Some people live their lives in the moment.  Others live in great amounts of paranoia. Even though the world can be undeniably beautiful, the world can be quite a dangerous place. For example, there are about 24,576 homicides committed each year in the United States alone. 15-week pregnant Shanann Watts and her 2 daughters likely thought their normal, in-the-moment life was beautiful until all three were reported missing in 2018.

34-year-old Shanann Watts loved to show off her amazing family on social media. On June 11, 2018, Shanann Watts posted a video of her revealing her pregnancy to her husband, Chris Watts. While Watts appeared to be excited about the pregnancy with exclamations of, “That's awesome," and "I guess when you want to, it happens," Chris Watts later expressed his worry about having another child. 

On June 27, 2018, Shanann Watts took daughters Cece and Bella to North Carolina for a 5-week vacation at her parents’ residence. Unfortunately, Chris Watts had to stay behind to work. While away, Shanann Watts noticed that her husband was acting very unusual - never wanting to talk and being remarkably distant. Chris Watts explained his perceived distance to his wife by claiming he was just tired from work and missed his children. 

While his family was away Chris Watts began an affair with coworker Nichol Kessinger. Chris Watts later revealed to Kessinger that he was indeed married, but falsely claimed to be in the middle of a divorce. Chris Watts went on several dates with Kessinger before leaving Colorado to join his family on their vacation. His reunion with Shanann and their girls did not stay happy for long. 

Upon Chris Watts’ arrival, the family went to his parents’ North Carolina home so their daughters could see their paternal grandparents. Chris Watts’ parents did not like Shanann Watts very much, showing it whenever they could. While at Chris Watts’s parent’s home, Cece was exposed to nuts, leading to a bad anaphylactic reaction. Shanann Watts blamed her in-laws, thinking they exposed Cece on purpose. Chris Watts didn’t say much in the matter, leading Shanann to send him a very long text message expressing her anger. 

On August 9, shortly after returning from her month in North Carolina, Shanann Watts left for a business trip to Arizona. While Shanann Watts is gone, her husband hired a babysitter, saying he was going to a game with his coworkers. In reality, he took Kessinger out on a date to a sports bar. On August 13 around 2 a.m., Shanann Watts returned home and was dropped off by friend Nickole Atkinson, who accompanied Shanann Watts on the business trip. The next morning, Atkinson calls Shanann Watts to make sure she was okay but got no response. Atkinson then went to Shanann Watts’s house, noticed her car in the driveway, and knocked on the door.  Still, Atkinson got no response. Atkinson then called the police to report Shanann Watts missing. 

Police quickly got to the house and called Chris Watts at work. When he arrived, police began investigating the home. Chris Watts tells Denver 7, a local news channel, that he wanted his family back; he needed them to be safe. 

Police eventually made their way to a neighbor’s house to consult their security cameras. With Chris Watts out of the room, the neighbor divulged key details concerning Chris Watts’s recent string of odd behavior. Chris Watts was brought into the police station for questioning. After police left Watts in the room with his father, Watts claimed to have killed Shanann only in response to her having murdered their girls. Watts later redacts that claim, and he eventually confessed to killing both Shanann Watts and his two daughters. Police later find Shanann Watts and their two daughters inside an oil tank Chris Watts often visited for his work.

Chris Watts was charged with the murder of Shanann, Cece and Bella Watts, resulting in 5 counts of murder due to a judge adding an extra count of murder for each of Watts’ two daughters. He also plead guilty to three counts of tampering with a deceased human body and one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy. Chris Watts was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, without parole.

Many people were devastated by the loss of Shanann Watts.  As a mother, a friend and an all-around good person, the void caused by her untimely death left many close to her heartbroken.  Chris Watts currently resides at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, WI where he is serving his three life sentences.  A funeral for Shannan, Cece, Bella, and the unborn Nico Watts was held on September 1, 2018.  

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Pictures come from People.com