Shanann Watts is an American businesswoman who was the victim of the Watts family murder on August 13, 2018 in Frederick, Colorado.
Wiki/Biography
Shanann Watts was born as “Shan’ann Cathryn Rzucek” (age 34 at the time of her death) on Tuesday, January 10, 1984, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Her star sign is Capricorn. She grew up in Moore County, North Carolina, and attended Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines.
appearance
Height: 5′ 5″
Eye Color: Brown
Hair color: Black
Family and Race
Parents and siblings
Shanann’s father’s name is Frank Rzucek and her mother’s name is Sandra Rzucek.
Shanann Watts’s parents
She has a brother named Frankie Rzucek.
Shanann Watts and her brother
Husband, Children, and Relationships
Shanann met Chris Lee Watts in 2010. He was an employee of Anadarko Petroleum in The Woodlands, Texas. Prior to meeting Chris, she was married to a man named Leonard King, and they divorced in 2009. Chris and Shanann were married on November 3, 2012 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Shanann and Chris Watts wedding photos
She has two daughters: Bella Marie Watts (born December 17, 2013) and Celeste Cathryn “Cece” Watts (born July 17, 2015).
Shanann and Chriss Watts with their children
She was fifteen weeks pregnant with a son, whom they named Nico Lee Watts, when she died; she was due to give birth on January 31, 2019.
Profession
She served as a Human Resources Specialist at the Anschutz Medical Campus of Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora from 2013 to 2016. Since January 2016, Shanann has served as an independent representative for the company “Le-vel”, which markets “Thrive” health and wellness products.
address
Shanann Watts and her family live in a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house at 2825 Saratoga Trail in Frederick, Colorado. The Watts purchased the house with a $392,709 loan in April 2013. The house is valued at $583,500 (as of 2020).
Shanann Watts’s House
The disappearance of the Watts family
Around 1:48 a.m. on August 13, 2018, Shanann returned home from a business trip to Arizona; her friend and co-worker Nickole Utoft Atkinson drove her to the airport.
Nickole Utoft Atkinson, friend and colleague of Shanann Watts
After Shanann missed her OB/GYN appointment and business meeting and did not respond to messages, a concerned Nickole went to her home around 12:10 p.m. Upon arriving home and finding no one responding, she notified Chris (who was at work at the time) and filed a report with the Frederick Police Department. Around 1:40 p.m., an officer arrived to conduct a welfare check and spoke with Chris to discuss how to find his missing family. During the welfare check, Chris allowed the officer to check the house, but Shanann and the children were gone. The search team found Shanann’s purse (which contained her phone and keys), her car (which was in the garage), and her wedding ring (which was found on the couple’s bed). The next day, the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation. Initially, Chris told police he did not know the whereabouts of Shanann, Bella, and Celeste and had not seen his wife since leaving get off work at 5:15 a.m. on August 13. He gave interviews to multiple news channels pleading with his family to come home, which aroused police suspicion.
Murder and legal proceedings
On August 15, 2018, Chris was arrested for failing a polygraph test and subsequently confessed to the murder of Shanann. According to Chris, he was having an affair with a woman named Nichol Kessinger and when he asked her to separate, she strangled several children.
Chris Watts and Nichol Kessinger
He claimed he strangled Shanann in a rage, then transported the three bodies to the remote oil storage site where he worked. He was fired the same day he was arrested. Authorities found the bodies on August 16 on the property of his former employer, Anadarko Petroleum; the children’s bodies were hidden in oil tanks, while Shanann’s body was buried in a shallow grave nearby.
Shanann Watts burial site
Shanann Watts Where the Children Were Hidden
On August 21, Watts was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, along with one count each of child abuse for “causing the death of a child under the age of 12 for whom the defendant was in a position of trust”; unlawful termination of pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a corpse. At his first court appearance, he was denied bail, and at a later hearing, bail was set at $5 million, of which Chris had to pay 15% in order to be released. On September 1, Watts paid $750,000 and was released pending legal action. In an interview with Dr. Phil, Chris’s attorney claimed that he confessed to murdering Shanann after an argument over his divorce. As he was murdering her, Bella walked in, and Chris told her that her mother was sick. Chris loaded Shanann’s body into the back of his work truck, and his daughters sat in the back without car seats. He then strangled both children with a blanket in the back seat of the truck. On November 9, he pleaded guilty, and as part of a plea deal, the death penalty was not offered at the request of Shanann’s family. On November 19, Chris was sentenced to five life sentences: three consecutive and two concurrent, without the possibility of parole; an additional 48 years for unlawfully terminating his wife’s pregnancy; and 36 years for three counts of tampering with a corpse. Watts’ $5 million bail was revoked and he was immediately remanded in custody awaiting trial. On December 3, 2018, Chris was transferred to an out-of-state location for safety reasons, and on December 5, 2018, he arrived at Dodge Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in Waupun, Wisconsin.
Facts/Trivia
- Shanann and Chris filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Colorado federal court in June 2015. Chris was working for Anadarko Petroleum at the time, and the two had a combined debt of $44,800 to repay. The bankruptcy case was closed in October 2015.
- In July 2018, Shanann and Chris’s homeowners association, Wyndham Hill Master Association Inc., filed a lawsuit against them for $1,533 for some financial reasons.
- The story of Shanann and her daughter’s murder was the subject of numerous television and news programs; 20/20, the ABC News television magazine, and the American talk shows Dr. Phil and The Dr. Oz Show all devoted special episodes to the family tragedy.
Dr. Phil discusses Watt murder
- On January 26, 2020, Lifetime released a film based on the case, Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer. Sean Cryer and Ashley Williams starred in the film as Chris Watts and Shanann Watts, respectively. According to Shanann’s family, they were not aware or consulted about the film’s production until it had already begun production. They also added that the filmmakers were making money from it and they were worried that it would add to the harassment they were already receiving.
- In September 2020, the Netflix documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door, directed by Jenny Popplewell, was released. The documentary contains archival footage of the case without narration or acting. The documentary also includes social media posts, law enforcement recordings, text messages, and home videos.
- She loves dogs and has a dachshund named “Dit” who went to a friend’s house after Shanann’s death and Chris’s arrest, but currently lives with her brother Frankie.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education