Man charged with killing whole family

A murder suspect told police in Colorado he strangled his pregnant wife in a rage after he saw her on a baby monitor strangling the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, Celeste, according to court documents.

Chris Watts said the couple’s other daughter, Bella, 4, was already “sprawled out” on the bed and blue in the couple’s bedroom, according to an arrest affidavit from Frederick police.

Watts confessed to burying his wife, Shanann Watts, 34, near two oil tanks and dumping his daughters’ bodies in the tanks, according to the affidavit.

But prosecutors paint a different picture of the killing. Watts was charged Monday with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and young daughters. Two additional first-degree murder charges accuse him of causing the death of a child younger than 12.

The 33-year-old father also faces three counts of tampering with a body, and a count of first-degree unlawful termination of a pregnancy, said Weld County District Attorney Michael J. Rourke, who did not reveal a motive.

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Watts, who was arrested last week, is being held without bond, with his next court appearance scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Investigators said they learned Watts was “actively involved” in an affair with a co-worker. He had previously denied it in interviews, according to the affidavit.

Early on the morning of August 13, Watts said he told his wife he wanted to separate, and then the killings took place, court papers said.

Before Watts’ confession, authorities used a drone that spotted a bedsheet in a field near the oil tanks, the affidavit said.

“The sheet matched the pattern of several pillowcases and a top sheet recovered from a kitchen trash can from [Watts’] residence early that day,” the affidavit said.

In an emotional address Monday, Shanann’s father, Frank Rzucek Sr., thanked authorities for finding the bodies of his family members. He said the family appreciated those who attended a candlelight vigil and expressed support.

“Keep the prayers coming for our family,” he said, holding back tears.