Chris Watts, the Colorado man who shocked the nation after brutally killing his pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters in 2018, has sparked outrage once again. In newly revealed prison conversations, Watts claimed that God has “forgiven him” — a statement that comes alongside what many have described as a disgusting attempt to justify the unimaginable crimes that tore apart his family. For the families of Shanann, Bella, and Celeste, and for millions who followed the case, the words are reopening wounds that never fully healed.
According to details first obtained by Daily Mail investigations, Watts told a prison ministry worker that he had come to terms with his actions through faith, insisting that divine forgiveness had been granted. The revelation has drawn fury from victims’ advocates, who argue that no religious claim can erase the horror of what he did. “It’s beyond disturbing,” one former prosecutor told reporters. “This man isn’t just guilty — he’s remorseless, and now he’s cloaking himself in religion.”
“Chris Watts saying God forgave him is the most grotesque insult to Shanann and those babies.”— @TrueCrimeFiles
Watts’ comments, shared during what prison officials described as routine spiritual counseling, went further. In his own words, he claimed that his family had “stood in the way” of what he wanted in life — an explanation that many observers see as more of a justification than a confession. A crime analyst writing for Oxygen’s true crime section noted: “His narrative remains self-centered, more about what he thought he lost than the lives he stole.”
The murders, committed in August 2018, remain some of the most haunting in recent American memory. Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was strangled in her home before Watts transported her body to an oil field owned by his employer. Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were smothered and placed in crude oil tanks. The gruesome details later emerged in police interviews, as Watts admitted the crimes after initially pleading for their safe return on live television. That moment, now infamous, has been replayed countless times as a chilling example of a killer hiding in plain sight.
Legal experts have long pointed to Watts’ original confessions as riddled with inconsistencies. But the recent statements about divine forgiveness, covered in NBC News retrospectives, suggest he may be reshaping the story of his crimes from behind bars. For the Rzucek family, Shanann’s parents, the idea that he views himself as absolved is intolerable. “He doesn’t get forgiveness,” a family friend told journalists. “He gets life in prison, and that’s still more mercy than he ever gave Shanann or those girls.”
“To hear Chris Watts talk about God’s forgiveness while Shanann’s family still mourn daily is unbearable.”— @JusticeForShanann
Religious leaders, too, have entered the debate. Reverend Angela Morris of Denver, speaking with The Denver Post, argued that invoking God in this way is manipulative. “Faith is about accountability and repentance,” she said. “Repentance means acknowledging the truth and accepting consequences. From what I’ve seen, Watts has done neither. His words aren’t about God — they’re about Chris Watts.”
Online, public outrage has surged. On platforms like TikTok and Twitter, hashtags such as #NoForgivenessForWatts trended as users shared old footage of Shanann speaking about her daughters. One viral post contrasted Watts’ prison comments with a clip of Shanann joyfully preparing for the birth of their third child. “This was their reality,” the post read, “and he destroyed it.” The juxtaposition left many viewers in tears, with thousands demanding that prison ministries stop giving Watts any platform to speak publicly about his crimes.
Prison officials confirmed to The Coloradoan that Watts remains in protective custody due to threats from other inmates. While some prisoners convicted of violent crimes eventually fade from public memory, Watts has become a recurring subject of documentaries, podcasts, and books. Netflix’s documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door reignited global attention in 2020, cementing the case as one of the most infamous family murders of the 21st century. Each time new information surfaces, families of victims are forced to relive the trauma.
“Chris Watts doesn’t deserve a Netflix special, a documentary, or forgiveness. He deserves silence and accountability.”— @TrueCrimeJunkie
Some psychologists, like Dr. Marcus Levine, have warned that granting Watts attention may reinforce his narcissistic tendencies. In an interview with Psychology Today, Levine explained: “Killers like Watts often reinterpret their crimes in ways that maintain control over the narrative. Talking about forgiveness allows him to cast himself as a redeemed figure rather than the perpetrator of atrocities. It’s a way of stealing focus from the victims once again.”
The Rzucek family, meanwhile, continues to fight for Shanann’s legacy. In past interviews with People magazine, her parents spoke of the importance of remembering Shanann as a devoted mother and a woman of resilience. “She was love,” her mother said. “She was strength. And she was everything he could never be.” These words are now being shared widely once again, as the family works to ensure the public does not lose sight of the true victims.
In legal terms, Watts will never walk free. He is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole. Yet his statements about faith, covered in Fox News reports, keep him in the headlines — sparking debate not about whether he is guilty, but about how society should respond to criminals who attempt to use religion to reshape their legacy.
Some argue that forgiveness, in the religious sense, is possible for anyone. But for those who lost Shanann, Bella, Celeste, and unborn baby Nico, the idea that Watts is forgiven feels like an insult layered on top of devastation. As one social media user put it, “God may forgive him, but we never will. And no one should ever forget what he did.”
The case of Chris Watts remains a study in horror, narcissism, and manipulation. Each new revelation — whether it’s his prison confessions, claims of forgiveness, or distorted justifications — deepens the pain for victims’ families and fuels debates about crime, faith, and accountability. What never changes, however, is the enduring truth: Shanann and her daughters deserved life, love, and protection. Instead, they became victims of the man who now claims heaven has forgiven him.