What is life like for Chris Watts now? The latest on Netflix American Murder subject

He’s in the same prison as Steven Avery from Making A Murderer

4 years ago | UPDATED 4 years ago

Netflix has just released its latest true crime documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door. And now, the case of Shanann and Chris Watts and their two young daughters has come back into the public eye.

In 2018, pregnant Shanann and her two young daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste, went missing from their home. A friend informed police and they were all reported missing. In the day following Chris Watts appeared to be the loving father who just wanted to know what had happened to his family.

The documentary shares unseen, raw footage from police and Shanann’s social media to tell the story of what happened in the days to come. It would some come to light that Chris Watts was having an affair, and he was the one who had killed his wife, unborn child and their daughters.

Here is what has happened to Chris Watts since the story, and exactly what his life is like now.

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via Netflix

So where is Chris Watts now and what is his life like?

After finally admitting what he had done, on August 21st 2018 Chris Watts was charged. He then pleaded guilty to all nine counts against him: five counts of first-degree murder (including two additional counts for his daughters because they were children under 12), one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.

He is currently serving five life sentences in prison as well as 84 more years for the other crimes. Although his crimes took place in Colorado, Chris Watts is jailed at a maximum-security prison in Wisconsin. There is no way that Chris Watts will ever leave jail, he has been sentenced without any chance of parole. The district attorney eliminated the death penalty from consideration in exchange for him pleading guilty to all nine counts.

via Netflix

It’s been reported that in December of 2018, just after he was sentenced, Watts was moved to the Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin for “security concerns”. Watts was originally imprisoned in Weld County Jail in Colorado but now, Chris Watts is on heavy lockdown in the Dodge Correctional Institution, a Waupun Wisconsin prison. As it happens, this is the same prison as Steven Avery, the subject of Netflix series Making A Murderer – however Avery is said to be on lesser-security and is in a section of the prison which has a goal of rehabilitating inmates for assimilation back into civilian life.

A source familiar with Watts since his prison life told People Magazine that he is in lockdown for 23 hours of the day and his quality of life is very low. They added: “He has nothing to do but think. He thinks about what he did every day. He is tormented by his past and the mistakes he made.

“He’s left alone with his thoughts for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every day. Birthdays. Holidays. Special occasions. He’s there in jail, in his cell, thinking about what happened. He’s in his own private hell.”

via Netflix

It has also been reported that Watts writes to his mother regularly, and in one recent letter told her he was a “changed man” and is using religion to get through prison life. He said: “I’m still a Dad! I’m still a son! No matter what. Now, I can add servant of God to that mix! He has shown me peace, peace, love and forgiveness, and that’s how I live every day.”

On November 18th 2019, Weld County Judge Todd Taylor ordered Christopher to pay Shanann’s parents $6 million following a civil lawsuit.

According to The Daily Mail, in another docu-series, called Lies, Crimes & Video, at least two other women come forward saying they are now visiting Chris Watts in prison in Wisconsin. One was happy to be filmed in the documentary and gave her name as Anna. Another woman, who did not want to be identified, said she visits him two to three times a week. Its also been reported that Chris Watts believes Nichol Kessinger, who he had been having the affair with, writes to him anonymously in prison.

American Murder: The Family Next Door is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.