Colorado father Christopher Watts pleads guilty to murdering his pregnant wife and two children after taking plea deal to avoid death penalty
- Watts killed his wife Shanann and two daughters Bella and Celeste in August
- Until Tuesday, he claimed she strangled the girls after he told her he was leaving her
- He said he then strangled Shanann in a rage and dumped all of the bodies
- Watts was arrested after making shifty television appearances about the case
- Now, he faces life in prison but has been spared the death penalty as part of the deal
Colorado father Christopher Watts pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife and their two children on Tuesday after striking a deal with prosecutors which means he will not face the death penalty.
Watts had initially denied the murders which happened in August this year. Now, he faces life in prison.
Watts’ wife Shanann and their two daughters Celeste, three, and Bella, four, were found dead in August in oil tanks days after he reported them missing and made shifty television appearances pleading for them to come home.
Shanann was found in a shallow grave in a crude oil field where her husband worked.
Christopher Watts pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and their two children Bella and Celeste on Tuesday after striking a deal with prosecutors which means he will not face the death penalty
It later emerged that he had been cheating on his wife.
When the bodies were found, Watts changed his story to say his wife killed the girls after he told her he was leaving her. He claimed he then killed her in a vengeful rage for murdering them.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to nine counts; four counts of murder (one for each child, his wife and their unborn child), unlawful termination of pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
He will be sentenced on November 9.