Chris Watts, killer of pregnant wife and 2 kids, now held in Wisconsin

NOW: Chris Watts, killer of pregnant wife and 2 kids, now held in Wisconsin
NEXT:

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Colorado man who killed his pregnant wife and two young daughters has been transferred to a Wisconsin prison. 

Chris Watts pleaded guilty to the crimes last month in a Colorado court. 

Watts was sentenced to five life sentences with no possibility of parole. Authorities say he was transferred to Wisconsin this week for his own safety. Watts is now in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections System, according to online records. 

His wife, Shanann Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and their two daughters were reported missing back in August. Chris Watts initially put out a plea for his family's return and denied having anything to do with their disappearance. 

Days later, the body of Shanann Watts was found in a shallow grave. The girls' bodies were discovered in oil tanks at a company where their father had worked. That's when Watts changed his story, telling police he strangled his wife in a fit of rage, claiming she killed their daughters. 

Prosecutors found that Watts strangled his wife for at least two minutes, not in an uncontrollable rage. Authorities say he then suffocated his daughters and drove their bodies to the work site. 

CBS 58 reached out to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for more information about why Watts was brought to Wisconsin. They released a statement saying, "The DOC is not confirming the location or disclosing the identity of inmates who may have been transferred to Wisconsin under the Interstate Corrections Compact." 


Share this article: