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The FOX True Crime Podcast

How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer

The FOX True Crime Podcast

Fox News

True Crime

4.7 • 826 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How does a "normal" husband and father commit an unimaginable crime without a single red flag? Emily Compagno sits down with licensed psychotherapist and author Lena Derhally to deconstruct the case of Chris Watts. In August 2018, Watts murdered his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two young daughters, Bella and Celeste. Lena, author of “My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer,” provides an expert deep dive into the psychological profile of a failed psychopath and a covert narcissist. They explore the "slow-build" snap, the role of his mistress, the disturbing details of his confessions, and the terrifying reality of the "discard phase" in narcissistic abuse. The Fox Nation special, 'The Watts Murders: Phases of Deterioration,' is now available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:25.3

He seemed like the perfect husband, a devoted father, the quiet man next door who never raised

0:31.8

his voice, never caused a scene.

0:34.5

To his friends, his co-workers, even his family, Chris Watts was trusted, reliable, normal.

0:42.1

But behind closed doors of his Colorado home, that normalcy was a lie. In August of 2018,

0:48.7

Shanan Watts, who was pregnant with her third child, vanished, along with their two young daughters. At first, Chris pled for

0:57.3

their safe return in front of cameras, but investigators were already seeing the cracks in his

1:02.3

story, the body language, the detachment, and then the truth. Chris Watts confesses. He killed his pregnant wife and two children, his entire family

1:14.1

gone by his own hand. A crime so unimaginable, it forced everyone to ask the same question.

1:21.4

How does someone like this exist? Was he hiding in plain sight? I'm Emily Campano, and this is more than headlines.

2:01.9

In her book, My Daddy is a Hero, how Chris Watts went from family man to family killer.

2:07.5

She takes a closer look at what was really happening inside the mind of Chris Watts,

2:11.8

the narcissism, the need for control, the facade of perfection,

2:16.5

and the reality lurking just beneath it.

2:19.6

So the question remains, why would he do this?

2:23.3

Psychotherapist and author Lena Durholy joins me today to understand the why.

2:30.2

Lena, what made you want to write My Daddy is a Hero and focus specifically on this horrific Chris Watts case?

2:38.0

Yes, that's a great question because it was my first book.

2:41.5

And I'm a licensed psychotherapist.

...

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