Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Telly addicts

Related: Film discussion forum.

Original poster

American murder: The family next door

87 replies

thebeachismyhappyplace2 · 14/10/2020 09:14

Netflix documentary based on true story - has anyone watched it? (look away now if you haven’t yet seen it)

I watch a lot of documentaries about killers/psychopaths etc but this one has really shocked and disturbed me!!

What I don’t understand is he didn’t appear to be a domestic abuser or display mental problems. Ok so he became obsessed with other woman and wanted to leave his old life behind him. (But let’s face it this happens everyday around the world!)

So why didn’t he just get divorced? How could someone do that to their kids too!

OP posts:
HairlessChinnyChinChin · 14/10/2020 21:38

@daisydukes26

Truly horrific to watch. Shanans best friend amazed me. She knew something was wrong very early on, taking away any time he may had had to cover his tracks.
Yes, the evil devil must have be dumbstruck to see the police already there when he got home. The neighbour too who told the police he was acting weirdly, he was letting them know something was off (though the police appeared to poopoo it but maybe that was to keep things as "normal" as possible)
ReneeRol · 14/10/2020 21:50

Her neighbours and friends were so on the ball. They were such good people. I think that says a lot about who Shanan was as a person.

GoldenKelpie · 14/10/2020 21:51

@ReneeRol

I found it disturbing how he appears so normal. He presented as a very passive person but I think that was a role he liked to play.

It struck me how she was always videoing everything and how she ignored how irritated he appeared to be by it. She seemed obsessed with capturing every moment for social media. He looked very uncomfortable and like he was holding in rage when she would put the camera in front of his face but he would smile through gritted teeth and play nice.

I think he has a very passive aggressive, psychopathic personality and once he had enough of her and found a replacement that didn't annoy him, he got rid of his whole family so he could move on. He never really thought much about it once it was done.

Shananne was involved in an MLM (Thrive) and therefore had to project a happy, positive, wealthy image on social media 24/7 to attract people to sign up as her downline.

Their fairy tale successful lifestyle with beautiful home and luxury cars and all the trappings of wealth hid cracks in the relationship and serious money worries and a real threat of bankruptcy looming. She had attended a weekend training event with her MLM business, hence returning very late the night/early morning that he murdered her and those precious little girls. Devastating programme to watch.

I had been aware of this dreadful story from watching a youtube video of the police officer's initial call-out to the home by her concerned friend. I had no idea what he had done but was concerned about his behaviour when in his home looking for Shananne and the children, it was clearly all wrong.

I had no idea until watching this programme earlier that he drove his children to their deaths and actually smothered them at the scene before dumping them. Cannot get my head around this monstrous act.

mummyh2016 · 14/10/2020 22:04

One of the most horrific things I've ever seen. And I'd read up about the case months ago so nothing should've surprised me. DH actually vomited after watching it.

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:13

I've just finished the book there is a lot missing from documentary

Although she thought they had a good happy marriage he did not. He was belittled and hen peaked constantly by his wife. The kids started repeating to him the derogatory words she called him in front of the kids.

When he told her he was leaving her she said I'm taking your kids and you will never see them again, he snapped and strangled her. Unfortunately Bella walked in and seen her dead mother, I think had she not the kids would be alive today

He then drove them to the oil patch and actually strangled cece in front of belle , she said to him , daddy is that going to happen to me .? And he said yes then smothered her and she fought for her life and in the struggle , ripped inside her mouth and bit her tongue. Absolutely horrific what she must of gone through

The book is a very good read and goes into so much more detail on their lives

He was a very downtrodden and unhappy man, but this wasn't portrayed in the documentary.

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:15

Oh and should of added she got them in to $700,000 of debt and they had to declare bankruptcy. Again he had no idea as she controlled all the money.

AnyFucker · 14/10/2020 22:21

She deserved to die then...yeah ?

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:23

Eh who said that.?

I'm just telling you what's in the book that the documentary didn't tell you.

I thought people would be interested seems it's a thread about the case.

TheRogueApostrophe · 14/10/2020 22:24

I'm not sure it's true that he decided to kill the children because Bella walked in. He's admitted that he knew the night he out them to bed that it would be the last time he tucked them in. He actually attempted to smother them prior to killing Shannan.

I also don't believe he "snapped". It was premeditated, hence his planning to be alone at the site the next morning. He's also said he strangled Shannan as she was falling asleep, so not exactly "heat of the moment".

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:24

I'm just telling you what's in the book Hmm that's not in the documentary.??

Blueshmoo · 14/10/2020 22:25

And you wonder why folk write to him Confused

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:27

He's also said he strangled Shannan as she was falling asleep, so not exactly "heat of the moment".

  • This is not what his confessions from prison say that are in the book

That said his own mother says he has changed his story multiple times including telling her that he will take the truth to the grave so I'm unsure if anyone will truly ever know the truth.

His family inputted a lot into the book.

minou123 · 14/10/2020 22:27

What book? Who wrote it?

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:31

This book

The Perfect Father: The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1250231612/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_k32HFbTSW887N

TheRogueApostrophe · 14/10/2020 22:32

No, no one knows, not us, not his family. He completely controls the narrative and clearly changes it from time to time. He has that power, unfortunately, and can frame it however he wants because no one else in the world knows exactly what happened.

Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:38

I agree I don't think he will ever tell the real truth

What I found hard to stomach is his mum and dad speak to him weekly still and he writes them letters ( some are in the book) to read at the children's graves, talking to them like he is just a normal dad missing his kids etc telling them how he misses them etc

I think it's so disrespectful to his wife and kids and can't believe his parents do that. They should of disowned him .

Bouledeneige · 14/10/2020 22:39

There are 73 pages on web sleuths which unrolled from the day of her reported disappearance through the whole investigation and trial. It does not characterise Shanann in the same way as the book - which his family might have wanted to influence to excuse or explain his crime. In the end, only him and her really know the truth of their marriage and her murder.

AlfieandAnnieRose · 14/10/2020 22:43

@thebeachismyhappyplace2

Pammie - I know just horrific that this actually happened. Going to watch it again tonight as it was really late when I watched it last night so the end was a bit of a blur - but am I right in saying he put those kids in the oil tanks alive?
Yes the worst bit is they were alive. I watched a YouTube documentary on it over a year ago and it showed the neighbors cctv footage of him carrying the girls into the car (covered). When the police zoomed in you could see them slightly moving. And Chris mentioned what the eldest child said when it happened at the tanks, absolutely awful
Indoctro · 14/10/2020 22:43

Totally agree only they know the truth. Everything is just other people's opinions.

MiniMum97 · 14/10/2020 22:55

Yes I felt the documentary was lacking I detail too. In particular Nicole does not seem to be have been looked into very much. Thought this video was interesting...

goisey · 15/10/2020 00:02

I wonder who benefits from the sales of the book. I'm guessing they had to have different content in there from the TV show.
Are his parents profiting from all this?
Profiting from their murdered grandchildren?

Nikori · 15/10/2020 07:14

It's well known that his parents didn't like Shanann, so not a huge surprise that they are happy to portray her as controlling and difficult and him as some kind of victim. I'm fascinated by true crime, but with books, podcasts and documentaries, there is always an angle or a story they are trying to tell, which often isn't the exact truth if you check the evidence and police reports.

Indoctro · 15/10/2020 07:34

@goisey

I wonder who benefits from the sales of the book. I'm guessing they had to have different content in there from the TV show. Are his parents profiting from all this? Profiting from their murdered grandchildren?
Interesting I'm not sure who the profits would go to.? Both family's input into the book, her brother frank has quite a lot of input it says. There is actually quite a few books about the murders. The whole thing is so bizarre, I'd love to know what he thought would happen. Like his whole family just disappeared and police would look for them and not find them and after a short period of time he would just make a new life with someone new.?

Also why didn't he just divorce her like any normal human being. He appears just a normal family man, there wasn't any signs of what he was capable of, in fact quite the opposite even her brother says he absolutely doted on her . Such a sad and bizarre case.

labellesusage · 15/10/2020 07:36

Was the book written by his mother? Apologies if wrong .
That's the bit I couldn't get , and the look on Shannon's dads face when his parents told him they had forgiven him. Like wtf! He killed their grandchildren in cold blood so he could shag another woman.
If he had got away with it (in likely) I would of been worried as the girlfriend that it could of one day been her dead as well .

Indoctro · 15/10/2020 07:56

No it wasn't written by his mother, some author but has input from both sides of families and friends of both of them.

Talks a lot about childhood. He had a pretty settled childhood. He was quite shy and a good student

She didn't have such a good childhood and her father isn't painted very well in the book, he was quite absent in her childhood and she looked for a father figures from other men related to her school. She was very insecure as a child who appeared unhappy.

But again you don't know how much truth is any of it really.

I think he should of got the death penalty

Swipe left for the next trending thread