Shanann/Niko, Bella, Celeste Part 1

I hope you have lots of time because I've got several embedded videos, one over 5 hours in length, that I curated into this page to try and give as complete a picture as I could.

   

For some reason this case has caused me to obsessively seek out information and watch videos regarding Shanann's, Bella's and Celeste's murders. 

As this documentary says, much of the information available is all about Chris Watts, how, why, etc. The victims, his wife, Shanann, their 1/2 way to term fetus, Niko, and their two beautiful, pre-school daughters, Bella and Celeste are side actors the main character. The first documentary I have listed here is much more about Shanann and her efforts to save her marriage, her love for her husband and love for her daughters and soon to be born, son. It also has some interesting insights into narcissism, covert (Chris) and overt (his mother) and the dynamics that combined to create the tragic events that Chris caused (not, I didn't say "what happened" because he created the situation and was the prime mover and shaker). 

Shanann Rzucek Story:

 

Police bodycam footage in chronological order the day Shanann, Bella and Celeste Watts were reported missing: Note, when the cadaver dogs are going through the house the barking is very loud on headphones. The house is echo-y (apparently not a word, but hey, I'm a sociologist so I get to make words up like that) and the barking reverberates dreadfully. So, if you don't want a headache, turn the volume down. Also note, there is a spooky bit when the woman handler and accompanying police officer enter Shanann's closet...

Body language analysis Part 1

 

Body language analysis Part 2

Body language analysis Part 3 - interrogation room

 

Bodycam footage with body language and clue notations

Full interrogation:

Right up to the very end, Chris appeared to think he could get away with murdering his family. It was only when he was talking to his father that he seemed to realize that they didn't believe him. However, being the narcissist that he is, he could not fathom that he would be arrested for it. So he copped to murdering Shanann and used the defense of righteous indignation that she killed her babies, something that no one who knew Shanann could ever conceive of let alone entertain for even a millisecond.

I've seen very good interrogation tactics (e.g. the interrogation of Col. Russell Williams) and this one was close to that. Though they had to pull out all the stops to get him in the end. All to get the bodies of Shannan/Niko, Bella, and Celeste so that their family could say proper goodbyes. 

In court for sentencing after agreeing to a plea deal that will convict him of murdering Shannann/Niko, Bella, and Celeste. He previously said that Shanann murdered the girls and he killed her in a fit of rage.

FBI, CBI, and Fredrick police interview of Watts in Dodge Correctional Prison in Wisconsin

 

Part 1:

 

  Part 2:

  

The letter he wrote to Cheryln Cadle which was included in her book, "Letters from Christopher" and his newer and less sanitized version of how he planned and then executed Shanann/Niko, Bella and Celeste. The You Tuber also put the text over pictures so you can mute it if you don't like the rather electronic voice that reads the letter. 

This letter proves that his family was not important in the least to him. For a time they were very useful to help him maintain a façade that stroked his ego. He was the good guy who helped people, an adoring and doting father, a loving husband who would do anything for his wife and family. His desires changed when he met Nichol Kessinger. It was then that his family became extra baggage that was weighing him down. He didn't want anything of his old life, that included his children. They were no longer useful to him. However, Chris mixes truth with lies so it's hard to tell anymore and really the hows and whys are less important to me than the fact that he fully admits that he snuffed the life out of a pregnant woman and two helpless preschool children.

Not only that, he spent years lying about Shanann to his friends so that they would always doubt her. He also lied to his own family about her, not that his mother needed much of an excuse it seems. He was the good guy who remained married to a woman who treated him poorly, who faked her illnesses, etc. He was the long suffering man who was there for his kids. They had a nasty awakening to discover that he was, in fact, duping them. All the while Shanann was lauding him. Her family thought he was the best and said so frequently, in stark contrast to his mother's opinion of Shanann (made crystal clear in her many interviews prior to Chris's acknowledgement that he murdered his little girls).

Full table of contents for case file 

Full redacted (edited) case file

Police audio of first interview of Nichol Kissenger

Police video of second interview of Nicol Kissenger

Do I believe that Kessinger knew of his plan to wipe out his family? Maybe. She may have deleted stuff that made it look like she had more knowledge, or perhaps she wanted to ensure that the police didn't know how much knowledge she had. Was she directly involved? I doubt it. One thing is for certain, she  has only a nodding acquaintanceship with the concept of being honest. The police may have looked at her, they may still be looking at her, but lack sufficient evidence to get them anywhere. 

So now, those people who would have labelled Shanann as a controlling shrew, who forced him into a place where he just had to kill his entire family just to escape, can shut up. The Rzuceks have shown far more compassion, far more grace, and far more class, than anyone in the Watts family, both through Shanann's marriage to Christopher, and after her murder. They loved him and they accepted him into their family, and according the the FBI agent who saw Chris at Dodge Correctional, still love him.

So sad.