How Chris Watts was caught for murdering his family

Chris Watts has a lot of things – triple murderer admitted, adulterer, manipulator – but maybe before he is a liar. And it is his lies that brought him to justice.

The police did not take three days to arrest him in the death of his pregnant wife, Shan'ann Watts, and their daughters, Bella and Celeste. Three months later, he pled guilty to all of his charges and was sentenced to life in prison.

It was a surprisingly fast resolution of such a high-profile prosecution (at least one legal expert had predicted the case would last for years), but in retrospect, Chris's fall began quickly, just hours after the death of Shan & Ann and their daughters. sunrise on August 13th.

The police intervened less than 12 hours later, watching and becoming increasingly suspicious as Chris told story after story, claiming that Shan'ann had gone to a friend's home with the girls in his house. father after leaving for work.

The Watts family home in Frederick, Colorado, did not show any urgent signs of violence, but there were quirks. For example, the sheets on the main bed had been removed and all doors and windows were locked. If Shan'ann had left voluntarily, it would seem that she had nothing important with her – neither her purse, nor her phone, nor her car – with the exception of her children.

"Many things that he has [Chris] was simply saying that we were not making the point, "Weld County attorney Michael Rourke told the press later," Very, very early, "Chris became suspicious in the case.

Rourke said the authorities "have done an amazing job from the beginning to start focusing on him, and rightly so."

Shan & Ann, Bella and Celeste were reported missing on August 13th. The next day, Chris was held in front of their home and gave a series of pleading interviews on television, wishing them safe return, while specifying the main elements of the situation. his wife had an "emotional conversation" before disappearing, but she refused to elaborate.

Early on August 15, the colleague with whom Chris had an affair called the police to reveal their relationship.

Also on that day, drones, launched by the investigators, traced Chris' movements on August 13, when he said his family had disappeared. Authorities used Chris' work truck GPS to look for signs of what had happened. They found what they needed this afternoon.

At 11:02 that night – about 69 hours after his wife's return and strangling soon after – Chris was arrested for murdering his entire family.

This re-enactment of the manner in which the police locked him up relies on court papers reviewed by PEOPLE, various reports, statements from prosecutors and police, and interviews given by Chris and his family, as well as information from sources related to the case.

To start: Chris tells a strange story

She had only seen Shan'ann alive for a few hours when her friend Nickole Atkinson called Chris early on August 13, wondering where she was.

When Atkinson reminded ABC News, she saw Shan'ann for the last time after filing it at approximately 1:45 pm on August 13th following a work trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. She worries about Shan'ann's decision to miss an appointment with her doctor at 10 am, and when Atkinson could not get into the Watts to watch her friend, she called Chris, fearing that Shan ' ann had a medical emergency.

Inside, however, there was no trace of Shan'ann or their daughters. Around 13:40, Atkinson sent the police home.

She then told ABC that Chris's behavior even before his arrest was disconcerting.

"He defended himself, but it made no sense. As at that time, it's a bit surreal, "she said. "He was just sitting there waiting for something to happen. it did not seem right to me.

On his own, Atkinson stated that Chris had stated that he and his wife had prepared to separate.

Addressing the police officers interviewed, Chris stated that he woke up around 5 am after Shan'ann returned home and that the two men had had a "civil conversation." "on his desire to separate after nearly six years of marriage.

With another investigator, Chris slightly changed the timeline – saying that he and his wife had spoken at 4 am about his desire to separate and that both were "upset and crying".

The two stories ended in the same way: Shan'ann said she was going to see a friend later in the day. The last time Chris saw her, she was in bed when he went to work. When her friend Atkinson came to see her later on August 13, she discovered that Shan'ann's vehicle had been left in the garage, with seats inside.

The family's house was locked. The wallet, purse, phone and keys of Shan'ann have all been found. But she and the girls were gone.

With family still missing, authorities broaden their search

At 2 pm on August 14, when police learned that Shan'ann, Bella, and Celeste had not returned home, they released the case of missing persons, issued a press release, and requested assistance from state and federal investigators.

Chris had already taken steps to conceal his crimes. After his family's bodies were hidden, he called his daughters' school to tell him they would not be attending school in the coming year – an apparent attempt to delay suspicions about their disappearance.

Chris also contacted a real estate agent about selling their home and he called a family member, who were "very strange and inconsistent with the rest of his conduct that day," according to prosecutors.

Atkinson's concern, shortly after Shan'ann's disappearance, was crucial to understanding what had happened.

"She was absolutely instrumental," D.A. Rourke told reporters. Thanks to Atkinson, the police intervened at that time, which probably prevented further clean up of the crime scene, said Rourke.

Using GPS in Chris' work truck, the investigators traced his journey on August 13, searching on foot and by plane, with drones.

Around 4:15 pm On August 15, a drone spotted a revealing cloth on an oil site owned by Anadarko Petroleum, where Chris worked as an operator. The sheet was familiar: it was a set that had been removed from the main bed and put in the trash at the Watts House.

His mistress is clean – and he tells his most courageous lie

Nichol Kessinger, Chris Anadarko's colleague who had become a girlfriend, had been seeing him regularly for about a month when she realized she did not know him at all. Denver Post.

While they were in a relationship, he told her that he was separated from his wife and almost at the end of their pending divorce. He talked about finding a new apartment where his daughters could also stay.

And then, on August 13, he wrote Kessinger the same basic lie he told the police: Shan'ann took the girls to a friend's house to play, but did not come back. They were "gone," he says. But he did not seem upset.

Cascade reports, however, alarmed him. That's when she learned that Chris, in fact, was not getting a divorce and that his wife was 15 weeks pregnant.

"I thought, if he could lie to me and hide something so big, what else was he lying on?", She said in an interview with To post.

In calls and texting, Chris was not more transparent, but denied that he had harmed his wife and children.

"He came to a point where he told me so many lies that I finally told him that I did not want to talk to him until his family was found," Kessinger said.

Early on August 15, she called the police.

The confirmation of Chris's case was one of the many incriminating evidence gathered on August 15 that resulted in Chris being arrested for murder.

He had agreed to be interviewed by the investigators that day at the police department, probably without realizing the work that was going on around him.

At the same time as he was talking to the police, the authorities confirmed his case – which they said was the key to his motive – and discovered the abandoned bed sheet on the oil site. Chris also spoke about his broken marriage with Shan'ann.

"So all of this was happening as they were talking to him, this information was shared with the investigators and they started to confront him with that," Deputy Attorney General Steve Wrenn said.

"It's finally when he changed direction dramatically with his story," said Wrenn.

When she spoke to local television station KUSA last week, Cindy Watts, Chris's mother, said she was convinced, throughout the investigation, that no criminal act would be discovered.

"I was not worried. i thought [Shan’ann] just leave and "I will punish you for this and you will worry about me," Cindy told KUSA.

She said that Chris was transparent with the forces of order – he spent hours asking questions and let them into his home.

"When Christopher called us, I said," Do you want us to go down now? Cindy said, "Tell daddy that I need him, tell daddy I need him to come down, I told him," what about me? "He replied. : "No, Mom, stay, send daddy."

Chris's father, Ronnie Watts, flew to Denver "and they went to the police station, and Chris still did not tell him anything," Cindy said. "Nothing." He had already been interrogated seven hours earlier … He was preparing for another interrogation.

Cindy heard the following when Chris snapped: "After five hours, they called Ronnie and told them," Your son wants to talk to you before telling us anything. "

According to the affidavit of his arrest, Chris said he would "tell the truth" after talking to his father, who was also at the police station. Then he revealed his last brazen lie: Shan'ann was responsible for the death of their daughters, in retaliation after telling him that he wanted to separate and that he had been forced to strangle her with anger.

Christopher broke down and cried saying, "I'm sorry daddy," Cindy remembers to KUSA. "He said," I got into a black rage and I killed him after that. she killed Cece and Bella. "

He hid their bodies on a site in Anadarko and indicated their location from a photo. The remains of Shan'ann, Bella and Celeste were found on August 16th, exactly as he had announced.

"This is absolutely the worst result that any of us can imagine," said John Camper, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Finally, "a horrible homicide solved"

Authorities say that despite all his lies and pleas in television interviews, Chris has never deterred their suspicions.

"I think it was very clear from the outset that he was responsible for this situation and that he was making a mockery of the media – as far as anyone in the media believed him," he said. Rourke.

"In three days, a dreadful triple homicide, including a pregnant woman, has been resolved, reflecting the efforts of the men and women who participated in this investigation," he said.

Chris was hired in Weld County Prison at 4:06 pm on August 16th. Anadarko fired him on August 15, the day of his arrest.

Asource close to the survey that was present during his booking told PEOPLE that he "showed no emotion all the time".

"He did not seem to be bothered by this."

• With report by KC BAKER