CO - Shanann Watts (34, dec.), Celeste"Cece" (3) and Bella (4) - MEDIA, MAPS, TIMELINES - NO DISCUSS

[PommyMommy]

MAR 11, 2019
Shanann Watts' mother said she felt her daughter's 'spirit the moment she died' - CNN

[...]

Shanann Watts' brother, Frank Rzucek Jr., said they didn't think Chris Watts had killed his wife "until we saw that interview" on television.

"Why do you think he's telling the truth now?" asked host Phil McGraw.

Rzucek said he believed Watts spoke honestly about the killings because "I think it's eating him up."

"I think he was more than glad to talk to somebody for five hours, sitting in a box 24/7," said Rzucek, who was the children's godfather.

[...]

Rzucek said she also felt the presence of her daughter and grandchildren when authorities told them they had discovered their bodies separately.

"That night I was laying in bed and I just felt a presence and I heard my daughter. I felt her, and I heard her say, 'I love you mommy and I'm sorry,'" she said.

"She told me she was at peace," Rzucek said.

Rzucek said Bella told her "I can go to Disney World any time I want."

"I said, that's right, Bella," Rzucek said.

[...]

She placed her hand on her upper chest.

"Momma's here," she said. "And I'm going to stand up for them, Dr. Phil. If you'll allow, and you'll help me."

"We been together 38 years. Our kids are our everything and our grand babies were our everything," Rzucek said.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 11, 2019
‘Work Of The Devil’: Shanann Watts’ Family Talks To Dr. Phil About Murders
[...]

“Our daughter watched her husband kill her,” Sandy Rzucek said.

[...]

“Their feet were on their mommy. But, they thought she was sleeping, or sick,” Sandy Rzucek told Dr. Phil.

“I’ve been doing this 45 years, there is no category for this,” Dr. Phil McGraw told the Rzuceks.

“It is the work of the devil,” Sandy Rzucek responded.

[...]

The Rzuceks said they received a phone call from law enforcement, who described the recoveries of the bodies over the phone. The Rzuceks recalled learning graphic details about the conditions of the bodies.

“It was hard for (law enforcement) to even tell us,” Frankie Jr. said.

[...]

“Everybody needed so much therapy after that. Our hearts go out to all of them that worked so damn hard on this case,” Sandy Rzucek said.

Wiping tears from her face during the Dr. Phil interview, Sandy Rzucek said her faith in God is one of the only things that has kept her alive since losing her family.

“There were many times I felt like giving up. If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t be here,” Sandy Rzucek said. “I could just end my life and go find my daughter.”

[...]

“Every second of my life, (I know) they were screaming for their mom, and us. There is no doubt in my mind,” Sandy Rzucek said.

A lawyer representing the Rzuceks told CBS4’s Dillon Thomas the Rzuceks wanted to speak with Dr. Phil about the new confession for many reasons. One of the biggest was to clear Shanann’s name and squash any speculation that she injured the children.

Watts originally told investigators he killed his wife after she hurt the children. The prison confession changed that story, as he admitted to smothering his daughters at the oil site.

The Rzuceks also specifically asked to speak with Dr. Phil in hopes that he could provide them needed therapy and assistance after going through the tough situation they were pulled in to.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 11, 2019
"It's worse than we even thought": Victims' family reacts to Christopher Watts' confession

[...]

Speaking to Dr. Phil, Shanann Watts' family said they are relieved he admitted Shanann had no role in the girls' deaths.

"I'm glad this is going to shut up all the people still saying Shanann did it," Frank Rzucek Jr. said.

The family said that when Chris Watts first entered their lives, they thought he was "amazing" and a "good dude."

"We loved him like a son, and Frankie loved him like a brother," Sandy Rzucek said.

Sandy Rzucek said Watts was acting "cold" to her daughter on the family's most recent trip to North Carolina. And the couple had recently postponed a gender reveal party -- during which they were expected to announce that Shanann was expecting a boy -- because Watts was acting "distant," she said. But the family told Dr. Phil they never had any indication their daughter might be in danger.

[...]

The family said they immediately knew Christopher Watts was lying when they saw him pleading in multiple media interviews for his family's return. Shanann Watt's father, Frank Rzucek Sr., said when he saw video of Christopher Watts backing his truck into the driveway, he knew Watts was involved with the disappearance.

"She didn't run away, she didn't run out the back door, she would not have done that," Rzucek Sr. said.

After learning the disturbing details of her son-in-law's confession, Sandy Rzucek said she's haunted "every day of my life" by what Shanann, Bella and Celeste were thinking in their last moments. She said she believes her granddaughters "were screaming for their mom and for us, there's no doubt in my mind."

She said she doesn't believe her son-in-law "snapped," as he told investigators, citing his deceptive behavior after the slayings.

[...]

"There's nothing I can imagine why you would do that to your family," Rzucek Sr. said. "You want another life? Go walk out the door."

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 11, 2019
Chris Watts denies affair with escort and reveals a second man claimed homosexual relationship | Daily Mail Online
[...]
Chris Watts dismissed the claims made by Trent Bolte, who told investigators he and the then-married Colorado killer were in a sexual relationship for close to a year.

At the same time, it was also revealed that a second man had claimed he too had a sexual relationship with Watts after the two met in rehab.

Watts denied that affair as well to investigators.

The investigators spoke about Bolte and another woman, Amanda McMahon, before asking Watts about his mistress Nichol Kessinger during their interview last month in a Wisconsin prison.

Watts also denied ever meeting McMahon for sex, saying he only cheated on his wife with Kessinger.
[...]
'[Watts' lawyer] John Walsh had told me about one dude from Wyoming,' said Watts when asked about possible affairs.

'Trent [Bolte],' responded the investigators.

'Yeah, that guy,' said Watts, before everyone began laughing and one of the officials said that the interview with Bolte had been a 'waste of our lives.'

That official then explained however that no one was trying to 'jam up' or 'judge' Watts before asking again if he had ever been with Bolte.

'I've never been with a guy,' said Watts.

When asked if he had ever been with a man, wanted to be with a man or fantasized about being with a man, Watts responded 'no.'

He then stated: 'Apparently he told them I met him through a rehab center.'

That is when CBI Agent Tammy Lee responded: 'No, that was another guy.'

 

[PommyMommy]

Delete

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 12, 2019
'Worse than we even thought': Shanann Watts' family reacts to Chris Watts interview
The family said they are haunted thinking about Shanann, Celeste and Bella's last moments. "I say to Frankie every day, 'I bet you she was screaming for her Nonna and her Uncle Frankie and her Pop Pop,'" Rzucek said.

Frankie said "knowing what they went through" keeps him up at night, and when he does fall asleep, he dreams of his sister and his nieces.

Shan'ann Watts and Daughters' Murders 'Worse Than We Even Thought,' Family Says
“I think the hardest part is knowing our granddaughter watched her sister die, and then begged for her life,” Sandy said. “I don’t know much worse than [that] you can hear. Jamming their bodies into an 8-inch hole … what could be worse?”

 

[cybervampira]

Chris Watts is on suicide watch again after revealing that inmates tell him to kill himself | Daily Mail Online

• A source at Wisconsin Dept of Corrections said Watts is on 'clinical observation'
• Watts, 33, told FBI agents last month that fellow inmates yell at him at night and 'explain to him all the ways he could kill himself in his cell'
• This is the second time that Watts has been placed on suicide watch after prison officials feared he might take his own life
• Watts, who was sentenced to life in prison in November, was transferred to Wisconsin last year from Colorado following security threats
• The father pleaded guilty to killing wife Shanann, daughters Bella, 4, Celeste, 3

 

[HayLouise]

Enhanced audio:

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 15, 2019
Family of Shannan Watts say they couldn’t say goodbye or cremate Bella and Celeste because their bodies were ‘flammable’
The Rzuceks told Dr. Phil that the family was not able to cremate the remains of he girls because of the time they had spent in the oil tanks.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Frank Rzucek said that his family had gotten permission from the Watts family to bury Bella and Celeste with Shanann, but that they were never able to see the girls after their deaths because they had been immersed in oil for days before their bodies were found.

” …The hardest thing was flying them here, because they were in crude oil for four days. So they were flammable. So we couldn’t cremate them. They would have blown up a building,” Rzucek said on the show.

“They had to have a bigger coffin and then they had to seal it with a certain wrap, so the gasses wouldn’t leak out. That’s pretty sad, isn’t it? So we three here never got to say good-bye to our family or see them.”

 

[mocity]

deleted

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 9, 2019
Petition has nearly 5,000 signatures demanding Chris Watts remove victims' pictures from prison wall | Daily Mail Online

• The petition - released on April 3rd - calls for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to 'CONFISCATE CHRIS WATTS’ PICTURE OF HIS MURDER VICTIMS'
• Chris Watts was sentenced to life in prison in November for the August 13th murder of his pregnant wife, Shanann, and two children - Bella and Cece
• He was transferred in late 2018 from a Colorado prison due to safety concern
• 'As taxpayers and members of the public, we are outraged that Chris Watts was allowed to have a photograph of the victims,' the petition reads
• It continues: 'Allowing a murderer to keep a trophy of his victims goes against the purpose and mission statement of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections'
• Petition demands that the victims' pictures be returned back to their family

[...]

The petition claims that Watts has received notable treatment due to the celebrity of his case and demands that that not continue.

It continues: 'Unfortunately, the publicity of this case has exposed the nation to the horrors of familial homicides.

'We cried with the victim's family, we struggled to comprehend the brutality of the crime, and most of all, we continue to grapple the disturbed peace and increased suspicion that we all may live with a murderer.'

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 15, 2019
Auction of Chris Watts’ Frederick home delayed until summer

FREDERICK, CO - AUGUST 17: Residents stand in front of makeshift memorial, for Shanann, Bella and Celeste Watts, outside the family's home on August 17, 2018 in Frederick, Colorado. Originally scheduled to go to auction Wednesday, the sale has been pushed back to July 17. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
RJ Sangosti
[...]

The five-bedroom, four-bath home at 2825 Saratoga Trail originally went into foreclosure Dec. 17, 2018, for failure to pay principle and interest. Records show Watts owes $349,938.09 on the home in the Wyndham Hill subdivision. He bought the house in 2013 for $392,709.

Weld County Assessor’s Office records show the home has an actual 2019 value of $484,339.

The home was planned to be up for auction on Wednesday, but the sale date has been pushed back to July 17. Weld County Public Trustee Susie Velasquez said the titleholder, JP Morgan Chase Bank in this case, can delay the date of an auction for any reason.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 16, 2019
Petition Calls for Chris Watts' Family Photos to Be Removed From Cell — and Prison Responds
Prison officials have responded to an online petition urging authorities to forbid family murderer Chris Watts from displaying photos in his cell of his pregnant wife and two daughters, whom he murdered in 2018.

In a statement to PEOPLE, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections said it “has no legal basis for removing the photographs from Christopher Watts,” who was transferred to a Wisconsin prison from one in Colorado in late 2018 because of security concerns.

The statement says, “Incarcerated inmates are permitted to possess certain identified items of property, including photographs. Some photographs are not allowed, such as those depicting gang signs, colors, or insignias or photographs that include nudity.”

[...]

The petition, which has more than 15,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning and was launched by a group identifying itself as the Seek the Truth and Armchair Detective Group, states: “Allowing a murderer to keep a trophy of his victims goes against the purpose and mission statement of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, which emphasizes public safety and victim advocacy.”

[...]

“Wisconsin inmate Chris Watts DOC# 674796 should not be allowed a photograph of his murder victims, in accordance with DOC purpose and mission statement,” the petition reads. “We, the public and taxpayers, demand that any pictures of Watts’ murder victims are confiscated and that he does not receive favorable treatment due to the publicity of his criminal case.”

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 30, 2019
Chris Watts Is ‘Looking into Ways to Appeal’ His Conviction for Killing Pregnant Wife and Daughters
[...]

A source close to Watts tells PEOPLE that Watts is “looking into ways to appeal” his punishment — and has been researching his case and other similar cases.

“Obviously, it would be an uphill battle for him, because he pleaded guilty,” says the source, who has knowledge of Watts’ legal case. “And with a guilty plea, you forfeit some of your rights to appeal. But that’s not absolute, so there’s a small chance that it could work out in his favor.”

The source says that Watts has spoken with attorneys on the phone, but doesn’t have a plan for his representation. “It would cost him money that he just doesn’t have,” says the insider. “But he is still exploring his options.”

[...]

According to the insider, Watts feels that he was unable to explain some of the mitigating circumstances of what happened on the night he killed his family.

“Everything happened so fast there at the end [of the legal proceedings],” the source says. “And he’s not sure he was in the right mind to plead guilty like he did. For him, it’s not just about him getting out of jail — it’s also that he hasn’t been able to really have his day in court.”

[...]

“He understands that this would be a Hail Mary,” says the insider. “He’s smart enough to realize that it’s unlikely to ever change anything, but he’s sitting in prison with nothing but time. It’s sinking in to him that he could be in that same cell for 50 years. And now he’s trying to decide whether there are any legal remedies for him.”

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 3, 2019
Triple-Murderer Chris Watts Wishes He Would Have 'Handled Things Differently': Family Friend
[...]

For one hour a day, he gets out of his cell for showers and exercise. For the past 40 days, his time out was staggered so that he didn’t interact with other prisoners. He remains in the evaluation unit of the prison.

[...]

“He’s sad that everyone is hurting,” Kim tells PEOPLE. “He wishes he could go back in time. He wish he had handled things differently.”

[...]

There is a chance that Watts could challenge his case under a very specific law known as Rule 35c.

In the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 35c provides defendants with an opportunity to challenge their conviction and sentence. Because a 35c challenge is slightly different than an appeal, a defendant can raise questions about his conviction even if he has pleaded guilty.

Under Rule 35c, Watts must either prove that there is new evidence, or that his conviction was somehow unconstitutional.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 13, 2019
Investigation Discovery Announces Chris Watts Special: ‘Family Man, Family Murderer: An ID Murder Mystery’
[...]

The special, premiering on Sunday, June 2 at 10/9c, will “delve into the psyche of a man who became a family annihilator,” according to ID. “What would drive him to do the unthinkable? The one-hour special takes viewers through the initial missing persons case of Shannan, Bella and Celeste all the way to the eventual murder investigation, arrest and shocking confession of Chris Watts.”

The special will show body camera footage from the Frederick Police Department, which handled the appalling crime. It will also include new details of the murder, following Chris’ unbelievable prison confession. In the first TV documentary special looking at the events, experts and those familiar with the case will open up about what happened in exclusive interviews, giving viewers a deeper look than ever before at the heinous attack.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 13, 2019
https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv...FAMILY-MURDERER-AN-ID-MURDER-MYSTERY-20190513
[...]

"This case, so senseless and so tragic in its brutality, is a jarring example of how an idyllic family image can be shattered in an instant," said Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL and Destination America. "As the first and only network to produce a deep dive into this tragedy, we understand the responsibility we have to show the truth behind a story that follows the actions of a man unhinged."

The latest installment from ID's breakout MURDER MYSTERY franchise, the show delves into the psyche of a man who became a family annihilator. What would drive him to do the unthinkable? ...

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 30, 2019
Chris Watts’ horrific killings of wife, daughters still haunt investigators, new doc reveals
[...]

The shocking crime is the subject of a new documentary on Investigation Discovery (ID) titled “Family Man, Family Murderer: An ID Murder Mystery” airing June 2.

The mini-series features interviews with those familiar with the tragedy and experts who have covered the case extensively. It also highlights body camera footage from the Frederick Police Department, as well as new details from the investigation following Watts’ jailhouse confession.

Steve Wrenn, the Deputy District Attorney for Weld County who was interviewed for the special, told Fox News those who handled the case are still attempting to make sense of it.

“Police officers, first responders, prosecutors, defense attorneys — we operate in a world where we see bad people do bad things on a somewhat daily basis,” said Wrenn. “This took it to a level that I don’t think a lot of people are still able to get their heads around it. It’s impacted the way we go about our daily lives and how we interact with our families, how we are able to do our jobs sometimes.”

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 30, 2019
5 Things You May Not Know About the Chris Watts Family Murder Case

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2120943241351716

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 1, 2019
Investigators 'will never be the same' after Chris Watts' brutal murders of his family | Daily Mail Online

[...]

Steve Wrenn, the Deputy District Attorney for Weld County who was interviewed for the documentary, said everyone involved in the case is still haunted by it.

[...]

'This took it to a level that I don’t think a lot of people are still able to get their heads around it. It’s impacted the way we go about our daily lives and how we interact with our families, how we are able to do our jobs sometimes.'

Wrenn added: 'The ripple of one crime like this has been phenomenal. The first responders that had to remove the children from the oil tanks — they’ll never be the same.

'Some of the investigators I know had struggled to return to their jobs and go about investigations the same way.'

[...]

'But when you engage in an act that his so horrific and is so far removed from anything the average person ever contemplates doing to their own children, the why is going to be so elusive. It’s nonsensical. It’s so contrary to everything we know about human nature. And for that reason, the why is never going to be satisfying.

[...]