What Is American Murder the Family Next Door About

Your latest Netflix obsession has arrived.

American Murder: The Family Side by side Door focuses on the 2018 disappearance of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters. Told via archival footage, the true-offense documentary unfurls through dwelling videos, social media posts, police body-cam recordings, news reports, and private text messages. And because the horrifying events laid out over nearly ninety minutes actually occurred, the moving picture is more terrifying than whatever found-footage moving picture you've seen.

Though the disappearance and murder of Shanann and her 2 young daughters played out in the news, it'south possible you may have missed some details. In the documentary, director Jenny Popplewell takes you lot behind the scenes, exploring the incident, from husband Chris Watts'south suspicious behavior to his extramarital matter and familial ructions. An examination of what really went down backside closed doors, American Murder: The Family Next Door is i of the most shocking murder cases in recent years.

Ahead, a complete timeline of how the events unfolded in real life.

May 2018: Shanann surprises Chris with her 3rd pregnancy.

Shanann regularly posted videos well-nigh her family on social media, so when she constitute out she was pregnant for the third fourth dimension, she made a video. In the clip, Shanann surprises her husband by wearing a T-shirt that says, "Oops... nosotros did it once again!" and films his reaction. Already parents to 4-year-former Bella and iii-year-erstwhile Celeste Watts, the couple were planning to name their son Nico Lee Watts.

June 2018: Chris starts having an thing with Nichol Kessinger.

As reported by Insider, Chris's mistress, Nichol Kessinger, told authorities that she started seeing the married man more than seriously toward the end of June in 2018. Kessinger met Watts at Anadarko Petroleum, where they both worked at the fourth dimension.

According to Kessinger, Chris claimed that he was separated from his married woman and in the procedure of getting a divorce. Nonetheless, entered in their discovery certificate, the Frederick Police Department detailed Google searches made by Kessinger during the time flow. For instance, Kessinger searched "man I'm having matter with says he volition leave his married woman" [page 1896 of detect, via Reddit] on July 24, suggesting that she knew Chris was however married when she started seeing him.

Chris Watts and Nichol Kessinger

Courtesy of Netflix/2020

In an interview Kessinger gave to The Denver Mail service , it was subsequently revealed, "One day in the middle of June, he walked into her office to introduce himself. They continued casual conversations. She noticed that Watts did not wearable a wedding ring."

June 27, 2018: Shanann takes her daughters to Due north Carolina.

Shanann, Celeste, and Bella traveled to North Carolina for a 5-week vacation. Chris was set to bring together them toward the end of the trip.

July 2018: Shanann becomes suspicious.

During the vacation, Shanann started to question Chris's behavior as she felt he had become more than distant. In text messages shared past the Weld County DA (via Insider), on July 10, Shanann told Chris, "I miss you and I feel like you lot just want to piece of work out and run." In reality, he had reportedly been on multiple dates with Kessinger while his wife was away, including spending Independence Day with her at the family unit habitation.

Co-ordinate to the Frederick Law Department's timeline in their discovery document, Chris joined his wife and children in North Carolina on July 31. Around a week prior, on July 25, Chris searched Google for "when to say I love you for the first fourth dimension in a new relationship," suggesting that his relationship with Kessinger had been progressing quickly. And on July 28, Kessinger and Chris took an overnight trip to the Swell Sand Dunes National Park together.

August 4, 2018: Shanann sends Chris an angry message nearly his family unit.

Equally detailed in American Murder: The Family Side by side Door , Shanann became very angry with Chris's mom and dad when they ignored her daughter Celeste's peanut allergy. As a result, Shanann sent Chris a long message explaining why she stood upwards to his parents.

Shanann Watts/Netflix/2020

Co-ordinate to Insider, "Watts later told investigators that he believes he may take killed his wife and kids due to pent-up anger he harbored toward Shanann for what he described as driving a wedge between him and his family, feelings he said dated back to the beginning of their relationship."

Also on August 4, Shanann noticed that Chris no longer had a picture of her as his phone background. Instead, he replaced it with a movie of the sand dunes he'd visited with Kessinger, per the official discovery document.

August vii & ix: Shanann tells friends about her marital bug.

Shanann started to open up to her friends about the troubles she'd been experiencing with Chris. She also canceled her baby'due south gender-reveal party afterwards feeling as though Chris was not excited nigh having some other child.

In text letters shared by the Weld County DA, via Oxygen, Shanann told 1 friend, "I grabbed his hand during ultrasound and he didn't grab back." In another series of messages she wrote, "Chris said we are not compatible anymore. … Said he idea another baby would fix his feelings." She also mused, "Only thing I tin remember of even though I don't think he has it in him is another daughter."

August 9–13, 2018: Shanann goes on a business trip to Arizona.

While his wife was away in Arizona, Chris left the girls with a babysitter and took Kessinger on a date to The Lazy Dog Sports Bar and Grill in Erie, Colorado. Shanann seemed to exist suspicious of her husband's evening out subsequently noticing a charge for $60 on their shared card. Per the Frederick Police Department [page 1919 of discovery], on Baronial xi, Shanann searched "Lazy Canis familiaris Carte," presumably trying to effigy out whether Chris had been at the restaurant with another person.

August thirteen, 2018: Shanann and her daughters go missing.

Shanann was due to fly habitation on August 12, but her flight was delayed. Equally a event, she didn't arrive home until August thirteen at effectually ane:48 a.g. Shanann was dropped home past Nickole Atkinson, who was the showtime person to raise the alarm when she couldn't become ahold of her friend afterward that day. Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was due for a doc's appointment, for which she never showed up.

Per People , a police officer arrived to conduct a welfare check on Shanann at around 1:twoscore p.m. and was met by Atkinson at the residence. Chris subsequently arrived habitation and let the officer search the property. Shanann's purse, phone, and medication were all in the business firm, but there was no sign of her or the couple's daughters. Chris told the police that Shanann had planned to take the girls to visit a friend, although he had no further details about his wife'due south whereabouts.

Every bit seen in the Netflix documentary, a neighbor suggested that Chris was acting strangely regarding the disappearance. Chris was captured on photographic camera leaving the house at effectually 5:27 a.m. that morning time, claiming that he was heading to work.

August xiv, 2018: Chris pleads for Shanann to render domicile.

In a series of telly interviews, Chris insisted that Shanann had left the business firm on her own accord. Speaking to local Idiot box station KMGH (via People), he said, "I just want everybody to come up home." When quizzed by a reporter well-nigh whether in that location'd been a marital fight prior to Shanann's disappearance, Chris replied, "It wasn't like an argument. We had an emotional chat, I'll leave information technology at that. But I simply desire them dorsum. I merely want them to come back."

On Denver7, Chris said, "Shanann, Bella, Celeste, if you're out there, but come back. If somebody has her, merely please bring her back. I need to encounter everybody, I need to see everybody again. This firm is not complete without everyone hither."

August 15, 2018: Chris fails a polygraph, and his thing is discovered.

According to Frederick Police Section's discovery report, the regional managing director from Chris'due south place of employment contacted the constabulary to reveal that they'd been made aware of a relationship between 2 of their employees: Watts and Kessinger. Later that morning, Kessinger contacted police to hash out the case, later reportedly becoming concerned past news reports regarding Chris's missing married woman and children.

Every bit seen in American Murder: The Family Side by side Door and detailed in the Frederick Police Department's discovery report, Chris underwent a polygraph examination on Baronial 15, which he failed. Later, he confessed to murdering Shanann, initially claiming, however, that his married woman killed their daughters and he retaliated by killing her.

Following the arrest, Shanann's family unit released a argument to CBS4: "It is with deep hurt, defoliation and anger to confirm our beautiful cousin Shanann Watts, her unborn kid, and her 2 celestial daughters, Bella (4), Celeste (3) were viciously murdered by husband Chris Watts; who confessed to the killings. Please keep Shanann's parents and brother in your prayers."

Subsequently Chris's arrest, Shanann'due south torso was located at the Andarko oil field, 1 of the locations where Chris worked. Shanann had been strangled at abode past her husband and moved to the site.

August 16, 2018: The bodies are recovered.

After locating Shanann'south body and removing it from its burial site, ii more bodies were removed from oil tanks nearby. These were later on identified as Bella and Celeste, who were smothered by their father at the site.

August 20, 2018: Chris is charged.

Per Inside Edition, "Watts was officially charged with 3 counts of showtime-degree murder; two counts of first-degree murder for causing the decease of a person under the age of 12 while being in a position of trust; i count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and 3 counts of tampering with a deceased body."

Nov 6, 2018: Chris pleads guilty to the murders.

Despite his previous claim that Shanann killed their daughters, per The New York Times , Chris "pleaded guilty to nine criminal counts—including murder, the unlawful termination of a pregnancy and tampering with a dead body—in exchange for an agreement that prosecutors would not pursue the death penalty."

Shanann Watts/Netflix/2020

Nov xv, 2018: Nichol gives her only interview most the affair.

Speaking to The Denver Mail service , Kessinger said of her affair with Chris, "We had just met. … I barely knew him." Kessinger too claimed, "When I read the news, I found out he was still married and his wife was 15 weeks pregnant."

Nov 19, 2018: Chris is sentenced.

Chris was sentenced to "five life sentences with no possibility of parole," per Inside Edition. As noted by the outlet, Judge Marcelo Kopcow told Chris, "I could considerately say this is perhaps the about inhumane and fell crime that I have handled out of the thousands of cases I have seen. Null less than a maximum sentence would exist appropriate."

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Source: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a34258121/american-murder-the-family-next-door-true-story-timeline/