DENVER — A Colorado man was sentenced to life without parole Monday after pleading guilty to murdering his pregnant wife and their two young daughters in August and dumping their bodies on an oil work site. Christopher Watts pleaded guilty on Nov. 6 to three charges of murder in the deaths of his wife, Shanann Watts, and their young daughters Bella and Celeste.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of murdering a child, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the death of the child's unborn son and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.

Shanann Watts and her two daughters were reported missing since Monday. CBS Denver

Calling the crime the most "inhumane and vicious" he had seen in his career, a judge sentenced Watts to consecutive terms of life without parole for each of the killings and to another consecutive sentence of 48 years in the killing of the unborn child, whom the couple called Nico. Watts received additional 12-year sentences on evidence tampering counts.

Prosecutors have said they agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for Watts' guilty plea, after seeking approval from Shanann Watts' family. First-degree murder charges in Colorado require a minimum sentence of life without a chance at parole for adults.

Members of Shanann Watts' family gave emotional testimony during the hearing Monday. Shanann Watts' father called Chris Watts an "evil monster."

"How dare you take the lives of my daughter, Bella, Celeste and Nico," Frank Rzucek said. "I trusted you to take care of them, not kill them."

Chris Watts sentenced to life in prison for killing family

Shanann Watts' mother Sandy Rzucek told Christopher Watts her daughter loved him "with all of her heart" and that her granddaughters "adored you and also trusted you." She referenced a video of Bella, shared widely on social media after the killings, showing the child singing a song about how her father is her hero.

"I have no idea who gave you the right to take their lives," Sandy Rzucek said. "But I know God and his mighty angels were there at that moment to bring them home to paradise."

Rzucek said she asked the district attorney not to pursue the death penalty "because that's not my right. Your life is between you and God. Now and I pray that he has mercy for you."

Christopher Watts, who appeared emotional during the testimony, elected not to speak. He is represented by the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. A lawyer for Watts gave a brief statement on his behalf: "Although he understands words are hollow at this point, he is truly sorry for all of this."

Judge Marcelo Kopcow ruled Thursday that Christopher Watts' parents are considered victims of the crime because they are the girls' grandparents. Victims are allowed to give a statement or provide written comments during sentencing hearings in Colorado. Christopher Watts' mother cried as she spoke, saying that she is "united in grief" with Shanann Watts' family over the killings. She turned to Christopher Watts and told him that she loved him, sobbing.

Through a lawyer, Christopher Watts' family encouraged him to make a full confession. Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said it's likely he will never give a truthful account of what happened and why he carried out the killings.

Rourke said Watts strangled his wife to death with his hands in an "uncontrolled, vengeful manner" after an argument.

"The horror that she felt as the man she loved wrapped his hands around her throat and choked the life out of her must have been unimaginable," Rourke said.

He then smothered the girls, 3 and 4, Rourke said. Defensive wounds on Bella Watts' body showed that the child fought for her life, Rourke said.

Afterwards, Watts transported the bodies in a truck to the oil work site, on property owned by the company Christopher Watts worked for until his arrest. He disposed of the remains separately, Rourke said: "He ensured they would not be together — even in death."

The girls' bodies were found submerged in two different oil tanks, and Shanann Watts' body was found buried nearby in a shallow grave.

A friend asked police to check on Shanann Watts on Aug. 13 when she could not reach her and grew concerned that the 34-year-old who was pregnant with a third child missed a doctor's appointment. Local police initially handled the search and soon sought support from Colorado investigators and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Meanwhile, Christopher Watts spoke to local television reporters from the front porch of the family's home in Frederick; a small town on the plains north of Denver where drilling rigs and oil wells surround booming subdivisions. Watts pleaded for his family to return home, telling reporters their house felt empty without four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste watching cartoons or running to greet him at the door.

Within days, the 33-year-old was arrested and charged with killing his family.

According to court records, Watts admitted to police that he killed his wife. Watts told investigators that he strangled her in "a rage" when he discovered she had strangled their two daughters after he sought a separation.

Prosecutors have since called Watts' account "a flat-out lie."

Police also learned that Christopher Watts was having an affair with a coworker. Watts had denied that before being arrested.

Watts' girlfriend said last week he had misled her from day one, telling her his divorce was almost final. "He's a liar," Nichol Kessinger told the Denver Post. "He lied about everything."

After the killings, Rourke said, Christopher Watts texted frequently with the girlfriend, called a realtor and also took steps to cover his tracks by telling staff at the girls' school that they would no longer be enrolled there.

The killings captured the attention of media across the country and became the focus of true crime blogs and online video channels, aided by dozens of family photos and videos that Shanann Watts shared on social media showing the smiling couple spending time with their children and each other.

Courts records, though, showed the couple's lifestyle caused financial strain at times. They filed for bankruptcy in June 2015, six months after Christopher Watts was hired as an operator for the large oil and gas driller Anadarko Petroleum at an annual salary of about $61,500. At the time, Shanann Watts was working in a children's hospital call center for $18 per hour.

They reported total earnings of $90,000 in 2014 but $70,000 in unsecured claims along with a mortgage of nearly $3,000. The claims included thousands of dollars in credit card debt, some student loans and medical bills.</s>(CNN) - Chris Watts, plead guilty first-degree murder and other charges in the killing of his wife and two daughters was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole on Monday.</s>Colorado man who pleaded guilty to killing pregnant wife, their two young daughters sentenced to life in prison

DENVER (AP) — Colorado man who pleaded guilty to killing pregnant wife, their two young daughters sentenced to life in prison.</s>Man to be sentenced for killing pregnant wife, young daughters

The Colorado man who pleaded guilty to killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters is set to be sentenced Monday.

Chris Watts, 33, was convicted this month in the murders of his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and their daughters Celeste, 3 and Bella, 4.

In August, Chris Watts spoke out to reporters, saying his wife and daughters disappeared without a trace, leaving her purse and keys at home.

“My kids are my life,” he told ABC Denver affiliate KMGH. “I mean, those smiles light up my life.”

“When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here,” he said.

After Shanann and the girls disappeared, Chris Watts stayed with his friends, the Thayers.

“In the 48 to 72 hours we were with him … he was his normal self,” Amanda Thayer told ABC News in August. “He never once cried.”

“He fooled us. And I’m so sorry. We just thought we were doing the right thing by being a good friend,” added her husband, Nick Thayer. “We were duped.”

Within days of the disappearance, Chris Watts was arrested and the bodies of his wife and children were found.

At the time of the killings, Chris Watts was dating another woman, 30-year-old Nichol Kessinger, she told The Denver Post.

They met through work in June and started dating the next month, she told the newspaper.

Chris Watts told Kessinger he had two daughters and was going through a mutual divorce, which was almost finalized, Kessinger said.

At the end of July, Chris Watts told her that his divorce was official, Kessinger said in the report, which was published online last week.

“He lied about everything,” she told the Post.

Watts pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him: five counts of murder in the first degree; three counts of tampering with a deceased human body; and one count of unlawful termination of pregnancy.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors will not pursue the death penalty, the Weld County District Attorney’s office said. The victims’ family agreed to those terms, the district attorney’s office added.

Watts faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.</s>A judge in Greeley, Colorado, on Monday sentenced a man convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters to three terms of life in prison without possibility of parole.

KMGH-TV in Denver reported that Chris Watts, 33, pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the death of his wife, Shanann, 34, and daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.

In addition to the life sentences for the murders themselves, Judge Marcelo Kopcow handed out two more life sentences for charges of “first degree murder by a person in a position of trust,” according to KMGH, for the deaths of Watts’ daughters.

The judge also added a 48-year prison term to Watts for the death of the couple’s unborn child, referred to by family members as Nico Lee, the station reported.

The judge called it perhaps “the most inhumane and vicious crime that I have handled out of the thousands of cases that I have seen.”

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Before Watts was sentenced, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke revealed details of how Watts strangled his wife and smothered his daughters in mid-August, and then disposed of their bodies at an oil and gas site where he works.

Watts buried his wife — 15 weeks pregnant at the time — in a shallow grave and shoved his daughters in oil tanks.

Shanann’s family asked prosecutors not to seek the death penalty in the case.

The deceased’s mother, Sandra Rzucek, explained at the sentencing hearing, “I didn’t want death for you. Your life is between you and God now, and I pray that He has mercy on you.”

Shanann’s father, Frank Rzucek Sr., had harsher words for his son-in-law, describing Watts as a “heartless monster” for murdering his family.

“I trusted you to take care of them, not kill them,” he said. “You have to live with this vision every day of your life, and I hope you see that every day of your life.”

Rzucek ended: “This is hard to say, but may God have mercy on your soul.”

Shanann’s brother, Frank Rzucek Jr., had Rourke read his statement, relating that he is in anguish and struggles to sleep at night.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t cry for my family,” Rourke said, reading Frank Jr.’s statement. “You don’t deserve to be called a man. What kind of person slaughters the people they love the most?”

An attorney for Watts told Kopcow her client is “devastated,” and though Watts realizes his words are hollow, he is “sincerely sorry for all of this,” CNN reported.

Watts was having an affair at the time he murdered his wife and daughters. He told law enforcement that on the morning of Aug. 13, before he left for work, he had informed Shanann that he wanted a separation.

When his family was first reported missing, Watts went on national television saying he hoped they would be found soon.

“My kids are my life,” he said, from the front porch of their home in Frederick, Colorado, about 30 miles north of Denver. “Those smiles light up my life.”

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>Chris Watts, 33, was convicted in the murders of his pregnant wife and their daughters. He spoke out to reporters in August, saying his wife and daughters disappeared without a trace.

(DENVER) — The Colorado man convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters was called a “heartless monster” by his father-in-law at Monday’s sentencing hearing.

Chris Watts, 33, was sentenced to life without parole for the murders of his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and their daughters Celeste, 3 and Bella, 4.

Shanann’s father, Frank Rzucek, said Chris Watts “carried them out like trash.”

“I trusted you to take care of them, not kill them. And they also trusted you,” said Rzucek, who was overcome with emotion. “You disgust me.”

Both daughters died from smothering, prosecutors said.

“Imagine the horror in Bella’s mind as her father took her last breaths away,” Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said at Monday’s sentencing, adding that “Bella fought back for her life.”

Shanann Watts’ family clutched each other and wept as Rourke described how Chris Watts disposed of his daughters’ bodies, shoving them through 8-inch holes at the top of separate oil tanks.

Judge Marcelo Kopcow commented, “This is perhaps the most inhumane and vicious crime that I have handled out of the thousands of cases.”

Chris Watts pleaded guilty to all charges. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors will not pursue the death penalty, the Weld County District Attorney’s office said. The victims’ family agreed to those terms, the district attorney’s office added.

“They looked up to you because you promised to keep them safe. Instead, you turned on your family,” Shanann’s brother, Frank Rzucek Jr., wrote in a statement read in court Monday by prosecutors.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t cry for my family. They were my whole world,” Rzucek Jr. said. “Why would you do this? … What kind of person slaughters the people that love them the most?”

He called his sister his “best friend” and said his brother-in-law “took away my privilege of being an uncle to the most precious girls.”

“Hearing my mother and father cry themselves to sleep … causes me anguish beyond words,” he continued. “I hope you spend the rest of your life … being haunted by what you’ve done.”

“We trusted you,” she said. “Your faithful wife trusted you. Your children adored you.

“I didn’t want death for you because that’s not my right,” she added. “Your life is between you and God and I pray that he has mercy for you.”

Chris Watts’ mother, Cindy Watts, said in court, “I am still struggling to understand how and why this tragedy occurred.”

“I may never be able to understand and accept it, but I pray for peace and healing for all of us,” she said in court, shaking.

His parents said they accept he is guilty and encourage a full confession.

To her son, who sat in just steps away in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, Cindy Watts said, “I’ve known you since the day you were born into this world. I’ve watched you grow from a quiet and sweet child who Bella reminded me so much of.”

“As your mother, Chris, I have always loved you and I still do. I hate what has happened,” she said, crying. “But we will remain faithful as your family … we love you and we forgive you, son.”

In August, right after the killings, Chris Watts spoke out to reporters, saying his wife and daughters disappeared without a trace, leaving her purse and keys at home.

“My kids are my life,” he told ABC Denver affiliate KMGH-TV. “I mean, those smiles light up my life.”

“When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here,” he said.

Within days of the disappearance, Chris Watts was arrested and the bodies of his wife and children were found.

Chris Watts’ attorney, Kathryn Harrold, on Monday said her client is “devastated” and “is sincerely sorry for all of this.”

Prosecutors claim his “desire for a fresh start” to begin a new relationship was a motive for the crimes.

At the time of the killings, Chris Watts was dating another woman, 30-year-old Nichol Kessinger, she told The Denver Post.

Chris Watts and Kessinger met through work in June and started dating the next month, she told the newspaper.

Chris Watts told Kessinger he had two daughters and was going through a mutual divorce, which was almost finalized, Kessinger said.

At the end of July, Chris Watts told her that his divorce was official, Kessinger said in the report, which was published online last week.

Chris Watts pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him: five counts of murder in the first degree; three counts of tampering with a deceased human body; and one count of unlawful termination of pregnancy.</s>Colorado Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Killing Pregnant Wife And Daughters

A Colorado man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to murdering his wife and two daughters.

Christopher Watts, 33, was sentenced to three consecutive life terms, with an additional 12 years each for tampering with each body, The Associated Press reports. He also received 48 years for unlawful termination of a pregnancy, as his wife was 15 weeks pregnant when she was killed.

The case attracted national attention for its shocking details –and because the day before he was arrested, Watts appeared on local television news channels lamenting his missing family and asking for their safe return.

His guilty plea was part of a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.

As NPR's Scott Neuman reported earlier this month, "Watts acknowledged strangling his wife, Shanann, 34, and their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, and dumping their bodies in an oil field belonging to Anadarko Petroleum, where Watts had worked until he was arrested in the case."

At the sentencing, Watts did not speak. His attorney said that he wished to convey that he is sincerely sorry. He has not given a full confession.

Before the murders, Watts was having an affair. Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said that because Watts hasn't explained himself, it's still not clear why he committed the crimes.

"If he was this happy and wanted a new start, get a divorce. You don't annihilate your family and throw them away like garbage," said Rourke, according to The Denver Post.

Shanann's parents and brother had urged prosecutors not to seek the death penalty, the Post reports.

"This is a heartless monster," sobbed her father, Frank Rzucek, from a courtroom podium before the sentence was handed down, according to Reuters. "I trusted you to take care of them, not kill them. Then you take them out like trash. You monster."

Watts' mother Cindy also spoke, looking at her son, who kept his head down.

"I hate what has happened," she said as she sobbed, Reuters reports. "But we will remain faithful as your family. We love you and we forgive you, son."</s>COLORADO – A Colorado man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his pregnant wife and their two young daughters.

Christopher Watts was sentenced Monday, nearly two weeks after pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty. Prosecutors have said Shanann Watts’ family consented to the plea deal.

He also pleaded guilty to unlawful termination of a pregnancy and tampering with a deceased human body. The 33-year-old is not eligible for parole.

Police have said Watts killed his wife, who was 15 weeks pregnant at the time, and daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste, inside their suburban Denver home. The children were found inside an oil tank. Watts was buried nearby.

A friend reported them missing in mid-August. In local news interviews before his arrest, Watts pleaded for his family’s safe return.

Judge Marcelo Kopcow said in his 17 years on the bench, “this is perhaps the most inhumane and vicious crime that I have handled out of the thousands of cases that I have seen.”</s>A judge sentenced Chris Watt to five life terms for the murders of his pregnant wife and two children after his in-laws took the stand in court on Monday.</s>Before learning he would never walk out of prison Monday, Chris Watts sat at the defense table, head down and leg bobbing, as his mother told him she loved him and his slain wife's family called him a monster.

Calling it perhaps "the most inhumane and vicious crime that I have handled out of the thousands of cases that I have seen," Judge Marcelo Kopcow handed down five life sentences -- three consecutive and two concurrent -- with no possibility of parole, in the deaths of Watts' daughters and pregnant wife.

Watts also received an additional 48 years for the death of his unborn son, who was to be named Nico Lee, and 36 more years for crimes related to his disposal of the bodies.

His hands were shackled at his waist and Watts wore an orange jumpsuit. He rarely looked up during the proceeding -- not even when his mother turned around to face him and tearfully said, "We have loved you from the beginning and we still love you now."

The only time Watts spoke during the proceeding was when Kopcow asked him if he wished to deliver a statement. "No, sir," the former father replied.

Before Watts was sentenced, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke revealed horrific details of how Watts strangled his wife, Shanann, and their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, before crudely disposing of them at a secluded site where he worked.

"The man seated to my right smothered his daughters," Rourke said. "Imagine the horror in Bella's mind as her father snuffed out her life. ... She fought back for her life as her father smothered her."

An attorney for Chris Watts followed Rourke's statement, saying her client is "devastated," and though Watts realizes his words are hollow, he is "sincerely sorry for all of this."

Watts, 33, pleaded guilty this month to first-degree murder and other charges. With approval of his wife's family, prosecutors dropped the possibility of the death penalty.

His sentencing comes days after a woman he had been dating told The Denver Post that he lied to her about being near the end of divorce proceedings. She cooperated with police before his arrest, she told the newspaper.

When Shanann Watts and the two girls went missing in mid-August, Chris Watts first told reporters they had gone to a friend's house before later pleading for his family's return in an interview with CNN affiliate KMGH.

"My kids are my life," Watts said, standing on the front porch of their home in Frederick, about 30 miles north of Denver. "Those smiles light up my life."

Watts told the station his wife came home from the airport about 2 a.m., and he left for work about 5:15 a.m. He said the two had an emotional but civil conversation before he left, but he didn't elaborate.

Separately, he told law enforcement that on the morning of August 13, before leaving for work, he had informed his wife that he wanted a separation. They had not argued, but they were both upset and crying, he told police, according to an affidavit.

Chris Watts claimed he had called and texted his wife about three times that morning with no reply, he told KMGH. He said he realized something was wrong when Shanann Watts' friend arrived at the couple's home around noon.

"She just got back from Arizona, and I figured she was just busy, but when her friend showed up, that's when it just registered -- like all right, this isn't right," Watts said.

Three days later, Shanann Watts' body, 15 weeks pregnant with their third child, was found in a shallow grave. The bodies of Bella and Celeste were found in commercial oil tanks at a company where Watts had worked.

After authorities found the bodies, Chris Watts changed his story, telling police he had strangled Shanann Watts in a fit of rage after seeing his wife choking Celeste.

On November 6, Watts pleaded guilty to nine charges, including three counts of first-degree murder and unlawful termination of a pregnancy.

Authorities aren't sure why he killed his family.

After the plea deal was announced, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke told reporters that authorities have a partial motive. He would offer more thoughts after Watts is sentenced, he said.

Other woman tells her side of story

According to an unsealed Weld County arrest affidavit, investigators say they discovered Watts was "actively involved" in an affair with a co-worker.

It's not clear if that was Nichol Kessinger, 30, who told The Denver Post she met him while working for the environmental department of a petroleum contractor.

"We had just met," Kessinger told the newspaper. "I barely knew him."

He wasn't wearing a wedding ring when they were introduced, and she thought he was attractive, soft-spoken and a good listener, she said. When they first met outside of work in late June, he told her he was in the final stages of a divorce. She never met any of his relatives or friends, Kessinger told The Post.

Watts sent her a text August 13 to say his family had disappeared, and she was confused about why the media was at his house.

"When I read the news, I found out he was still married and his wife was 15 weeks pregnant," Kessinger told the newspaper.

She peppered him with questions via phone calls and text, she said, and he changed his story about the divorce, showed little emotion about his family's disappearance, and tried to change the subject.

"It got to a point that he was telling me so many lies that I eventually told him that I did not want to speak to him again until his family was found," she told the paper, explaining that she called police on August 15 to report Watts' lies.
Chris Watts of Frederick, Colorado, is sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters.