TO her thousands of social media followers, mum-of-two Shanann Watts looked to have the perfect life.
Married to her hunky soulmate Chris, sharing a beautiful luxury home with their two gorgeous daughters, Bella and CeCe, and pregnant with a little boy, she shared almost every detail of her dream life online.
But it was all a facade. And when Shanann and the girls disappeared, friends, family and investigators uncovered the reality of a marriage on the rocks – all revealed by her messages and social media posts.
And the finger of suspicion pointed very firmly at one person – her husband, Chris.
Far from being the doting husband thrilled to be expecting a baby boy to complete their family, behind the scenes callous Chris Watts was having a torrid affair with a co-worker and had told Shanann he did not want the baby she was carrying.
After his family disappeared, he claimed his wife had told him she was taking the girls on a playdate. Instead, he had murdered his pregnant spouse and daughters before brutally disposing of their bodies.
Horrified detectives found that Chris had stuffed four-year-old Bella’s and three-year-old Cece’s bodies into the oil wells he worked on – pushing the girls’ corpses through holes the width of a paper plate.
In a new Channel 5 documentary about the case, The Man Who Murdered His Family: A Suburban Nightmare, retired FBI profiler Mark Safarik says: “Just the nature of trying to stuff your daughter into this little tiny hole and put her, drop her into this horrific mixture of oil and water… it’s beyond comprehension.
“It just goes against so much of the hardwiring we have as parents.”
Shanann and Chris had seemingly built an idyllic life for themselves in the middle-class suburb of Frederick, Colorado.
Chris was an oil worker, and Shanann worked as an online sales rep so she could spend more time at home with Bella and Cece.
She was a prolific poster on social media, often declaring her undying love for Chris, who seemed to be the perfect husband and father.
One of her followers, Jessica Shelton, recalls: “You really felt like you were her friend. She took photos of everything, recorded everything, and posted everything.”
Shanann’s job often involved trips away. On the morning of August 13 2018, she returned at 2am from a two-day business trip to Arizona and was captured arriving home on her doorbell camera.
But the next day was the beginning of a nightmare for her friends and family when her pal Nicole could not contact her and reported her missing.
Heather Ashley, host of the Big Mad true crime podcast, explains: “She was supposed to go to a doctor’s appointment, and she hadn’t updated her friend about this doctor’s appointment.
“She’s trying to get a hold of her, but her phone is off. The girls were gonna have their first day of school.
“You would expect to hear an update on social media like, ‘oh my gosh they were so cute, here’s a picture!’
“This was a day that you would expect all sorts of updates online from somebody who already regularly updates everyone, and there was nothing.”
Police went to the house to meet Nicole, who contacted Chris to tell him Shanann and the girls were missing. He said he would be home in 45 minutes but didn’t arrive until three hours later.
When they went into the house, Chris did not call out for his wife or daughters, and then Nicole spotted something suspicious – Shanann’s phone. The phone was her lifeline, and she would never leave home without it.
She had also left her handbag containing her keys and both hers and the children’s medication, and her car was still parked on the drive.
And then the police found that the sheets were off the bed in the master bedroom.
News of Shanann’s disappearance spread around the neighbourhood, and one neighbour Nate Trinastitch told police he has a security camera that covers the Watts’ family’s driveway, which may provide some clues.
As Chris, the police and the neighbour watched the footage, something odd appeared.
Mark Safarik explains: “What we see in the videotape is that about 5.17am in the morning, Chris comes out through the garage. He didn’t normally come out through the garage, why?
“The kids’ rooms were above the garage and the garage door opening up would wake the kids up because they slept very lightly. But Chris comes to the garage door, and he goes to his truck and then he backs his truck into the driveway.”
You do not know what lies in the hearts of some men. I think Chris thought he could get away with this. He just thought he was gonna be that good
Ex-FBI profiler Mark Safarik
He claimed he had pulled on to the driveway to unload some work gear. But neighbours told police he never, ever parked there and was acting very suspiciously.
However, cops put that down to the trauma of his wife and daughters being missing, and Chris led the charge to find them, even appealing on TV for help.
Meanwhile friends and the public turned to their only outlet for clues – Shanann’s social media.
Notably, she had shared the moment she told Chris she was pregnant with their third child – and friends sensed his reaction was odd.
Shanann’s former teacher, Matt Francis, says: “You could tell when Chris came in about the announcement that he was… he had a hard time reacting like the way that I’m sure she was hoping he’d react.
“She was so excited to share with him that she was pregnant. But if you look at him, his mannerisms, there are signs that there’s a lot of frustration in the relationship for sure with him.”
The real Watts’ family life was not as social media portrayed. They were $70,000 in debt, and their homeowners’ association sued them for unpaid fees.
When detectives got access to Shanann’s phone, they discovered the couple had been spending time apart in recent weeks, with her taking the girls to spend the summer with her parents.
Instead of sending her ‘miss you’ texts, Chris’ messages to Shanann were blunt, and she even commented on social media that he was embracing his single life while they were away.
And friends started to tell cops about cracks they had seen appearing in the relationship.
Chris had lost more than 60lbs in the last year, and officers found suggestions in Shanann’s text messages that she suspected he was having an affair.
Heather Ashley says: “She was talking to her friends about it, you know, at one point he’s like, ‘Oh I don’t, I don’t even want this baby,’ and she’s like, ‘What do you mean you don’t want this baby?’
“‘Like I’m fifteen weeks pregnant, like this is not the time to have this conversation. You wanted this baby, I agreed to have this baby. We are having a baby boy and now you’re saying all of a sudden you don’t even want this baby’, and that really freaked her out.”
When detectives brought Chris in for questioning, he began to open up about their troubles and admitted to a row the night before she disappeared.
But they were convinced he was hiding something more so asked if he would take a lie detector test – which he then failed miserably.
If someone scores -4 on the polygraph test, it indicates they aren’t being truthful. Chris Watts’ score was -18.
He then admitted he had been lying – and said he had been having an affair with 29-year-old co-worker Nichol Kessinger.
But cops already knew that as she had already been in touch with them.
With Chris on the ropes and unravelling, detectives tried a new tactic. They suggested that maybe Shanann had discovered the affair, harmed the girls and then he had killed her.
Chris ran with this story, claiming Shanann had smothered the girls – he had killed her, and then disposed of all the bodies.
She was so excited to share with him that she was pregnant. But if you look at him, his mannerisms, there are signs that there’s a lot of frustration
Shanann's ex-teacher
Mark Safarik says: “For most family annihilators, it is an event that is thought out, it’s planned, it’s organised, it’s done if not days, weeks in advance.
“I think in this five-week period where Shanann and the girls go to visit her parents in North Carolina is what solidifies this in Chris’ mind, this is what’s gotta happen because he’s spending all of his time with Nichol and it’s like this is the relationship I want.”
Clinical psychologist Rebecca Osei adds: “He did not break down until he was actually confessing, which begs the question of who he was crying for.
“Was it for his children and his wife because he felt guilty or sad that he wouldn’t see them, or was it for himself, knowing that he was now going to jail?
“Knowing that now this version of himself was the real version everybody would know. Knowing that the fantasy and the fairytale was now over.”
Even as he was taken into custody and charged with the murders of his wife and children, Chris Watts still refused to accept responsibility for his daughter’s deaths.
He only agreed to plead guilty on all charges to escape the death penalty.
In November 2018, Chris Watts received five life sentences without the possibility of parole plus an additional 84 years for the unlawful termination of a pregnancy and tampering with deceased bodies.
But four months after his conviction, he decided to meet with investigators again – and this time, he revealed the whole truth.
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
He had been out on a date with his mistress on the Saturday night and made the big mistake of using his bank card which was joint with Shanann – making her suspicious.
But a few nights later he got into bed with Shanann and they had sex. He told detectives: “But when I woke up later on in the morning, I pretty much told her I didn’t think it was going to work anymore. And she was like, ‘What happened? What was last night?’
“She was like, ‘I knew there was somebody else. I knew there was somebody else.’ I couldn’t just say, ‘Yes, there is somebody else.’ But then she’s like, ‘You’e never going to see your kids again. You’re never going to see them again. Get off me.’”
It was then that Chris snapped and strangled Shanann to death. When daughter Bella came in the room and asked what was wrong with mummy, he then came up with a drastic and evil plan.
He put the two girls in the back of his truck, with their mother’s body on the floor and drove the 45 minutes to the oilfield.
He smothered CeCe first with her own blanket, then did the same to her sister Bella. He told detectives: “She said, ‘What happened to CeCe?’ Every time I close my eyes, I start to see her saying, ‘Daddy, no,’ and that was it. I hear that every day.”
He then buried Shanann’s body and dumped the girls’ into an oil tank.
Chillingly, despite his confession, the monster received fan mail from warped admirers in the weeks after he was first incarcerated.
Mark Safarik says: “Family annihilators, are very rare type of killer and thank God. Because you can’t predict men like this! Even the family members would say, ‘He could never hurt me. He could never hurt our kids.’
“You do not know what lies in the hearts of some men. If you study familicide and men that commit these types of crimes, most of the time, there’s suicide, but I think Chris thought he could get away with this. He just thought he was gonna be that good.”
Clinical psychologist Rebecca Osei says the social media depiction of their so-called ‘perfect’ life may have played a part in the murders.
“I mean as far as social media was concerned, he was an ideal husband essentially,” she says. “So, you know, for him to have come forward with, ‘I’m having an affair and I’m leaving you,’ or even just, ‘I’m leaving you, we’re getting a divorce, period.’
“It’s certainly a big swing from the perfect family that, you know, he had basically been a part of the presenting to the world for a number of years at that point.
“We don’t know how that may have played into his ultimate decision to kill his children and his wife instead of simply leaving.”
SOME of the coins in your spare change could be worth up to a whopping £2,500.
A number of coins sells for massive sums due to manufacturing errors or because only a limited amount were struck.
Land on one of these rare pieces and you could fetch a small fortune.
But you might not be aware of the telltale signs that reveal if these coins are worth a hefty sum.
From a Blue Peter 50p to an undated 20p piece, here are some of the rarest pieces to look out for.
Always bear in mind with rare coins though, that one you’ve got is only worth what a seller is willing to pay for it.
That means you might not get the exact amounts we’ve listed below, but they do inform what you could potentially get.
This Blue Peter 50p, which was first released in 2009 and features a cartoon high-jumper, has sold for £216 on eBay in the past.
The unique piece was designed by nine-year-old Florence Jackson ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.
Florence’s drawing was selected out of 17,000 entries into a Blue Peter competition.
Over 2.2 million of the Blue Peter 50p coins were issued, with most most minted in 2011.
However, this coin was minted in 2009, making it significantly rarer than the piece struck two years later and worth over £200.
The Atlantic Salmon 50p, which entered general circulation just last November, has been known to sell for up to £41 on eBay.
The coin was one of eight special varieties first released by The Royal Mint.
An estimated 500,000 of the coins entered circulation but collectors have reportedly been finding them hard to come by in their spare change.
The 1983 error 2p coin has been known to sell for up to £1,000 – 2,000 times its face value.
The pieces were struck incorrectly meaning they featured an old “New Pence” instead of “Two Pence” phrase.
The batch of error coins entered circulation as part of commemorative sets in the early 1980s and now they’re fetching giant sums.
If you think you might have one in your spare change, you need to look out for the 1983 date on the coin and if it says “New Pence” on the reverse side instead of “Two Pence”, you’ve got it.
This “fried egg” coin has been known to sell for £600 in the past due to an error in the striking process.
A design error on some of the £2 coins leaves them looking like a runny fried egg as the middle has spilt out on to the outer rim.
Because not many of these coins entered general circulation, plenty of buyers are willing to spend over the odds on getting one.
Some have been bought for £600 previously while you could get more depending on the condition and demand.
The rare “Lines Over Face” error 50p has been known to sell for £1,500 in the past.
The coin is one from the London 2012 Olympic Games series and depicts the image of swimmer.
But this coin in particular is worth lots because it features lines across the swimmers’ face that shouldn’t be there.
Nobody knows how many of the error coins were mistakenly made, although it is believed to be around 600.
A “dual-dated” £1 error coin has been known to fetch £2,500 in the past.
Both 2016 and 2017 obverse-dated (when the date is on head of the coin not the tail) £1 coins entered circulation in April 2017.
But an error on some of these coins meant a limited number wrongly ended up with the 2016 date on the Queen‘s head side.
On these coins there is a 2017 engraving on the reverse side in tiny writing.
Rare coin website Change Checker has previously branded the undated 20p the “holy grail of change collecting”.
Collectors have been known to search far and wide for the valuable coin ever since it entered circulation in 2008.
The Royal Mint decided to change the positioning of the date on every 20p piece in 2008, moving it from the back to the front.
But a batch of between 50,000 and 250,000 coins was released without any date at all as part of the manufacturing process.
Collectors are so keen to pick up one of the rare coins, they have been willing to pay up to £100 for one.
The most valuable and rare coins are usually the ones with low mintage numbers or an error.
A mintage number relates to how many of a certain coin were made, so the lower the number, the rarer and, generally, the more valuable a coin is.
Meanwhile, error coins are pieces that were incorrectly struck during the manufacturing process.
The ultra-rare “lines over face” 50p error coin is one such coin, which has been known to sell for £1,500 in the past.
There are three ways you can sell rare coins – on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.
If you’re selling on Facebook, there are risks attached.
Some sellers have previously been targeted by scammers who say they want to buy a rare note or coin and ask for money up front to pay for a courier to pick it up.
But the courier is never actually sent and you’re left out of pocket.
Rather than doing this, it’s always best to meet a Facebook seller in person when buying or selling a rare note or coin.
Ensure it’s a public meeting spot that’s in a well-lit area and if you can, avoid using payment links.
Next, you can sell at auction, which is generally the safest option.
You can organise this with The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
You will be charged for the service though – the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.
You can also sell rare coins on eBay.
But always bear in mind, you will only make what the buyer is willing to pay at that time.
You can search for the same note or coin as you have to see how much the same one has sold for on the website previously.
This can help give you an indication of how much you should sell it for.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
ISRAEL already has plans in place for a devastating reply to Iran’s blitz – they just need to press the button, a former Mossad spy has said.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Tehran “will pay” for its missile attack yesterday.
Avner Avraham said Israel is now set to do “huge damage you will see all over the world” – with a spectacular attack on a similar scale to the Islamic Republic’s 180-strong barrage on Tuesday night.
He is sure the US would take part in the attack in some form, whether through providing intelligence, logistical support, or weapons.
But Avraham thinks the US could even strike Iran directly with Israel as President Joe Biden and Democrats get closer to the November 5 election.
He said: “The USA government is on our side and I’m sure that they will take part in the attack. Maybe separately. Maybe we will attack Iran together.
“Maybe it’s important to show that Biden is strong and they want to show that he took part and attack Iran.”
Unlike April’s targeted response, Avraham said Israel would now seek to do “huge damage” in retaliation.
“This is again a huge failure, a huge failure for Iran. They are sending missiles, but we have systems that can ignore them, and they cannot attack us.”
Mossad, Avraham said, would also have long-prepared its surprise plans and would now begin to execute them.
He said: “Someone just need to press the button.”
After Iran’s Tuesday barrage, the US said it had “ironclad” support for Israel and would continue to stand side-by-side.
National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said: “The attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective, and this is a testament to Israeli military capability and the US military.”
US jets led a coalition of countries that defended Israel from the strikes, intercepting and shooting down some missiles before they could even get to Israel.
There is some talk that Israel could strike Iran’s oil refineries to try and cripple the country.
Trump pal and Republican senator Lindsey Graham said Iran’s strikes “should be the breaking point and I would urge the Biden Administration to coordinate an overwhelming response with Israel, starting with Iran’s ability to refine oil.
He said: “These oil refineries need to be hit and hit hard because that is the source of cash for the regime to perpetrate their terror.”
Israel hit a Houthi-controlled oil tank in Yemen on Sunday causing it to erupt in a massive explosion.
US forces include fighter jets, bombers and Navy destroyers equipped with Aegis defence systems that can shoot down missiles.
It comes as…
The US said it is not providing intelligence for Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
It comes as a Middle-Eastern expert said that Israel has “more options on the table this time around” and could focus on “several targets” in Iran.
Kasra Arabi, Director of IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran told The Sun there were three main areas which the IDF is likely to strike.
He said: “The first is targeting the Iranian regime. Military intelligence assets in Iran.
“Those assets that played a key role in orchestrating this attack.
“Those assets that have played a key role in orchestrating terrorist attacks more broadly across the region, across the world. So IRGC assets are one target.”
Mr Arabi added: “The regime’s oil infrastructure is another prime target.
“The oil infrastructure, by the way, is controlled by the IRGC. These aren’t civilian controlled oil refineries.
by Nick Parker, Foreign Editor, in northern Israel
I’D just ordered a coffee in a roadside cafe on my way back from Israel’s northern war zone when the alert flashed up on my phone.
It read: “Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel. Please take cover as soon as possible.”
I was sitting in a pizza restaurant in a much-rocketed area north of the coastal port of Haifa when the warning pinged in my pocket.
Moments later I saw other diners picking up their phones as warnings reached them but was impressed by their stoicism as they carried on munching on their margaritas.
These were people who have endured daily rocket attacks from Hezbollah for nearly a year but even they began to shuffle in their seats as more warnings appeared on their mobile security apps.
This was clearly something much bigger than the daily Hezbollah barrage from the north.
And moments later we were jammed in the door as it was confirmed that more than a hundred Iranian ballistic missiles flying at 14 times the speed of sound were on their way.
This was confirmed to be only the first of several waves of attacks heading out way.
We ran across the road into a concrete shelter where English speakers told me to expect to be stuck there for some time as I tapped out my story using the glow of my laptop screen.
Then moments later the first booms split the air high above as Iron Dome interceptors engaged the incoming rockets.
I – probably very foolishly – took a sneak peek into the sky outside and watched trails of red rockets racing up to meet the missiles in a spectacular but potentially deadly firework display.
But scary spectaculars like this have become a way of life for the people of northern Israel – who clearly trust the boffins whose rocket wizardry had saved their lives yet again.
It remained unclear whether Iran’s terror masters had inflicted death or destruction as they attempted to decimate their hated enemy.
And this may be just the first of many terrifying tests for the people of Israel, their enemies and the millions caught in the crossfire as the threat of a catastrophic war looms.
“Targeting the oil refineries would have a significant hit for the regime. It would be a significant setback in the regime’s access to cash. So that is a option on the table.”
He continued: “The final option at the moment that, I believe, is on the table is targeted high value assassinations against the IRGC senior leadership command, assassinations that are very surgical that are very precise.
“That take out the particular terrorist individual.
“We’ve seen Israel do this in relation to Ismail Haniyeh, for example, the Hamas leader was visiting Tehran and was under IRGC protection.
“Yet Israel managed to kill Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of Tehran.
Mr Arabi also said Iran’s nuclear facilities were another legitimate target.
He described Iran as a “violent Islamist extremist” regime and “deeply ideological” centred on the “eradication” of Israel.
Mr Arabi said: “The regime in Iran should not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
“This would be an existential threat to Israel, but it would also be an existential threat to the people of Iran who have taken to the streets en masse, and have sought to overthrow the Islamic Republic.”
A FOOTBALLER’S mum has left fans in disbelief after they mistook her for his Wag.
Former Bundesliga champion and Sunderland star Leon Dajaku appeared next to his mother, Blerta, as he posed with a shirt in a viral social media post last month.
But fans could not believe their eyes with her jaw-dropping looks.
Blerta, a Kosovan-Albanian beautician, has earned celebrity status in Croatia, where her son plays as an attacker for Hajduk Split.
While the blonde-bombshell might appear to be in her 20s, she is ageing like fine wine and is actually in her 40s.
And she recently became a grandmother after Dajaku and his stunning partner, Leonie June, gave birth to a baby girl, Nava, in March.
Blerta often shares glimpses of her jet-set lifestyle to her Instagram page, which has managed to capture the attention of and gain her a following of nearly 22,000 on the platform.
Glamorous destinations she has visited include Dubai, the Maldives, Paris and of course Sunderland.
Following Dajaku’s transfer to Hajduk Split, proud mum Blerta wrote: “Dear Leon, a new chapter in your life begins now in Croatia.
“May God have only the best for you and may you be healthy and happy. We love you, your family.”
Another post alongside him saw her say: “When I’m with you, my heart smiles.”
Reacting on social media, one fan said: “This is the guy’s MOTHER, not his wife. I’m genuinely in awe.”
A second said: “Bro looks older than his mum.”
A third said: “Lol no you’re trolling.”
Another said: “Oh my goodness.”
Dajaku is one of three sons Blerta has. He was born in Germany after Blerta and his father fled from the Yugoslavian civil war before bouncing between Stuttgart and Bayern Munich‘s youth teams.
He won the Bundesliga title with Bayern in 2020 after making two appearances.
Dajaku originally joined Sunderland on loan from Union Berlin in 2021 before securing a permanent transfer the following year.
He then spent the season on loan at FC St. Gallen before being sold to Hajduk Split in 2023.
Education Minister Norma Foley says she is “confident” that her measures in #Budget2025 will address the teacher shortage. Question by Ben Scallan.
The post Foley “confident” her Budget measures will fix the teacher shortage appeared first on Gript.
Pauley Perrette is fine with her decision to leave Hollywood behind.
In 2020, the NCIS star announced that she would officially retire from acting after spending over two decades in television....