Christopher Watts pleads guilty to murdering pregnant wife, two children

WELD COUNTY — Christopher Watts, the Frederick man accused of killing his pregnant wife and two children in August, pleaded guilty to all nine counts against him on Tuesday.

Watts appeared at 2 p.m in Division 17 of Weld District Court for a 30-minute status conference the Weld District Attorney’s Office announced late Friday. He wasn’t scheduled to return to court until 10:30 a.m. Nov. 19 for a status conference in Division 16.

Prior to the conference, Watts faced the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole. As part of the plea, Rourke, with the agreement of the victims’ family, eliminated the possibility of the death penalty in exchange for Watts pleading guilty to counts against him.

Weld District Attorney Michael Rourke formally charged Watts about three months ago with five counts of first-degree murder, three counts of tampering with a deceased human body and one count of unlawful termination of pregnancy.

Watts faces a minimum sentence of life without parole for the murder counts, 16 to 48 years for the unlawful termination of a pregnancy and 4 to 12 years for tampering with deceased bodies.

He will remain in the Weld County Jail without bond.

Check back with GreeleyTribune.com for updates.

OUR PAST COVERAGE OF THE CASE:

• Watts claims in arrest affidavit Shanann killed two daughters over possible divorce

• Christopher Watts appears in court for formal advisement of charges in Frederick triple homicide

• Autopsy reports complete in Christopher Watts murder case

• Weld County Coroner files petition to seal autopsy reports in Christopher Watts case

—Tribune Public Safety Reporter Joe Moylan contributed to this report.