Chris Watts' In-Laws Didn't Want Him to Go on TV When Family Vanished — but They 'Thank God He Did'
“I said, ‘Chris, I don’t think you should do any media,’ ” Rzucek recalled in an interview with ABC News airing Friday night on
20/20. “I said, ‘You’re the last one to have seen them, so I don’t think you should.’ “
Robach says Frank and Sandra have “donated all of their daughter’s and granddaughters’ possessions to those in need and they are raising money in honor of Shanann and her children to donate to charity.”
“They want everyone to know what a devoted mother she was to her children, what a wonderful daughter and friend she was and what a positive force she was in the world,” Robach says. “They want to counter the version of events Chris told police and make it known she would never ever harm her children.”
As part of those ongoing efforts, the Rzuceks have sued Chris for wrongful death in the three murders, asking for compensation to make up funeral costs, Shanann’s future income and for emotional distress, ABC News reports.
“What we’re concerned about is somebody is going to come and offer him a lot of money to tell the world … at least a version of what he contends happened that night,” Rzucek attorney Mike Newman said on
20/20. “We’re not going to allow him to do that. So, that’s why we filed the wrongful death suit.”