The Watts Family Murders (Part 2)

Episode of Morbid · May 11, 2026 · 2 h 11 min

Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley conclude the Watts family murders, covering Chris Watts's behavior, polygraph, confession, sentencing and reported paranormal events.

Summary

In the second part of their coverage of the 2018 Watts family murders in Frederick, Colorado, the hosts opened by explaining that their original nearly three-hour recording had been lost to a technical failure, forcing a re-record. Urquhart said she had reviewed much of the case's discovery documents and body camera footage, which she described as uniquely revealing of Chris Watts's nonchalant demeanor while his wife Shanann and daughters Bella and Celeste were supposedly missing.

Urquhart recounted details from the documents, including Watts's later admission that he slipped oxycodone into Shanann's food and drinks to induce a miscarriage, his inconsistent answers to officers about bank charges, the stripped bed, the basement bed and his daughters' clothing, and officer reports noting his flat affect. She highlighted his call to disenroll the girls from Primrose School on the morning of the murders, which an FBI agent noted coincided with the tuition due date, his search for Metallica's "Battery" lyrics, and his fixation on his affair with Nicole Kessinger during a polygraph interview in which he scored -18. Both hosts credited Shanann's friends, especially Nicole Atkinson, with preventing Watts from covering his tracks.

The hosts described how agents offered Watts a more acceptable narrative, leading to his confession to killing Shanann while blaming her for the girls' deaths, the discovery of the bodies at an Anadarko oil site, and his later full confession after prosecutors agreed to drop the death penalty. They covered his sentence of three life terms plus 84 years, victim impact statements, his transfer to a Wisconsin prison, and a 2025 letter in which he blamed his mistress and women generally. The episode closed with reported paranormal incidents at the house and a fun fact about birds becoming intoxicated on fermented berries.

Chapters

0:00
The lost recording
The hosts explained that their first recording of the episode was lost despite hours of recovery attempts, and they re-recorded with extra safeguards.
6:24
Body cam footage and discovery documents
Urquhart described reviewing body cam footage and discovery documents, recommended a commentary channel, and noted an anonymous psychic's tip in the files.
12:46
The North Carolina trip and poisoning
Urquhart recounted Shanann's illness during Chris's visit and his later admission that he dosed her with oxycodone to induce a miscarriage.
24:09
Lies at the house
The hosts discussed Watts's statements to officers about bank charges, shoes, the stripped bed and the basement bed.
43:28
Phone calls and police observations
Watts's 'not too bad' phone call, the K-9 search, and officer reports describing his lack of emotion were covered alongside friends' statements.
1:00:29
Sandy's intuition and Metallica lyrics
Urquhart relayed Shanann's mother's suspicions and Watts's search for Metallica's 'Battery' lyrics hours after the murders.
1:06:57
Primrose disenrollment and the mistress
The hosts discussed Watts disenrolling his daughters from preschool the morning of the murders and his conversations with Nicole Kessinger about the pregnancy and wedding ring.
Linked moment · 1:17:46Skip to 1:17:46 using a listen link in the info box.
1:17:46
Press appearances and the polygraph
Watts's media appearances and his failed polygraph, after which he volunteered his affair, were described.
1:31:09
Interrogation tactics and partial confession
Urquhart explained how agents offered Watts an acceptable narrative and how he confessed to killing Shanann while blaming her for the girls' deaths.
1:38:52
Recovery of the bodies
Police found Shanann's shallow grave and the girls in separate oil tanks, and autopsy findings were summarized.
1:44:25
Later reports, arraignment and sentencing
The hosts covered odd details from the files, the plea deal that removed the death penalty, sentencing and victim impact statements.
2:00:16
Prison, letter to God and paranormal reports
Watts's transfer to Wisconsin, his 2025 letter blaming women, and reported paranormal events at the house were discussed before a closing fun fact.

People

In the conversation

Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid

Discussed

Chris WattsColorado man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters in 2018
Shanann WattsMurder victim, wife of Chris Watts
Bella WattsElder daughter of Chris and Shanann Watts, murder victim
Celeste WattsYounger daughter of Chris and Shanann Watts, known as Cece, murder victim
Nicole KessingerCoworker with whom Chris Watts was having an affair
Nicole AtkinsonFriend of Shanann Watts who reported her missing
Sandy RzucekMother of Shanann Watts
Tammy LeeFBI agent who administered and reviewed Watts's polygraph
Graham CoderColorado Bureau of Investigation agent who interrogated Watts
Michael RourkeWeld County District Attorney who prosecuted Watts
Marcelo KopcowJudge who sentenced Chris Watts
Cindy WattsMother of Chris Watts
Frankie RzucekBrother of Shanann Watts who gave a victim impact statement
Amber FreyWoman who unknowingly had an affair with Scott Peterson and aided the investigation
Scott PetersonCalifornia man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Laci Peterson
Bryan KohbergerMan convicted in the University of Idaho killings

Topics

The Watts Family Murders (Part 1)
Morbid · May 7, 2026 · 1 h 51 min
Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley recount the backgrounds, marriage, affair and disappearance leading up to the 2018 Watts family murders.
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David Muir revisits the 2004 murder of three-year-old Riley Fox, her father's coerced false confession, his DNA exoneration, and the FBI's identification of killer Scott Eby.
MURDERED: Joyce LePage Part 2
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Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the remaining suspects in the 1971 murder of WSU student Joyce LePage, including her roommate Bruce Bierbaum.
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20/20 recounts the 2001 murder of Leslie Prier in Chevy Chase, Maryland, solved 23 years later when genetic genealogy and an airport DNA sting identified her daughter's ex-boyfriend.
The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4)
Morbid · Jul 16, 2026 · 1 h 42 min
Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley conclude their series on Gary Ridgway, covering his later victims, DNA identification, arrest, plea deal, confessions and sentencing.
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Actor Lukas Gage tells Dax Shepard and Monica Padman about surviving a hate crime, a wilderness program, his Kardashians wedding, and his borderline personality disorder diagnosis.

From the publisher

(Part 2/2) When thirty-four-year-old Shanann Watts missed a doctor’s appointment on August 13, 2018, her friends reported her missing to the Frederick, Colorado Police. When officers searched the home, they found Shanann’s car parked in the garage and her belongings—including her wallet, cell phone, and medication—were found in various spots around the house, but there was no sign of Shanann or the couple’s two children anywhere. The next day, the FBI opened an investigation into the disappearance of Shanann, Bella and Celeste and Chris took to local television to give one of the most infamous and suspicious interviews of all time. He asked anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward. The very next day however, Chris failed a polygraph exam and eventually confessed to murdering his wife, but he initially denied killing their children.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime