Chris always gravitated toward his father, Ronnie, who was his hero, best friend, and the one person he looked up to. Ronnie was equally attached to Chris. In fact, when Chris moved out of the family home to go to college, Ronnie became so depressed about his son leaving that he started using what Chris had referred to in his prison confession as “white powder.” Chris had tried to talk to him about it, but much like everything else, sensitive topics were off limits in the Watts household and not to be brought up for discussion. This was perhaps why Shanann and Chris’ family struggled to find common ground with each other. Shanann was an open book and the Watts family were very private people.
After Shanann left home, she faced numerous and diverse challenges. In 2002, she married an attorney, Leonard King. They had met when Shanann was in high school, and Leonard described her, not surprisingly, as having a “compelling” personality. When they were married, she worked as a manager for Dirty South, a tire company in Charlotte.
In her Facebook videos, Shanann alluded to the fact that the marriage to Leonard was dysfunctional. Chris had mentioned that Shanann couldn’t be herself with her ex-husband, and she could finally be herself when she met Chris. In any case, the marriage with Leonard was short-lived, and there were no children, so a clean break and a fresh start for Shanann were easy.
From Leonard’s point of view, according to police interviews, he had tried to make things work with Shanann. He said when the marriage was on the rocks, she threw herself into work and wouldn’t come home at night. He had attempted marriage counseling with her, and they had gone to a few sessions, but she just wasn’t interested in working things out. Once the marriage was over, Shanann and Leonard never spoke again.
Post-divorce brought some of the darkest moments in Shanann’s life. Around that time, she became very ill. She went from doctor to doctor, running tests, trying to figure out what was wrong. Eventually, she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to become hyperactive and start attacking the tissues, causing pain and inflammation in joints and organs. Shanann was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a disease characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain. Shanann also thought she might not be able to have children because of an endometriosis diagnosis.
Chris and Shanann met in 2010 when Shanann was in the thick of her health struggles and not at all interested in dating. Chris’s cousin’s ex-wife had suggested that Chris and Shanann become friends on Facebook, guessing they would hit it off. Shanann, although not interested, accepted the Facebook request from Chris, thinking it was just Facebook and wouldn’t amount to anything.
Their first date was at the Epicentre in Charlotte, an entertainment complex. They had planned to see a movie, and the theatre had full-service bar and dining options. It was more of an upscale establishment, not a typical movie theatre, and Chris had shown up in shorts and sneakers. Shanann was not impressed. She had even told him that he wasn’t her type and tried to push him away.
On the first date, Chris was so nervous he couldn’t eat. He knew right away that he liked Shanann, so he pursued her, despite her lack of interest. Chris knew how to win her over and to prove himself indispensable to her. Perhaps he liked the challenge.
• • •
In the early months of their relationship, he would sort her medications for her into a pill box and even went to a colonoscopy with her. Shanann said she knew Chris was “a keeper” after he did that for her. He had proved his loyalty to her, and Shanann knew this type of kindness was exactly what she needed in a partner.
Chris fit the mold of every fairytale. He swooped in when Shanann was sick and at her worst. Despite her best efforts to push him away, he stuck around. He did the things that people usually don’t do unless they’ve been together for years. He showed her loyalty, devotion, and he adored her. He let her be who she was without any apologies.
As a therapist, I tell my clients to look for people who show their kindness through actions. Chris was kind and helpful to everyone he knew. He was a man of few words but certainly a man of action.
This was a stark contrast from her marriage to Leonard, and she began to realize that the way Chris treated her was the way someone should treat the person they love. He had all the traits of a man who would make a great husband and father, and Shanann desperately wanted to be a mother despite her concerns about possible infertility.
Both described the relationship as a happy one. They were young and appeared to be in love. However, much like Shanann’s health, the relationship did not come without its challenges, and those reared their ugly heads early on. In the first year they were together, Chris said his mother was hesitant about Shanann.
In his opinion, Cindy didn’t know how to handle the fact he had a serious girlfriend because he was the “baby” of the family and never dated in high school.
According to Shanann’s mother, Sandi, Shanann wanted to be accepted by Cindy, Ronnie, and Jamie, and in hopes of connecting with them, she decided to have a cookout at her home to introduce her family to the Watts family. Sandi mentioned in one of her letters to law enforcement that the cookout didn’t go well. Sandi said Cindy made comments to undercut Shanann the entire time. Furthermore, Sandi felt that Cindy seemed outwardly suspicious of Shanann and didn’t like that she lived in such a nice house and had expensive things at such a young age.
At one point during the cookout, Sandi said that when Shanann was out of earshot, Cindy leaned over to her and said, “Was your daughter married before?”
“Yes…just like your daughter Jamie was,” Sandi said, uncomfortable with where the conversation was going.
“I just don’t see it,” Cindy said, shaking her head.
“See what?” Sandi inquired.
“I just don’t see or feel that your daughter loves my son,” Cindy replied.
Sandi was taken aback and immediately felt nervous for her daughter. She knew that Cindy would cause trouble for Chris and Shanann. She knew because she had a similar experience with her own mother-in-law. According to Sandi, Cindy and Jamie continued to be distant and aloof with Shanann and her family and never really warmed up to them.
Despite the tepid relationship with Chris’s family, the relationship between Chris and Shanann progressed quickly. They got along well, except for one fight early in the relationship, when according to Chris, Shanann was upset that he had been texting with a female friend.
In 2011, Chris proposed to Shanann at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. Everyone was happy that day, including both families, and it appeared the future was bright after all. Shanann knew exactly what she wanted, and Chris was happy to go along with her agenda. They made plans to marry in November 2012 at the Double Tree Hilton in North Carolina.
Sandi told investigators in a letter that Shanann was having an engagement party, and Jamie offered to help her by sending the invitations out to everyone. Only immediate family whom Shanann had directly invited showed up to the party. It has been said that when Shanann checked with friends to see why they didn’t come, they said they never received invitations.
Shanann was absolutely devastated, as several friends have reported. To my understanding, Jamie and Cindy have said that the invitations had been sent. Although there is no way to know exactly happened with the invitations and why, it seems that Sandi and Shanann believed that Jamie and Cindy were responsible.
These stories from Sandi in the police discovery do not include the perspective of the Watts family who may very well have their own version of these stories. There may have been several misunderstandings, miscommunications and different perceptions of what happened with these events. Nevertheless, Sandi’s testimony and perspective are important to share as they illustrate the animosity and breakdown of trust between Shanann and the Watts family.
Chris told investigators in his prison confession that right before the wedding, he had a blow-out fight wi
th his family and told them he didn’t need them anymore. He even went as far as cussing out his mom. This was extremely out of character for him because he had always been obedient, and this probably fueled Cindy’s negative feelings toward Shanann. Because this was so unlike Chris, Shanann was an easy target to blame. In retrospect, in his prison confession, Chris said he didn’t remember if Shanann had “coached” him to confront his family or if it was just his own built-up rage that had been accumulating over the years. It seems like Chris always had a dark side. Although he hid it well, occasionally it would rear its ugly head when he had seldom outbursts of a rage that had been quietly building inside of him.
Chris’s immediate family did not attend the wedding, seemingly as a result of this blow-out fight. Despite the absence of the Watts family, the wedding was memorable and wonderful for both Shanann and Chris. Shanann looked beautiful in a strapless princess-style gown with a sweetheart neckline and beaded embroidery. Her dark hair was pulled back, highlighting her cheekbones. The wedding colors were purple, to represent lupus awareness, and the men wore purple vests and ties.
Only Chris’s grandmother and best friend, Mark, showed up from his close-knit circle. When it came time for the mother-son dance, as is traditionally done in weddings, Chris danced with his grandmother and Mark’s mother. Anytime in the future when he looked at pictures of his wedding, he said he would always be reminded that his family wasn’t there. It was a very happy day for Chris, but the nagging thought of his absent family always haunted him.
Chapter 10
“I couldn’t have asked for a better man!”
After the wedding, Shanann and Chris decided to move to Frederick, a suburb just miles outside Denver, Colorado. Frederick is a beautifully picturesque Colorado suburb, boasting views of white-capped mountains, serene lakes, and clear blue skies. Shanann and Chris had visited friends there and decided it would be a nice place to move—for a change of scenery, to get away from family drama, and to start a family of their own. Chris and Shanann decided to build their dream house, a spacious five-bedroom, 4½-bathroom home on Saratoga Trail, a quiet street with beautiful views. They lived with a friend for a year while the house was being built.
Chris and Shanann both got jobs at the Longmont Ford Dealership in Longmont, Colorado, Chris as a mechanic and Shanann in sales. They met several of their good friends, including Jeremy Lindstrom, at the dealership. Chris would stay in touch with Jeremy, even after Chris left the dealership for several reasons, including carpal tunnel syndrome.
Chris and Shanann said they used fertility treatments to try to conceive their daughters. With Shanann’s illnesses, getting pregnant was a challenge, and any pregnancy would put significant stress on her body and would be considered high risk.
Chris and Shanann were excited to become parents, documenting the pregnancy on social media and a blog that Shanann created called, “The Watts Journey.” Shanann documented her pregnancy milestones on the blog for loved ones and, most important, for Bella to look back on when she got older.
Shanann posted sentimental things: photos of her growing bump, thoughtful baby gifts, and Bella’s 3D/4D ultrasound. She posted pictures of Chris and her, including one that she captioned this way. “Today is 3 years your daddy and I have been together! I couldn’t have asked for a better man!” Shanann also blogged, sharing a photo of the positive pregnancy test.
In the comments on the post, Chris wrote: “OMG, I was so happy when your mother told me she was pregnant! I felt extremely lucky! I can’t wait to meet you in December!” When the first ultrasound was posted on the blog, Chris commented, “Was a very exciting moment for your mother and I. To be able to see you for the first time was an amazing feeling!”
The blog also seemed to depict happier times between the both sides of the family. There were photos of Shanann with Jamie, Chris’s sister, at the baby shower in North Carolina and of all the gifts with which both sets of grandparents were showering Bella. After a lot of heartache and pain in Shanann’s life, things seemed to be finally working out for her.
Bella Marie Watts was born on December 17, 2013. From the beginning, everyone thought Bella took after her father in personality. She was always calm, thoughtful, sweet, nurturing, affectionate, and quiet. At the time of her death, she had a short, light brown, pixie-cut hair. Her angelic, deep brown eyes had a unique sense of sweetness and innocence to them.
Celeste Cathryn was conceived with fertility treatments not too long after Bella. Chris acted thrilled at the idea of another child. Shanann loved surprises and grand gestures, so she put an “eviction notice” on Bella’s crib and secretly filmed Chris’s reaction when he came home from work and saw the exciting news. Chris seemed elated in the video footage.
Both pregnancies were rough on Shanann, but carrying Celeste was more challenging. Not only would the pregnancy exacerbate her lupus, but having a little toddler at home while having a stressful pregnancy was no easy feat.
Celeste was born on July 17, 2015, and she was the opposite of Bella in personality. “CeCe,” as they fondly nicknamed her, also had the nickname “rampage” because she was so over the top with energy. CeCe had an ear-to-ear grin that took over her entire face. She would often wear her white blond hair in two pigtails on top of her head, sticking up like little cascading fountains. Even though Bella and CeCe were so different in personality, they quickly became the best of friends. They adored each other and did everything together.
At the time, Shanann was working evenings at a call center in a children’s hospital and sold different products on the side for extra income. Because Shanann had difficulties while pregnant, her parents moved in with them temporarily to help. Shanann and Chris were still working to pay bills and keep their house in North Carolina and were in Frederick for a total of fifteen months.
Chris found living in the very full house with Sandi and Frank’s dogs, Dieter the dog, two babies, and four adults stressful, but he got along well with his in-laws and appreciated the help. According to Chris’s prison confession, although Frank and Sandi lived in the basement, Sandi and Shanann clashed from time to time because of their dominant personalities. Chris said he felt he was walking on eggshells because he had to keep the girls upstairs in the morning so he wouldn’t wake Sandi in the basement. When Sandi and Frank started working, they weren’t in the house all the time, and that made life easier because everyone wasn’t on top of each other. Sandi and Frank were devoted and loyal grandparents and a tremendous help to Shanann and Chris.
Shanann started working for Le-Vel in January of 2016 and decided to focus on that full time because it gave her more flexibility to be a stay-at-home parent and bring in income. Shanann sold Thrive, a weight-loss and lifestyle regimen consisting of capsules, shakes, and patches of vitamins, probiotics, and other natural substances for boosting health and energy. When she recruited more promoters to sell products, they worked underneath her in typical pyramid fashion.
Shanann was fully committed to Thrive and was doing well with it. She had earned a car allowance that went toward monthly payments for a Lexus, Lifestyle Getaway, trips to locations such as San Diego and Puerto Vallarta, and she didn’t feel the need to work for anyone but herself. She felt she could focus on being a good mother to her girls and simultaneously bring in income. Chris had left his job as a mechanic and started working as a field operator at Anadarko Petroleum. Anadarko offered good health benefits, a decent salary, and the work didn’t aggravate Chris’s carpal tunnel issues.
Life was good for the Watts family but not without its stress. Beyond Shanann’s health struggles, she had surgery on a compressed disc in her neck in 2017, and the girls struggled with their own health issues. CeCe was diagnosed with allergies, including a life-threatening nut allergy, asthma, and acid reflux. Both girls had tubes in their ears, their adenoids removed, and both took medications.
The cost of Shanann’s surgery, the girls’ me
dical procedures, medications, and private school tuition at the Primrose School put the couple in financial trouble. They filed for bankruptcy in 2015, reporting $448,000 in debt. Their credit cards were maxed out. At the time of Shanann’s death, they would be three months behind in mortgage payments, and Shanann had taken $10,000 out of Chris’s 401k plan to catch up on those payments.
The couple was stressed about money, but outsiders looking in wouldn’t have been able to tell. Shanann was a big dreamer and loved nice things. She painted some of the walls in her home bright colors.
The level of meticulous organization was because of Shanann’s self-professed OCD. She did everything well. Her house was immaculate, she was an excellent cook and baker, and she loved fashion. She would often coordinate her outfits with her daughters’ and Chris’s clothes. Pictures of an idyllic family life adorned her social media pages.
Chris and Shanann seemed, by all accounts, totally in love and devoted to one another. They were doting, affectionate, caring, and loving, in public and in private. Chris was close to perfect in terms of how attentive he was to his family, and Shanann would often say she couldn’t have handpicked a better husband and father. On many occasions, she referred to Chris as the best thing to ever happen to her.
Chris was known in their social circles as an outstanding father. People observed him as being incredibly hands-on with Bella and CeCe. He did everything for his family and gushed about his daughters to everyone who knew him. Most people who knew Chris would easily say his girls were his life. In the mornings, Chris usually woke up first because he had to be at work very early. Often, he would leave Shanann’s, Bella’s, and CeCe’s daily vitamins out on the counter with notes on them. One of the notes to Shanann said: “You are the best leader!! Love you beautiful!!” That day, Bella and CeCe had notes written on their vitamin packets as well: “Bella, Love You” and “Celeste, Love You.”
My Daddy Is a Hero Page 11
