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Killer dad reveals the look in his wife's eyes as he choked her to death

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: A Colorado man who strangled his pregnant wife in their bed before killing their two young daughters in a crime that shocked America has revealed chilling new details about the murders in a prison letter that was given to media.

Christopher Watts was sentenced to life in prison for killing his pregnant wife Shannan, and their two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste in August 2018.

After killing his wife, Watts drove her and his daughters to an oil worksite owned by a previous employer, about 65 kilometres from the family’s home. As he pulled his dead wife from his truck, his daughters asked: “what are you doing with mummy?”.

He then went back to his truck and smothered his two daughters with a blanket.

Chris Watts killed his pregnant wife Shanann and their two daughters. Source: Yahoo Magazines/CBS News
Chris Watts killed his pregnant wife Shanann and their two daughters. Source: Yahoo Magazines/CBS News

His wife’s body was found in a shallow grave, and the two girls were later discovered inside oil tanks.

In a letter from prison, obtained by the Daily Mail, Watts claimed that he had earlier used a pillow to smother the two girls inside their home but they had later woken up.

“After Shanann had passed, Bella and Cece woke back up. I’m not sure how they woke back up, but they did. Bella’s eyes were bruised and both girls looked like they had been through trauma,” he wrote. “That made the act that much worse.”

According to the letters, the murders were not spontaneous crimes of passion or rage that he had previously claimed, but something he had planned and thought about.

“August 12th when I finished putting the girls to bed, I walked away and said: ‘That’s the 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,” he wrote.

The 34-year-old described grisly details about taking his wife’s life while he looked her in the eye.

“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,” he wrote.

“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.”

Christopher Watts sits in court for his sentencing hearing. Source: Getty
Christopher Watts sits in court for his sentencing hearing. Source: Getty

The letter was sent to Cheryln Cadle who struck up a correspondence with the killer after he was jailed. Her correspondence with Watts will form the basis of a new book about the murders coming out next week.

Watts initially told police he killed his wife after she strangled their daughters, but he acknowledged in an interview with police inside prison earlier this year that he had lied, and he was solely responsible for their deaths.

In the interview - which authorities wanted to conduct due to the strange circumstances surrounding the crime - Watts said detectives were the first to mention that Shanann may have killed their children and he “just went with it”.

The prosecution argued he killed his family, including his unborn child, so he could be with his mistress Nichol Kessinger - something Watts does not deny.

Watts said his wife correctly suspected that he was having an affair, but he did not tell her about his ongoing relationship with a co-worker before killing her.

A photo shows neighbours at a memorial out the front of the Watts family house in August. Source: Getty Images
Neighbours at a memorial out the front of the Watts' house in August. Source: Getty Images

Authorities have speculated that Watts wanted a chance to start over with the woman. Watts told investigators in February that the woman “never asked him to get rid of his family” but their relationship may have “contributed” to his actions.

In the recent letter, he revealed that he tried to slip his wife the painkiller Oxycodone in hopes of inducing a miscarriage, writing: “I thought it would be easier to be with Nichol if Shanann wasn't pregnant.”

The mistress searched for wedding dresses on Google just nine days before the murders.

With AP

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