Chris Watts: My Thoughts + Theories

ByAbby Saylor Armbruster

Chris Watts: My Thoughts + Theories

This is a brutal case, but one that’s had me completely sucked in for the last couple weeks, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that. I’ve watched every single video online, listened to every interview, read the police report, you name it. True crime has always been something that’s drawn me in, but this case has taken over my life like NOTHING before. Keep reading for my thoughts and theories on the Chris Watts case with links to the most informative content I’ve come across!

Chris Watts: My Thoughts + Theories

I’m jumping into this post assuming you have some basic knowledge of the case, but if you don’t or need a refresh, watch the video below to get the gist of it.

 

I think what’s gets me the most about this case is how shocking it is. A seemingly normal, “nice guy,” kills his pregnant wife and two young daughters (Cece, age 3 and Bella, age 4), and is completely unfazed by it — as if it never even happened. He had never committed any type of crime before and everyone described him as quiet and your average Joe. Even those close to him were absolutely blindsided by this.

Something that is unique about this particular case is how much access we have to the family on social media. Shannan Watts was a Thrive promoter (an MLM if you haven’t heard of it), so she was extremely active online selling products, doing frequent live streams and always posting (here’s her Instagram). It’s so weird to watch this stuff back and see what appears to be a completely normal, loving family and a woman full of life. She spoke so highly of Chris and to know that all this was going on behind the scenes is tragic and a true example of not everything is how it seems on social media. It’s VERY eery as well, like a ghost almost, because this is really the first time I’ve seen a case where there is this much accessible content.

As for the other details about the family, they were pretty deep in debt. They lived in a $400,000 and had filed bankrupcy for a similar amount a few years ago, so they were struggling. Regardless, they still had a very nice house and Shannan drove a Lexus that she got through Thrive (not sure how that works). It’s likely that no one knew they were in financial trouble unless they disclosed it.

THE AFFAIR

From my research, it looks like Chris and his mistress’ (Nichol Kessinger, a woman from his work) communication began via email. She had sent a group, work-related email to him and his coworkers in May I believe, and he replied privately. This later led to them speaking one-on-one in person (not sure if this was the first time this happened) and somehow developing a relationship from there in June. This video will break that down further.

 

It grinds my gears that people keep calling Nichol his “girlfriend” — he was married and she knew that, so that would make her his mistress… but I digress. There’s something fishy going on with her and I whole heartedly believe she knows more than she’s letting on. As if this case isn’t already shocking enough, I was surprised he had only been with his mistress for 2-3 months before the murders. That’s very quick timeline to fall in love with a stranger and kill your entire family to be with her (*rolls eyes*).

She claims Chris told her he and his wife were separating and that she had no idea Shannan was pregnant, yet her internet searches showed she had been googling her name on multiple occasions that summer, one of which apparently was all the way back in September 2017 — nearly a year prior to the crime. Shannan’s social media (at least some of her accounts, including Instagram) were public for her Thrive business, and it was clear she was pregnant. Anyone would have been able to realize that from spending just two minutes on her profile, so that’s one lie from Nichol. Linked below are some videos with a ton more details.

THE DAY OF THE MURDER

Shannan arrived home from a weekend Thrive trip at approximately 2-2:30 a.m. I also learned that there was apparently an attempt (not sure if the card went through our not) to purchase hair products around the time Shannan returned home, and it’s believed that may have resulted in a card decline or checking the status of their bank account and possibly the two of them having a conversation about it. It is believed that he killed them after that, strangling Shannan and smothering his two young girls.

Chris was caught on his neighbor’s security camera backing his truck partially into his garage (which he apparently never does) to load up his “work supplies,” when in reality, this is when he loaded in their bodies. He spent 50 minutes loading his truck that morning before heading to work.

You can watch the entire day unfold on police body cameras, one video providing body language analysis below. This video was very insightful and it’s actually so crazy to see everything from this perspective!

THE BURIAL SITE

This is not for the faint of heart, so proceed with caution.

This genius (*sarcasm*) disposed of his family at his own worksite. Shannan was buried in a shallow grave and his daughters were dropped into two separate large oil tanks through 8-inch openings. The youngest daughter fit fine, but the oldest had to be shoved in and her body reflected that in the autopsy. Shannan’s body was 8 inches above ground level covered in dirt, so he didn’t dig the hole very deep, likely because he was in a rush. Oddly enough, he transported Shannan there wrapped in one of their bed sheets and left the sheet wadded up next to the grave in plain sight. Tragically, Shannan had a coffin birth, meaning the gases produced in death pushed the baby partially out of her body.

He then proceeded with his work day as if nothing even happened, part of which took place at that same site I believe. It’s my understanding that coworkers may be coming there later, so this was probably a frantic process.

THE INTERROGATION

I found this video so uncomfortable to watch knowing he was lying through his teeth the whole time. For reasons unknown (likely thinking it would make him look more innocent), he didn’t ask for a lawyer and agreed to a polygraph test. Word to the wise, even if you’re innocent, don’t ever agree to do one of those. He miserably failed the test and continued to deny involvement when they confronted him with the results. He had spoken with the cops a couple times before that I think, but this last one made him crack.

THE CONFESSION

In order to get him talking, the cops shifted the blame to Shannan by asking if she did anything to the kids. Soon after, Chris asks to speak to his dad before speaking about the situation any further. His dad enters the room and he confesses to killing Shannan in a rage via strangulation after claiming he saw her strangling their daughters on the baby monitor.

Obviously so, Chris was taken into custody after disclosing where the bodies were and providing some detail on how he disposed of them, etc. The only reason Chris admitted to anything is because the cops knew he was lying, they pitched the idea that maybe Shanann did something to make him snap, and he figured that was his best option out of this. I don’t think he would have ever came up with that scenario on this own. Ever. This is a common interrogation technique, and it worked.

The only time you every see Chris get physically upset or cry is when the cops mention what may happen if his coworkers were to find the bodies and what they’d think of him because of that. That’s right, he only cried for himself at the thought of his coworkers thinking he was a monster. Wow.

THE MISTRESS

This woman does not shut up with her interviews with police — like literally doesn’t stop talking. She’s running the whole interview and it’s very clear she wants to be in control. She claims their relationship was new and not that serious, yet her internet searches show she was searching the web for wedding dresses for hours in close proximity to the murders. Some things she remembers in great deal, while others she claims “ugh, that was so long ago I don’t even remember” while claiming their relationship was new and it “hadn’t been that long.” Which is it?

Her Google searches get worse, including “can cops trace deleted text messages,” “man says he will leave wife for mistress,” etc. Watch the videos below for more information on her their communication, as well as Chris’ communication with Shannan.

THE TRIAL

I watched and listened to both sets of parents’ statements and the sentencing. Again, Chris was emotionless, looking down and shaking his knee the entire time. The only time he really seemed to show any emotion was during his parents’ statements. He ended up pleading guilty to killing all of them and was sentenced to life without parole. Shannan’s family begged for his life saying they didn’t feel the right to take anyone’s life (death penalty), though he obviously didn’t follow those morals. Now both families claim the benefit on life without parole means they may get the real truth out of him one day, which is so sad to think they still don’t know — and may never know since Chris is the only person that could tell them and he’s been anything but truthful so far.

MY THOUGHTS + THEORIES

In conclusion, I think Chris Watts is absolute trash. Tons of people have affairs and end up getting divorced, but the fact that he saw murder as his best/only way out is absolutely sickening. The fact that he was willing to take a cruel and truly idiotic risk like that just to have a “fresh start” and a life with his mistress when JAIL TIME was a strong possibility, not to mention he’d never see his his kids again, makes zero sense to me.

Nichol Kessinger knows more that she wants to people to think and her call logs to Chris and North Carolina (where his family is from) on the day of the murder is extremely suspicious. What is she hiding?

I don’t believe Shannan killed those little girls for one second (though there are people out there who do). There’s no way, and the way he disposed of their bodies like trash proves that he’s the one who ended all of their lives. His own mother admits that she doesn’t know why he’d confess to something like that in court if he didn’t actually do it, and I believe that as well (another interesting fact: his parents didn’t go to his wedding). This is such a sad story and I’m still shook about it daily.

If you’d like to share your thoughts on this case, please do! There’s so much more I didn’t talk about in this post because I didn’t want this to turn into a novel. As somber as this case is, I suppose it’s a cruel reminder that you can never really know someone and that things like this happen far more often than you’d think. My heart hurts for this family. Tell those close to you that you love them!

Here are my other crime blog posts:

2 Comments

    1. Hi Khadijah — I couldn’t agree more! I’ve had to dig to find potential incriminating evidence against NK because so much of it has been swept under the rug. The investigators don’t seem overly concerned that she’s deleted so many text messages, but they should be! Sooooo sketchy.

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