Chris Watts: Domestic Violence Offender Turned Killer

Louis Conte’s The Truth be Told: Exploring corruption, controversy, and deception in today’s world from the perspective of a forensic psychophysiologist (Polygraph Examiner).

Louis Conte is a professional Polygraph Examiner, investigator, and writer. In addition to the thousands of offenders he interviewed over his thirty-three years in law enforcement, Conte has conducted over fourteen hundred polygraph cases. He uses well-honed observation skills to ferret out the truth. Observation and careful attention to words and behavior often reveal the truth.

In my last article I focused on Harvey Weinstein, drawing upon my years of experience with sex offenders as part of my practice. I also polygraph domestic violence offenders.

Domestic violence cases represent a unique challenge because the potential for violent behavior toward the victims is always a prime concern for everyone involved in the case. A well-known and tragic case of domestic violence is the matter of Chris Watts, the Colorado man who murdered his pregnant wife and children in 2018.

In this first video, Watts is interviewed by a television reporter.

Watts’ affect is odd. If my wife and children were suddenly missing, I would be an emotional wreck, desperate to do anything I could to locate them and bring them home. Would you not be the same?

Yet Watts seems fairly calm. He bites his lip, and his blink rate increases when he gives the reporter the ages of his children. When asked if he believes if his wife “just took off?”, Watts smiles inappropriately and then appears to quickly sneer, denoting contempt. At times, he also smiles when describing how he misses his children and that “It was tearing me apart last night.” Yet his smile is incongruent with what he is saying. At times, Watts moves slowly, shifting his feet, but generally, he seems calm.

I believe that most people in this situation would not be able to get through an interview this composed.  

The next video shows a very different perspective on what people do for their children when something horrible is happening.

Of course, these are different situations. The point I am making is clear: You do everything to save your kids. The heat on the porch must have been unbearable but this woman would willingly burn to death saving her children first. She passed her children to the fire fighters, who quickly organized an assembly line to move the children down the ladder. The mother leaves only after her children are saved. The porch was engulfed in flames a few seconds later.

That kind of behavior stands in stark contrast here: We know Watts killed his wife and children in cold blood simply because he wanted to move on in his life. In my opinion, Watts is a psychopath.

It is also my opinion that Watts mentally rehearsed some of what he would say to the media and police. This is a reasonable assumption because it became clear that he planned the murder of his family. He puts on a calm, reasonable demeanor in an attempt to appear believable. Watts thought he would get away with the crime. He never factored in how dogged the investigators would be and how they would wear him down.

Watts began admitting his offense to police after a very skilled police polygraph examiner found him to be deceptive on a polygraph which led into the interview that resulted in his admissions.

However, leading up to that moment, there was excellent police/detective teamwork and the help of a neighbor who provided information and insights into Watts’ behavior to police. The neighbor shared important information with the police about what he knew of Watts relationship with his wife: He revealed that the couple had several loud arguments in the recent past. The neighbor also contributed genuine insights into Watts’ body language which gave the detectives more information to examine. Take note of the neighbor’s comments about Watts in the police body-cam video below.

As the officer walks in, Watts is focused on his cell phone. Throughout the many hours of video, Watts rarely expresses desperation about the whereabouts of his wife and children. One could argue that Watts is in shock and is overwhelmed, but we need to look further into his behavior.

When his neighbor starts running the video from his security cameras, Watts begins swaying back and forth, anxiously. He then raises his hands and holds the top of his head – an example of what body language experts call displacement behavior. Watts keeps his hands on the top of his head for seventy seconds. What Watts is “displacing” is stress from the fear of getting caught for his crime. Watts is worried that his neighbor’s security video will show him doing something incriminating. He turns and stares at the police officer, his eye are wide, and he is biting his lips. He talks about people breaking into garages in the neighborhood. Is he making excuses? The neighbor disputes what he says and points out everything that the camera captures. Watts is perspiring, a clear indicator that he is experiencing fight or flight. He looks away from the television – he does not want to see it.

In my opinion, Watts is in fight or flight mode. He turns toward the hallway leading from the entrance of the home. Is he looking for an escape route?

Several seconds pass and then, remarkably, a video of a fetus appears on the television screen after the security video has ended. Watts says to the police officer “She’s (his wife) pregnant as well.”

The officer asks, “How far along?”

“Fourteen, fifteen weeks,” Watts replies without emotion. “That’s why her friend said it was low blood sugar.” He is serving up more information to distract investigators.

Then Watts goes back to manipulating his cell phone and pacing. As the neighbor continues to run more video, there are times when one can see Watts glare at him.

After Watts leaves, the neighbor tells the officer, “He’s not acting right at all.” He notes that Watts never rocks back and forth in the manner he did during this encounter.

Ultimately, we learn that Watts killed his wife and children. His crime is atrocious. He will spend the rest of his life in prison. Watts deserves at least that.

We would all like to believe that he was destined to be caught but, the truth be told, there are many times when horrific crimes go unpunished. In this case, solid police work, a skilled polygraph examiner and a neighbor who stepped up to share his observations and insights, brought a killer to justice.