Shannan Watts bought her husband, Chris Watts, the relationship book "Hold Me Tight" as one last attempt to save their marriage, but he never opened it. Police later found the Amazon package still sealed in a trash can in the garage, while Shannan was already dead for three days. She was 34 and 15 weeks pregnant when Watts killed her, along with their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in the early hours of August 13, 2018.
Watts drove the bodies to a remote oil site in northern Colorado and hid them there, burying Shannan in a shallow grave and placing the girls in oil tanks. In the first days after the murders, he posed as a worried husband on television, asking the public for help and claiming Shannan disappeared after an "emotional conversation" with him. Police say he knew exactly where they were.
The case became infamous because of the contrast between the image of a perfect family and the horror inside the home. Much of the public focus has been on Watts's affair with coworker Nichol Kessinger, but newly reviewed investigative records also describe another alleged encounter. Amanda McMahon told investigators she met Watts through Tinder in February or March 2018, and said he acted aggressively at her home, pulling her hair and wrapping his arms around her neck in what she described as a "rape fantasy." Watts denied meeting her.
Four anonymous emails sent to police on August 19, 2018, claimed another woman, Heidi Friis, had described an on-and-off affair with a married man named Chris. The tip referred to a hidden app disguised as a calculator, and investigators did find such an app on Watts's phone, containing intimate photos and videos. That app exposed his relationship with Kessinger, including outings to museums, drag races and a camping trip, plus explicit exchanges while Shannan tried to reach him.
As Shannan searched for marriage counseling, planned a romantic Aspen weekend, and complained that Watts did not want another child, Kessinger was also searching the internet for information about marrying an affair partner. After Shannan and the girls were reported missing, Kessinger later searched for Shannan's name, how long phone companies keep texts, and whether police can recover messages. Watts was eventually caught after a failed lie-detector test, first blaming Shannan before admitting he killed all three victims. In November 2018 he pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and other offenses, and is serving five life sentences, three of them consecutive. Kessinger was never charged.
