American Murder: The Family Next Door, house for sale
On August 13th, 2018 Chris Watts killed his 2 young daughters, Bella Marie and Celeste Cathryn, and his pregnant wife Shanann Watts. Many know this story from the Netflix documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door. This documentary covers a family that had a very happy life and then life took a turn for the worst.
A young family living in Frederick, Colorado with the last name Watts, Chris, Shanann, Bella, Celeste, and a baby boy coming in January 2019. Chris and Shanann Met in 2010 in their home state, North Carolina. In 2012 Shanann and Chris Fell in love with the scenery that Fredrick Colorado had to offer and moved there in 2013. They welcomed their first daughter on December 13th, 2013, and their second daughter on July 17th, 2015. The Watts was known as a very happy and loving family, April 2018 Shanann posted a post for National Husbands day captioned, "Happy Husband Appreciation Day! I couldn't imagine a better man for us, You spoil us with love and attention! You put up with 3 impatient, demanding women in the house. You work so hard every day to provide for us. I love you so much."
On August 13th, 2018 the Watts family's lives changed for the worse. Shanann, Celeste, and Bella were missing and nowhere to be found. Chris had a TV interview with local news and was begging the 3 to come home. On August 15 Chris failed his polygraph and later admitted to his father and then officials to the killing of his wife. He told authorities the reason he killed his wife was that she "smothered" their daughters. On August 16th the authorities announced that the bodies of Shanann and her 2 daughters were found dead at the property of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation where Chris worked. They found the 2 young girls in oil tanks and Shanann buried next to the oil tank. Chris later admitted what happened later to authorities. Shanann got back at 2 am from a business trip on August 13th, when she walked in Chris was waiting inside and they had a conversation about how Chris was having an affair. Shanann had told Chris that he wasn't gonna see her or their young daughters. Chris had gotten frustrated with this statement and strangled Shannan. Their 4-year-old daughter Bella had come into the room to ask what happened to mommy, he wraps Shannan in a blanket and grabs the 2 young daughters, and puts them in the backseat. Once Chris had got to his work to bury Shannan he smothers the 2 girls and stuffs them into the oil tanks. Chris was later charged on Monday, August 20, with five counts of murder in the first degree, he received two additional charges because his daughters are under the age of 12, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the first degree, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
Now in 2022, the five-bedroom, 4 bath house is trying to go on the market for nearly $816,200, at first the house was listed at a fake address for better hopes it would sell. Many have mixed feelings about the house trying to sell beings there was a murder.
What do you think about them selling the house?
Would you buy it?
And do you think him killing his family was the right thing to do when his wife accused him of having an affair?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/movies/american-murder-the-family-next-door-review.html
Replies
Overall, good job Kamden! Lengfht is good and youd did a great job with commenting back to students. I do think murder stories are tough to do. Your questions don't relate to anything you talk about until the last short paragraph. Perhaps focus more on that and add more of your thoughts and opinions into the story as that is what I am looking for. Not a story summary.
I don't think that they should sell the house becuase like you said that he killed his two daughters and that it probably would sell. I would not buy it becuase someone killed the daughters in the house so you never know if they hid the bodies in the house. I don't think the killing his family was the right thing to do because like they could've been a good family if nothing would've happened to them.
I wouldn't want to buy the house because of the history that might have happened in the house. And the person who owned it probably didn't maintain or keep up on the house at all. And if they were to tear it down. They could possibly find more dead bobies buried.
I think that this house is a part of true crime history, but that doesn't mean it should be sold. I believe that It should be torn down and another house or building built on top of it. I also think that him killing his family over an accusation was not the right thing to do. He problably should have started with confrontation.
This house should not be sold. I believe that this house should just be torn down and find something else to place on this property. I would not buy this house for many reasons. 1 being the obvious that it is probably haunted. All jokes aside I think most people would still be scared to live in a house that a family was murdered in. Lastly, killing your wife is never the right thing to do, no matter the situation.
I think selling the house wouldn't hurt as long as they don't know the backstory of the house I think that they will be fine as long as the story of what happened in that house stays hidden. The dad killing his wife for him getting accused of having a affair with someone else is completly out of control, you don't need to kill someone for accusing you of having a affair with someone else.
I feel the buyer should know everything that happened in the house and what the owner also did. But him killing his family was messed up. He should have been more mature and sat down and talked about it. And tried to settle on something and let everyone know the truth instead of killing them all
I think selling the house is good idea. Some people might care if they new the story. Personally I wouldn't care and I would love to tell poeple I lived in that house and like tell them what ahppened there.
Yeah, I feel like the buyer should know everything that happened and the house shouldn't have a fake address to attempt to increases the chances of selling it. But the truth always comes out and with social media, 1 person finds what had happened in the house they would probably post about it and then it'll spread.
I think them selling the house is probally right, but it would be hard to sell the house becuase of the murding. I wouldn't like to buy the house because of the murdering from Chris Watts, I wouldn't be able to live there knowing what he had did. I think it was not the right thing to kill his family because of the affair, he should of just talked it out and not get angry and kill his family.