‘EERIE’ FINAL HOLIDAY
Killer dad Chris Watts showed no emotion while standing in silence as pregnant wife played with their daughters on trip days before slaughter
A DAD accused of murdering his family "stood in silence" during a family trip to a trampoline park, it's claimed - just days before his wife and daughters were found dead.
Chris Watts, from Oklahoma, is accused of throttling his daughters Bella, four, and three-year-old Celeste before hiding their bodies in oil tanks and burying mum Shanann, 34, in an oil field in Colorado.
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The two girls and their mum disappeared from their family home in Frederick, Colorado, last Monday and Chris went on local television pleading for them to come home.
The bodies were found by police on Thursday, August 16.
The father-of-two was later arrested and now faces three first-degree murder charges, two counts of killing a child under 12, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
A woman has now recalled the moment she met slain pregnant mum Shanann during the family trip and how murder accused Chris Watts "didn't speak" during the visit to the park.
Speaking to , Michele Greer, who was also at the park in Myrtle Beach with her three sons, said her "heart dropped" when she realised she met the family after catching a glimpse of slain Shanann in the background of a photo she took of her sons.
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
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"As soon as my husband got home I said, 'I think this is the couple we met at Myrtle Beach.' He said, 'No, I’m 100 percent positive this is the family,'" Ms Greer said.
She added: "The way they just smiled at her. The way she was filming them. She was smiling at them. She loved those girls, and those girls loved her."
The mum said when she looks at the photo, she feels "chills, heartache".
But Ms Greer said husband Chris Watts was acting strangely while at the park, while the pregnant mum played with her daughters.
She told : "He didn't seem engaged at all. There wasn't any affection. [Shanann] was very engaged with the girls, and he was just kind of standing there."
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Ms Greer told the broadcaster she started talking to Shanann Watts for "about ten minutes" while waiting in a line for the trampolines, and the mum of two "excitedly shared the news she was expecting", adding she hoped for a baby boy.
"We just started talking about our kids... She said 'This pregnancy is just like my first two pregnancies, and it's probably another girl'."
As the mothers then parted ways, Ms Greer said: "The last thing I said to her was, 'Good luck to you.' That was it."
Just days later, Shanann and her two young girls were found dead, as it emerged husband and father Chris is accused of their murder.
Chris Watts, 33, told police he flew into a murderous rage after seeing Shanann throttling daughter Celeste on a baby monitor.
Heartbreaking moment Frank Rzucek, dad of murdered pregnant mum Shanann Watts breaks down as he faces her ‘killer’ husband Christopher Watts in court
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At a court hearing yesterday, Watts claimed he erupted in rage after Shanann strangled their kids, after he said he wanted a separation.
Shanann's dad Frank Rzucek Sr. held his face in his hands as he bitterly wept in a Colorado courtroom as Watts sat just feet away from him.
According to an arrest affidavit, he told cops he reacted to seeing his wife with her hands around Celeste's throat and "observed Bella 'sprawled' out on her bed and blue and Shanann actively strangling Celeste."
"Chris said he went into a rage and ultimately strangled Shanann to death.
"Chris said he loaded all three bodies onto the back seat of his work truck and took them to an oil work site,' added the affidavit.
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At the court yesterday, it emerged police first visited the family home on August 13 after a friend asked officers to check on Shanann, as she had missed a doctor's appointment and wasn't answering calls or text messages hours after returning home from a business trip.
It's also reported investigators believe the two young girls were killed before their mum Shanann.
According to the , court documents said Shanann was killed on August 13, the same day she returned home from the out-of-state business trip but the charges allege that Watts killed Bella and Celeste "between and including August 12 and August 13".
Watts didn't enter a plea to three first-degree murder charges, two counts of killing a child under 12, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body, but told the judge he understood the charges.
Murder suspect Chris Watts' wife posted loving video saying 'he's best thing that ever happened to me'
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We revealed earlier how Shanann reportedly told pals she feared her "killer" husband was cheating just days before being found dead.
Family friends Nicholas and Amanda Thayer say Shanann feared her husband was cheating.
And Amanda 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."
Shanann Watts' father emotional statement to the press after Christopher Watts charged with murder
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Her husband Nicholas also revealed the wife and children had recently been on a six-week trip to see family, leaving the husband behind.
Another friend, who spoke anonymously to , made a similar claim, saying the pair were having marital problems and she was preparing to leave him.
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.
The judge refused the motion, saying he would not tell examiners how to do their jobs.
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Murdered toddler, Bella Watts sings to her daddy, Chris Watts
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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.
Flowers, photos and toys have been left among the emotional tributes.
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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Dad, Chris Watts, begs missing family to come home hours before 'admitting killing them'
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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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