Everyone thought Chris Watts’ story had ended eight years ago… but a marriage application filed from behind prison walls has suddenly thrust one of America’s most notorious murd3;r cases back into the spotlight

Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife and children eight years ago in 2018.

However, before he was caught, the convicted killer played the worried father. When his pregnant wife Shanann Watts and two daughters Bella and Celeste went missing from their Colorado home on Aug. 13, 2018, Chris gave a series of televised interviews, pleading for their safe return. Days later, he confessed to their murders.

Chris Watts booking photo ; Chris and Shannan Watts.Weld County Sheriff’s Office ; Shannan Watts/Facebook

Police didn’t buy Chris’ allegation that he had only killed Shanann after she killed their kids following his request for separation. Authorities believed he murdered them all, and in November 2018, the father pleaded guilty to all charges of first-degree murder in exchange for being spared a potential death sentence, per The New York Times.

Instead, Chris was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has served that sentence primarily in Wisconsin, where his friend Kim told PEOPLE in May 2019 that he had been reflecting on his past.

“He’s sad that everyone is hurting,” she said, asking only to be identified by her first name. “He wishes he could go back in time. He wishes he had handled things differently.” In August 2026, Chris reportedly applied to marry a woman named Lizzie Henderson.

Here’s everything to know about where Chris Watts is now.

Who is Chris Watts?

Shanann Watts and Chris Watts with their two daughters.Netflix

Chris is a former employee of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in Colorado. In November 2018, he was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two children.

Shanann and Chris met on Facebook in 2010. They welcomed their first daughter, Bella, in December 2013, followed by their second daughter, Celeste, in July 2015. In 2018, Shanann found out she was pregnant with their third child, a boy she planned to name Niko.

Days before the homicides, Shanann had confided in a friend about problems in her marriage, saying in a text that Chris had “changed” and hadn’t shown her any physical affection all week. Before his guilty plea, it was revealed that Chris had been having an affair with a co-worker and that Shanann had confronted him about it.

The woman, Nichol Kessinger, came forward and told authorities that she believed Chris was going through an amicable divorce during the course of their relationship.

What was Chris accused of?

Chris Watts and Shanann Watts with their two daughters.Facebook

On Aug. 15, 2018, two days after his pregnant wife and daughters were reported missing, Chris confessed to killing Shanann. However, he claimed it was because she had smothered their two kids to death after he told her he wanted to separate.

The next day, Bella and Celeste’s bodies were found in oil tanks where Chris worked. Shanann’s body was found nearby, buried in a shallow grave, per The New York Times.

Police did not believe Chris’ account of the crime and charged him with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of tampering with a body.

What was Chris convicted of?

Chris Watts sits in court for his sentencing hearing at the Weld County Courthouse in Greeley, Colo., on Nov. 19, 2018.RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

In November 2018, Chris pleaded guilty to killing his pregnant wife and daughters.

“The evidence against him was overwhelming,” a source close to him told PEOPLE at the time. “He had no choice, considering the evidence. It took time for him to come around, but he did.”

His guilty plea meant he was convicted of nine total charges: five counts of first-degree murder, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a dead body, according to The New York Times.

Chris received five life sentences, per the publication, which included 48 years for the unlawful termination of Shanann’s pregnancy and 36 years for the disposal of her and the children’s bodies. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

What has Chris said about the murders?

Chris Watts and Shanann Watts in a photo shared on Facebook on May 5, 2018.Shanann Watts/Facebook

Following a Feb. 18, 2019, interview with Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wis., Chris’ full confession was made public in March 2019.

Chris shared with detectives that on the night of the murders, he and his wife had a fight, he confessed his affair to Shanann and told her that he didn’t love her anymore. When Shanann threatened to leave him and take their children, he strangled and killed her.

Chris then admitted to driving her body to an oil field while their daughters were still alive in the backseat. After burying her, Chris smothered his two children.

According to handwritten notes obtained by the New York Post in August 2024, Chris allegedly described Shanann as a “control freak” and said that Kessinger was “everything” his “wife wasn’t.” He also told fellow prisoner Dylan Tallman that his mistress was “the death” of him.

Where is Chris now?

Chris Watts’ booking photo from the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.Weld County Sheriff’s Office

Although Chris was convicted and sentenced in Colorado in December 2018, he was transferred to the Dodge Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison located in Wisconsin. KKTV reported at the time that the move was due to security reasons.

While incarcerated, Chris has received two conduct reports, a spokesperson for Dodge told PEOPLE. One was in 2020, for “unauthorized forms of communication and unauthorized transfer of property,” and the other was in 2021, for “disobeying orders and possession of miscellaneous contraband.”

In April 2019, PEOPLE reported that Chris kept family photos of Shanann, Bella and Celeste in his cell. Outrage ensued, prompting an online petition that garnered more than 20,000 signatures, urging officials to remove the photos. However, the campaign was unsuccessful, with the Department of Corrections claiming there was no legal basis for removal.

As he celebrated his 36th birthday in prison in May 2021, a source told PEOPLE that other inmates and guards ostracized Chris, and he reportedly went days without talking to anyone.

“No one wants anything to do with him,” the source said. “He’s on the lowest social tier of the entire prison. He’s in protective custody because if he’s around other inmates, he’d be in real danger. He’s an outcast, even among criminals.”

In addition to exercising and working as a custodian, Chris has corresponded with multiple women during his incarceration.

“They send sexy pictures, and he responds,” a source told PEOPLE in November 2022. “There are a lot of women who think he’s handsome and misunderstood. They send a lot of letters.”

“He’s got nothing else to do. So he feeds his ego in that way,” the source continued, adding, “The only outlet he has is with these letters.”

Chris reportedly applied in August 2026 to marry Lizzie Henderson.

SOURCE: PEOPLE

https://people.com/inside-chris-watts-life-now-12025610

Everyone thought Chris Watts’ story had ende...