12 September 2023 , 07:10
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Chris Watts sent a chilling text message to his mistress saying his family was "gone" after murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters.
The family killer claimed that he had taken his wife Shanann and girls - Bella, four, and Celeste, three - to a play date but they failed to return home. Nichol Kessinger, who thought Watts, 33, was divorced, said the father, who didn't wear a wedding ring around her, seemed calm and didn't show any emotion after claiming they were missing.
But just hours earlier he had murdered Shanann and his daughters, and dumped their bodies at the oil site where he worked and had met Ms Kessinger just weeks earlier. Ms Kessinger, who went to the police after Shanann and the girls disappeared on August 13, has broken her silence in an interview with the Denver Post days before Watts will be jailed for life.
She said Watts appeared to be a doting father but he turned out to be a serial liar who didn't wear a wedding ring and claimed he and Shanann had separated and were going through a divorce. She said: “He made me believe that he was doing all of the things that a rational man and good father would do. He's a liar. He lied about everything."
Nichol Kessinger thought Chris Watts was divorced (Denver Post via Getty Images)Ms Kessinger didn't know the truth about Watts' marriage until the mother and her girls vanished. That day, she said, Watts texted her to say he was busy and they chatted like normal during the work day until 3.45pm, when Watts texted to say his family was "gone". Ms Kessinger said she was confused when reporters arrived at Watts' home in Frederick, Colorado, later. He gave a TV interview in which he pleaded for their return.
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Standing outside his home, he told a reporter: "I just want them home so bad." That night, Watts' lies unravelled as she learned he was still married and Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with a boy she planned to name Nico. At the same time, his lies to the police and the TV crew were also coming undone. In phone calls and text messages to his secret lover, Watts changed his story about his divorce and Ms Kessinger began asking him about their disappearance.
She claims he tried to change the subject, and the following day, on August 14, she pushed him to tell her what he had done, but he insisted he would never hurt his family. Ms Kessinger said she told Watts she didn't want to speak to him and continued to watch the news before going to detectives and the FBI to tell them about the affair. She told the Post: “I just wanted to help. With a pregnant woman and two children missing, I was going to do anything that I could.”
Ms Kessinger had started dating him in July, just weeks before the triple murder, and she had no doubt that Watts killed his family when the allegations emerged. To avoid a possible death sentence, Watts has admitted murdering his wife and daughters, and unlawfully terminating a pregnancy. He will be sentenced to life in prison on Monday if a judge accepts the plea deal.
Ms Kessinger said she and Watts met when she was working in the environmental department with an Anadarko Petroleum contractor. Watts worked for the oil company and hid the bodies of his wife and girls at an oil site after murdering them. She said he introduced himself to her at work in June, and as they continued casual conversations she noticed he didn't wear a wedding ring and she thought he was attractive.
Ms Kessinger, who was single when she met Watts, said he told her that he had two daughters and claimed he was separated from his wife and was at the end of divorce proceedings. Ms Kessinger said she believed him and they began a physical relationship in early July, seeing each other four or five times a week. She told the Post that she wanted to slow things down and she told him to focus on helping his daughters adjust to life after the divorce.
In July, she said, the Watts family went on a family trip to visit relatives in North Carolina, and Chris called her to say his divorce had been finalised. Later that month, he asked Ms Kessinger to help him find a flat. She said she "barely knew him", and was never introduced to any of his family members or friends during a relationship that lasted less than two months.
Detectives believe Shanann and the girls were killed inside their home shortly after she returned home from a business trip in Arizona on the morning of August 13. They believe the girls may have been killed before their mum, who worked in sales for the nutritional company Le-Vel, returned home in the early hours.
Watts was seen that morning backing his truck out of the family's garage and then driving off. He was arrested the night of August 15. Watts claimed to police that he strangled his wife "in a rage" after she killed their daughters. He told detectives that his wife had strangled the girls after he told her he was having an affair and he no longer wanted to be with her.
But prosecutors say his version of events was a lie. Shanann's body was later found in a shallow grave on the oil company's property, while the girls were found submerged in an oil tank. New details about their deaths - including a motive - are expected to be revealed on Monday.
Watts' parents, Cindy and Ronnie, broke their silence. They said they want their son to take back his murder confession, claiming he was "railroaded" into the plea deal. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty in exchange for his guilty pleas. Cindy Watts said she believes her son's story that he killed Shanann after she killed the children.
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