Sorry for the length of this post, but I think it's important to understand the Watts' current financial situation from the public info. we have and discuss how that plays into CW's motive. While I don't think their financial stressors were the only motive, I do think it played an important part, especially in the timing of the crime.
The Watts declared Ch 7 Bankruptcy in 2015. At that time, their combined income as around $90,000/year (CW earned around 65,000 as a field operator & SW was earning $18/hour at a call center).
They listed $448,820 in debt in their filing. This consisted of student loan debt (not discharged by BK), department store credit cards (Babies R Us, Nordstrom, Macy's), numerous medical bills, an $18,968 loan to Sharonview Credit Union, AS WELL AS the $400,000 house they purchased on Saratoga Trail in CO with an FHA loan in 2013.
Note: FHA loans are for low-income buyers & it allows them to borrow $ for a house they otherwise could not afford.
Records confirm they bought the house in 2013 from the builder for $399,954. The FHA loan was for $392,702. This confirms that there was very little down payment made, which disproves the theory that CW used SW for the money she got from the sale of her NC house from her first marriage. What if SW was already struggling with debt? What if she used the sale of her first house to try to pay down debt, which only bought her some more time? Once they purchased this CO home, which was way out of their league, they were quickly again under water financially.
So, here they are, married in 2012, with this big, expensive house by 2013, lots of existing debt, and a mortgage over $3,000/month plus an extremely high monthly mortgage premium due to FHA loan. They have their first child in 2015. They also declare bankruptcy that year. At the time they filed, they had $10 in their savings accounts, and $860 in their checking account.
In a Ch 7 Bankruptcy in CO, the only way to hold on to an asset like a house is to reaffirm the debt by bringing it to current. I'm assuming, based on their listed income at the time, that they were behind on their house payments before choosing to file for BK. I don't see how they could have been paying a $3,000 mortgage or bring it to current at the time of their filing with $870 TOTAL in their bank accounts.
Based on all of this info,. I think we can most likely conclude that they were losing their house. In addition, their HOA was suing them for several years of unpaid homeowners' dues. Their court date was to be this Friday, 8/24.
IMO they weren't paying HOA dues because they were losing the house & the dues would be paid through a lien by the bank upon sale.
So...knowing all of this info, I ask you: What if CW as about appearances just as much as SW was?
How would they explain this to friends and neighbors who believed their lifestyle was THRIVING?
Did CW resent SW for what he may have viewed as her culpability in their financial ruin?
Would love to hear your thoughts, sluethers!
