Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash

I don’t know about you, but I have been following the murders of a pregnant Shanann Watts, her two young daughters and what could have driven a man to kill his whole family.

It has since come out in the wash that Chris Watts was having an affair with someone he worked with, and had told his wife that he wanted to separate.

He claims that after the civil, but emotional, conversation that he’d gone downstairs and then returned to the bedroom to see his wife, on a video monitor on her nightstand, strangling one of his daughters, while the other was “sprawled” on her bed, blue, an unsealed affidavit reported.

A neighbor’s security camera showed Watts backing his truck up to the house and then pulling out a short while later.

He has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder after deliberation, two counts of first-degree murder — victim under 12/position of trust, one count of first-degree unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body, according to Colorado court records, as reported by a Denver news outlet.

Sadly, the armchair detective that decreed that Watts had a “side-piece” was right. This is the part where I get really pissed off.

Disclaimer: What follows is simply my opinion of what’s been released, thus far. Opinions are like assholes in that most of us have one, so take this with a grain of salt.

First of all, I get that spouses cheat. That doesn’t make it right, but it happens all the time. To kill your spouse and children over it, though? I can’t even come up with a justification for this, nor can any other sane person on the planet.

I know, from firsthand experience, that divorces are expensive, and if you have massive debt (remember, the couple filed for bankruptcy in 2015), attorney fees just make life harder. Do you know what else makes life harder? At best, life in prison. At worst, the death penalty. I’m pretty sure Watts’ current object of affection isn’t going to be headed to the prison any time soon for conjugal visits. Just saying.

Did Watts’ “little head” do the thinking for him or is he just insane?

Just get the damned divorce, people! Wherever your hormones lead you, it isn’t worth taking the lives of innocent people, and for shit’s sake, if you kill your kids? Don’t blame the act on your dead wife, who is unable to tell her side of the story, because you stole her life from her.

Adding insult to injury, those little girls’ bodies were found in oil tanks, where they’d been floating for three days! This is beyond screwed up.

I just have a terrible time getting my mind around crimes like this one. They are so freaking unnecessary. Taking a life because your own is endangered is one thing. Taking four because you need out? You might need Jesus, but you might also need the death penalty.

Yes, I know, innocent until proven guilty, and I would never be chosen to be a jury member at Watts’ trial, which is a good thing, as we can all see that I have definite opinions on Watts’ guilt.

Thanks for reading, and I’d love to read your opinions on this case.

*This was originally published on Medium on 8/22/18.