Oil worker, 33, appears in court charged with slaughtering his pregnant wife and two daughters aged 3 and 4
A DAD has been charged with slaughtering his pregnant wife and their two young daughters.
The bodies of Shanann Watts, 34, and four-year-old Bella and her younger sister Celeste, three, were found in Colorado last week.
Oil worker Chris Watts, 33, was also charged with unlawful termination of a pregnancy.
The bodies of the girls were found inside tanks of crude oil on property owned by the company Watts worked for.
Their mum's body was found buried nearby.
A friend reported Shanann missing a week ago.
Before his arrest last week, Chris Watts lamented about missing his wife and daughters in local television interviews. A motive hasn't been released.
Prosecutors have said they would ask a court to unseal the warrant for Christopher Watts' arrest after filing charges.
It comes as pals of Shanann claimed she feared her "killer" husband was cheating just days before being found dead.
Thayer, whose daughter played with the two young girls, said Shanann suspected Chris of infidelity.
She told : "It came to her mind that possibly he could be cheating.
"It's all up in the air."
Her husband Nicholas also revealed the wife and children had recently been on a six-week trip to see family, leaving the husband behind.
Family friends Nicholas and Amanda Thayer say Shanann feared her husband was cheatingAnd Amanda
The Watts family murder - what is known so far:
- The bodies of Shanann and her kids were found dumped inside oil tanks at Chris Watts' workplace
- Investigators say they were killed at the family home before their bodies were moved
- Shanann had just landed a glamorous new job which kept her away from home
- Pals say the mum shared her fears Chris was cheating on her days before her death
- The couple once filed for bankruptcy and were facing a hefty fine in court next week
- Chris Watts made an emotional appeal for his missing wife and kids to come home
- After the appeal, cops reportedly announced he had confessed to killing his family
- Watts has been charged with slaughtering his pregnant wife and their two young daughters and with unlawful termination of a pregnancy
Another friend, who spoke anonymously to , made a similar claim, saying the pair were having marital problems and she was preparing to leave him.
Investigators currently believe the three were killed in the family home, before the two children were dumped in oil tanks at the Anadarko oil and gas exploration site.
A motion filed by Watts' defence team suggests the girls were strangled.
Earlier reports claimed Watts had admitted to the killings just hours after appearing on TV appealing for his family to come home.
But the defence motion also requested DNA swabs be carried out on the children's necks, suggesting he is not planning to plead guilty.
No formal charges or pleas have yet been made public.
The judge refused the motion, saying he would not tell examiners how to do their jobs.
The autopsy was carried out on Friday, a day after the bodies were found, but the official causes of death have not been released.
A memorial is growing outside the Watts' home.
The murder is believed to have happened on the eve of the couple’s gender reveal party for their unborn child.
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Shanann is believed to have suffered from lupus, an illness that makes pregnancies much higher-risk.
Moving text messages from mid-June suggested a happy family, and a husband thrilled at the prospect of having another child.
"Little Peanut!! Love her/him already!!!", Watts wrote after his wife sent him an ultrasound image.
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