Crazy Chris Watts Blames Blames Wife, Mistress, and “Temptation” For Taking Out His Family
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2025
⏱️ 18 minutes
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Summary
Convicted family murderer Chris Watts continues to deflect blame for the brutal 2018 killings of his pregnant wife and two young daughters, according to disturbing jailhouse letters obtained by Knewz.com. In a series of handwritten messages from behind bars, Watts shifts responsibility to his late wife Shanann, his former mistress, and even spiritual temptation—while continuing to describe himself as a "good man."
Watts, now 39, is serving multiple life sentences without parole at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin for the murders of Shanann Watts, 34, and their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. The horrific killings gripped the nation in August 2018, when Watts initially pretended to be a grieving husband and father during media appearances, only to later confess to the crimes after being confronted with damning evidence.
But in letters written to acquaintances, friends, and even addressed to God, Watts portrays himself as a victim of circumstances. He calls Shanann a “control freak” who, he claims, ignored his emotional needs and drove him into an affair with co-worker Nichol Kessinger.
Kessinger is also vilified in the letters, which Watts uses to describe her as a “harlot” and “evil woman” who lured him with “flattering speech” and “lust in her eyes and flesh.” Despite these deflections, Watts offers little genuine remorse, even referring to himself as “still a good man” led astray.
A source close to the case called the letters "a masterclass in manipulation, self-pity, and blame-shifting."
“Instead of owning the unimaginable crimes he committed, Watts casts himself as a weak, misguided soul corrupted by others,” the source said. “Chris Watts is not a victim. He is a calculating killer who refuses to take full responsibility—even now.”
Watts’ deception began almost immediately after the murders. On the day his family was reported missing, he gave emotional interviews on local news, pleading for their safe return. Behind the scenes, however, law enforcement uncovered surveillance footage of him loading his family’s bodies into his truck.
He later confessed that, in the early hours of August 13, 2018, he strangled Shanann in their home while she was still pregnant with their son. He then drove their daughters to the oil site where he worked, smothering each one before hiding their bodies in oil tanks and burying Shanann nearby.
Watts avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to five counts of first-degree murder on November 6, 2018. He was sentenced to five life sentences, three to be served consecutively and two concurrently, along with additional time for unlawful termination of a pregnancy and tampering with a deceased body.
Despite his continued attempts to revise history and cast blame on others, legal experts and observers say Watts’ actions—and his words—continue to reveal a deeply narcissistic and remorseless individual.
“He wants the world to see him as someone who was cornered,” the insider added. “But the truth is far more horrifying—he planned this, carried it out, and now, even years later, he’s trying to rewrite the story.”
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Brewski. |
| 0:06.6 | Convicted family. |
| 0:07.8 | I don't know why we have this sort of music playing for this, but it's kind of a weird one. |
| 0:15.1 | But it kind of felt like the grocery store with the intro. |
| 0:18.5 | Maybe that's it. |
| 0:26.7 | Tell the Chris Watts story to this music no but is there good any good music for this i i don't do nothing really fitting when it comes to this guy i mean i |
| 0:33.4 | i don't do music behind stories anymore on this show. |
| 0:43.4 | Unless it's like more of a produced piece, but just doing the news like this and discussing. |
| 0:44.5 | Yeah, I don't want to do it. |
| 0:56.4 | A convicted family murderer, Chris Watts, continues to deflect blame for the brutal 2018 killings of his pregnant wife and two young daughters, according to disturbing jailhouse letters obtained by Knews.com in a series of |
| 1:03.6 | handwritten messages with from behind bars Watts shifts responsibility to his late wife Shannon, his former mistress, and even |
| 1:14.0 | spiritual temptation while continuing to describe himself as a good man. |
| 1:20.2 | Which is the last thing he is. |
| 1:22.7 | He is not a good man. |
| 1:25.5 | Yeah. |
| 1:26.0 | I mean, talk about cognitive business. |
| 1:27.2 | He's a monster. |
| 1:29.0 | It's delusion, you know. |
| 1:31.7 | Watts is now 39. |
| 1:33.3 | It's serving multiple life sentences without parole at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin |
| 1:39.3 | for the murders of Shannon Watts 34 and their daughters Bella 4 and Celeste 3. |
| 1:45.2 | I've driven by that prison. |
... |
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