#26 July 29th, 2018: “You’re out of it from Playing” #1yearagotodayCW

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On Sunday morning, Chris Watts awoke in a yellow tent at the Zapata Falls campsite. Probably the firewood and ice they’d bought at the Oasis gas station the previous day was already burned through, and melted.

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But it was a night well spent, and the start of a beautiful new day in Colorado. That morning, the lovebirds left their perch beneath the trees and above the clouds, and headed to the falls.

By 09:22, relatively late, Watts started taking photos.  If the previous afternoon had been cloudy, and and about sand, dunes, surfing and leaving footprints in the sand, Sunday morning was about a slower, gentler pace, with the sound of gurgling water, and a whooshing waterfall in the background.

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The power and beauty of the natural setting was relaxing and refreshing. That day Watts changed his grey shirt for a shirt with a grey front, and charcoal black shoulders and sleeves. Kessinger changed her bright outfit for a softer grey too.

 

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At 10:38 Watts transferred a fully nude selfie of Kessinger to his secret calculator app. Was it taken that night?

At 10:55 Watts consulted his phone again and noted with dismay what he expected to find: a bunch of missed calls from his wife. He felt the resistance rising in him as he reported to her that the hike was “finished”, and that they were heading back. He purposefully didn’t call. He didn’t want to talk to her. He didn’t want to go back.

In the image above, taken by Kessinger, notice there’s a slight edge to Watts’ smile. It’s slightly forced.

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Between 12:46 and 14:21 Shan’ann made four more unanswered calls to her husband. Kessinger’s friend Charlotte Nelson also called her, and invited her to a Renaissance Festival. But the “hike” wasn’t quite over.

When returning home from the Great Sand Dunes, NICHOL’s friend CHAROLETTE asked her to go to the Renaissance Festival. NICHOL made an excuse why she could not go as she was with CHRIS and did not want CHAROLETTE to know. NICHOL said she and CHRIS stopped in Colorado Springs at “BJ’s”. They sat to the right of the doors and CHRIS paid for their meals with a gift card. BJ’s Restaurant is located at 5150 North Nevada Ave Colorado Springs, Colorado. – Discovery Documents, page 648

We see that on July 30th it was still important for Watts to keep his expenditures off Shan’ann’s radar. That’s what the gift card and the mypredpaidcenter visits were all about.

It’s a four-hour drive from the Great Sand Dunes back to Frederick, via the BJ’s restaurant in Colorado Springs and through Denver. Watts knew Shan’ann wanted to talk to him and would be pissed when he did, so he elected to postpone the inevitable confrontation.

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Watts finally called Shan’ann and spoke briefly to her at 14:25. He’d been incommunicado in terms of direct two-way communication since Friday afternoon at 16:44 [assuming the Phone Data Review is accurate]. It’s likely this call on Sunday afternoon was made with Kessinger still sitting beside him in the car, possibly driving.

On the other hand, maybe Watts was driving since he didn’t respond to a series of work-related texts throughout the day either. Watts only reported in to them at 18:20.

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By 17:30 Shan’ann was starting to losing it. She made more unanswered calls to him, then texted him again at 17:49. Watts used the bit of intel he had to fashion a credible lie. He knew about the Renaissance Festival. He used a plausible event to conceal and divert from his little adventure further south.

Shan’ann finally got hold of her errant husband at 19:24, when they held a fourteen minute conversation. Shan’ann clearly bought his bullshit, but then wanted to have a conversation with her husband. But he didn’t want to. The weekend [as far as he was concerned], still wasn’t over.

Shan’ann wanted to talk about her weekend, and especially her Sunday.

This is what she’d been up to while Watts was sandboarding with his girlfriend.

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But even though Shan’ann was trying to guilt him into talking to her, her sarcasm didn’t work. He told her he was sorry she had a hard weekend, and he’d make it up to her. Well, he wasn’t sorry, otherwise he would have stuck around to talk to her. And he wasn’t going to make it up to her, he just needed her to get off his back ASAP so he could back to her.

Shan’ann followed this up with a few more barbs until she finally gave up, telling him she was done begging him to talk to her. But Shan’ann’s right. He was out of it – their marriage – from playing. And if Shan’ann was done, it just made his life so much easier.

Watts’ mind, meanwhile, was on how to pay for the events of that evening and July 31st, his very last day with the new love of his life before he was torn back to North Carolina.

#25 July 28th, 2018: “So Damn Sexy!” #1yearagotodayCW

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Based on the sheer amount of photos Chris Watts took during the two-day camping trip to the Great Sand Dunes, it’s clear the adventure with Nichol Kessinger meant a lot to him. It was exciting, fun, and he was intoxicated by her [and she by him].

They used Kessinger’s vehicle to travel to the Great Sand Dunes, and by 12:53 they’d already pitched a yellow tent [Kessinger’s].

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This song was playing in the background when the campsite was briefly recorded on video:

It looks like these images below [above cloud level] were taken with the campsite slightly in the background, to the left.

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Between 14:29 and 18:55 Watts took dozens of photos and video, of the landscape, but also of his mistress sandboarding, and several selfies of himself with her. Kessinger was dressed provocatively for the outing in a tight, sleeveless teal t-shirt, and very short shorts. Watts was more understated in a grey shirt, black shorts and black cap.

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Even without make-up, Kessinger was hitting the right buttons with Watts, causing him to voiceover a video of her skiing down to the bottom of a dune:

“So damn sexy!”

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She thought he was too.

We know that shortly after the trip ended, on July 30th, Watts wrote several love letters on colored paper.

Whatever he felt, it appeared to be mutual. In a self-recorded video that first afternoon, Kessinger breathlessly thanked Watts for coming out with her, and said she was glad he was having a blast.

Both Watts and his mistress knew they had to make this last weekend count. It was the last chance, at the end of their long, hot, summer romance, to punch the ticket and stay on the roller-coaster for one final series of giddy swoops and turns.  After that, it would be back to intermittent cuddles and random, stolen intimacies.

Kessinger still had the idea then that when Shan’ann and the kids returned, her access to her beau would be seriously reduced. Watts was even more painfully aware that once Shan’ann and the kids were back, the roller-coaster ride was going to be over, perhaps forever.

That night they made a campfire and then bedded down together under the whispering trees and twinkling stars.

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It’s also worth noting that on July 28th Shan’ann never got hold of Watts, and he never got hold of her. If they had spoken at any time that day, perhaps this would have interrupted the spell, broken “the leash” Kessinger was placing on her man.

This was the first day in weeks, perhaps years, that they had not spoken for a full day, and perhaps that was all that was needed to put his family completely out of his mind. On the 28th he was experiencing what it felt like not be be married, not to be a husband, not to be a father, not to be obligated to them. He didn’t need to think about them or do anything he didn’t want to do. And he liked loved it. This was the life he wanted.

The Great Sand Dunes made an indelible impression on Watts and, based on Kessinger’s texts to her friend Charlotte Nelson two weeks later, seemed to seal the deal for her too.

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#24 July 27th, 2018: Friday #1yearagotodayCW

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July 27th was a Friday. Wine and romance seemed on the cards before leaving for their adventure in the dunes the next day. Watts told his wife he was going hiking. Plausible deniability. A small lie to hide a bigger lie. This way he could get away with not having reception on his phone for long periods.  This would be his same MO when lying to friends, family and cops. Watts may have imagined himself a good liar, but lying to a wife and mistress about minutiae is a different ball game to lying to the media and the FBI about triple murder. Fullscreen capture 20190726 102521

It’s likely a lot of data has been deleted from July 27th, including Watts’ bogus hiking bullshit to Shan’ann.

12-year-old Jonelle Matthews’ remains located at well site just 20 miles West of CERVI 319 [MAP]

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Chris Watts has often been described as an idiot, and his crime as idiotic. In the Jonelle Matthews case, it’s taken 34 years to locate her body. It’s not clear whether Matthews’ remains were found recently on the Cervi Ranch property, but thus far it appears to be either on the property or nearby.

If one follows the black tab below with Jonelle Matthews’ name on it, it takes one right into the territory of the Cervi Ranch, to the Watts well site.

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Below is a map linking the area of Jonelle Matthew’s remains to Saratoga Trail. Whoever drove the child’s body from La Salle, had the same idea Watts’ did – that a well site would be a very good dump site, and he was right. This suggests Mathews’ murderer was an oil worker, just as Watts was.Fullscreen capture 20190726 172555

The image below shows the approximate distance from the well site closer to the top end of the Milton Reservoir, and CERVI 319. Fullscreen capture 20190726 172724

The distance from Jonelle Matthews’ home in La Salle to the well site where her remains were found is approximately 12 miles.

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#23 July 26th, 2018: Money, Security and a “Good Mood” #1yearagotodayCW

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Whose idea was it to go the Great Sand Dunes National Park that weekend? When did that idea come up?

July 26th, 2018, was the last Thursday leading up to Watts’ final weekend with Nichol Kessinger before flying down to North Carolina. They were going to need to make it count. But first, there was some admin to be done.

Unusually, the first call to Watts’ phone that morning was from Kessinger. Since he was up and running, Watts elected to call his wife afterwards. Shan’ann called him back, then again mid-morning. Their calls may have had something to do with Vivint, and the still broken garage sensor, or to do with cash, or both. Watts was going to need some if he was going to go on a camping trip with his mistress that weekend. [On July 30th we know for a fact that Shan’ann and Watts were still talking about the “sensitivity” of the Vivint settings].

After work, Watts called Chase Bank, which suggests the idea to go to Great Sand Dunes that weekend could have happened sometime that Thursday, possibly at work. Since Kessinger says in the video “thank you for coming here with me”, it appears to have been her idea.

A few minutes after calling the bank, Watts accessed Myprepaidcenter.com. It was by using this system that Watts was able to buy things for several weeks without alerting Shan’ann to his non-discretionary expenses.

After that Watts tried to sort things out with Vivint, calling Shan’ann afterwards to report  on any progress. Possibly he also took Kessinger out to the Lazy Dog restaurant near their home that evening and used his prepaid debit card to finance the meal.Fullscreen capture 20190726 102512

Meanwhile on Shan’ann’s Facebook, she and Bella were all smiles. Shan’ann gave herself a clean bill of health, as well as everyone around her.

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#22 July 25th 2018: “I miss your face” #1yearagotodayCW

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On July 25th Watts spoke on the phone to his wife at the beginning of the day, and his mistress at the end of the day. He spoke to Shan’ann for a total of 34 minutes, and to Kessinger for 14 minutes. There’s a clear relay going on with calls to Shan’ann, voicemails from Kessinger, then calls to her. Even in this aspect, Watts is left with a hypoethetical choice:

Who do you want?

Who do you want to talk to?

What to do about this person I don’t want to talk to…? 

It’s clear when juxtaposing Watts’ communications with his wife to his obsession with his mistress, just how torn in two he was. With Shan’ann he was arguing, and lying, with Kessinger he was making love, and lying.

It’s also possible, with a week to go to his departure to North Carolina, Kessinger was becoming anxious, and told Watts she loved him for the first time on July 25th. The day before she’d wanted to know [based on her Google search] if he was going to leave his wife. By telling him she loved him, she was in a way committing to him in a long term relationship, or at least the idea of one. This would have given him confidence to commit to a divorce [a permanent break with his family].

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Kessinger’s voicemail message feels a little like a sexy schoolgirl role play.  Like the nude and semi-nude selfies, it feels like it was intended to get him hooked. Did it work?

#21 July 24th 2018: “Man I’m having affair with says he will leave his wife” #1yearagotodayCW

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July 24th was roughly halfway into Shan’ann’s 6 week adventure in North Carolina, three weeks prior to her murder and two weeks after Nut Gate. It’s clear by this milestone it wasn’t only the couple that were arguing, they seemed to be arguing with their respective in laws as well.

By July 24th Kessinger seemed to have confirmation from Watts that the man she said she loved [ she told him she loved him “a couple of times] also loved her, and planned to [somehow] make it official.

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On July 24th Shan’ann’s mother called Watts 12 different times, demonstrating that if Shan’ann could push and pressure him, so could Sandi. Sandi spoke to Watts for around 30 minutes over the course of those twelve calls [each call thus lasting roughly two to three minutes].

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We can also see how smoothly and easily Watts lies to Shan’ann about where he was, and what he was doing. Cheating in general, but conducting an affair in particular, requires planning, foresight, and knowing how to plausibly account for downtime. All of this was practice for the dark acts that were brewing in the back of his mind.

We can see that July 24th was also the first time Shan’ann truly saw beyond Nut Gate, and realized something was very wrong with him, and their marriage. She even mentions it to him “having another girl” which Watts craftily lets slide. But this was late, too late. It was already more than three weeks into his sexually active affair and he’d already committed himself to his mistress, and apparently, she to him.  Shan’ann’s suspicions at this point were a serious threat to his future now, and his future plans. What could he do about that?

In total, Shan’ann and her mother spoke to Watts for over an hour on July 24th, a new record. Visa-Exe.Black-Univ-rel

#20 July 23rd, 2018: An Average Monday #1yearagotodayCW

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July 23rd, 2018, a Monday, started the same way most weekdays did during the 5 weeks Shan’ann and the kids were away. Shan’ann called him at the crack of dawn, catching him just before he went to work. Later, at work presumably, Watts transferred another image of Kessinger into his Secret Calculator app.

…it felt like she had a leash on him and she was able to tug him away from Shan’ann…[CBI Report, page 5

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Why did Watts call Nickole? Was it to do another Thrive promo, as he had with Cristina Meacham?

By the evening, it was back to wining and healthy dining with Kessinger, and sleeping over.

Frank Rzucek asks Social Media to “Just stop”, cites harassment, bullying

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It was inevitable that by shifting the Watts case out of a criminal court through a plea deal, that such a high-profile case would “play out” in the court of public opinion.  That’s still happening. The fact that Shan’ann’s public Facebook page provided enormous insight to the media, public, and true crime writers and researchers, meant it was inescapable that this case would gain tremendous traction on social media, especially Facebook. One could argue this is the world’s first high-profile “social media” case.

A criminal trial could have done tremendous good in clearing the air on a host of issues. The Rzuceks elected to pursue the plea deal, though it’s still not completely clear why. The death sentence was never going to be carried out. If the Rzuceks hoped to spare themselves the strain of a high-profile trial, it seems one year on that hasn’t really happened.

One year on, a lot of uncertainty and contradiction still dogs the Watts case, in spite of the huge tranches of discovery and digital files released to the public by Weld County over the past several months.

[Rzucek] said social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have allowed lies and conspiracy theories about the murders to spread.

That’s generally true, of course. Social media is a hot mess of confusion. It’s hardly specific to the Watts case. But this obviously raises the question, what is the truth regarding this case? Is the truth the version the Rzuceks have?

If the Rzuceks are serious about wanting the case to die down, and wanting to avoid the unpleasantness on social media, they ought to stay completely out of the public eye, stop giving interviews [on Dr. Phil etc], and simply avoid social media, which in theory is fairy simple to do.

It’s interesting that just three weeks short of the anniversary, Rzucek traveled to Frederick to stand in front of the Watts home and gave his press conference, flanked on both sides by lawyers. He didn’t need to do that. Wouldn’t it have been easier, cheaper and just as effective to make the same statement from North Carolina?

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