American Murder: The Family Next Door is the latest Netflix documentary film that reveals the murders of pregnant mother Shanann Watts and her two daughters aged two and three. In 2018, the tragic atrocities outraged the neighborhood of Frederick, Colorado – and the rest of the world – and the terror was then increased when Chris Watts (Shanann’s husband and the girls’ father) admitted to committing them. This is the true story of American Murder.
True Story of American Murder
American Murder is one and a half-hour Netflix doc that shows the heartbreaking murders, using “raw, firsthand footage” to investigate the disappearance of Shanann and her daughters, Bella and Celeste, and the tragic incidents that happened. Here’s everything you need to know about American Murder, including where Chris Watts is now.
What did Chris Watts do?
On August 13, 2018, Shanann Watts’s friend Nickole Atkinson dropped her off at her Frederick, Colorado home following a business tour they had taken together.
Though, when Nickole tried to get in touch with Shanann later that day, she couldn’t get in touch with her. After Shanann missed a hospital appointment, she got concerned and chose to call Chris and the police.
That evening, the police investigated the Watts’ home, and although they noticed no clues of offensive activity, they did discover Shanann’s car and all of her private belongings.
The following day, Shanann and the girls were formally announced missing, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued Endangered Missing Person alerts for them.
At first, Chris refused he knew what had happened, and appeared on camera to request for the safe recovery of his pregnant wife and their two growing daughters.
Though, when the bodies of his family were discovered, Chris quickly altered his narrative. He told it was Shanann who killed the daughters and when he saw her doing this, he got agitated and killed her.
But then he failed a lie detector test and admitted to mercilessly killing his whole family.
Later in 2018, Chris Watts was convicted of three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He pleads guilty to the murder of his 34-year-old pregnant wife Shanann and their daughters.
What was in Chris’ confession?
Although Chris had pleaded guilty to all three murders, he hadn’t however revealed the full story of what happened on the morning of August 13, 2018.
Nevertheless, in a five-hour follow-up discussion with prosecutors from prison, which took place in February 2019, Chris explained the truth.
After arguing with Shanann that morning regarding his desire to separate, Chris killed her to death.
When he was attempting to bring his wife’s body downstairs, he told, Bella and Celeste woke up and started to question him what was going on.
He then loaded the girls and their mother’s body into his truck, transported to the oil site, and murdered them one by one before disposing of the three bodies.
Chris also bestowed the disturbing details with author Cheryln Cadle, which she printed as letters in her book Letters from Christopher: The Tragic Confessions of the Watts Family Murders.
Where is Chris Watts now?
Chris is detained at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin, where he’s been for almost two years. He was transferred there due to security reasons.
He is laboring various life sentences without the chance of parole. After presenting Chris Watts three life sentences, the supervising judge stated that this was the most “vicious and inhumane” offense he had ever dealt with.
