Chris Watts, who is serving multiple life sentences for the 2018 murders of his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, has found a new relationship while incarcerated and has applied for a marriage license.
According to a report, Watts, 41, is in a relationship with 39-year-old Lizzie Henderson, an Ohio realtor who has moved to Wisconsin to be closer to the prison where Watts is held. Henderson confirmed the relationship, acknowledging its unusual nature. She stated that the beginning of their relationship is a private matter.
Henderson has reportedly applied to legally change her name to Lizzie Watts. She has also been seen wearing a ring on her wedding finger and has submitted a marriage request to prison officials. Henderson has visited Watts at the Dodge Correctional Institution (DCI) in Waupun, Wisconsin, multiple times, including spending Christmas Day with him in 2024. Prison policy at DCI prohibits physical contact with visitors until the end of a visit, when a 10-second embrace is permitted; conjugal visits are not allowed.
In August 2018, Watts strangled his wife, Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, in their Frederick, Colorado, home. He then transported her body to the site of his former oil and gas industry job, where he smothered their daughters, Bella and Celeste, and disposed of all three bodies in oil wells. Watts initially lied to authorities but later confessed. He cited feeling trapped in his marriage and his desire for a new life with a colleague as reasons for the murders.
Watts has reportedly maintained correspondence with several women since his incarceration. The process for inmates to marry in Wisconsin requires strict criteria and formal approval from the prison warden.