Sword and Scale - Episode 130

Episode Date: January 26, 2019

On August 13th, 2018, expectant mother Shanann Watts and her daughters Bella and Celeste were reported missing from their home in Frederick, Colorado.  As if vanishing into thin air, her vehicle was left locked in the family garage, her purse and wallet remaining on the kitchen counter.  Husband and father Christopher Watts was the last to see them alive in the early morning hours, and his claims grew increasingly more bizarre as he spoke openly to the media in the hours and days after their initial disappearance.  With every interview given, it became clear that Chris Watts was hiding much more than just their disappearance.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. The horror that she felt is the man that she loved wrapped his hands around her throat and choked the life out of her must have been unimaginable. have been unimaginable. Hello and welcome back. This for another year of Sword and Scale. It's going to be a great one.

Now, some stuff happened about a month ago, which has led to our decision to move off of the Patreon platform. If you're a supporter, first of all, thank you very much. You can continue to be one if you go to swordandscale.com and click the donate link. There's a PayPal button where you can make either one-time donation or recurring monthly donation. Now, you won't be able to get additional content right now, but we are working on a new platform that we control, which will be hosted on our own website. Once that happens, we're going to let you know all about it and we're going to tell

you all the reasons behind why we are deciding to leave Patreon. It's a very, very important step, if you believe in free speech. I'll be it, not one we were expecting, anticipating in any way or prepared for. So thank you for your patience while we work on this very complicated transition. For the time being, you can continue to be a supporter on Patreon, if you wish, and continue to receive the benefits of doing so.

It shouldn't be too much longer, we expect to have an announcement in just a few weeks. So with that said, let's get right into this story. A story which unleashed the rage of the nation. Marriage can be fucked up. As someone who's been divorced twice, admittedly, and has some experience in these matters, let me tell you that it indeed can be. Now before the flurry of righteous indignation hits Twitter with its bitching and moaning,

let me explain what I mean. For a small percentage of the lucky few, marriage can be a beautiful and incredibly romantic institution, a bonding of two souls, forever, in the presence of friends and family. Unfortunately, statistically, for most, it is not that. It is not that at all. It is instead an expectation, a cultural norm, something that eventually starts to lose its original intention, and

starts to feel more like an outdated self-imposed trap, a cage, a prison. What other ceremony bonds two people together forever in love, with such time-honored words whispered before a kiss, such as, till death do us part, till death, one way or another. For the lucky among us, death comes by way of old age, illness, or accidentally, hence the addition of that annoying little insignus and in health part. But for others, death comes prematurely, by much darker and more sinister means. It comes at the very hands of the ones we love and trust the most are supposed soulmates. It's almost as if the very concept of marriage belongs to another time. It doesn't mean quite what it used to, where the explosion of the internet bringing social

media, online dating, and for some, the ability to act on their most forbidden, lustful urges with a few simple clicks and a swipe of the finger. It's no wonder many of us are left constantly longing for more. We live in a world where we are completely immersed in people presenting only their best lives online. The Instagram generation. The Instagram generation. A world that leaves us all wanting something newer or something better by its very design. Chris and Shenan Watts were very much part of this world. Most of their lives were broadcast, live online for friends, family, and prospective business clients to see.

But the perfect husband and father everyone so adored and envied hid a deep, dark secret. He wanted out. He wanted a new beginning. And instead of violating the sacred vows he took at the altar by filing for divorce, he kept true to his words, till death do us part and committed one of the most heinous and well-documented I don't expect that he will ever tell the truth about what truly happened, or why. Even if he did, there is no rational way that any human being could find those answers acceptable responses to such horrific questions. The best we can do is try to piece together some kind of understanding from the evidence that is available to us. And the evidence

tells us this, that offended coldly and deliberately ended for lives. Not in a fit of rage, not by way of accident, but in a calculated and sickening manner. She nan was 34 years old. She had married the defendant in November of 2012. Over the weekend leading up to August 13th, she had been at a work conference in Phoenix, Arizona, and returned home in the early morning hours of August 13th. We know that she got home about 145 in the morning.

The doorbell camera on their home shows her arriving back home from the airport. Shortly thereafter, at least according to the defendant, they had a what he referred to as an emotional conversation about the state of their marriage and about what their lives would look like going forward. What was said during that emotional conversation only he knows. What we do know is that shortly after that, the defendant strangled her to death with his own hands.

We know that he slowly took her life the morning of August 13th. We know that this was not done in an uncontrolled vengeful manner that he'd try to describe to agents from CBI and the FBI. If that were the case, you would expect to see vicious, horrible bruising about her neck, shoulders and face. You would expect to see the highway bone in her neck broken. You would expect to see some kind of defensive wounds on his body as she struggled and fought for her own life. None of those are present. Beware the quiet man. For while others speak, he watches. And while others act, he plans. And when they finally rest, he strikes. The well-known anonymous proverb warns us of the

quiet man, and all that he is capable of. Perhaps Christopher Lee Watts is that quiet man. A textbook introvert. A non-confrontational pushover. This case has garnered national attention over the past four months and continues evolving on an almost daily basis. But one consistent theme in the story we are about to tell is that no one, not even family and friends closest to Chris, could have ever predicted, just how vicious and unforgivable a final strike he was quietly planning. Monday, August 13, 2018. A picturesque, sunny 89-degree afternoon in the former coal-mining town of Frederick, Colorado, 34-year-old Shenan Watts has gone missing. She is 15 weeks pregnant,

and was dropped off at home in the early morning hours by friend and business partner Nicole Atkinson after a weekend business trip to Phoenix, Arizona. Nicole sent a flurry of texts and tried calling Shannon throughout the morning to see how she was feeling and if she made it to her doctor's appointment that day. Around noon, Nicole grew increasingly more concerned and brought her son Nick to the Watts home to check on Shannon, fearing she may have suffered a medical emergency inside. After repeated calls to Chris, who claims she took the kids to a friend's house that morning,

after talk of the separation, Nicole checks in at the family clinic where Shenan was supposed to report for her appointment. She was a no-show. So the Atkinsons head back to the Watts Residence and call police, requesting an emergency welfare check for a business trip this weekend. Right. And I dropped her off at 2 o'clock this morning. She's 15 weeks pregnant.

She wasn't feeling well. And she had a doctor's twin this morning at 9. And I told her to let me know if she needed me to take her. She's got two little girls. And she was very distraught over the weekend. Was it eating normally or drinking? And we kept trying to force it on her because she's pregnant. Her husband and her supposedly are separating. but she didn't know that she thought they

were just having issues. He disclosed that to me today. As I called him and I was like, have you talked to her heard from Shanan since you left the work this morning because I can't get hold of her. I called, I texted, her cars in the garage, her shoes, she wears every single day right in the front door. She always won vehicle. No, they only have the one vehicle and it's work track.

Shanan's husband Chris works as an operator for Anadarko Petroleum, and left earlier in the morning around 5.30 AM for work site, Survee 319, a desolate area with a small clearing containing two large oil tanks at the end of a rural dirt road, approximately 60 miles from the Watts residence. He texted a colleague the evening before that he planned to arrive on early Monday morning and spend a few hours alone at the work site. Do you mind calling him and seeing if we can get a passcode to this and get him permission to go in?

I'm just going to check the back seat. I ain't going to see anything. Officer Scott Kuhnrod, the first to arrive on the scene, begins a systematic search of the perimeter of the Watts residents. With Nicole's son Nick and Toe entering the backyard through a wooden gate and peering into each window of their posh, half million dollar, five bedroom, 4,100 square foot home. I just want to look at all the windows, my car, I'll see anything out of it. Do they? Do they? With every window tap going unanswered,

Officer Kunrad works his way around the large two-story home more quickly, jumping down into each basement window well and cupping his hands up to the glass, trying to look for any sign of foul play. You can't pass as much you see signs of... Yep, I've got to have more unless I get consent from him to go in. This could be Grandparents came and picked them up, you know, it could be a lot of things. Left her phone or phone's dead.

And it does change it, right now. No, I mean. It's different rules, but they're all about that. Yeah, you've got your fourth minute rights to the house. Yeah. I can't violate that. That's why. I feel good.

I feel good. I feel good. No. I mean, if I saw her laying on the ground, something like that, so I'm science about fighting anything. Kids were, I could get all the kids, not mom's that answering. I got nothing right now though. Officer Kuhnrad and Nick Atkinson stand on the rear second story deck, peering inside the large glass sliding doors, looking for something, anything to warrant a forced entry inside. That's when the Watts next door neighbor Nathaniel Trinistich yells at them from his

deck across the yard, curious as to why police have quickly surrounded his neighbor's home, setting off his security cameras in the process. How you doing? Do you see any neighbors today? No, okay. What was that? Oh, we're just trying to get a hold of her. Well, actually, I'm feeling too good and pregnant, and they're just concerned.

No, I know he looks really like a film, but he's on a certain day in the office. just concerned. You didn't see her today though, outside or anything? Okay. Right. Nick joins the neighbor Nathaniel down at the shared fence, where he explains that shenan is possibly diabetic and has regular issues with her blood sugar. Reaffirming Nicole's initial concerns that Shanann might still be inside experiencing some sort of medical emergency.

But officers see no sign of Shanann, or her daughter's Bella and Celeste. It doesn't make any sense. No one has left the house since Chris did for work that morning, and there are no obvious signs of entry from outside. Officer Koonrat examines the front entry of the home again, peering inside, seeing nothing out of place. He re-approaches Nicole near the garage while she's still on the phone with Shenan's mother and asks for Chris' phone number. He dials it and the phone rings for nearly 30 seconds until Chris finally answers. Hey Chris, I'm Sir Kunrad for the police department. Pretty good. So, do you have any idea where your wife is?

Chris crafts a similar story for Officer Kunrad thatanan had decided to take the kids to a friend's house for a play date. Officer Kunrad indicates that he is concerned that Shanan may be inside experiencing a medical emergency and that she can't get to the door. Chris alerts the officers that the garage keycode entry pad is broken and that he will be home in just five minutes. So Officer Kunrad radios dispatch to stay stage medical support in case they find shenan unconscious inside. And then they wait. Nick approaches Officer Coonrad at the front door and asks, how long it will be until Chris

arrives home. Chris implied that he's still about five minutes out, so he could arrive at any moment. As anticipation grows, Nick leans in and shares his concerns with Officer Koonrad. That something with Chris's story is off. Way off. The neighbor has a camera system. We have one story. way off. After a few additional loud knocks on the front door and calling out for anyone inside to make themselves known, Officer Koonrad turns around just in time to see Chris pull up in his brown F-250

work truck. He pulls just past his house and parks on the street, jumps out, and runs around the front of his truck opening the passenger door to grab his remote garage door opener before joining the growing cadre of officers on the front sidewalk. They avoid the small talk and get right down to business. Because it's your house, you can go inside with us if you'd like, or you could stay out here. It doesn't matter to us. It doesn't matter. I mean, free reigns, whatever you get to do.

OK. I can show on the back some stuff. OK. All right. Whatever you'd like. How long have you guys been married? So, you've been together right here. Married to the next issue.

Okay. And this is very unusual behavior. I'm not leaving that all right here. Okay. Chris is evasive with officers from the moment he arrives home. Dodging questions and running off on fools errands every few minutes

while they try to assess the situation. He enters the home through the garage as the front door has a hinged deadbolt bar locked from the inside, his cell phone chiming wildly along the way. To the officers, it makes sense. The alerts are most likely concerned friends and family members reaching out to share their thoughts and prayers with Chris as they start the initial stages of the search, maybe offering to help in any way they can, printing missing persons' fires, making phone calls, anything to offer their support. Only that isn't the case.

That isn't the case at all. Many of the repeated texts and an incoming phone call, which Chris answers shortly after officers first enter the home, are from his colleague and 30-year-old mistress, Nicole Kessinger, who heard about Shannon's disappearance and is worried about Chris. Yeah, I flew out there and I thought I'd like convinced him to like try to make peace with her. And I was like, if you guys work on this, like, about, because what's the point? Like I'm not trying to be with somebody that's in another relationship, which I know that sounds silly given the whole relationship that we had in the first place, but I really

was out of the impression that they were separating. I mean, it was like reiterated to me so many times that that's what I thought it was. And it made sense to me too, because like, he could pretty much call me whenever he wanted. Like, I also want them to tell him, like, hey, when your kids are awake, you need to spend time with your kids. Like, do that. And then, after they go to bed, like, if you want to talk are awake, you need to spend time with your kids. Like, do that. And then after they go to bed, like, if you want to talk to me,

you can talk to me. But I was never like this super, super restricted thing. Like, sometimes, right after work, if I was like still talking to him, I get kind of bummed out. And I, you know, I'm just like, oh, it's frustrating sometimes, like having to like wait,

but at the same time, I was never like, this is horrible, or you know, it was always like this is horrible or you know it was always like I should lie but then once his kids were asleep he never like had any it was like he could do what he wanted do you know what I'm saying like he was in his basement and she's upstairs and they're not speaking so it kind of made sense it wasn't like speaking or talking or whatever you know I mean and it was just it was like I said it was at certain times for that time and originally it wasn't but it was me that

time frame on there because I thought you should hang out with kids. Multiple sources reveal that Chris had developed a growing sense of resentment towards Shenan over the past six months. He claimed that she could be very controlling and demanded his participation in all facets of life that helped her to project a certain image of success to her online business client tell. She was involved in a series of multi-level marketing schemes, each of which promised its own level of success, and encouraged members to sell products, and the image of an ultra-successful lifestyle, directly to their personal social networks.

The warning signs of deeper financial trouble in the Watts home were there all along. No, no. I mean, he told me like he had a budget of restrictions. So for his apartment, and I'm pretty sure this is in the text, and this will probably be in the last couple of weeks, he told me 1,100 to 1,400 when I was asking him. Like, because I told him I had to do homework. I was like, you do small work, I'll do small work. We'll knock this out because if you guys are for real potent house up, you got to figure it out.

And so that was his budget. And I remember asking him, I was like, you sure you don't wanna just get like a house. And he's like, I never thought about a house. I'm like, you can rent houses man. Like, it's a thing. And he's just like, I don't know if I can afford that. I was like, okay.

And I knew that those two had been through some financial trouble. I definitely found out a lot more about that situation in the newspaper recently. Okay, so prior to the newspaper, how did you know he was in financial difficulty? When I went to the house, everything in there is very, very, very, very nice. It looks like it all comes with a very expensive price tag. And I didn't say anything to him about it, but I could kind of tell then where I was just looking at everything like how do you guys

For this and then he has that car This I don't know how much that car costs, but I got a little car that Lexus I'm sure that thing costs like 80 grand, but just like money like everything just look like it costs a lot of money in that house You probably have a decent idea of how much money he makes. Yeah, and it's not enough money to pay for all that Not even close lot of money in that house. Kessinger claimed that Chris had insisted that he and Shenan were already separated and had been for months when they started dating. He claims that a pending divorce was already in the works and that he and Shenan had been sleeping apart for some time. The emotional remnants of their marriage, all but gone, leaving only a stale contractual agreement remaining

between the two. Though she is very reluctant to share the intimate details of her and Chris' relationship with the police at first, not wanting any part of the developing story, police later discover a series of revealing texts between her and her best friend Charlotte about Chris less than 24 hours before Shenan and the girls went missing. Nicole. Been kind of hanging out with a guy recently, keeping it a secret. Dude loves to eat pussy. Never met a man who does till now.

I just let it happen, LOL. Charlotte, where did you meet this man? Nicole. I don't know, man. Sean never ate me out one time. Charlotte, I don't think it's you, man. Some guys are just lame with that stuff. Nicole, the fact he takes care of his kids

is a good thing, I think. He's all about his kids. Charlotte, how old is he? Nicole. The fact he takes care of his kids is a good thing, I think. He's all about his kids. Charlotte. How old is he? Nicole. 33, I think. I just feel like I will always be second place, like he's been there done that. It's early, though.

We will see. He's very kind to me, though, and he works out so he's super sexy. Chris had been working out. Religously. works out so he's super sexy. Chris had been working out religiously and taking better care of his body since he and Shinnan had started a fitness regiment called Thrive. He had lost nearly 45 pounds in that year alone and began clandestinely dating Kessinger in June about the time he dropped the weight and gained the confidence to cheat on his wife. The first time in the Canada, yeah.

Okay. So when you guys come home to usually use the front door, the garage door, how do you guys? I usually open the garage door, come in. Okay. She's front or garage, it's kind of tense. Okay. Is that a ring out there? Oh, that was... No, the doorbell, is that a ring doorbell? Yeah, like when you got the visitor it does, and but I don't think the speaker is on the word you hear it like by...

Okay, my question, I guess my question for you is what it should show her leaving with the kids. Did you have any alerts? If she came out here, yes. Did you have any alerts today? Just when her friends were here. Does it only record when the doorbell rings or anytime someone? You're like right It should start the proximity should hit up. Okay any of you out any

Anything on that today just her friend and what time was that? And I brought back to ask him this afternoon. Okay But nothing between the time when she got here No, she got here to only think about it. The morning? Yeah, two o'clock this morning, 148 on here. And the only thing that was weird was that the garage door set is let open after I left.

And it might have been the sensor, but like my phone doesn't show when that went in. For a year or a long? Yeah, it doesn't show if it shuts. For a year or a long through. For your alarm. Yeah, it doesn't show if it shuts. I heard your alarm through. Visit. Okay. But the Nikki, her friend, that was, that came here about 12th times she said the garage door shot would you get here? Okay. That was one of my thing, those weird. Right. Where are you gonna hang out? Out there, you wanna come in here.

Police began their exhaustive search of the house while Chris paced nervously outside on the front porch. Upon entering, they immediately spot Shenan's purse on the front porch. Upon entering, they immediately spot Shenan's purse on the kitchen counter next to Chris' phone. He eventually reenters the home and begins aiding them in the search. At one point, alerting officers, that he has found her wedding ring on a nightstand in the master bedroom, and a few minutes later, calling out that he had discovered her phone tucked in between the cushions of an upstairs couch. Shanann's friend Nicole briefly touches her phone, but pulls her hand away and shock,

realizing something must have gone terribly wrong with her friend. None of it makes any sense. Chris' behavior is extremely bizarre. He is oddly calm and talkative for a husband whose wife and children have vanished into thin air without a trace. And the house, no obvious signs of struggle. Every fiber of shenan's being still present inside the home that was locked from the inside until police arrived.

Her purse, ID, wallet, phone, and wedding ring, plus the children's medicine. All of it casually strone about the house as though she had simply vanished into thin air. The signs, though subtle, begin to accumulate and paint a much darker picture of what actually happened. How'd you say to kids, where? Very neat. I'm having too little kids. Who's got asthma? I don't know. Kids need medication too, and apparently they didn't take their medication either. That's less the kid. Mm-hmm. That's still beautiful for an ambulance. It's a little fun in Hailey. Police continue to methodically search

every square inch of the house. They move through the unfinished basement, while despite its bare appearance, is remarkably well organized. With plastic totes lined up against nearly every perimeter of the home and up onto stacked shelves, each one containing a printed label identifying the contents inside. A lot like the story's criss-cross was telling in neatly little packaged lies.

They proceed into the garage to examine Shenan's luxury Lexus SUV, but nothing appears out of the ordinary. Until they go into the master bedroom, where the king-size mattress sits stripped entirely of any bedding, the four massive or neatly carved wooden pillars protruding awkwardly up from the otherwise naked bed. The patterned top sheet is missing, and officers begin to notice more signs that something is terribly wrong. car seats are in the car, keys are in the admit, are on the center council of the car, the cash overs, ID, everything's still here. Fones here.

While the officers continue searching upstairs, Chris, Nicole and two officers are talking in the kitchen, trying to clarify all the different stories Chris has told family and friends since first learning of shenan's disappearance a few hours prior. Chris stands in the kitchen. His lips tightly burst and his feet firmly planted, rocking back and forth, avoiding eye contact with Frederick Police Detective Dave Baumhover, who was asking him a series of questions. Chris describes how he woke Shenan up before 5am and that the two had an emotional conversation. Chris allegedly revealing to Shenan that he wanted to separate. Meanwhile,

the three officers continued on with the search, discussing what they perceived to be growing and consistencies in the story thus far. Front door is locked. Was the deadbolt locked? The top deadbolt, you can open it like three inches in the lock. Okay, so she had to get out the through the garage. The garage because this door is closed locked. And it's a slider lock. She had to leave too. So is your garage store pad work? No, no, no.

There's like, there's a red gate right here. And every time, like, it got something right something right here got busted and it like pulled out So like you have to like hold it down, but it just it won't do anything It's two three eight five is the code, but I can never get to do it. Can you call it the garage from right here? I got to have a you got to have the Opener. Yeah with you and so does she have an opener? Yeah opener. Yeah. And so does she have an opener? Yeah. Let's go see if there's an opener. Is it? Is it? Is it a physical opener or is it a program near the car? It's a physical one, like on the dash. On the, uh, visor. And then there's one as you walk out search the Lexus. Shenan's only garage door opener is still secured to the visor, leaving little possibility

of her voluntarily leaving the house with the children, and then shutting the garage door. Casting further doubt on Chris' explanation of the events of that morning, they test out the stationary garage door button near the entry door, clearly demonstrating that there is no physical way that Shenan could have hit the button and run out of the scared back into the hospital. She might have been friends or in Thanksgiving, fell in love with the place. I heard she went to the litter. She had many friends around here?

Just friends? Yeah. Yeah, she's got friends in Frederick, Erie, Aurora. That part of Erie Brunefield, Parker. Have you tried to contact in here? Yeah, we've exhausted every option. I'm just wondering if I'm going to do a hospital. I mean, hotels, I mean, there's so many, but...

And no one's heard from her today? Have you checked your bank accounts? That's what nothing else can do, because I don't have access through here. Let's go check those and see if she pulled any cash out or... If there's any strange charges or anything. Okay. Can you log? I can't log in because she does all the finances.

Okay. So I know her password. I don't have her. You're already not sure what she would have used that way. Time of home is blowing up. No, you're fine. Who do you guys banked here? USAA and Chase. Can you call them and see if there's any activity?

Any withdrawals or anything? And then the suitcases that she came home, the smalling width, which ones were the ones that were the ones that were the ones that were there? Not the one in the bedroom. That was from the last trip. We were, when we just got back a few days ago from North Carolina. She went to Arizona like two days later. The officers continue grilling criss in the driveway as he scrolls through the phone, unleashing a litany of questions as a story grows more and more unlikely. How much money does she usually carry with her?

Do they have any stockpiles of cash in the house that she may have taken? As police realize that Chris is the last person to have seen Shanan or the girls, one officer leans in towards another and reminds him to turn on his body camera. There's suspicions quietly turning towards Chris, as they approach his work truck parked on the street. In the back, they find a fire extinguisher, a large diameter hose, a shovel, a gas can, and multiple toolboxes. Are these the instruments of a cold-blooded killer, or simply the tools of an oil-field worker and concerned husband, it might just be a little too early to tell.

There's a saying in law enforcement circles that the first 48 hours in any murder or missing person's case are the most critical. Detectives work quickly to gather information while it is still fresh in the minds of friends and loved ones. They canvass the neighborhood to retrieve any available surveillance video before security systems record over the day's events, working rapidly and often throughout the night to capture the essential details of the case before they are buried and penetrably deep by lost memories and time.

While police see and hear things in the first 48 hours of an investigation that may clue them in early to a primary suspect. Members of the public are usually left in the dark, awaiting critical breaks to be released in the days, months, and even years following an investigation. However, the internet has changed all that. Information is more readily and rapidly accessible and spreads at the speed of public interest. To shenan's closest friends and the police, the doubts quickly begin to outweigh the concerns. Is Chris the caring, distraught husband desperately seeking for the safe return of his family? or a monster hiding in plain sight.

Desperately hoping he hasn't made too many mistakes and covering up his gruesome crimes. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. Hey, hi. What, baby? Say hi, CC. Hi. Look at this monster. This is what I deal with. Like, she's a monster. Don't you jump off the couch.

Oh! Look at this monster. This is what I deal with. She's a monster. Don't you jump off the top? I'm sitting right here, woman. She's a monster. She doesn't stop. Seriously, this kid hasn't met today. No, don't stand my legs, baby. Janan was thriving as a caring wife and mother. But her life hadn't always been so glorious. In 2010, she was coming out of a messy divorce that took place the year prior. And slowly but surely began to feel like a new woman. Until a string of health problems threatened to steal the new life he had been working so

hard to rebuild. Seven years ago, 2010, I went from me being a size 6, which was about 135 pounds for me, to going to a size 1 slash 0, which was a good 20 pounds that I lost. And with losing all that weight in a matter of, I would say, three to four a week period, I was also feeling extremely terrible to the point where I did not want to get out of bed, literally didn't get out of bed for days. I finally drug myself to the doctor's office and made them do all kinds of tests. I wanted to know what was wrong with me.

A part of me was changing. I went from being super energetic, super happy, just all around happy person. I love going out and doing things. I loved getting together with friends. I loved, I mean, I loved working. And it sounds crazy, right? Fast forward about two weeks, which was the first week of May of 2010 when they diagnosed me with lupus.

From there, I was lost. I had no idea what in the world lupus was. Of course, we turned to Google. And what's Google tell you? Google tell you how you're going to die. So in theory, I was freaking out. I was overreacting. I had all these things going on with me, and I had no idea what was going on.

With her newfound lupus diagnosis, the last thing on Shenan's mind was dating, but her friends attempted to find someone who could help raise her spirits. It seemed they were missing their fun-loving, happy-go-lucky friend, and they wanted her back. At that time, I went to a little bit of a depression. I was really sad. All my emotions were everywhere, and I didn't know where to turn. And at the same time, my friend, a mutual friend of mine,

sent me a friend request about eight months prior for Chris. And I deleted it. I had no interest in dating anyone. I wasn't looking for a boyfriend. I was working. I was goal-oriented. I was a dreamer. I've always been a dreamer.

I've always wanted everything in life to be perfect. So anyway, fast forward, in a dark place, all of a sudden I get a friend request from Chris. I said, what the heck, I'll never meet him. He's just a Facebook friend. I have a million of them. Nothing's gonna come of it. Well, two weeks later, we finally meet on a blind date. Sometimes love finds us when we least expect it. Though Shenan hadn't planned on anything serious coming from accepting Chris' friend request, their relationship quickly flourished.

From there, I couldn't get rid of him. I tried. He wouldn't go away. He was stuck. I drug him to a colonoscopy. I drug him to rheumatology appointment after rheumatology appointment. I drug him to my spinal tap which was awful. A student did it which I'm all four people learning but now I'm gonna come to a spinal tap. So that was really rough and ended up falling in love with him. On November 3, 2012, Chris and Shenan got married

in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple's venue was simple and quaint. They were surrounded by close friends and family and everything was perfect. Throughout all of Shenan's ups and downs, Chris was by her side. They were a team, and together they rediscovered the old Shenan. In 2013, the newlyweds relocated to the small town of Frederick Colorado, just 27 miles north of Denver. This city, just under 9,000, sits along the front range of the Colorado Rockies, boasting

amazing mountain views and vintage brick buildings adorning the downtown streets. With low crime rates and a close knit community feel, Frederick's town motto, Build on What Matters, promised new residents a safe and enjoyable foundation upon which to raise a family. Chris found work as a mechanic at the Longmont Ford dealership on Alpine Street, while he and Shenan focused on building their new lives together.

With that being said, my husband and I had two beautiful girls, very healthy kids, little baby monsters, as I'd haul them, but I was and I had two beautiful girls, very healthy kids, little baby monsters as I'd haul them, but I was told I couldn't have kids. So I have two beautiful girls that I'm truly blessed with every day that I couldn't thank God for more. In 2014, the couple welcomed their first child Bella into the world. And just one year later, they would have their second daughter

Celeste, both conceived with the assistance of multiple fertility drugs, and both considered a medical miracle given Shenan's extensive medical problems. But life has a way of disrupting even the best-laid plans. In 2015, Chris and Shenan filed for bankruptcy, reporting that they owed over $448,000 in debt, with close to $70,000 of it being credit card debt alone. They needed a fresh start, another beginning. Chris went to work for Anodarko Petroleum, while Shenan signed on with a multi-level marketing company called Levelle. The company boasts vitamin supplements and diet plans for those seeking to achieve a better healthier lifestyle. Shenan signed on with Levelle as a way to stay home with the girls and actively began promoting their products online at every opportunity as a

way to earn extra money for their family. Where most fail, Shenan very quickly succeeded. She sold her way into LaVelle's 80K Club, and was interviewed by the company's magazine where she told them while it was hard at the beginning. She wanted more for her kids and enjoyed being the cheerful stay-at-home mom their children deserved. Shannan used her personal Facebook page to market the products to much success,

building a client base of over 200 at promoting her and Chris' successes along the way. Hopefully Chris will be home shortly. We're gonna go get something to eat and get back to working. I have a lot of calls still lined up for this evening. I'll probably be on calls until about 11.30 tonight, which is a blessing.

Like you guys have no idea what an amazing feeling that is, some of you are like, oh, that's crazy. But I'm helping people. I am changing lives and I'm helping my friends achieve their goals and whatever your dream is, big or small, it doesn't matter. No one has, no one is the judge of what you want to accomplish in life. So don't let anyone tell you any different. You know, whatever it is that you want to accomplish, whatever you want to do as far as your dreams. Write them down, you guys, seriously.

With Lavel without Lavel, you don't have to be with us to have dreams. Write them down and execute them. Shenan loved the freedom working for Lavel brought, and the time it allowed her to spend at home with Bella and Celeste. Life was good, and prosperity continued to grow for the Watts family. They had their dream home and a great community and both Chris and Shenan had jobs they enjoyed. They began traveling and attending all expense paid vacations on Shannon's company dime, promoting a picture perfect family and careers for all to see online. Hey everybody, so Chris and I are sitting here waiting to board our flights to Miami

and then we're going to fly all the way back home to Sierra Girls in Denver. So we're super excited. It's been a wonderful, wonderful, amazing experience this week. Lavelle definitely outdid themselves. Literally this place has been paradise. We've had amazing days, spent the days at the beach, at the pool, nice to know our island. We went to the spa.

What else we do? All the different lounges at night, all the different food, high-stitch. Sharon. The amazing, amazing food. I mean, seriously, I think I gained 10 pounds 12 here. Hey Kevin, but it's been super amazing. We took it all in. We had a blast. We had a wonderful cocktail party on Friday night with LaVelle. Super inspiring. I can't say how great this trip has been. This trip is definitely by far one of my favorite trips ever. And I got this kind of with my husband. That's the best part.

We are in this trip. All inclusive. I mean, you can't eat that, you guys. That's everything's paid for. You're drinks,, your food, everything by LaVelle. So it's been super amazing, probably having, you know, 15 hours of sleep the whole week. It's been fun. We got to mingle with our families and all our friends that we've created through LaVelle. It's been awesome to also see people

that have been following me and were able to pull me out of a crowd and say, Hey, are you shenan? And that's gonna do so awesome. Like so awesome that I've been able to inspire people like that. So we are grateful Extremely humble and blessed the shenan always had plenty to say and most of the videos promoting their lifestyle of success online Chris remains silent. Friends and family would routinely describe him as the textbook introvert. But his commitment to Shannan and the girls was self-evident. They adored him, and they looked up to him as the leader of their family. The adoration in four-year-old Bella's voice is unmistakable.

My daddy, the hero. As 2018 came into focus, things appeared to be getting better for the family of four, a growing bank account, success in their new careers, and beautiful children. All a direct reflection of their combined love and respect for one another in the holy bond of matrimony. One thing about Chris and I, we have a, Kristen and I, I think have an amazing relationship. We get each other. I'm definitely the dominant one in the relationship. He's very sweet, he's very calm. I'm the high, high strong one in the relationship. So it's been a really good relationship. Like we get along really well and so I'm grateful for that.

But we've been together now going on six and a half years and we haven't done as much as we've done this past year. This past year since we've been thriving like the summers here in Colorado, there's always stuff to do. Like there's always events every weekend, Fridays through Sunday, every weekend. There's something going on downtown Denver or or in Boulder, or just even in our town. There's like fireworks or balloon festivals or anything

like that. There's so much to go going on here. And we've never taken a vantage of it like we have this year because every time we get off work, it's usually one happening and we're just exhausted. We're done for the day. Like we want to go home, eat dinner, and go to bed, and that's what our lifestyle was prior to thrive. And so talking to my friend this morning, it was really, it brought back flashback of how Kristen and I were just over a year ago. And it's been truly nice to be able to,

for Kristen to come home after 11, 12 hour day, me being with the kids alone all day and starting my day really early because I like to get up early now and it's great to be able to still do things after a long day. Go out with your family, whether it's to walk around the neighborhood or go to the park or go to any festivities or activities that are going around your town. They were literally thriving and everyone around them knew it. And Shannan made sure to remind them every single day on social media. You see, Thrive, one of Levelle's signature products, is a three-part nutrition regimen that combines vitamin capsules, a lifestyle shake mix, and their DFT or Derma fusion technology patch designed to bring the user maximum physical and mental performance.

Day in and day out. As long as you are thriving, nothing can stop you. Nothing can get in the way of you conquering your dreams. Not even an unexpected surprise announcement that Chris clearly wasn't ready for. Sweetie, sweetie. I like that shirt. Really?

Really? That's awesome. So pink means... That's just the test. I know. I just think the pink is gonna be girls. I don't know. It's just the test.

That's awesome. Guess when you want to see what happens. Wow. As if things couldn't be more perfect, shenan surprises Chris and the world, via Facebook Live, that they are expecting their third child just two months before her and the girls go missing. She is pregnant and he seems a little unsure

about how to appropriately respond. A moment so pure and so personal, projected live and in color for their entire social network and potential customer base to experience together. To Chris, the prototypical introvert, it must have been hell. Hell to have your entire life half scripted for you. Neatly wrapped up in a bright colored nutritional patch and put out onto the internet for everyone to see. But was the daily show the constant performance enough to finally break him? The man standing in their driveway now on August 13th, surrounded by police. His life over the past year a glorified series of ongoing sales pitches

was it enough to drive him to do something, something unthinkable, to Shenan, Bella, Celeste, and their unborn son, Niko. The where, the quiet man. Shenan Watts and her two daughters, three-year-old Celeste and four-year-old Bella, vanished on Monday. Their startling disappearance, triggering a statewide alert, as police and the FBI focus on her home outside Denver where she was last seen. As news of their disappearance begins to spread, Chris, Nicole, Nick, and Officer Koonrod head over to the next door neighbor's house. The one who's claiming he had a surveillance camera pointed out from his front door, looking directly into the Watts driveway.

There was a camera and all five of them stand in front of a television set in his living room watching the video together for the very first time. Before they can even turn the recording on, Chris starts in preemptively explaining precisely what he was doing that morning and what they are sure to see in just moments on the surveillance footage. I'm hoping you're to rubbers today. So what was I supposed to do? Was this on continually recording? Yep. Well, it's not. It's a motion or something.

Okay, so it's motion. Any motion that meant that that and that and that. But I get cars driving from this street, from this street. And this is him at 570 or so. The entire time the neighbor is playing the footage, Chris is looking straight down into his phone, as if he's afraid at what might be revealed at any moment on the tape. And then he looks up in relief. I'm here and I'm here. He's here to run out of things out there all the tools I have to bring in. After seeing that his neighbor's truck obstructs most of the view, Chris points to the screen

to explain to Officer Kunrad what he is doing. After the clip is played though, Chris turns away from the television screen momentarily. His eyes bursting wide open as he takes an excessively loud deep breath and places both his hands on top of his head, fingers interlocked, sying heavily with relief. He turns back to watch the looping camera footage and begins to nervously rock slowly left to right. His mouth, a gait, eyes wide open, His mouth, a gap, eyes wide open, and his face goes to white as they watch the footage together another time through. Once he realizes that there is nothing of concern clearly in view, he turns back to the officer.

My detective just showed up, so he'll probably want to talk to you. You'd probably, like I said, you might have to call the bank and see if there's any kind of activity. Because if there is any sort of action out there, I would have got it. Right. We have issues the other week when people come to us doing stuff out of like garages and stuff like that. And I have to have to have garages right here.

Yeah. So there's someone on me. I can see you're someone trying to Jimmy with his flathead screwdriver. Over there, and it was just like... But if any action were to happen, any cars or anything left at your house, I would've been like right in that area. It's just a quick...

Oh, it'll pick up anything coming down the street. This way, it'll work on your car too. Oh yeah. Watch, I'll show you. There's nothing on here. Everybody's watch that one But like you'll see this car All the way down yeah, we can pick up cars from this way

I get anything kind of this way making this turn So and usually it's not a thick of the car for a year so Yeah, we can pick up cars from this way. And this way I get anything kind of this way and make this turn. So, and usually it's not a thick of the car for a year, so unless they pull it right here, put out a car lock it out. Chris turns away from both men again, and audibly gasps as if in disbelief. They look at earlier video of Nicole pulling

into the driveway at 148 a.m. But there is no sign of shenan on the video. Shortly after Nicole and her son Nick leave the neighbor's house, Officer Koonrod directs Chris to head back towards his house and talk to the other officers on the scene, while he hangs back to collect the neighbor's contact information. There, in neighbor Nathaniel Trinistitch's living room, officer Koonrod is confronted with a brutal reality, one potentially revealing cracks in the otherwise fairy tale love story of Chris and Shenan Watts.

That Chris has a temper, and that things may not have been going so well before shenan and the children suddenly disappeared earlier that morning. There was no way in or out of the house except through the garage. And there was Chris on camera backing his truck up halfway inside making three trips back and forth Loading would appear to be large bags into his work truck at 517 AM over the course of nearly 20 minutes He loads this stuff and he normally just walks back and forth because I get him on the dinner room. What did he usually load up? All he usually has is a munch box, looks back, looks like a computer, and usually a water tub.

That's it. But the fact that he was in here and explaining to it over and over and over, it doesn't look worried. It looks like he's trying to cover the track. You know what I'm saying? Right. And if he loaded his stuff, why didn't he walk in that port? But I can't see what he's doing in the back of the truck.

If he pulled in, he would have got to get up. I didn't know it was my camera's there. Police continue canvassing the neighborhood throughout the evening, placing flyers highlighting the last known whereabouts of Shannan, Bella, and Celeste on every door. Chris Watts settles in for the evening alone. The next day, it's no longer just police scrambling through the neighborhood, searching for clues.

Word has spread, and the media shows up, and Chris begins to talk. Came home from the airport 2 a.m. and I left around 515. She was still here and like about 1210 in that afternoon her friend called showed up at the door. I texted her a few times a day called her say you know but she never got back to me but she was not going back to any of her people as well. And that's what really concerned a lot of people is like, she's not getting back to her.

She doesn't get back to me, that's fine. Like she gets busy during the day. But she's getting back to her people, which was very concerning. And Nicole called me when she was at the door, and that's when I came home. Chris slowly blinks. His eyes weary, no doubt, from a surely sleepless night spent wondering and waiting. And as he did the day before, while police searched his home, he begins rocking nervously, side to side. As all of the excuses and all of the lies come crashing down upon him in the moment, his

curious eyes wondering if police will see that he only called four hospitals in the area the evening before, spending an average of only 40 seconds on each call while searching for his wife and children, would they find out that he continued talking to his mistress Nicole on the phone throughout the evening, who would eventually find out through local media sources that shenan was pregnant, and that Chris had been lying about their separation. Would they find out that a few hours after leaving work on Monday, Chris called the girl's school from the oil tank site requesting to unenroll them because they would no longer

be attending. Would they find out that he Googled the lyrics to the Metallica song, battery from the oil tank battery site just after leaving his home? And that the lyrics include the repetitive chorus, cannot kill the battery, cannot kill the family, beware the quiet man. For while others act, he plans. Right now I don't even want to just like throw anything out there.

Like, I hope that she's somewhere safe right now and with the kids. But I mean, could she event? Could she just take it off? I don't know, but if somebody has her and they're not safe, like I want them back now. Like that's what's in my, like if they're safe right now, they're gonna come back.

But if they're not safe right now, that's the not knowing part. Like if they're not safe, last night I was at every light in the house on, I was hoping that I would just get, just ran over by the kids running in the door and just like they were rushing me, but it didn't happen. And it was just a traumatic night trying to be here." As police continue their investigation with Canaan Kadaverdog searching the home directly

behind him, it becomes clear, there is likely more to the story than Chris is providing. There is no feasible way that Shenan could have left the house with Bella and Celeste on her own free will. The doors are all locked from the inside, and the garage door opener is still secured to the visor in Alexis SUV still parked in the garage. The only possible entry and exit point is covered 24 hours a day by the neighbor's security camera, and Chris' behavior is completely out of the ordinary earlier in the morning. Friends and family describing how he never backs up his truck up to the garage in the driveway in the way observed on the footage for fear that his truck will drip oil onto the clean cement.

Police find pillowcases, and the top bed sheet from the master bedroom in the kitchen trash can, not in the washing machine as Chris had alluded to, but hastily thrown out in an attempt to hide them. In the garage dumpster, they find an Amazon box with a brand new marriage counseling book inside that Shenan had mailed him from North Carolina just two weeks prior, and Chris is hiding more in his phone than anyone could have imagined. A secret app storing hundreds of semi-nude photos of himself and Mistress Nicole Kessinger, and evidence that she represented only the tip of the iceberg of his sexual deviance. As the walls of innocents are rapidly caving in

on all sides around Christopher Watts, all he can do is stand in front of a camera and lie. and in front of a camera and lie, knowing full well, everyone is mere hours away from finding out the horrendous truth, that he is a disgusting, narcissistic, and cruel monster of a man. And we were there not very long, but that time I saw a picture of his wife and one of his kids. And I remember thinking to myself, like, wow, she's so beautiful.

And I took a step back and I was just like, this man has a gorgeous house. He has beautiful babies, he has a beautiful wife, he has an awesome job. Like, why would he wanna leave this? He didn't notify me that he would be, he, if I saw anything through the on his, on Q-Tab, which is his GPS, that he and me, because he was gonna be staying with a friend.

He was rough as an, you know, just, you've future to be an ally stick it in like, but why don't you play all in my hair and playing his arms around my neck. It's like a great fantasy thing. That's all I know, I describe it.

Sort of like, you know, I mean I was sure, I'm going to think you could clip a fuck when you, I actually had to like push them off, you know, one thing. The Lisa and Colorado say they have found two bodies. They believe are the daughters of Christopher and Shenan Watts. He buried Shenan and Nico in a shallow grave away

from the oil tanks. Bella and Celeste were thrown away in the oil tanks at this facility. Different tanks, so these little girls wouldn't be together in death. That is going to do it for part one of this two parts story. If you're a Patreon subscriber, you will get the next episode next week. If you're on the regular feed, by the time you hear this episode, you will be able to download part two right away. Just head on over to patreon.com slash sword and scale.

Thank you for your support. We'll see you next time. you