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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| He Begged on TV for His Family’s Return. Then He Was Accused of Killing Them. | He Begged on TV for His Family’s Return. Then He Was Accused of Killing Them. |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Chris Watts stood on his porch in Frederick, Colo., on Tuesday, and pleaded in an interview with a television reporter for his missing wife and two young children to come home. | Chris Watts stood on his porch in Frederick, Colo., on Tuesday, and pleaded in an interview with a television reporter for his missing wife and two young children to come home. |
| “Shanann, Bella, Celeste, if you’re out there, just come back,” Mr. Watts said, staring into the camera. “If somebody has her, just bring her back. I need to see everybody, I need to see everybody again. This house is not complete without anybody here.” | “Shanann, Bella, Celeste, if you’re out there, just come back,” Mr. Watts said, staring into the camera. “If somebody has her, just bring her back. I need to see everybody, I need to see everybody again. This house is not complete without anybody here.” |
| But there would be no reunion. On Wednesday night, Mr. Watts, 33, was arrested and accused of killing his wife, Shanann, 34, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and his two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, the authorities said. He faces charges that include three counts of first-degree murder. The police declined to discuss any motive for the killings. | But there would be no reunion. On Wednesday night, Mr. Watts, 33, was arrested and accused of killing his wife, Shanann, 34, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and his two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, the authorities said. He faces charges that include three counts of first-degree murder. The police declined to discuss any motive for the killings. |
| Mr. Watts appeared in court on Thursday afternoon, and a judge ordered that he be held without bond. Prosecutors said in court that they believed Mr. Watts had killed his wife and two daughters in their house, said Krista Henery, a spokeswoman for the Weld County District Attorney’s Office. | |
| His wife and two children had been missing since Monday, and the police had searched his home and scoured the surrounding area with K-9 units. Mr. Watts said in the seven-minute interview that he and Ms. Watts had had an “emotional” discussion before her disappearance, but he declined to go into detail. | His wife and two children had been missing since Monday, and the police had searched his home and scoured the surrounding area with K-9 units. Mr. Watts said in the seven-minute interview that he and Ms. Watts had had an “emotional” discussion before her disappearance, but he declined to go into detail. |
| Ms. Watts’s body was found on the property of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, an oil company where Mr. Watts had worked, the authorities said at a news conference on Thursday. Bodies believed to be those of the two children were later found nearby, the police said that night. | |
| Anadarko said Thursday that Mr. Watts was fired on Wednesday, the same day he was arrested. “We are heartbroken by this, and our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones and friends of the Watts family,” a spokeswoman said. | Anadarko said Thursday that Mr. Watts was fired on Wednesday, the same day he was arrested. “We are heartbroken by this, and our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones and friends of the Watts family,” a spokeswoman said. |
| A news report from Denver7, the ABC affiliate that interviewed Mr. Watts at his home, said that Mr. Watts had confessed to the crimes Wednesday night. The police would not confirm on Thursday that he had confessed. | A news report from Denver7, the ABC affiliate that interviewed Mr. Watts at his home, said that Mr. Watts had confessed to the crimes Wednesday night. The police would not confirm on Thursday that he had confessed. |
| Mr. Watts is being held in Weld County Jail. His arrest concluded a nearly three-day search in Frederick, a town with a population of 12,000 about 30 miles north of Denver. The 20-person Frederick Police Department worked around the clock, and the search effort eventually grew to include the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the F.B.I., the authorities said. | Mr. Watts is being held in Weld County Jail. His arrest concluded a nearly three-day search in Frederick, a town with a population of 12,000 about 30 miles north of Denver. The 20-person Frederick Police Department worked around the clock, and the search effort eventually grew to include the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the F.B.I., the authorities said. |
| Prosecutors have until Monday to file formal charges against Mr. Watts, said Ms. Henery, from the district attorney’s office. | |
| Mr. Watts is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. A public defender assigned to Mr. Watts’s case did not immediately return a request for comment. | Mr. Watts is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. A public defender assigned to Mr. Watts’s case did not immediately return a request for comment. |
| Frankie Rzucek, Ms. Watts’s brother, posted on Facebook on Thursday about “the pain and anger and sadness I have in my heart.” | Frankie Rzucek, Ms. Watts’s brother, posted on Facebook on Thursday about “the pain and anger and sadness I have in my heart.” |
| “My blood is boiling,” he wrote. “Nothing absolutely nothing would get in my way of taking away his life like he did mine and my ENTIRE FAMILY.” | “My blood is boiling,” he wrote. “Nothing absolutely nothing would get in my way of taking away his life like he did mine and my ENTIRE FAMILY.” |
| Members of the community placed teddy bears, candles and roses outside the family’s home on Thursday. | Members of the community placed teddy bears, candles and roses outside the family’s home on Thursday. |
| In the interview with the television reporter, Mr. Watts said his wife had come home early Monday morning from a business trip in Arizona around 2 a.m. He said he had left for work about three hours later. | In the interview with the television reporter, Mr. Watts said his wife had come home early Monday morning from a business trip in Arizona around 2 a.m. He said he had left for work about three hours later. |
| A friend who wanted to check on Ms. Watts found the house empty on Monday and began to alert her family, the authorities said. | A friend who wanted to check on Ms. Watts found the house empty on Monday and began to alert her family, the authorities said. |
| “When I came home, walked in the house, nothing — vanished,” Mr. Watts said in the interview. “Nothing was here: She wasn’t here, the kids weren’t here, nobody was here.” | “When I came home, walked in the house, nothing — vanished,” Mr. Watts said in the interview. “Nothing was here: She wasn’t here, the kids weren’t here, nobody was here.” |