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Chris Watts’ Parents Defend Son, Claim Shanann Watts Was Abusive
“He’s not a monster,” Cindy Watts, Chris Watts’ mother, said in a recent interview.
Ahead of his upcoming sentencing, the parents of Christopher Watts, a man who has admitted to murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters, are now claiming that he was actually the one being abused in their relationship.
The 33-year-old Coloradan pleaded guilty to killing his wife Shanann Watts and their children, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste, earlier this month, in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
Despite the violent charges against him, however, Watts seems to have the support of his parents, who defended him in a recent interview during which they appeared with their faces hidden.
Chris’ parents, Cindy and Ronnie Watts, told ABC 11 WTVD Eyewitness News, a local affiliate in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, in a interview Tuesday that their son was suffering at the hands of his wife while she was still alive. The couple claimed that Shanann Watts often kept Chris away from his family, according to the outlet.
“It was a very hard relationship, and as far as I’m concerned, I couldn’t do anything right,” Cindy told WTVD, adding that her son was “normal” and “not a monster” in her eyes.
“He was in sports since he was 5 years old until he was 17 years old,” she said. “There’s not one person you can talk to that will say anything bad about this kid. He was normal, he didn’t have a temper, he was just like his dad — just easygoing, rolls off his back, goes on.”
Watts reportedly told police that he killed his pregnant wife “in a rage” because he discovered that she’d strangled their two daughters after he told her he wanted a separation. He later admitted this was a lie.
Watts, who eventually admitted to police to having an adulterous relationship with a co-worker, is alleged to have disposed of the on the property of the petroleum company that he worked at for years. He buried his wife in a shallow grave, while his two daughters were left in oil and gas tanks.
Before their bodies were found, Watts begged for his family’s safety through various media outlets.
Ronnie Watts just wants to know what really happened, he told WTVD.
“It boils down to: I just want the truth of what really happened. If he did it all, I can live with it. If he didn’t, I want him to fight for it,” said Ronnie Watts, who also told the outlet that he believes what his son told police — that he killed Shanann after discovering that she’d killed their daughters.
“It’s hard for me to believe that he would hurt them (sic) girls no matter what,” Ronnie said in the interview. “The story he told me that night, I believed it. The way he looked at me, the way he was crying and everything, I believed it.”
Watts’ parents also said that they’ve had little contact with their son since his arrest, and claim to have no knowledge of the plea deal he’d recently struck.
Meanwhile, Shanann’s parents, Frank and Sandra Rzucek, issued a statement to the outlet in response to the Watts’ claims.
Their daughter was a “wonderful soul” — a “faithful wife” and “the most gentle and loving mother in the world,” the couple said.
“Everyone who knew Shanann knows this to be true,” their statement continued. “Even Chris Watts knows this to be true. Yet Chris Watts still chose to murder Shanann, Bella, Celeste, and [their unborn son] Nico. Chris Watts still chose to dump the bodies of his own family in oil tanks. And Chris Watts still chose to lie about it until he could lie no more. He pled guilty to murdering his family because he is guilty.”
The couple then addressed claims made about Shanann by Watt’s parents in a statement to KMGH.
“Monday evening, the parents of Chris Watts gave an interview in which they attempted to defend their son,” their statement reads. “In doing so, they felt the need to make vicious, grotesque and utterly false statements about Shanann. Their false statements, however hurtful and inaccurate, will never alter the truth about Shanann, and will never alter the truth about the crimes committed by their son, Chris Watts.”
The memory of their daughter “deserves to be protected,” they said, and “her family is fully prepared to do so.”
Watts’ sentencing is scheduled to take place on Monday.
[Photo Credit: Facebook]
