Found Deceased CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #29

[Silver~Bell]

They went bankrupt in 2015 was it? What happens if they found themselves in financial straits once again. I don’t think you can file bankruptcy. What do people do?

I think they can do the nicknamed "Chapter 20" bankruptcy (7, then 13) if it's four years after the Chapter 7 one.

 

[Best of What's Around]

Here’s the issue. You’re thinking about this like he’s a normal guy, one who would be deeply effected by what he had done.

He was likely able to behave in a somewhat rational and logical manner, because he wasn’t at all upset.

Perhaps this was completely premeditated, or perhaps it was a bit of a mix. Something he had thought through, but had given no specific timeframe in which he planned to kill.

The cleanup would be easy, as there likely wouldn’t be blood, and any bodily fluids (if there were any) could be explained away if he failed to fully clean it up (kids have accidents).

He definitely could have killed, packaged, and put the bodies in his vehicle, within the timeframe he had.

EXCELLENT POINT...that time seems to be an issue because we assume he would be in shock, despair, and grief. To me, the ability to move so very quickly into a detailed (if flawed) plan to cover up points to his story not holding water.

 

[britelite]

Still learning the ropes....lol! got a post deleted but I understand why. Glad this forum is here. Kinda hard to keep up.

 

[MassGuy]

EXCELLENT POINT...that time seems to be an issue because we assume he would be in shock, despair, and grief. To me, the ability to move so very quickly into a detailed (if flawed) plan to cover up points to his story not holding water.

Yeah, if there’s no”shock factor” then it’s all about executing the steps. He was sloppy, but there was a great deal of purpose behind what he was trying to do.

 

[SaguaroSpirit]

I do, too. And by having an affair and telling SW he wanted a separation, CW was "firing" SW as his boss. Do I think SW could become enraged at his rejection? Absolutely, I do.
JMO

I could see that happening, yes. I'm sure she got angry at him a lot. BUT-- in my very humble opinion, there is no way on God's Green Earth that SW killed her kids.

 

[Lucyray]

I have not read about a pregnant wife snapping and strangling her toddlers because her husband was having an affair. Can you link to any cases?
Edited for a MOO.

Not quite the same, I know, but Susan Smith comes to mind as pretty horrific.. Yes, I know that was all her and her boyfriend issues. IMO

 

[britelite]

I know there is speculation as to CW’s financial status. He would need to either personally retain private attorneys or the attorney(s) would need to take the case pro bono. I have also observed cases where the court appoint private attorneys.

To be honest, I’m surprised a “big shot” hasn’t taken on the case. The case is garnering national attention on a nightly basis (thanks to AB). Cases like these present an opportunity for a little-known attorney to become a household name (i.e., Jose Baez).

Love the Jose Baez reference btw.... he sure pulled that off! IMO

Wondering if no "big shot" attorney has found a way to make CW's story plausible and him a sympathetic enough client. Seems if so they would have picked it up. jmo

 

[PommyMommy]

Not sure that he went on most of the getaways. She was higher up than he was. He didn’t go to Arizona. Many husbands do partner with their wives in business, and he did it. There’s no evidence that she forced him to. Did you see the video of C.W. test driving the Tesla? I don’t think that was her dream. As far as housework, I’m a believer that should be a shared chore, something that has to be done. Nobody deserves a pat on the back over the other. And if he’s sneaking around having an affair, he’s not supporting her, he is crushing her.

I think he went on all the Lifestyle Getaways which were New Orleans, San Diego,
Las Vegas, Puerto Vallarta, Toronto, and Punta Gordo. He is seen in photos in each of those albums on her FB. The trip to Arizona was a team building sort of thing (can't remember what she called it). The trips were for different reasons.
MOO

 

[FlossyMay]

Not quite the same, I know, but Susan Smith comes to mind as pretty horrific.. Yes, I know that was all her and her boyfriend issues. IMO

She was pregnant? I didn't know that. Or maybe I just forgot over the years.

 

[Jennifer17]

Not quite the same, I know, but Susan Smith comes to mind as pretty horrific.. Yes, I know that was all her and her boyfriend issues. IMO

Didn't she have a history of mental illness and a terrible childhood?

 

[Allabouttrial]

Very true @bayoubelle, SW could have discovered over that weekend that her husband was having an affair and I would add also that SW could have also learned over that weekend that CW was planning on leaving SW as well.
I too would not be able to sleep with that knowledge despite being exhausted which is why I suspect the emotional conversation began when SW arrived home at 1:48 am.

I wonder if after the emotional conversation CW went to sleep but SW didn't.

 

[Best of What's Around]

I wonder if after the emotional conversation CW went to sleep but SW didn't.

are you saying CW is lying in his confession? Because that seems to imply she did what he said, yet he lied yet again?

 

[MyBelle]

From what I could tell, he seemed to be very supportive of her dreams. I cannot see many husbands also joining the business, going on most of the thrive getaways and also taking care of the girls when SW went alone to some of them, and helping with the housework all the while holding down a full-time job.

CW did seem to be willing to play his role in the videos. I still don't understand the need or the point of live streaming the Santa video. I would have zero interest in interrupting my family's special time in order to watch a co-worker's kids cry, pout and hide.
JMO

 

[Layla123]

Layla123 said: ↑
I don’t find myself identifying with C.W., at all, in any of those videos. That was his wife and family. I see SW trying so hard to create a happy life for all of them, every single day, and I see him going through the motions. I feel sorry for her. With her zest for life, it must have been very disappointing to have to deal with lump on a log, C.W., day in and day out. If he didn’t like her and the things she liked, why did he marry her? Why would he want trample on her dreams like that.



@Layla123, I respect your views of CW and SW and I understand your post comes from a good place and I am not criticizing SW. Maybe CW goes through the motions as you suggest because he feels defeated in the marriage and maybe he thinks through SW's eyes that he can do nothing right. Maybe he senses SW's disappointment in him. Maybe he doesn't want to be part of the life that SW was creating with Thrive. Thrive came many years after they were married and with Thrive maybe SW gained new found skills, aspirations and goals as you say and perhaps CW did not share in those goals and aspirations. Maybe that is the disconnect between them.
In no way does any of what I post justify what happened. I am simply trying to understand how something like this could have happened.

If all that that you say is true, then in my opinion C.W. is a very weak man. Not a man, a child. Not only did he destroy his life, he destroyed hers. If you have a problem you don’t fake it, you speak up. You can’t have a functioning marriage if you don’t. I don’t sympathize with him. With all the positive things SW said about him, how could he possibly say he did nothing right in her eyes? And that little girl singing, “My Daddy is a hero?” What father wouldn’t melt after seeing his daughter sing that song to him? We can’t blame SW for being disappointed in him. I wouldn’t want to have to live on $60,000 per year with 2 kids.. I’d be pushing my husband, too, and myself.

 

[MKZoo]

For me, some of the frustration/feeling that it’s been a bit of a free for all against SW is that I don’t believe she and CW are “equal suspects”. LE doesn’t appear to view them as equal suspects either.

The state accuses CW because he has confessed to killing his wife and unborn son. He’s confessed to doing a series of truly inexplicable and awful things in order to hide the disappearance of his entire family. He’s confessed to lying about all of it.

The only person who accuses SW is her husband. Coincidentally, he has a great deal to gain from that accusation.

I would never deny anyone the right to look at all the facts. I hope everyone wants that. But I cannot look at these two people and say they stand on equal ground as suspects in what happened that night. JMO.

 

[britelite]

I wonder if after the emotional conversation CW went to sleep but SW didn't.

I'm wondering if the emotional conversation was her finding her babies dead.

Then he strangled her and put his murdered family in the back of his truck and dumped them in oil tanks and buried them in dirt. jmo

 

[Allabouttrial]

are you saying CW is lying in his confession? Because that seems to imply she did what he said, yet he lied yet again?

Wouldn't be a stretch to think that maybe he lied again.

 

[Allabouttrial]

I'm wondering if the emotional conversation was her finding her babies dead.

Then he strangled her and put his murdered family in the back of his truck and dumped them in oil tanks and buried them in dirt. jmo

May well be. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[Best of What's Around]

For me, some of the frustration/feeling that it’s been a bit of a free for all against SW is that I don’t believe she and CW are “equal suspects”. LE doesn’t appear to view them as equal suspects either.

The state accuses CW because he has confessed to killing his wife and unborn son. He’s confessed to doing a series of truly inexplicable and awful things in order to hide the disappearance of his entire family. He’s confessed to lying about all of it.

The only person who accuses SW is her husband. Coincidentally, he has a great deal to gain from that accusation.

I would never deny anyone the right to look at all the facts. I hope everyone wants that. But I cannot look at these two people and say they stand on equal ground as suspects in what happened that night. JMO.

Agreed. But I would add that the state had plenty to accuse CW of without his confession.

 

[mtnlites]

BBM

Oh I'm sorry to hear some of you feel this way! Truly.

I ask this sincerely- do you guys really think it's been a free for all here against SW? B/c JMO it really hasn't been. I've been following and posting for several weeks. Compared to what some people are saying (and I'm only looking at just some of the comments on open boards elsewhere) I feel like WS folks who are willing to explore CW's version of events have for the large majority been really respectful. Totally JMO.

I would be curious as to thoughts on how as a group we would be able to discuss the defense strategy (aka CW's version of events) without offending some people.

I do feel that way. Moreover I feel that the criticism against SW has often been so general that it has crossed over into making some of us who are parents on here feel uncomfortable.(Note I said "some.") Many of the same things SW has been criticized for, for instance, are things that I commonly do with my own kids so seeing these things followed by insinuations that she is a bad parent or, worse, abusive to her children makes me cringe. She has been criticized for the number of videos she made, the manner in which she has reacted to her children's tantrums, the way in which she has spoken to her husband, pushing her children to interact with a Santa Claus that they are leery of, the way in which she has decorated her house, the way in which she has organized her belongings, her closet, her vehicle, etc. If she makes posts about how much she loves her husband, how grateful she is to have him, then she's criticized for over compensating and been "fake." If she, as the director, gives him instructions in a video or makes what I think is a light-hearted jab at him, however, then she is "bossy" or "verbally abusive."

She has a serious illness that I know, from personal experience, can be debilitating. I know MANY people who have all but given up on life and now do very little with themselves because of it. SW has been criticized for going on Thrive trips (even though her husband often accompanied her), for the kind of job she had (you may not like MLMs, but it was still her job), the amount of housework she boasted of doing...She took her children across the country and spent 5 weeks with them without her husband (while pregnant), and yet she's been criticized for leaving them with him for 2 nights while she went to Arizona.

So yes, sometimes it does feel like a free for all. I've been a member on here for almost 5 years. In the ghostwriting business, I've been involved with quite a few murder cases. I don't think I've ever seen any victim as analyzed as SW. Indeed, she is often the topic of conversation more than her husband.