Found Deceased CO - Shanann Watts (34), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4), Frederick, 13 Aug 2018 *Arrest* #28

[nwmouse]

I'm glad he was on there. He was highly regarded and a BIG deal in Colorado for many years. He had his own talk show on AM radio, as well was a guest on many other talk shows all the time for his legal experience. Also was a legal expert for one or two or all the Denver news channels. (no doubt you noticed his distinctive voice). Obviously I have a lot of faith in him and when he said "He's Lying!" in reference to CW to AB, I'm convinced. Also I thought it was interesting he focused more on a capital case.

I wonder if this will be a capital case and if the DA will go for the DP? AFAIK it will only be announced next year since they have 63 days after his arraignment to announce if its a DP case? I wonder if District Attorney Michael Rourke will be prosecuting since its quite a high profile case? I know little about him other than his weld da profile page and his press conference this week. Seems a pretty tough guy!

 

[PommyMommy]

I think you have to wear socks with work boots, don't you?

Yes, I do. MOO

 

[katydid23]

I understand that... but if you think about it all murders are horrible.
CO ruled that autopsies should be public... so why would this be different than others?
I don't even see why it would taint a juror... who is only supposed to judge the evidence presented at trial. In fact, they are ordered to.

If the murders of the children are especially gruesome, which they certainly are, then the public will be horrified at the autopsy results. The DA does not want a jury pool, like they had with the Casey Anthony trial.

There was a high percentage of potential jurors who had already made up their minds that CA was guilty. All of those jurors had to be swiped left. So the few that were not 'tainted' by the media reports, were often ambivalent and not able to 'connect the dots.'

I really think the State is already looking ahead to the trial, and trying to protect their jury pool, so they don't end up with a similar fate.

 

[Nikynoo]

I am somewhat confused by AB. She states that CW put the bodies in the bed of the pickup. However, I thought CW said that he put them in the backseat. A few threads back I questioned how he put all three bodies in the backseat. The truck is a supercab model that has those little back doors.

the arrest affadavit states:" Chris said he loaded all three bodies onto the back seat of his work truck" -https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/19th_Judicial_District/caseofinterest/2018CR2003/001/Warrantless%20Arrest%20Affidavit.pdf

 

[PommyMommy]

[I wish I could love this post!!]

Me too! Thank you for your wise words, @Alethea !

 

[Tippy Lynn]

and @Tippy Lynn, my first impression was he looked like a scared little boy. You know, like when you see a lost kid in a store, the facial expression? The other thing that stood out to me was he just looked so alone by himself, infront of that big, empty, quiet house. Grr.

I agree. Everything about this case is sad and senseless.

 

[gitana1]

I personally do not believe any of these videos show evidence of a deep personality disorder in either of them, so just keep that in mind as my thoughts are read. And I don't think we as outsiders can make any claims based on them that would lead us to ever "make sense" of these murder atrocities. However, I DO think the videos are useful in understanding some of the dynamics of the relationship between SW and CW, at least to a certain extent. And I also think they absolutely provide some level of insight into each of their personalities. IMO.

So that being said, I do not think it would be expected at all that CW would have intervened in these videos that you refer to. He was on live video feeds in many of them and SW was running her own show so to speak. He appears to be an actor in the productions. He does what he is told to do in almost every video I've seen. I think, based on my own personal observations of the videos and postings, and based on some VI input here, that CW often did what SW wanted him to do. When I've watched the FB videos I see him trying to play a role (pie in face guy, hair-do guy, Santa guy, pro-bar eating taste-tester, "surprised" husband who finds out oops they did it again, etc.)

During some of those videos SW can be heard explicitly asking him to do things. Like, "Chris, bring her here." type of things (that one is in the pie-in-face video for example). So if he goes to pick up crying Bella to get a pie in her face even though she doesn't want to, it's literally because SW asked him. He could have not done it though. Of course.

I'm not saying this shows she's a bad mother. I don't think she was. I'm just saying that I believe CW merely did what he was told to do (or- as the case may be- NOT to do). I think that was very much the expectation. And yes, of course it was his choice to follow the expectation. He didn't have to, of course.

JMO.

ETA grammar.

Yes, but who cares? Who cares that she was "directing" him? People (not you), are saying these videos evidence she was abusive to the children, or a bad or neglectful parent. Yet he was participating. It does not matter if he was "told" to. He's not a child. He's a grown, 30 year old man, a parent, a father.

So my question is why is she the only parent in the room being criticized?

 

[Davia18]

Hello,
I'm new to Websleuths - and as a short "warning" I'm not a native speaker.

I'm following this case from the beginning. My theory was/is that CW was always in the background perhaps not a great talker and kept maybe many things to himself. He would eventuelly never communicate to Shannan that he was hurt by her words or her any of her actions (just as an example!!). But he felt more and more anger towards her.
Yes of course he probably never loved her but if he did I could imagine that his feelings towards her faded slowly away but he simply never told her - maybe to avoid any arguments. Just choosing the easisest way ("out"). Because of this "unstable" relationship he was open towards many affairs. Shannan thought she had found the man of her life and had no clue she and her babies were in serious danger.

I just thought that he might have had really fallen in love with one of his affairs and on his mind he was already checking out of the marriage with Shannan but only *in his mind*. He might have told the AP "we are going to seperate" while playing the perfect husband und father at home just to avoid stress and discussions. At least until a few weeks prior the murders. I also believe that his AP somehow learned that Shannan was pregnant again. While he might have told her that they had nothing to do with each other anymore (except for the children). Now the AP knew that they were still "active" (you know what I mean ) and this might have been a big problem to her. She felt betrayed and wanted probably to end the affair which she believed would turn out someday as a real "relationship" between them two. (On the interview he mentioned that they had talked about a separation. One of my first thoughts was that this was directed to his AP)

I always thought that this could have lead him to kill his entire family. Either to get rid of them as soon as possible or to even "punish" them for being in his way after an argument with the AP. And because of his lack of communication he might have felt like a bird in the cave... But this is just *my theory*.

If it just had been because of Shannan being "bossy" or too dominant I really doubt the kids would have been dead by now. Of course there is still the possibilty that they just witnessed the murder of her mother. But I find this more unlikly because if there had been any loud noises besides the barking dog which caused the girls to wake up I think the neighbours had heard them as well.

This is such a tragic… all had the live ahead of them. Even CW. How could anybody hurt this wunderful little girls with their cute pigtails and than placing them in crude oil - alone in dark oil / gas tanks. I just can't understand how this was a possibilty to him. And I never will no matter what might have really happend that night or the days/weeks/months/years prior. They will never see the sunlight again or listen to their favorite song on the radio.... never eat their favorite food doing things they liked. I feel so unbelieveable sorry for all of them.

I'm also on the train this was nothing more than wanting to carry on his new relationship. He was done being a father and husband and he couldn't just leave because his perfect persona would then be tainted and he'd be the bad guy.
I also believe he planned on staging things but SW, the girls and Nico had and angel watching out NAU. Of course this is all JMO

ETA : Welcome to WS

 

[nwmouse]

I understand that... but if you think about it all murders are horrible.
CO ruled that autopsies should be public... so why would this be different than others?
I don't even see why it would taint a juror... who is only supposed to judge the evidence presented at trial. In fact, they are ordered to.

Explained above very well by katydid. She puts in a nutshell.

 

[PommyMommy]

I understand that... but if you think about it all murders are horrible.
CO ruled that autopsies should be public... so why would this be different than others?
I don't even see why it would taint a juror... who is only supposed to judge the evidence presented at trial. In fact, they are ordered to.

Murders of innocent toddlers are especially heinous and cruel. MOO

 

[dgfred]

I think that the nitty gritty details of how these three (four) people lost their lives is going to be much tougher to take than the interviews or a confession that no doubt minimized the violence they experienced.

I find autopsy reports pretty hard to read. I often avoid them. When I do read one, I just try to tell myself that the victim deserves to have people know what they went through.

I don't see nitty gritty. I see them choked until death and then put about the only place he could possibly hope to get away with it. I would think knife/hatchet/gunshots/etc would be much more gritty.
I am thinking there is something in there that the prosecution needs to straighten out completely before the defense and public get a hold of it. Not that I think that it will not point to CW, but it is them not wanting CW to concoct a new 'story' that fits the autopsy evidence. If they have everything 'crossed' he will not get that chance when the information is disclosed.
I just don't know... it is confusing me.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

I don't see why you say the activity would remove it/all of the prints. It is possible it would not.
Much more likely a bare print (if that is what they found???) would have happened at home.

Agree! Just like we saw when the crime folks were taking out black bags over their backs filled with blankets and bedding, which is what we were thinking at the time we saw on the threads those photographs. I'm sure most everybody here remember those photographs.

 

[katydid23]

didn't one our of VI's confirm that CW and SW had discussed seperation?

Yes. However the VI seems to be getting their info straight from CW. So did he tell her the truth about his situation? IDK if he did or not. JMO

 

[Jennifer17]

Murders of innocent toddlers are especially heinous and cruel. MOO

And the method of disposal is diabolical IMO.

 

[PommyMommy]

Hello,
I'm new to Websleuths - and as a short "warning" I'm not a native speaker.

I'm following this case from the beginning. My theory was/is that CW was always in the background perhaps not a great talker and kept maybe many things to himself. He would eventuelly never communicate to Shannan that he was hurt by her words or her any of her actions (just as an example!!). But he felt more and more anger towards her.
Yes of course he probably never loved her but if he did I could imagine that his feelings towards her faded slowly away but he simply never told her - maybe to avoid any arguments. Just choosing the easisest way ("out"). Because of this "unstable" relationship he was open towards many affairs. Shannan thought she had found the man of her life and had no clue she and her babies were in serious danger.

I just thought that he might have had really fallen in love with one of his affairs and on his mind he was already checking out of the marriage with Shannan but only *in his mind*. He might have told the AP "we are going to seperate" while playing the perfect husband und father at home just to avoid stress and discussions. At least until a few weeks prior the murders. I also believe that his AP somehow learned that Shannan was pregnant again. While he might have told her that they had nothing to do with each other anymore (except for the children). Now the AP knew that they were still "active" (you know what I mean ) and this might have been a big problem to her. She felt betrayed and wanted probably to end the affair which she believed would turn out someday as a real "relationship" between them two. (On the interview he mentioned that they had talked about a separation. One of my first thoughts was that this was directed to his AP)

I always thought that this could have lead him to kill his entire family. Either to get rid of them as soon as possible or to even "punish" them for being in his way after an argument with the AP. And because of his lack of communication he might have felt like a bird in the cave... But this is just *my theory*.

If it just had been because of Shannan being "bossy" or too dominant I really doubt the kids would have been dead by now. Of course there is still the possibilty that they just witnessed the murder of her mother. But I find this more unlikly because if there had been any loud noises besides the barking dog which caused the girls to wake up I think the neighbours had heard them as well.

This is such a tragic… all had the live ahead of them. Even CW. How could anybody hurt this wunderful little girls with their cute pigtails and than placing them in crude oil - alone in dark oil / gas tanks. I just can't understand how this was a possibilty to him. And I never will no matter what might have really happend that night or the days/weeks/months/years prior. They will never see the sunlight again or listen to their favorite song on the radio.... never eat their favorite food doing things they liked. I feel so unbelieveable sorry for all of them.

Welcome to Websleuths, @LittleFleurDeLys !
Great first post!​

 

[Thepoet]

I want to understand it too. Friends have described them as loving - always kissing and hugging - until recently. If they were facing financial trouble - when exactly did it start and/or become a serious issue? When did CW's affair with the co-worker begin and how serious was it? Is there any truth to the other hook-ups/affairs or whatever you want to call them?

It's clear that there were rumblings of a separation. My heart hurts for Shanann because I believe she truly loved CW and wanted to keep her family together. Even if she was drowning in the river of De Nile, I see no reason to crucify her for that. I think placing blame on any murder victim is disgraceful and I pray that her family has a good victim's advocate. MOO

Good post and kind words.

We know very little about CW before the marriage. It appears that the change in his appearance sparked interest from others and increased his confidence. It may also have released inner demons. These crimes are horrendous and I have to keep reminding myself this did not come from normal behavior or a normal mind! I have to believe that CW felt he was being denied something he deserved and wanted and his only course was to eliminate those who were denying him. Shanann, Cece, Bella, and Nico were the victims and the innocents!

 

[rigsby2]

What's interesting to me is how everyone ignores the giant Santa in the room.

Ya'll know CW was PARTICIPATING in those videos people think seem abusive and uncaring to the kids?

He wasn't yanking off his Santa Beard and running to comfort CeCe.
He wasn't saying, "Bella doesn't want to sit with me. Let's leave her alone." Nope. He reached for her AND HELD HER as she reached her arms up for her mom.

Pie in the face video? Water bottle video? He's also participating in those. He actually tries to grab the kids at different points to get them to get a pie on the face or get squirted, before giving up.

At no time does he ever say, "That's enough. Stop it. She is upset. You're going too far."

He does not rush to the crying child and hug her and try to console her, as so many are criticizing Shanann for not doing.

She is the only one being damned for not understanding about cortisol levels or for not taking her kids' cries or discomfort seriously in a few moments of hundreds of thousands of times kids cry in their lives or act scared, unhappy or distressed.

For some reason, silent, complicit CW escapes any criticism.

THIS!!!! If I could like this comment a hundred times I would.

 

[Davia18]

Watching the Chris Coleman case again. Do we know if CW police interviews where recorded. If so will those be released just like the CC case and JA case ? Attorneys if you could give your opinion.

 

[Nikynoo]

Yes. However the VI seems to be getting their info straight from CW. So did he tell her the truth about his situation? IDK if he did or not. JMO

me neither

 

[dgfred]

If the murders of the children are especially gruesome, which they certainly are, then the public will be horrified at the autopsy results. The DA does not want a jury pool, like they had with the Casey Anthony trial.

There was a high percentage of potential jurors who had already made up their minds that CA was guilty. All of those jurors had to be swiped left. So the few that were not 'tainted' by the media reports, were often ambivalent and not able to 'connect the dots.'

I really think the State is already looking ahead to the trial, and trying to protect their jury pool, so they don't end up with a similar fate.

I understand... I just don't see it as any more gruesome than shooting them, knives, etc
It is the prosecution's job to find the right jurors.
I feel like many would already be swayed anyway after he confesses and does those interviews.

I do see y'all's points... it is just I find it weird the prosecution withholding ANY evidence.

I want Florida's release of piles of court documents... always something to discuss. Dang it.