A Colorado man, Christopher Watts, gives investigators new details about the murder of a woman and her children

February 28, 2019, 20:39 GMT

By Doha Madani

The Colorado man who pleaded guilty to the murder of his pregnant wife and two young girls last year gave investigators new details about the murders.

Christopher Watts, 33, provided this information during further interviews with authorities on February 18, according to NBC affiliate KUSA in Denver. Written notes and audio files are expected to be released next week under the Colorado Open Records Act, KUSA reported.

Shanann Watts, 34, was found dead in mid-August in a shallow grave on the property of Anadarko Petroleum, where her husband worked. She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time with a boy whom the couple had planned to name Nico. The bodies of their daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were found in oil tanks on the oil company's property.

When his family was first reported missing in Frederick, north of Denver, Watts publicly pleaded for his safe return, telling reporters that he was "torn in" and that He wanted "everyone to come home".

Police said in an unsealed affidavit that she later learned that Watts had an affair with a colleague and lied about it to the investigators.

According to the affidavit, Watts then changed his story by saying that he was "strangling Shanann to death" after seeing Bella and Celeste kill him. He then directed the authorities to the place where the bodies were buried.

Watts pleaded guilty to the murder of the entire family in November and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole under a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty.