says that she was controlling, a little OCD. Uh the house and the kids
ran on a very strict schedule. But the family seemed happy. The only black mark known to friends was that Shannan didn't
get along with Chris's parents. They did not like her, apparently, and refused to
attend their wedding. Chris started using the Thrive products from for Shannan's business in early
2018. He started watching his diet, running, and working out with weights. He lost a
lot of weight going from 245 to 185 lb. Well, by all accounts, uh they were the all-American couple. I guess I shouldn't
say all accounts. I don't think his parents would have said so, but the all-American couple with two
sounds like an American couple to me. Somebody hates somebody's parents. That's right. With two adorable little
girls and a boy on the way. Back to August 13th. By 3:48, some of Shannan's friends in a group text were commenting
that the cops needed to take a look at Chris's cell and his computer. Now, two of Chris's buddies, Jeremy and David,
came over to the Watts' home that night to check on him. They found him vacuuming. The police were gone at this
point. Chris said he planned to stay in the house that night in case his family came home. He told his friends that the
house was very strange and quiet without his kids. Chris had a strong support group. He and Shannan had a lot of
friends. After the first night alone in the house, he spent the next night at the home of their friends, the Thayers.
But by the morning of the 14th, when no one had heard from Shannan for more than
24 hours, things were starting to take a different turn. Note, a police officer called Chris in the middle of the night
to ask some more questions. Chris Watts failed to ask the officer whether there was any news about his family.
Yeah. Now, when the news of the strange disappea- disappearance broke nationally, Chris decided to give public
interviews. You heard heard one in our trailer there. As mentioned, police body cams recorded Chris viewing the neighbor
surveillance footage capturing Chris backing his truck up into the garage. As you stated, Captain, his body language
was very tense and stressed. And this is for a good reason because if you watch the video very carefully, you can see
that someone is actually moving along crouched down on the other side of the truck away from the camera.
So, that's a big red flag. Here's some more red flags. After the initial search of the home by police, Chris vigorously
cleaned the place and washed the kids' sheets. When authorities returned with a warrant and dogs to conduct more
thorough searches and seize evidence, the house reeked of cleaning chemicals. In a second search of the home, the cops
found the master bedroom top sheet and some pillowcases in the kitchen garbage can.
All of these had stains that were guessed to have been smeared mascara or eye shadow. The fitted sheet was
missing. Chris washed all the kids' linens and made the beds back up prior to the cops' second search of the home.
This search also turned up Shannan's missing Apple watch. It was on the couch in the loft area where her phone was
found. Well, this both of these are misfortunes because if she would have had a phone on
her or her Apple Watch, you would think that they might be able to track her GPS
location. August 13th was supposed to be the kids' first day back at their preschool. They
had even picked out their outfits, but Chris called the school that morning around 8:15 to tell them that the girls
would not be attending and said the family was considering moving away. This could have been a major slip because
apparently Chris didn't realize that while still on the phone after he reported that the girls weren't coming
in, he asked, "They aren't there, are they?" Yeah, that's just very odd. Mhm. Chris texted Shannan around 7:40 that
morning and sent a few more texts later, but never raised the alarm when they didn't
when she never responded to him. And he called her phone at 8:25 as well. Now, sometime on the 13th, he searched the
web for the lyrics to a Metallica song called Battery. Some of the lyrics are, "Smashing through the boundaries, lunacy
has found me. And pounding out aggression turns into obsession. Cannot kill the battery, cannot kill the
family." Get your lighters out. phone interview with Officer Matthew James of the Frederick PD, Chris told
him that while Shannan was away in North Carolina, this She actually went there for a couple weeks without him. Yeah,
she she was going to take a trip that's 6 weeks long and he wasn't going to he wasn't going to join them until the
last week. Yeah, he said the two of them, quote, fell out of love for each other.
He said there was a disconnect between them and after being asked, Chris denied that he was seeing anyone else. Now,
this story contradicts somewhat the stories that investigators were hearing from Shannan's friends and family. We
know, you know, with her social media life, that Shannan was a very communicative person with a lot of her
friends, very open. And her actual text back and forth with multiple uh friends during the few weeks prior to
her disappearance, these are all available in the case file. But what she told her friends and what they in turn
told police was this, that Chris and Shannan had always been a very good marriage. They always had a
wonderful marriage. He was very affectionate. Yeah. And he was a caring father and
husband. Shannan and Chris found out they were expecting a third child, a boy, sometime in late May.
Chris didn't seem thrilled at this. Shannan went to North Carolina with the girls in June for a multi-week visit.
Well, it's weird though because there was a video where she was going to videotape his reaction. And she is
wearing a shirt that says, "Oops, we did it again." Mhm. Okay, if that doesn't make you go
you know, but did she set up a video camera? Did she tell him, "Hey, I'm going to set this up. I need you to play
pretend with me so we can post this on social media so then we can sell some more products."
Mhm. So, who knows? Yeah. Well, Shannan spent time with her parents and her brother
when she was in North Carolina. And until there was a falling out, she even spent time with Chris's parents. Now,
even though she didn't get along with them, she wanted the girls to know their grandparents on their dad's side. Right.
Chris's parents had initially disliked Shannan saying that they didn't trust her and thought she was a schemer.
But they were attempting to act nicer for the sake of the kids. But then there was an incident in North
Carolina that made her sever ties with them. There was a bunch of cousins over at the Watts's grandparents' home when
Shannan and the girls were the where they were staying at the time. Shannan told her mother-in-law that CC
was violently allergic to nuts and could not have them even near her. Despite this and maybe
deliberately, her mother-in-law purchased ice cream with nuts and served it to all of the children. Oh, that's
great. CC didn't get the ice cream as Shannan stepped in, but it's thought that the
intention was to make a statement that either Shannan was crazy or CC was coddled or both. Well, and this made me
wonder a little bit because I had a friend that dealt with um long-time girlfriend, but she became
very OCD, but also became a hypochondriac. So, when you hear that the mother has all these
ailments and then so do the children, you wonder do they have them? Right. Or, you know,
cuz it seemed like everybody in their family except for Chris had medical issues. Yeah. And I But I'm going to
take a little bit of uh a stance on this just because I feel like if you if you feel that maybe
something's made up almost, it it seems awfully dangerous to try to prove your point in this way because as we all
know, exposure to nuts for someone who is allergic can be can be fatal. Well, it's very dangerous and very
irresponsible. Well, when this happened, Shannan left her in-laws' home in a rage and she went
to her parents. Her father-in-law unfriended her on Facebook in retaliation for this uh event that took
place. Very mature. Shannan expected Chris to take her side. He was sympathetic, but
his reaction was not as strong as Shannan would have liked. There are many texts back and forth between the two
where she refuses to take the blame for his family disliking her and asking him to step up to the plate. She even told
him at one point to find his balls. Mhm. Now, it is evident that in general, Shannan may have been a little bit
belittling of Chris, who was known to be chill in comparison to her strong type A
personality. Well, he's chill because he can But he couldn't find his balls. Yeah. Well, anyway, following this
event, Shannan began to notice that Chris was somewhat distant from her. He never asked how she was feeling. You
know, she's pregnant, how's things going with the pregnancy, anything like that.
looking for his balls. Yeah. And and she also was telling friends that he was not
doing any of the normal lovey-dovey stuff. Right. So, while at the beginning of her stay in North Carolina, she said
that they had engaged in phone sex. Uh this tapered off dramatically and Chris seemed like he was pulling away from
Shannan. Mhm. Shannan didn't like it when he wouldn't answer her calls, but this seemed to be happening more and
more. Now, this went on for the rest of the time that she and the girls were in North Carolina. She continually texted
him asking what was wrong, why he showed no emotion or interest, so on and so forth. And you think at this point
that he would be pretty excited because they are having a boy. Mhm. And it seemed by all accounts that he wanted to
have a son. Well, he would respond to her text by simply saying things like, "I don't
know where my head is at" or "I'm sorry for the way that I've been acting." It's probably where his balls are. Yeah.
He told her that she didn't do anything wrong. He just didn't feel for her anymore.
Then Chris came to North Carolina to join her as planned and this is when things went really south. Yeah, but what
is strange though is you could actually read his text messages before he gets there and it's almost like he turns
around a little bit. Like he's trying to say, "Hey, I love you. I can't wait to see you."
A lot of people have speculated well, that might be because he was missing his children.
But that that's kind of where he was almost where he was going to try to reconnect once he got down there. Mhm.
Well, his behavior in North Carolina in the early part of August was described by Shannan as completely cold and
distant. He wouldn't touch her, wouldn't kiss her, wouldn't hug her. They slept in different rooms.
He would barely talk to her. She continually confronted him about his change and he was evasive. Finally, when
she got him to talk, he told her they weren't compatible anymore and he wanted to to consider separating.
He wanted to sell the house and he wasn't sure he wanted the new baby. He was happy with just the two girls.
He refused to enter marriage counseling with Shannan. There was no doubt from the
correspondence that Shannan genuinely loved her husband, but he was rejecting her, the kids, and their life together.
This was a complete shock to Shannan. Now, she did at this time cancel their gender reveal party that the two had
planned. The Watts family flew back to Colorado on August 7th and Chris slept in the basement. The two
continued to talk the next day at Shannan's insistence and Shannan got Chris to agree to counseling and a
getaway trip to Aspen the following weekend. August 17th through the 19th. Then on
the 10th, she left on her trip to Arizona feeling a little more optimistic about her marriage.
Mhm. While there, her friends, who were also reps for Thrive, say she was not herself. She was sad and preoccupied and
told them that there's some trouble in their marriage and she was confused about the whole
situation. Right. They started to talk about whether Chris could be having an affair.
Well, Shannan said no because he's got no game. She did not think that Chris would
so he he needs to find his balls and he has no game. Yeah. Okay. She didn't think that
Chris would cheat on her, uh but she was concerned enough to be checking the charges on the credit card
Mhm. that he was using. Now, that weekend, she was sitting with her friends on Saturday night when she
saw a charge for over $60 from the Lazy Dog Saloon back at home. She knew Chris was supposed to be at a Colorado Rockies
baseball game with his buddies. He had gotten a sitter for the girls and he went out around 5:30 p.m. until about
10:30 p.m. She texted him and asked about this charge. He said he ordered salmon and a beer. But when she looked
up the menu for the restaurant, she noted that his bill should have been more like $20.
And remember what I said before about gut feelings, her friend following the gut feeling,
her parents following gut feelings. She had a gut feeling uh and maybe she was just making some
snarky remark, well, he has no game, but he obviously had something if you're checking up on him in this manner. Yeah,
and there's also some question or at least Shannan questioned how late Chris got home that night. Now, one of the
reasons that the public is so fascinated by this case is that everyone knows everyone that who knows Chris says he is
a totally upstanding guy, a great friend, devoted father and husband. He doesn't have a temper. He's like super
mellow. He was considered to be 100% reliable at work and he was the quote go-to guy
according to his colleagues. Yeah, he seemed like the husband that most women would want and really the
father that most women would want their husbands to be. Even Shannan's parents have spoken publicly saying they adored
him and he was wonderful to their daughter. But then, a 30-year-old brunette named Nicole
Kessinger walked into the Frederick Police Department. But before doing so, she deleted all records of Chris Watts
from her phone, including all text, phone calls, photos, and even his contact information.
In contrast, Chris Watts had all his messages with and pictures of her, including naked selfies of both of them,
hidden in a secret calculator app on his phone. Yeah, this is ingenious. So, it looks like if you just look at the
person's phone, it it looks like a calculator app, but when you open that up, I think you have
to type in a certain number into the calculator, that's your pass code, it opens it up and you can store files in
there. It's a completely different folder all together. Yeah, don't ask me how I know all about this.
Well, it would only be a matter of time before law enforcement techs would crack
this system that he set up. Now, in coming forward and seemingly quote doing the right thing, Nicole was protecting
herself and she was heavily downplaying to the police the nature, length, and extent of her relationship with Chris.
Well, hold on a second cuz she is going to be she is downplaying. So, totally correct about that.
And we're going to know we're going to get all this information out of her because not only is she willing to talk,
she is turning over um her technology, computers, phone to the police so they can go through it with a fine-tooth
comb. Yeah, and she I mean she did throw him under the bus in the sense that she
came forward and told police that Chris lied to her and if he had done that, she
was wondering what else he could be lying about. Right. Nicole and Chris met in June of
2018 at work where Nicole was a contract employee working in the main office. Chris would come in every morning before
heading out into the field and the two started chatting and flirting. Nicole says she knew Chris was married, but he
told her he was separated and that they were filing for divorce. She did not know that he had two kids
until later when Chris told her. Now, she says that she thought this was cute that he was a dad.
She told cops that she didn't even know his wife's name. Now, we know that Nicole has
an agenda of self-preservation and so we don't know how much to believe in how she characterizes the nature of
their relationship, but she says that Chris was more into her than what she was into him. Right, but she says that
she doesn't know Chris's wife's name, but we also know that she searched Chris's wife's name on her computer.
After the disappearance? No, before the disappearance. Well, she told police that that he had
said, "I love you." like pretty quickly in their relationship. She did say that she said it back to him a couple of
times, but again, she's trying to point out a picture or paint a picture of him being much more into her and that their
relationship was not all that, let's say. Which again is fishy, too, because we're
later going to find that with Google searches, she was searching like kind of vacation destinations for
couples and also wedding dresses and and things of that nature. Well, Chris and Nicole, according to her, had a very
active sex life. She said that they sometimes did it up to four times a day, but they really didn't go out into
public much, instead staying in at her apartment. didn't have any time. They did go on a
camping trip together at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Now, I'm a little off on this because I don't know where
Shannan believed Chris would have been at this time. Well, I think this is during the five weeks that she's in the
Carolinas. Oh, that would make much more sense. Yeah, because basically that whole five
weeks that she's gone and remember how she's like, "All of a sudden now he's like really cold and
distant. He's not returning my texts." and all that stuff. That's because he spent pretty much every day with his new
girlfriend. Well, on one of the few times that they actually went out, this was on August 11th when they went to the
Lazy Dog Saloon for that $60 dinner. Right. They also had sex both before and after the meal. Nicole says that she was
encouraging Chris to make up with his wife and try to work on his marriage, but this seems unlikely given that we
know you know, what she was Googling. Right, but hold on, there might actually be
some truth to this. And and here's why. Because sh- during that time when they're spending all this time together,
it kind of becomes like, well, yes, we're separated, but he kind of lets her know there is a
chance that we could work things out. And I think that was his slimeball way of basically saying, "Yes, I know I'm
having fun with you, but it's a possibility I'm going to stay with my wife and my kids." Mhm.
And so, did she say, "Hey, if you guys work things out, fine, just let me know." Mhm. She might have been
a cool person like that. And what she claims is that when sh- when he went to the Carolinas and had that emotional
conversation where he claim- where sh- we know that he basically said, "Hey, I want a divorce. I want to sell the
house. Blah, blah, blah." Mhm. And then eventually turns back around and says, "Well, maybe we'll stay
together." Yeah. Right. When he he he ends up texting his girlfriend Nicole and at some point
actually calls her and says that they actually might try to work things out. Mhm. So,
if those statements are true, I think there might be some truth to that she's like, "Okay, well,
it's nice that you're married and it's cute that you have kids, but if you do want to work it out with your wife, I'm
not going to stop you from that." Right. Well, Nicole says that she chose to come
forward or go to the police because Chris had lied to her by omission, by not telling her that his wife was
pregnant. She learned this on the news on Monday the 13th when Shannan disappeared. Right. She talked to Chris
on the phone for 52 minutes on Monday the 13th when his wife and kids were gone. He told her it was true that
Shannan was pregnant, but the baby was not his. Right. She said she didn't really believe him and then the next
morning, she went to the police. Well, and think about this way, you have this guy that you're seeing, he's bitching
about his wife, he's saying all this stuff that she didn't do or doesn't like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
That might seem okay and you're going, "Okay, well, you guys are separated, so it's okay that we're hanging out." But
then you find out that she's pregnant and then he's going, "Well, it's probably somebody else's." and you know
that's probably a [ __ ] lie. Now it's becoming a little more greasy, you know what I mean? It's
becoming a little more where now you're not feeling so great about the actions and the actions of hanging out with him
and possibly having sex with him. Well, real quick before we move on, in case anyone is out there scratching their
heads, there is something that's a little difficult about this case to follow along in the story here because
there are a lot of people in this case with the name based off of the name Nick. Mhm. Right? So, we have Nicole who
is Shannan's friend, the one that shows up to the home, calls police because Shannan is missing. Right.
Then we have the other Nicole who is the mistress. They're not the same person. Right. Okay. We also have Nicholas, who
was Shannan's friend's son. We have Nick Thayer, who is one of Chris's friends. This is where he stayed on the 14th. And
then on top of all of that, Nico was going to be the baby's name that Shannan was pregnant with. All
right. I think you just made all that more confusing for me now. Well, the the the most
the the best thing to understand here is that the two Nicole's are different Nicole's.
Right. But, this case it feels familiar. And if it feels familiar, Gone Girl, Scott Peterson, it feels very similar.
But, what's interesting about this case is where the Scott Peterson case, a lot of things come out, they trickle out.
This stuff is like a flood. Right. And the technology that we have today, all the um police
officers' body cams that we can see of Chris. So, we basically get to see almost minute-by-minute of these
people's actions. But, then once they get phone records, text records, we get to
see exactly what these people Googled. Right. It's very fascinating. And so, with that technology, we have a
piece of evidence that the cops are now really honing in on is Yes. We we know that
the girls went missing between roughly around this point. Mhm. We have no evidence of them leaving
the house. Right. So, then they start assuming they left in his truck. Where did his truck go?
Cuz he didn't go to work, he went to a job site. And they're going to track down and
they're going to go to this um job site. Well, let's go through that real quick. Because as you pointed out,
the work truck, the F-250, was equipped with GPS, apparently very high-tech GPS.
This recorded every trip in the vehicle. It also recorded when it was started up
and turned off. Mhm. Now, Anadarko was all too happy to cooperate with the cops, and they handed over the GPS
records immediately. And here's what the police learned. Chris started the engine
on his truck at 5:18 a.m. on the morning of the 13th when he backed it into the driveway. It ran idle for 28 minutes.
At 5:46 a.m., Chris started driving and headed directly for the Cervi Ranch, 47 miles away. Now, this is a huge cattle
ranch that had leased a number of oil wells on the ranch property to Anadarko. Chris's truck parked at site number 319.
This is a pump site with two 400-barrel oil tanks on it. Mhm. Chris stayed there
from 6:53 a.m. until about 8:30 a.m. And other employees showed up to join him at
the 319 site after 7:00 a.m. They said that when they arrived, Chris was parked in an unusual spot near the
tanks and appeared to be finishing digging a hole. His co-worker, Troy McCoy, noted that
Chris was wearing a very old He's wearing very old baggy clothing and an old pair of boots, which he thought
was very strange. After this, Chris went to some other locations on the ranch and then stopped
at a convenience store. Now, we've seen this video on TV, and in the video, you can see that he's now wearing an orange
shirt. Mhm. He bought a breakfast roll, and he's chatting casually with the cashier. He's smiling. He was at another
site when he began to receive calls from Shannan's family and friends, including
Nicole, her friend Nicole, saying that no one could find his wife. Yeah, so police are going to go out to the scene,
and like you said, there was these two giant like oil pumps. Um and and Tanks. Like yeah, yeah. And there's
there's these lids on top, which look like like manhole covers, basically. And so, when police go out there and
they start searching around, they also have sent dogs and stuff, but they also find a a part of the land that looks
like where he would have been digging. And so, now it's time where they go, "Hey,
we now know that this guy is not the husband we thought he was. We have people close to this girl saying, "Hey, this
guy is suspicious." We got the neighbor saying this dude's acting weird. And they're going to bring him They're
going to bring him in for questioning, but they tell him the day before, "Hey, are you cool with doing a polygraph
test?" He says, "Yes." He said, "Okay, we'll set it up for tomorrow." Yeah, and the FBI actually interviews him on the
14th. And then Chris agreed to go down to the station on August 15th to take a polygraph test, but this would be after
picking his father, Ronnie, up at the airport. Now, the entire pretest interview video is available online. And
Chris gives some personal background information in the course of this pretest. His dad, Ronnie, was
a parts manager for a Ford dealership, where his mother worked as a secretary. Mhm. He has an older sister named Jamie.
Chris attended NASCAR school, which is where he learned to work on engines. He worked at various Ford dealerships until
2015. This, of course, when he landed his job with Anadarko. Now, the actual polygraph consisted of just three
questions. One, "Did you physically cause Shannan's disappearance?" To which he answered no.
Two, "Are you lying about the last time you saw Shannan?" He says no. Three, "Do you know where Shannan is
now?" Chris Watts says no. And check out our show Off the Record on Stitcher Premium, available now. And
this week we discussed the very important update in the Tara Grinstead case. Yeah, the arrest of
And we will see everybody back here in the garage tomorrow. Until then, be good, be kind, and don't litter.

Christopher Watts /// Part 1 /// 269

Part 1 of 2

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

The perfect family. Loving parents, adorable little girls, a baby on the way, an idyllic home life in a Colorado suburb. Family and friends of the couple say they had a perfect marriage and their daughters were the light of their lives. They promoted a healthy lifestyle brand and enjoyed fulfilling careers. They had everything going for them. Until, out of the blue, the adoring, reliable husband and father suddenly morphed into a monster. This week we discuss one of 2018’s most talked about cases. Beer of the Week - Haze by Tree House Brewing Garage Grade - 5 out of 5 bottle caps

Beer Fund: https://truecrimegarage.com/home

Brief Summary

The episode details the disappearance of Shannan Watts and her daughters, focusing on Chris Watts's suspicious behavior and the investigation.

Key points

A Perfect Beer Rating. This week's beer of the week is Haze by Tree House Brewing, rated five out of five bottle caps!
A Disturbing Call. On August 13th, 2018, a call to 911 raised alarms about Shannan Watts' disappearance.
The Search Begins. Nicole and her son Nicholas searched for Shannan Watts, fearing for her safety.
Surveillance Footage Reveals Key Moments. Footage shows Chris Watts loading a gas can into his truck, raising suspicions.
Chris Watts's Nonchalant Demeanor. Police note Chris's strange calmness amidst the chaos of his family's disappearance.
Shannan's Mother's Gut Feeling. Shannan's mother expresses her strong belief that Chris did something to her family.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just want everybody to come home.

7:30WatchNov 22, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Garage TV

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.