Body of missing pregnant Colorado mother is found after husband confesses to murder

The body of a missing pregnant mother has been found hours after her husband confessed to killing her and their two daughters after pretending to not know where they were for days. 

The body of Shanann Watts, 34, was found on Thursday at the Andarko oil and gas site where her husband Christopher works near their home in Frederick, Colorado. 

The bodies of the children’s two daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three, are yet to be found but police say they know where they are and are in the process of recovering them. 

Shannan went missing on Monday after returning from a business trip at around 1am. Her husband said the last time he saw her was at 5.15am when he left for work.  

In the days that followed, he gave several media interviews where he made conflicting statements before he was finally arrested on Wednesday night.  

Authorities are being extraordinarily tight-lipped about their investigation and are refusing to say how they think Shanann died. 

They would not indicate on Thursday when they think the mother was killed or if the children were alive when she returned on Monday from her business trip in Arizona. 

The Weld County District Attorney asked a judge to seal his arrest affidavit and was granted his request. 

Christopher Watts confessed to killing his wife Shanann and their daughters Bella, four (top right) and Celeste, three, (bottom left) on Wednesday night. Shanann’s body was found on Thursday and police in the process of recovering the two girls’ 

Shanann’s brother complained on Facebook that the police took too long to arrest his brother-in-law 

At a press conference on Thursday, a line-up of different officials from various agencies spoke but none would give firm details on the killings and the man’s arrest record has been sealed 

On Thursday, the DA said he hoped to share more details on Monday when he planned to lodge formal charges against Christopher. 

Shanann’s family, in the meantime, have been left outraged by the investigation. They say police ‘dragged their heels’ in taking Christopher into custody.   

 ‘The cops drug their feet. He was the only one with them and backed his truck into the garage. 

‘Doesn’t take a genius to know who was suspect. My blood is boiling,’ Shanann’s brother Frankie Rzucek fumed on social media on Thursday. 

Police will not yet share what order they believe the children and their mother were killed in, nor will they say what prompted Watts to make his apparent confession. 

The children spent the weekend at home with their father while their mother was away working.  

Shanann had returned from a business trip at 1am on Monday morning. She promotes a weight loss supplement for a living and travels the country to attend sales conferences. 

The pair stayed up having what he described as an ’emotional conversation’ until 5.15am, when he claimed he left for work. 

Hours before his arrest, Chris appeared on NBC’s Today show where he said he had ‘like no idea’ where the family went 

He said he became worried when she did not reply to his text messages later in the morning.

When a friend to the home  Watts said he became panicked when a friend arrived at the home at noon and there was no answer.

Late on Wednesday, he was taken into custody by police in Frederick but he has not yet been charged. 

Police were seen searching the family’s home at the same time. They towed away Watts’ truck and were seen putting other evidence into bags. 

Hours earlier, Watts appeared on NBC’s Today show where he said he had ‘no idea’ where they went. 

‘I don’t feel like this is even real right now. It’s like a nightmare I can’t wake up from,’ he said. 

‘When I got home yesterday it was like a ghost town. She wasn’t here. The kids weren’t here. I have no idea, like, where they went,’ he said. 

However in a separate interview, he told Fox that Shanann told him she was going to a friend’s home with their daughters. 

‘She said she was going to a friend’s house with the kids and that’s the last thing I heard, and that was it. It was very vague,’ he said.  

‘In my heart I believe that she is somewhere and I hope that she is safe.’ 

Elsewhere, he was not so sure. 

‘Right now I don’t want to just throw anything out there. I hope that she’s somewhere safe right now and with the kids. 

‘But could she have just taken off? I don’t know, but if somebody has her and they’re not safe, I want them back now.’ 

Turning to the camera, he made a direct plea to them, saying: ‘Shanann, Bella, Celeste, if you’re out there just come back. 

‘If somebody has her, just bring her back. 

Police remove bags of evidence from the family’s home on Wednesday night. The bodies were not found in the home but on an oil and gas site where the man worked 

The husband’s truck was taken away from their home on Wednesday night. Shanann’s car was still at the house 

Watts said his wife returned to their home (pictured) in Frederick, Colorado, on Monday morning between 1am and 2am from a business trip. They stayed up talking until 5.15am which is when he claimed he went to work. It is not known what he does for a living 

‘I just need to see everybody. 

‘I need to see everybody again. 

The 15-week pregnant mom worked as a brand promoter for the company Le-Vel, which makes the Thrive weight loss patches (pictured in an August 8 photo)

‘This house is not complete without anybody here.

‘Please bring her back.’

When asked if they’d had an argument before she vanished, he said: ‘It wasn’t an argument it was an emotional conversation. 

‘I’ll leave it at that.’ 

Breaking in to a smile, he then said: ‘I just want them to come back. 

‘This has got to stop. Someone’s got to come forward.’ 

Then around noon, he said he saw via their doorbell camera that a friend stopped by, but no one came to the door.

Chris said he raced home but found the house empty, even though his wife’s car was still parked in the driveway, which prompted him file a missing persons report with the police at 1.40pm.