Chris Watts Says He Didn't Sleep 'More Than Three Hours A Night' While Using Thrive Patches

Chris Watts, the man who killed his entire family last year with his bare hands, spoke about his usage of Thrive patches and how they affected him during newly released interviews with authorities.

Watts pleaded guilty last year to killing his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. Late last year, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the crimes.

Watts sat down with investigators from the Frederick Police Department, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI on Feb. 18 for a five-hour interview, which was released Thursday.

The confessed killer was a regular user of Thrive, a weight-loss supplement that promises to help boost energy and increase overall health through patches, pills and shakes. He was introduced to the regimen through wife Shanann, who worked as a promoter and advertiser for the marketing company Le-Vel, which makes the product. She can be seen in online videos and posts raving about it in an effort to recruit new users.

Chris said he hated those videos and being a part of them.

“I did it for her but like it was i just hated being out for everybody for see,” he told investigators. “I never wanted to be out there.”

Investigators talked about a Thrive video that he was in and how it looked like he hated to be a part of it.

“She could sell everything you’re wearing back to you,” he said of his wife, maintaining that he is not the salesman type. “Those videos were not me. I just did it to support her.”

Chris said he wore patches and that they definitely had an effect on him.

One investigator asked him if he felt like a different person when he wore them?

He said that one of the patches that he used, DUO : BURN, a patch for losing weight , appeared to raise his heart rate.

“Just from those patches,” he said.

When an investigator asked if they had caffeine in them he responded,  “They had something in them.”

He said other patches had caffeine in them but they didn’t affect him in the same way that these did. DUO: BURN patches claim to be made up of mostly Forslean, a plant, extract.

"It felt like I was working out all day even though I wasn’t,” Chris said. He appeared to blame the patch for unhealthy sleeping habits, stating that his mistress Nichol Kessinger said he’d fall asleep on the couch in the middle of talking and then “pick back up as if I had never fallen asleep. I don’t know if it was an insomnia thing or what but I wasn’t sleeping much, man.”

One of the investigators asked if Chris felt the patches changed him.

“I don’t really know,” he replied, “I just know I felt different on those than with any other patch. I could just go longer and longer each day and that was probably a bad thing. I don’t think I was probably sleeping more than three hours a night.”

It’s not clear how often he wore that patch or if he was wearing them at the time he killed his family.

Thrive claims to be packed with “over 100 premium grade vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, digestive enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants, protein, fiber and more” as it bolsters energy and eases aches. But it's important to note, as the Wall Street Journal does, that claims in relation to patches and weight loss are hard to prove.

In fact, the Federal Trade Commission suggests consumers be skeptical of such products:

"Whether it’s a pill, patch, or cream, there’s no shortage of ads promising quick and easy weight loss without diet or exercise. But the claims just aren’t true, and some of these products could even hurt your health. The best way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories and get more exercise. Don’t be hooked by promises, testimonials, or supposed endorsements from reporters; all you’ll lose is money."