The Watts Family Murders

Killer Psyche

Audible | Treefort Media

Exhibit C, True Crime

4.6 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Retired FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong examines the chilling case of Chris Watts, the seemingly devoted husband and father who killed his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two young daughters in 2018. Beneath the picture-perfect surface of their Colorado home was a troubling combination of financial pressure, marital discord, and a secret affair. And as Chris began envisioning a future unburdened by responsibility, emotional detachment and his own self-interest gave way to an act of irreversible violence. Candice explores the mindset of a family annihilator, the calculated calm Chris maintained as suspicion mounted, and how a desire for reinvention led to the destruction of his entire family.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	A listener note, this episode contains adult content and is not suitable for everyone.
0:08.0	Please be advised.
0:18.9	In the 2014 film Gone Girl, Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunn, a man who comes home one day only to discover that his wife, Amy, has gone missing.
0:31.6	Nick becomes the prime suspect for a few reasons, the most glaring being recent marital disputes. Nick's affair
0:40.6	with the younger woman and his lack of emotion throughout the investigation. In one memorable
0:47.2	scene while at a press conference, Nick smiles for the cameras while standing next to Amy's missing poster.
0:56.8	Despite the growing narrative against Nick, we soon learned that he is innocent.
1:03.4	Amy orchestrated the disappearance herself.
1:07.6	In 2018, a similar case played out in real life.
1:13.2	Standing in his driveway in Frederick, Colorado, Chris Watts addressed the media.
1:19.8	His pregnant wife and two daughters had disappeared just one day before, and he pleaded for their return home.
1:27.4	But unlike Nick in Gone Girl, Chris knew there would be news. and he pleaded for their return home.
1:32.5	But unlike Nick in Gone Girl, Chris knew there would be no reunion.
1:35.5	He knew his family was not missing.
1:42.0	In hopes of pursuing a new life with a new woman, Chris murdered them,
1:48.3	thinking the only way forward was to destroy everything behind him.
1:51.5	He was so, so wrong.
2:00.8	From Audible Originals and Tree Fort Media, I'm Candace D. Long. And this is Killer Psyche. For five decades, I studied people's minds through my work as an FBI profiler and psychiatric nurse.
2:31.2	I've interviewed countless murderers, including many serial killers. Why did they do it?
2:39.4	To get a satisfying answer, we have to dive deep into their minds so that I can give you my
2:45.3	best analysis of what made them do what they did. This episode is the Watts family murders.
2:58.6	Frederick, Colorado, August 13, 2018.
	...

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