Eight years after one of America’s most horrifying family murders, convicted killer Chris Watts is once again drawing attention for a chilling claim about the night he wiped out his entire family.
Watts, now 41, has said he felt as though he had “no control” over himself when he murdered his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and their two young daughters at their Colorado home in August 2018.
Shanann, 34, was 15 weeks pregnant with the couple’s third child when Watts strangled her. Their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were also killed before Watts disposed of their bodies at the remote oil site where he worked.
The murders stunned the nation — especially after Watts initially appeared on television pleading for his family to come home.
In the hours after Shanann and the girls disappeared, Watts portrayed himself as a desperate husband and father searching for answers.
He gave television interviews and spoke about wanting his family back, all while investigators were beginning to focus their attention on him.
Behind the scenes, however, Watts’ marriage had reportedly been falling apart.
He had been having an affair with a co-worker and later admitted that he no longer wanted to remain married to Shanann.
Watts initially gave police a wildly different version of what happened, claiming Shanann had killed their daughters after he told her he wanted to separate.
He claimed he then strangled Shanann in a rage after supposedly discovering what she had done.
That story quickly unraveled.
During a February 2019 interview with investigators, Watts confessed that he was responsible for killing all three members of his family.
He said Shanann had returned from a trip before the couple argued about their marriage.
Watts admitted telling her about his affair and said he no longer loved her. According to his account, Shanann threatened to leave with the children.
Watts then climbed on top of her in bed and strangled her.
“I didn’t want to do this, but I did it,” Watts told investigators.
He then made an especially disturbing claim about his state of mind that morning.
“It just felt like there was already something in my mind that was implanted that I was gonna do it,” Watts said, adding that when he woke up, “it was gonna happen, and I had no control over it.”
After killing Shanann, Watts loaded her body into his truck and drove to an oil field with Bella and Celeste.
He buried Shanann in a shallow grave before killing the two little girls and placing their bodies inside separate oil tanks.
Police recovered their remains on Aug. 17, 2018.
More disturbing allegations about Watts’ secret life surfaced years after the murders.
Colorado hairdresser Amanda McMahon claimed she had an affair with Watts after he allegedly told her he was separated from Shanann.
McMahon said she did not realize he was still married.
She claimed the two met several times between late spring 2017 and early 2018 and had sex on at least two occasions.
According to McMahon, Watts painted himself as the victim of an ugly breakup and accused Shanann of using their children against him.
She also claimed Watts repeatedly insulted his wife behind her back.
McMahon alleged he called Shanann a “f—— psycho” and a “gold digger,” while complaining that he was forced to financially support her.
“He would say the most awful things,” McMahon recalled, claiming Watts constantly tried to make Shanann appear unstable.
“Any shot you could take, he took,” she said. “He just did not like that poor woman.”
Watts ultimately pleaded guilty to the murders and is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The horrific case continues to fascinate and disturb the public years later, in part because of the extraordinary contrast between Watts’ seemingly ordinary suburban life and the brutal crimes he committed against his pregnant wife and two little girls.
