Why am I so fascinated with the Chris Watts case?
I first came across this case a few months ago when I was binge watching all of Bailey Sarian’s videos on YouTube. It was as harrowing as you would expect from a video of Bailey's: A father murdering his wife and two young daughters, then burying his wife in a shallow grave and dumping his children’s’ bodies in oil tanks.
I will be the first to admit that when reading a written description of the crime, I don’t really feel much. We are so used to reading reports of murder, and, having studied criminology, I have unfortunately become pretty desensitised to such words. So it got me wondering why this one lingered in my mind.
You see, Shanann Watts had a large social media presence, which is where I think my fixation can start to be explained. Psychologically, watching videos of someone confirms in your mind that they are a real life, breathing human being. Seeing many of Shanann’s videos on her Facebook page (which is still available for public viewing) of her with Chris and their children just makes the situation just that little bit more real.
Despite research, and common sense, explaining otherwise, it is still a common belief that we are able to visually identify a criminal. Although theories like Lombroso's are inaccurate, they highlight the thought process of most humans - generally, criminals are presumed to be unattractive, with specific aesthetic ‘defects’ and a particular type of personality. It is a harsh reality to many to realise that there is no way of simply visually recognising a criminal. If that was the case, more criminals would be caught! As a species, our brains like to be in control, and when they are unable to be so they fill in the gaps. Humans need rules, and in the absence of rules, assumptions. Otherwise, there would be complete chaos.
The idea that we cannot possibly know if someone around us, including our nearest and dearest, could be capable of committing a horrendous crime is rightfully terrifying.
Watching Shanann’s videos of Chris smiling at her and playing with their children illustrates this chilling fear - there is no way that they could have know their fate. Chris was an attractive, young male, who believably and undoubtedly to the eye shows love and affection towards his wife and children. To look at, we would not automatically paint Chris as the criminal, or even violent, ‘type’. Neighbours and friends of Chris stated this exactly, which supports the theory that the unexpected nature of a crime makes it more painful. Essentially, the level of shock equals the intensity of the psychological impact of a crime.
Shanann’s heavy online presence also, naturally, presents the factor of relatability. When you think of the most heinous crimes, they happened years ago before the now daily reliance on social media. All we would simply see are images of the criminal, the victim, and a written description of the crime, these being things that, as a generally desensitised society, we can easily turn a blind eye too. However, seeing someone active on Facebook makes us realise that, as well as there not being an archetypal criminal, there is also no such thing as an archetypal victim. Shanann was one of us, and it then not a far cry to imagine ourselves in the same situation.
Following the idea that video imagery has more of a psychological effect on how we respond to a crime, it is likely that I also had a larger attachment due to the fact I watched numerous videos on the subject.
Thanks to YouTube, I found myself watching the police bodycam footage of when the police initially arrived at the house following a concerned phone call from a friend. To the average viewer, when Chris arrives there are no immediate signs of guilt. Even though he seems a bit suspicious as the footage goes on, there is nothing that obvious screams HE DID IT. To be in the company of someone that can successfully hide their guilt like that, in front of their neighbours, friends and policemen, is rightfully terrifying. It, again, shows that, unless their is clear evidence of guilt of course, there is no way of knowing if a murderer is around us.
The police interrogation interview footage also generates the same reactions. Even when the police present him with the presumed truth multiple times, Chris is still able to lie and try and talk his way out of the situation.
It is only until he confesses to his Dad (well, sort of - he initially says Shanann murdered the children and so he murdered her as a result, which was later proven by the autopsy results to be untrue), that we realise that underneath an attractive, young, unsuspecting exterior is someone capable of murder.
As well as the psychological impact of video footage, there are the more obvious elements as well that have likely made this case more fixated in my mind. Those familiar with Jewkes' theory of 'newsworthiness' will know that elements that are considered to make a news story more attractive to the public audience include predictability (the less predictable an event, the more shocking), proximity (cultural proximity, in how relevant it is to the general public), the involvement of children, and visual spectacle (shocking images).
A high level of newsworthiness implies a higher level of interest. Because this case includes so many of Jewkes’ ‘newsworthiness’ traits, it is likely that it will stay in the minds of most people who are aware of this case. I guess that’s why they decided to make a Netflix documentary about it.
(SIDE NOTE) It is easy to read about newsworthiness, and question it’s morality - surely one murder of a child is not more ‘worthy’ of news attention than the murder of another child. Perhaps all criminals deserve to be named and shamed in the news. Even the word ‘worthiness’ itself implies a level of positivity that shouldn’t even be associated with such violent crimes. Should the murdered even be allowed to have such attention?
Unfortunately, while they more often than not do not deserve it, it is important to remember that the victim may very well do. Without the reports of a victim’s suffering, we would not know the violent capabilities of the human mind. I also like to think that the victim would be pleased to see the amount of support they would receive.
When searching for photos for this post, I came across the one above. After the police arrive at Chris’ house, Chris’ neighbour explains that his CCTV camera captures Chris' driveway, meaning they could see if anyone else arrived at the property. While playing the footage, they quickly realise that Chris was the only one who left the house that day, meaning it was more than likely that he was involved. It is this moment, along with the rest of the police bodycam footage, that also gets my mind racing. As a highly anxious person, I cannot possibly imagine how someone could keep a relaxed exterior after murdering their family just a few hours prior. As a psychology graduate, I am aware of psychopathy and narcissism which can explain this behaviour, but I am still baffled as to how he can remain so calm when I myself would be acting super suspicious. Despite him being somewhat relatable - a young family man with no prior convictions - it is these completely unrelatable actions that make him stick out in my mind. In other murder cases, it is common for those who knew the murderer to step forward and say they were ‘not surprised’, or that they had shown signs of aggression or criminality in the past. In this case, however, it really did seem to happen out of the blue for everyone. While people will be quick to point out that both Shanann and Chris were unhappy with their relationship, it is in no way an indicator that Chris would later murder Shanann. Shanann was pretty vocal about her relationship concerns with her friends, and her messages never indicated any concern or worries that Chris would harm her or her children. It is hard for me to put it across in a short amount of text, but you can find the messages online here.
Overall, my fascination seems to stem from a number of factors - how relatable both Shanann and Chris were, the element of social media, video footage and shock factor.Chris Watts is currently serving 5 life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 84 years.My heart is with Shanann, Celeste, Bella, and Nico, the 15 week unborn child of Shanann.
For more information, I highly recommend these videos (most have been linked throughout the post):
Police bodycam footage: https://youtu.be/G0qZZc2nNzM
Chris Watts’ prison interview: https://youtu.be/duu2NePfEo0
Bailey Sarian’s Chris Watts video: https://youtu.be/UbnulKZg3L8
Chris Watts police interrogation and confession: https://youtu.be/hs_CInVpwo0
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