Family annihilator Chris Watts, currently serving multiple life sentences for the 2018 murders of his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and their two young daughters, has reportedly expressed his greatest regret not for the killings, but for pressuring his wife to have an abortion. Two individuals who have recently been in contact with Watts at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin, stated that he frequently discusses his remorse over wanting Shanann to terminate the pregnancy.
Mining his interactions with Watts, Miguel Canteros, who participated in a prison Bible study group with him last year, reported that Watts expressed guilt over asking Shanann to abort their third child. Canteros told The Daily Mail that Watts did not speak about the murders as a source of regret, but rather focused on his actions related to the pregnancy, describing himself as ungrateful for the prospect of a new baby.
Love letters written by Watts to female pen pals appear to echo this sentiment. In a letter reviewed by The Daily Mail in November 2021, Watts wrote to one woman, "I didn't want another child. I was selfish. I didn't want more responsibility. It was wrong of me to tell her to do that, because that's not what she wanted." He stated his wife, a devout Catholic, refused the abortion.
Text messages from Shanann Watts to a friend in August 2018 indicated her husband's negative reaction to the pregnancy. "Chris told me last night he's scared to death about this third baby and he's happy with just Bella and Celeste and doesn't want another baby," she wrote. In another message the same day, she noted his lack of reciprocal touch during an ultrasound, saying, "I grabbed his hand during ultrasound and he didn't grab back."
Watts murdered his family on August 13, 2018. After Shanann confronted him about an affair with a coworker, Nichol Kessinger, he strangled her in their Colorado home. He then transported her body to an oil field where he worked, bringing their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, with him. At the site, he buried Shanann in a shallow grave and suffocated his daughters, disposing of their bodies in oil tanks. Following the murders, Watts initially presented himself as a grieving husband and father in media appeals and police interviews.
Watts confessed to the murders on August 15, 2018, and later pleaded guilty. He was sentenced in November 2018 to life in prison without parole. Shortly after his incarceration, Watts underwent a significant religious transformation, reportedly beginning in early 2019. He has since been observed reading the Bible extensively and participating in evangelical study groups.
Dylan Tallman, who was housed in a cell near Watts in 2020, described witnessing a moment of religious breakdown when Watts saw a television program discussing his crimes. Tallman stated that Watts fell to his knees, confessed his sins, and subsequently turned to faith, attributing this shift to confronting the magnitude of his actions. Some critics, however, question the authenticity of Watts' religious conversion, suggesting it may be a tactic for manipulation or blame-shifting. Psychologists have noted that such "jailhouse conversions" are not uncommon among convicted killers.
In earlier confessions, Watts cited his desire to start a new life with Kessinger as his motive. However, he has since reportedly spoken negatively of her, referring to her as a "jezebel" and a "harlot" and suggesting she led him astray. Kessinger, who has never been charged in connection with the murders, has since changed her name and relocated within Colorado.