446: Part 1: Chris Watts Admits the Murders Were Pre-Planned & Throws Mistress Under the Bus?

October 5, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

On August 13, 2018, Shanann Watts returned home to Frederick, Colorado, from a business trip around 2 a.m. Two days later, her body was found in a shallow grave near an oil drilling site 40 miles away. The bodies of her daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Cece, were found the following day inside crude oil tanks about 200 yards from their mother. Shanann had been strangled. The girls had been smothered. The killer was her husband, Chris Watts, who had already told investigators exactly where to look.

A Marriage Unravels

Chris and Shanann Watts married in 2012. After struggling with lupus and fibromyalgia, Shanann was told she would likely never conceive, making the births of Bella in 2013 and Cece in 2015 feel like miracles. By June 2018, however, the marriage was fracturing. While Shanann and the girls spent six weeks visiting family in North Carolina, Chris grew distant, cold, and unresponsive to her calls and texts. A major conflict erupted when Chris’s parents gave the girls ice cream containing peanuts, despite Cece’s severe allergy. Shanann was furious; Chris seemed indifferent.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:32) **Case Introduction & Episode Structure** - Annie Elise introduces the Chris Watts case, explaining it will be a two-part series covering the murders and the role of mistress Nicole Kessinger.
2 (07:37) **The Crime Scene & Autopsy Findings** - A detailed description of how Shanann, Bella, and Cece Watts were found dead, revealing the brutality of the murders.
3 (09:39) **Marriage, Health Struggles & Early Warning Signs** - The narrative traces the Watts' relationship from their wedding through Shanann's difficult pregnancies and the onset of marital strain in June 2018.
4 (15:12) **The Final Days & Shanann's Suspicions** - In the week before the murders, Chris's behavior becomes increasingly cold, and Shanann explicitly voices her fear that he is having an affair.
5 (18:12) **Chris's First Interview & The Affair Exposed** - Chris denies any wrongdoing in a police interview, but investigators quickly uncover his affair with coworker Nicole Kessinger.
6 (24:57) **Evidence of Premeditation** - Chris’s actions before and after the murders suggest planning, including searching for a two-person car and trying to sell his house.
7 (27:08) **The Polygraph & Chris's First Confession** - Chris fails a polygraph and initially confesses, claiming Shanann killed the girls and he killed her in a rage.

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Show Notes

The Chris Watts case may be one of the most infamous family annihilation cases ever, but years later, there are still details that leave people questioning whether we got the full story. In Part 1, dive back into Chris and Shannan’s marriage, his relationship with Nichol Kessinger, and the shocking reason he is suddenly back in the headlines.

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1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me.

2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case,