Lena Derhally - My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer

Contents

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Chapter 3:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

Chapter 7:

Chapter 8:

Chapter 9:

Chapter 10:

Chapter 11:

Chapter 12:

Chapter 13:

Chapter 14:

Chapter 15:

Chapter 16:

Chapter 17:

Chapter 18:

Chapter 19:

Chapter 20:

Chapter 21:

Disclaimer

The information in this book has mostly been taken from the Frederick Colorado Police Department and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Discovery documents from the investigation of the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her daughters. The story and analysis in this book are based on numerous interviews, text messages, e-mails, internet searches, and body cam footage from the police and CBI documents, as well as Shanann Watts social media videos and posts. Other sources, including academic journals, books, and interviews that were not part of the discovery documents are included in the footnotes and Bibliography.

The thoughts, views, and opinions are solely the authors and not necessarily the authors employer or any groups or individuals affiliated with the author. The psychoanalysis in this book is not intended as definitive truth, as it is speculation and opinion based on the authors professional opinion and expertise. The author has never personally met Chris Watts or anyone affiliated with this crime and is not officially diagnosing any individual with a mental illness.

Most important, the blame for this tragedy lies entirely upon Chris Watts. It is important to remember that there are many victims in this tragedy, not limited to the families, friends, and law enforcement. The author wrote this book with the objective of understanding tragedies like this one, in hopes of preventing them in the future.

Introduction

When I saw Chris Wattss television interview when Shanann and her daughters first went missing, I was struck by how indifferent he was to their disappearance. Like many others who watched that interview, I was drawn into the case immediately and followed it obsessively from that moment on.

As a mental health professional who works with couples and specializes in relationships, I couldnt quite wrap my head around how someone so seemingly normal his entire life, with no warning signs or red flags, could do something so heinous and evil. In my opinion, there was no way Shanann would have been able to tell she was married to someone who was capable of something this atrocious. In fact, I believe she thought Chris was completely incapable of something like this. For most of her marriage, up until she left for North Carolina for her summer vacation, she felt safe with Chris. She trusted him implicitly.

I know that many people who followed this case have had so many questions: Was Chris a nice guy who had a break from reality? Was he an evil psychopath? A narcissist? Something else? If he is a psychopath, how did he hide it for so long? How did Chris become like this? Was he born like this, or did he become this way over time? Were there any warning signs? Are there warning signs that I can look out for, so this doesnt happen to me?

These are all questions I have attempted to answer in this book, using my professional expertise in Imago Relationship Therapy and psychotherapy, and with the help of a criminal psychologist, a neuroscientist, and a journalist. I am aware that people following this case have many diverse beliefs, opinions, and views, and I respect and honor them all. I share my opinions in this book, not because I believe it is the gospel, but because I wanted to contribute something meaningful and substantive to the discussion, and hopefully help bring some knowledge or closure to those who still struggle to move on.

While retelling this story, I recognize that it would be impossible to report the full truth. There are different sides and perspectives to many of the stories in this book, and we probably will never know exactly what happened. All I can do is report the different perspectives that I am aware of, and let the reader make their own judgments of what they believe to be true. The only account we have of what really happened to Shanann, Nico, Bella, and CeCe the morning they died is what Chris has said in several confessions he has given. There is no way to know what parts of his accounts are true, but I told his version of events in this book because that was the only account I had.

Many of the people who are familiar with this case will already know some of the information presented in the book because they have poured over the discovery documents countless times themselves. I felt it was important to retell the story for those who were not familiar with the case and for everyone reading the book to use as reference when they read the psychological exploration of Chris and the story of the Watts family murders.

There was no way anyone involved in this tragedy could have seen it coming. The only thing we can do is try to learn from situations like this going forward. My hope is that we can prevent abuse and violence if we have more of an understanding and know what signs to look out for. By understanding important relational dynamics, attachment theory, and the traits and characteristics of Chris Watts and people like him, people can either leave a bad situation before its too late, or they can get the help they need before things reach a point of catastrophe that they can never come back from.

Ultimately, this book was born out of a desire to understand how something like these murders could happen and to explore ideas of how, individually and collectively, we can try to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Although we cannot bring back Shanann, Bella, CeCe, and Nico, we can honor the beautiful legacy they have left behind.

Chapter 1

Is Shanann ok?

Monday August 13, 2018

Nicki Atkinson had a sinking feeling she couldnt explain when she woke up on the morning of August 13. Only five hours earlier, she had returned home to Frederick, Colorado, from a quick weekend business trip in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her best friend, Shanann Watts, but she couldnt shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Shanann and Nicki, both promoters of lifestyle products called Thrive by the up-and-coming Le-Vel company, were always in contact. Shanann in particular was incredibly motivated after these trips. Without fail, after a Le-Vel getaway, she would contact Nicki first thing in the morning. Shanann would jump on social media as soon as she woke up and would post on Facebook, sometimes earlier than seven oclock.

This morning, something was different. When Nicki rolled over to check her phone, expecting her usual bombardment of text messages from her friend, nothing was there. Shananns three- and four-year-old daughters, Celeste (known to all as CeCe) and Bella, were early risers. Shanann also had an appointment with her OB-GYN that morning to check on the status of her third pregnancy, and she had a busy day ahead of her. No way would she still be sleeping.

Besides the fact that Shanann was fifteen weeks pregnant and had a high-risk pregnancy because of several autoimmune diseases with which she struggled, she had been uncharacteristically emotionally distraught over the last several weeks. Her marriage, which she had thought was close to perfect, had been crumbling before her eyes, and the sudden change in her husband, Chris, was completely out of left field.