In August 13th 2018 in Frederick, Colorado, U.S. Watts Strangled his wife Shanann, 34, to death before killing his two Daughters, 4 year-old Bella and 3 year-old Celeste by smothering them with a blanket. Shanann was also 15 weeks pregnant with their third child. Watts claimed that his wife and Daughters were missing. On the 15 of August Watts failed a polygraph test and confessed to his father and then to officials, that he killed Shanann, but Watts falsely claimed that the reason for the murder of his wife was because she had smothered their daughters to death.On August 16, 2018, Bella and Celeste's bodies were found in two separate oil tanks, and Shanann’s body was found in a shallow grave nearby. Later Watts admitted to killing his daughters. The motive was that Watts had started an affair with Co worker Nichol Kessinger, and he wanted to start a new life with her. Watts felt that his family were holding him back from his future happiness with Nichol. On November 6, 2018,Watts pleaded guilty to multiple counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea deal when the death penalty was removed from sentencing. He was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole, three to be served consecutively and two to be served concurrently.

Watts wrote a series of detailed confession letters to author, Cherlyn Cadle

(Warning, disturbing text ) 

“August 12th, when I finished putting the girls to bed, I walked away and said “that’s that last time I’m going to be tucking my babies in” I knew what was going to happen the day before and I did nothing to stop it. I was numb to the entire world. I had literally taken my kids to a Birthday party, played with water balloons, had an amazing time, sang songs all the way home, gave them a bath, ate dinner, read bedtime stories and sang bedtime songs and still nothing registered. I couldn’t stop myself from what I knew would occur the next morning. August 13th morning of, I went to the girls room first, before Shanann and I had our argument. i went to Bella’s room, then Cece’s room and used a pillow from their bed. That’s why the cause of death was smothering. After  I left Cece’s room, then climbed back into bed with Shanann and our argument ensued.

‘After Shanann had passed, Bella and Cece woke back up. I’m not sure how they woke back up, but they did. That made the act that much worse knowing I went to their rooms first and knowing I still took their lives at the location of the batteries”

“Isn't it weird how I look back and what I remember so much is her face getting all black with streaks of mascara  All the weeks of me thinking about killing her, and now I was faced with it. When she started to get drowsy, I somehow knew how to squeeze the jugular veins until it cut off the blood flow to her brain, and she passed out...I knew if I took my hands off of her, she would still keep me from Nikki. They asked me why she couldn't fight back- it's because she couldn't fight back. Her eyes filled with blood; as she looked at me and she died. I knew she was gone when she relieved herself.”

“It took me an hour to get to the site, and I had not calmed down at all. The rest of the story you know, I dumped Shanann on the ground, then I walked back to the truck and with the blanket that Celeste was holding, I put it over her head and smothered her. I carried her up the stairs. I opened the hatch, and I was surprised how small the opening was. I lifted her up and down into the hole. She went in pretty smoothly, I remembered as I was lowering her body, that I would never see her again, but instead of the love I had always had for her, numbness was in its place. I could not feel anything for her. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to just let her drop through the hole and let her go. I heard the splash as she hit the oil. “Then without blinking an eye, I went right back to my truck and went over to Bella. She asked me if I was going to do to her what I had just done to Celeste. I don’t think I answered her, I just put the same blanket over her head and smothered her. I could not believe, though, howmuch of a fight she put up. Little quiet Bella had a will to live. Nothing registered in my head for her. Out of all three, Bella is the only one that put up a fight. I will hear her soft little voice for the rest of my life, saying, “Daddy, NO!!!” She knew what I was doing to her. She may not have understood death, but she knew I was killing her. 

“I was so empowered at the time, I had the strength to climb those stairs for the second time and put her little body through the hole in the next tank. Bella was harder to get down the hole. Her arms and shoulders did not want to fit through the hole, so I had to force her through the hatch. They told me they found a tuff of blonde hair; I would suspect that’s when that happened. I did separate them purposely. I was trying to get them as far away from Shanann as possible. I guess I put them in the tanks to make sure this time they didn’t get up.”

“I don’t know why except for the anger I felt. You asked me why I was so angry with Shanann, it was a couple reasons. I was angry that she kept me from my family and I was angry because she was standing in the way of me being truly happy with someone I wanted to be with. “Had I not killed them, when I got home that afternoon from work, Shanann would not have let me in my own house. She would have locked the doors or had the locks changed to show me she was in control still. I would have had to make a scene, which is something I did not want to do for the neighbours to see. I had to put the girls in the tanks so they wouldn’t get up the second time. “I then went and dug a hole for Shanann. The dirt was loose and I remember easy to move. When I dug the hole, it seemed a lot deeper than it was. As I pulled on the sheet she rolled out and into the hole. I think she had given birth. She landed face down, I remember being so angry with her that I was not going to change how she landed. I didn’t think about if the hole was deep enough or if I had the hole in the right place, or if I had made sure to pick everything up so there was nothing left lying around. I realized I had just murdered my daughters twice. I still don’t understand how that happened, because I know they were dead the first time. “My entire life lay there on that oil site. All I could feel was now I was free to be with Nikki. Feelings of my love for her was overcoming me. I felt no remorse. The darkness inside of me had won, it was still in me, though, I thought maybe permanently. I felt evil, swallowed up by this thing inside of me. I felt like I could kill anything and be justified for doing it. I didn’t feel any remorse for what I did, I didn’t feel bad for killing my entire family. I really didn’t feel anything. My mind went to the dog…did I remember to put him in the cage?” 

Watts also said that, to his surprise, his daughters came walking into the room while he was wrapping Shanann in a bed-sheet and began asking what was wrong with their mom. He told them that she wasn't feeling well. He then said that he tried to carry Shanann's body downstairs but she was too heavy and he lost his grip. He ended up dragging her down the steps and then bundled her in the back of his truck. Watts remarked “The girls were just kind of running around the house, and watching me with scared looks on their faces. Bella started to cry and when she did Celeste started whimpering”.