Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

A5
U.S. NEWS Tuesday 20 November 2018
Man who strangled wife, killed his 2 girls sentenced to life

By KATHLEEN FOODY and Rourke said there were missed a doctor's appoint-
Associated Press signs Bella "fought for her ment. Local police initially
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — A life." Celeste had no visible handled the search but
man who strangled his injuries, he said. soon sought support from
pregnant wife and suf- Christopher Watts' parents, state investigators and the
focated their two young Cindy and Ronnie Watts, FBI.
daughters wanted to es- were permitted to speak Christopher Watts spoke
cape his marriage and as the girls' grandparents. to local television reporters
growing family, prosecutors Each said they still loved from the front porch of the
said Monday as a judge their son and urged him to family's home in Frederick,
imposed a sentence of life seek God's forgiveness. a small town on the plains
without parole as part of "We love you," Cindy Watts north of Denver where drill-
a plea deal that kept the said into a microphone be- ing rigs and oil wells sur-
killer from facing the death fore turning to look directly round booming subdivi-
penalty. at her son. "And we forgive sions.
Christopher Watts, who you, son." He pleaded for his family's
pleaded guilty two weeks Watts wiped away a tear safe return, telling report-
ago, did not speak during with his shirt after his parents ers their house felt empty
the hearing. One of his at- left the podium. He kept his without Bella and Celeste
torneys said Watts was "sin- head down for much of watching cartoons or run-
cerely sorry." the hearing, speaking only ning to greet him at the
As Watts listened with his once to confirm that he did door.
head down, Shanann not want to make a state- Within days he was in cus- Christopher Watts sits in court for his sentencing hearing at
Watts' parents detailed ment before Judge Mar- tody, charged with killing the Weld County Courthouse on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in
their ongoing struggle to celo Kopcow imposed his his family.q Greeley, Colo.
understand how he could sentence. Associated Press
murder the three people Friends of Shanann Watts
who considered him a hero and neighbors in the sub-
— Shanann, 34, Bella, 4, and division where the fam-
Celeste, 3. Frank Rzucek ily lived lined up inside the
said he was disgusted by courthouse Monday morn-
the way his son-in-law took ing. More people filed into
his wife and two daughters an overflow room to watch
"out like the trash." a video stream.
"Prison is too good for you," The killings captured na-
Rzucek said. "This is hard tional media attention
to say, but may God have and became the focus of
mercy on your soul." true crime blogs and on-
Watts, 33, was formally sen- line video channels, which
tenced to consecutive life showed dozens of fam-
sentences for the murders. ily photos and videos that
He also received a 48-year Shanann Watts shared on
sentence for unlawful ter- social media showing the
mination of a pregnancy smiling family.
and 12 years each for tam- Prosecutors said the images
pering with a human body. belied a hidden truth, that
The girls' bodies were found Christopher Watts was hav-
submerged in an oil tank ing an affair and making
on property owned by the plans for a new life. Rourke
company Watts worked for. said Watts talked with a
His wife's body was found in real estate agent about
a shallow grave nearby. selling the family's home,
As a prosecutor detailed looked up secluded vaca-
the injuries found on the tion spots and didn't seem
bodies, Rzucek leaned for- interested in the self-help
ward, gasping. Michael books his wife provided.
Rourke said Shanann Watts A friend asked police to
was strangled, but her check on Shanann Watts
lack of significant injuries on Aug. 13 after not be-
suggested that her death ing able to reach her and
came slowly. growing concerned that
The girls were smothered, the expectant mother had