It appears even Chris Watts knew of the dangers that ultimately led to his own apparent moral demise.
Watts, the Denver-based father charged with killing his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two children, 4-year-old Celeste and 3-year-old Bella, discussed ways to save or abandon relationships in a 2012 video posted six months before the two were married.
In the roughly 10-minute video, first unearthed by The Denver Post, Watts explained he was rehearsing a presentation for a course he was taking at the time.
UPDATE: Chris Watts Was Having an Affair With Co-Worker Ahead of Shocking Triple Murder
He went on to address the importance, in his understanding, of “lust” in a marital relationship.
“Sometimes you find your partner no longer attractive physically or in their personality,” he said. “When you are in a relationship, you have to show desire, lust toward your partner. Sometimes when you get married, that lust and the desire kind of fall by the wayside a little bit.”
Perhaps most eerily, though, is the fact that the video showed Watts speaking about infidelity, explaining how extramarital affairs — particularly with a coworker — can result in failed marriages.
“You might meet a new person and [it] could strengthen into something else and could weaken the bond you have with the partner you have,” he said during his presentation.
The discovery of this video comes just days after it was revealed Watts was, according to law enforcement officers, engaging in an extramarital affair with a female coworker from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. He had denied the relationship in previous interviews.
Watts was taken into custody by police last Wednesday and has since been charged with nine felony counts. He is facing five first-degree murder charges, including two for killing a child under the age of 12, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
Watts has changed his story numerous times. Initially, he seemed to suggest during an interview with the press that his wife and children were missing, telling journalists he and Shanann were engaged in an “emotional” conversation shortly after he arrived back home from a business trip around 2 a.m. on August 13, when he told her he wanted a separation.
Then, according to his arrest affidavit, he admitted to police he strangled his wife, 34, after seeing her do the same to their two young daughters.
“Chris stated after he told Shanann he wanted a separation, he walked downstairs for a moment and then returned to his bedroom to speak with Shanann again,” the affidavit states. “While in the bedroom, via baby monitor located on Shanann’s nightstand, he observed Bella ‘sprawled’ out on her bed and blue and Shanann actively strangling Celeste.”
After witnessing his spouse’s alleged actions, Watts “went into a rage and ultimately strangled Shanann to death.”
Watts eventually told police he buried Shanann’s body in a shallow grave near two large oil drums located in a deserted area belonging to Anadarko Petroleum Corp. accessible only by a single dirt road. He also admitted to dumping his daughters’ bodies inside the oil tanks.
The 33-year-old father is currently being held without bail at Weld County Jail.