American Murder on Netflix

[happinessischocolate]

Has anyone else watched this? I've just finished it, and I'm in tears. Why, why would anyone do that.

This series is fascinating. I find it frustrating that the OW is in some ways blamed when as far as I'm concerned, 99% of blame should be put on Chris Watts, but this series really shows how obsessed and distracted from family life he was. He's a sociopath at best and a psychopath at worst. The female detective who did the interrogation was incredible. She played a blinder, to use UK phrasing. He is absolutely devoid of any normal reasoning. Utterly self serving. He could have left his wife and had a new girlfriend, NK. I think on some level he saw what he did as 'proof' to her that she was SO coveted he would do anything. He's more pathetic and less calculated that Peterson to me but as evil. Those little girls were adorable. Him sharing one of their last words was something he didn't need to do that added more pain for everyone who loved them. I think his neighbour who caught the CCTV and the change in Chris' behaviour is amazing. Such a good guy. There are some fascinating videos on YouTube of Chris' body language from the police bodycam footage. This sounds dramatic but the case has really affected me. I think it's due to the fact he literally could just have left her and moved on. To him, a triple murder was more of an option than not being a coward and just facing the consequences of a split. Utterly pathetic. I hate that he's allowed pictures of them in his cell and I don't think I can watch the new documentary.

It was one of the most difficult documentaries I have ever seen. It was obvious from the get go that he was the murderer. I feel so sorry for Shannon’s family as he caused them so much pain.

Watched this last night. So so sad.
Why couldn't he have just split up with her, sure if he's told her whilst she was with her family she just would of stayed there.
It's just too sad to think of those poor babies.

It was dreadful. I didn't understand it at all. Previously he had appeared to adore his wife and children; even people who don't wouldn't murder them. Then there's the fact that his wife was five months pregnant about which he was delighted!

What happened is incomprehensible.

The girlfriend is very dodgy, not really a victim in any sense, her cell phone pinged near the location in the early hours, when she lived far away. The mum and the girlfriend were imo opinion more involved than some people might like to think.

Have to say I didn’t think he looked delighted with pregnancy announcement at all. Now we know why.

I thought I read somewhere that the girlfriend accepted some sort of deal and that was why she was so cooperative with police. I may be wrong though.

I don't think she was completely innocent - didn't the police ask her if she had said to Cw 'I don't like that you already have kids' or something along those lines? Even if she didn't know about the murder, I think she resented the fact he already had a family and made sure he knew it. In his warped mind he probably thought having the family still existing was a barrier to being with the girlfriend.

Then there's the fact that his wife was five months pregnant about which he was delighted!

I don't think he was delighted at all and I thought it quite manipulative of Shanaan that she did the 'reveal' on video so he couldn't appear to be anything other than 'delighted'.

I wondered if he'd said from the outset that he didn't want another but Shanaan just went ahead anyway because it's she wanted. She knew things weren't right in the relationship but she went ahead anyway. In the bits you saw him on video he seemed very passive.

The whole thing in fact is a story for our time. Shanaan lived a totally fakebook life via social media when the truth was very different. A totally tragic story.

I agree I don't think he was delighted about the pregnancy at all. I think he has to act the part that he was. He was so used to Shannan' fb posts/videos that he knew what 'performance' he had to give. When he was coming down the elevator he had to tell her so she could film his reaction.

@roseyroserose

I agree I don't think he was delighted about the pregnancy at all. I think he has to act the part that he was. He was so used to Shannan' fb posts/videos that he knew what 'performance' he had to give. When he was coming down the elevator he had to tell her so she could film his reaction.

Yes, she seemed quite bossy and controlling, having to document EVERYTHING on facebook. That would really piss me off tbh.

But no matter what his reason for not wanting to be with her, he could have just left. This is utterly heartbreaking. And so chilling that he had planned it out. It wasn't a fit of rage gone completely wrong. How someone can do that is beyond me.

She had such a brilliant friend who was so on the ball and I'm so glad she raised the alarm and prevented the bastard from potentially getting away with it.

Oh he definitely didn't think the alarm would be raised so soon. Her friend was brilliant. I've seen messages sent between him and another friend of Shannan's to him where he's telling them he'll come home and not to ring the police. I don't know how he thought he'd get away with it or even if he had a plan but I imagine he would have disposed of some items to make it look like she'd left with the girls.

The fact he didn't authorise the police to bust the door down before he got there was suspicious in itself given that there was a concern that she might be passed out inside. Then there's the fact that he didn't immediately shout her when he got in the house. Because he knew she wasn't there.

Interesting that the info at the end said that most offences of this nature are premeditated. We know this was because he made plans the day before to go to that site and told a colleague to stand down so that he could be there alone. Plus he knew when he tucked his children in that night that it would be the last time he did that.

Plus he knew when he tucked his children in that night that it would be the last time he did that

I meant to say that this is what he told a penpal from prison.

I assume he thought he'd have time to make it look like they had left him. There was talk of the girls blankies being missing but Shannan's phone, handbag, car etc being there made it look very odd, like they had simply vanished. Had he had another day or so he could have covered it all up.

Even if he could have covered things up in the house, shannan was buried in a shallow grave so it was only a matter of time before the bodies were discovered. Even if he had a day or two extra, he would never have got away with it.

@pearshapedcat

Even if he could have covered things up in the house, shannan was buried in a shallow grave so it was only a matter of time before the bodies were discovered. Even if he had a day or two extra, he would never have got away with it.

He worked at the site that he buried her. I'm thinking he knew what would happen at the grounds and perhaps move her using industrial equipment or something sinister. I don't think his long term plan was to leave her there like that to be easily discovered.

I wondered if he'd said from the outset that he didn't want another but Shanaan just went ahead anyway because it's she wanted. She knew things weren't right in the relationship but she went ahead anyway. In the bits you saw him on video he seemed very passive.

A podcast I listened to said he had pushed for another baby because he wanted a boy. There were messages apparently where she told friends and family that he's pushed for this and now wanted to end the marriage. She wanted the baby she said but was angry about how she was now going to be left with three children.

I think she probably was a bit bossy and controlling but she had tons of close friends and a family who truly loved her. Her friends knew she was missing within hours, that's how close they were with her. The podcaster I listened to said she herself had only a few friends who probably wouldn't notice she was gone for days but Shanann had multiple ride or die friends who loved her to bits and knew something was wrong within five or six hours. And they all suspected him straight away. How bad could she have been?

Yes from what I’ve read it was Chris who wanted the third child as he hoped for a boy.

It seems only in the six weeks before the murders that he checked out emotionally and in every other way from their marriage. The really sad thing is that Shan’ann picked this up, she knew something was wrong and he just kept denying it.

FWIW I don’t believe anything he says about having sex with Shan’ann the night before. She didn’t get back until the early hours and would have been tired. Plus her autopsy results don’t suggest she struggled in any way. I think he smothered her once she was asleep ...by the time she could have realised what was happening she was unconscious.

The only one who had injuries consistent with fighting back was Bella. Poor little girl ....the Daddy she loved so much killing her, what must have gone through her head.

If anyone is interested there is a book called “My Daddy is a Hero” which I read a few months ago. It gives a lot more info.

Real Crime Profile are about to do a podcast as well. They consist of Laura Richards and Jim Clemente who are both criminal analysts. Laura was head of the Domestic Homicide Unit at New Scotland Yard for a while and is extremely knowledgeable. The podcast often deep dives into cases and the observations are always interesting.

His actions were monstrous.

As for motive, of course it was the hot new girlfriend who was the catalyst, but also CW and Shanann were in terrible debt, which he was apparently oblivious of until he started investigating making his escape. Their house was about to be repossessed as they were living way beyond their means. The cars, furnishings, children in full-time expensive nursery. The MLM business was generating no money at all, of which he was not aware. All S’s local friends were Thrive people too.

I think S was a difficult person and looked a bit hyper and high maintenance, but fgs couldn’t he have just left her? No money, perhaps no hot gf any more, but what he did deserves his life sentence and, even better, 23-hour lock-up as he can’t mix with the other prisoners (honour among thieves).

I also read he receives hundreds of letters from adoring women every week. Who are these sick people?

FWIW I don’t believe anything he says about having sex with Shan’ann the night before. She didn’t get back until the early hours and would have been tired. Plus her autopsy results don’t suggest she struggled in any way. I think he smothered her once she was asleep ...by the time she could have realised what was happening she was unconscious.

I agree with this. They hadn't had sex for weeks. She'd just found evidence of his cheating. I don't believe they would have had sex. He's since reflected that he thinks she didn't fight back because she was praying. I can't believe that. My understanding is that fighting isn't a choice but a natural reflex. Plus knowing her babies were in the house. She absolutely would have fought back had she been able.

He lied about so much. I think he's just continuing with some of the lies that can't be proven now.

The shocking take away fact for me from this case was just how many family annihilations are pre-meditated, when we have traditionally been sold the pup of "he just snapped".

I think Shan’ann appeared more hyper than she was due to the MLM stuff. Everything is shared via SM to show “the lifestyle” and evidence seems to suggest Shan’ann was very good at this. Wasn’t she one of their high earners?

I think her texts got increasingly hysterical in the six weeks before she was murdered because she knew something was wrong but couldn’t find out what that was.

She also acknowledged that their personalities were very different, that she was the hyper organised one and Chris was more passive. She also said that this was why they worked well together. And sadly I think Chris was happy with the status quo until he met Nicole.

Thank you to @newnameforthis123 for the link to that YouTube video as I don’t know much about Nicole.

So sounds like she fancied Chris for a long while and then when his wife went away on the visit to her family he was able to lie and say “we are separated”.

It's just heart-breaking. I don't know what else to say.

She was not a high earner. Apparently she cleared $50 the last month. They were in awful debt.

I think C was a bit passive. Thinking about many, many MN threads, in some ways he was the ideal dh as she wanted to cut off his parents (I wonder why they did not attend their wedding) and she completely controlled their home and finances. Unfortunately he turned out to be very much not passive when he found “true love” .

I can understand why someone would grow to dislike/be irritated by their spouse and want to move on. But harming - killing - one’s children? Those little girls looked so sweet. I just can’t comprehend that level of monstrosity.

I don't understand why he would lie about having ax the night before though - the post mortem would be able to tell if she had sexual intercourse just before her death surely?

After watching 'unmasking Nk' on YouTube, I believe the girlfriend gave him grief once they knew the baby was a boy. She said she wanted to have his first born son and probably made him feel guilty that shannan was pregnant with a boy. From the interviews it is clear NK hated Shannan and the life CW had with the family. Apparently CW and the gf had a big falling out mid- July, which is when they believe he started planning the murders. Many think this is when NK found out the baby was a boy and that caused issues within their affair. I think the baby being a boy was a catalyst in that it caused issues with the girlfriend.

For some reason I thought the title of the programme said the neighbour was the murderer. So when he told the police that C was acting oddly I thought "well you would say that" and felt sorry for C. Then I rewound and watched it again because it did seem odd and realised I had misread/misunderstood the title and realised that C was indeed acting in a very odd way.
I didn't realise police in America wore body cams. But it was good to see actual footage, not a dramatisation. And the police who interviewed C were very clever managing to make him trust them and extract a confession that way.