Chris Watts Reportedly 'Looking into Ways to Appeal' His Conviction
Convicted murderer Chris Watt, who’s currently serving several life sentences for the murder of his pregnant wife and their two daughters, is reportedly researching ways to appeal his conviction.
Sources close to the Colorado felon told People that Watt is currently weighing his legal options to try and appeal his conviction. He’s allegedly been looking into his case and similar cases to find out what would be the best path to follow in an overturn of his punishment.
Christopher Watts is in court for his arraignment hearing at the Weld County Courthouse on August 21, 2018. | Photo: GettyImages
“Obviously, it would be an uphill battle for him, because he pleaded guilty,” said the source, who knows Watt’s legal case. “And with a guilty plea, you forfeit some of your rights to appeal. But that’s not absolute, so there’s a small chance that it could work out in his favor.”
Watt has reportedly talked to some attorney on the phone, but he hasn’t drafted a clear action plan yet.
“I hear it every day, when Bella was talking to me,” Watts told detectives. “When she said, ‘Daddy, no!’”
Christopher Watts is in court for his arraignment hearing at the Weld County Courthouse on August 21, 2018. | Photo: GettyImages
On top of that, Watts would need to find some financial backing since he can’t afford legal representation at the moment.
According to the source, Watts believes he wasn’t in the right mind when he pleaded guilty. “For him, it’s not just about him getting out of jail — it’s also that he hasn’t been able to really have his day in court,” they said.
Watts understand that it’s unlikely his sentence can change, but since he has nothing but time while sitting in prison, he has been weighing his options.
“It’s sinking into him that he could be in that same cell for 50 years. And now he’s trying to decide whether there are any legal remedies for him,” the source concluded.
THE MURDERS
The 33-year-old is currently serving several life sentences after he pleaded guilty to the August 13, 2018 murders of his pregnant wife, Shannan, 34, and their daughters, Celeste, 3, and Bella, 4.
After Shannan and the girls were reported missing by a friend, Watts denied knowing where they were.
His conflictive testimony eventually led police to arrest him as a suspect on the disappearance of his family, and later, a surveillance video showed how he hid his wife’s body on the back of his truck.
He confessed to the murders in November 2018 and detailed the gruesome killings in a chilling interview on February 18.
CHILLING DETAILS
Watts told the Colorado Bureau of Investigation that, following Shannan’s threats of leaving him and taking the children away, he reportedly jumped on her, who was lying on her back in the bed before he started to strangle her.
According to Watts, who is serving his sentence in the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin, Shannan didn’t try to resist him or escape from him, and he thinks she may have started praying.
“You’re never gonna see the kids again, you’re never gonna see them again,” Shannan allegedly told Watts before the fatal attack as a report obtained by People reads.
He also revealed that the girls were still alive as he drove them to an oil field while Shannan’s body was in the bed of his truck. He said he “wasn’t thinking” when he carried the murders.
“If I was thinking, this wouldn’t have happened, or any partial hint of what I feel for those girls and what I feel for my wife, then none of this would have happened. So I wasn’t thinking,” he told officers.
‘DADDY, NO!’
After dumping Shannan’s body, Watts returned to the truck where he smothered Celeste in the backseat while Bella watched. He dumped Celeste’s body and went back to kill Bella, who begged for her life.
According to the report, “Bella asked him in her soft voice, ‘Is the same thing gonna happen to me as Cece?' He is not sure if he told Bella ‘yes’ like a horrible person.”
“I hear it every day, when Bella was talking to me,” Watts told detectives. “When she said, ‘No, daddy!’” Those were her last words.
Watts maintains photos of his deceased family on his jail cell. He talks to them and reads them verses from the bible every day. He also has a book he used to read to his youngest daughter.
After hearing about Watts' cell pics, dozens of people signed a petition asking authorities to forbid Chris from displaying photos of the people he murdered. However, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections said it “has no legal basis for removing the photographs from Christopher Watts."
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