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A man who made an emotional TV appeal for the return of his pregnant wife and kids has confessed to murdering them.
Chris Watts was reportedly arrested after confessing to killing his wife Shanann Watts, 34, and her daughters, Bella, four, and three-year-old Celeste - who goes by the name Cece.
Denver7 reports that officers are currently in the process of recovering their bodies.
Watts' arrest came just hours after he gave a tearful interview about his family's disappearance in which he said: "I have no idea, like where they went".
Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant with her third child, and the two girls were declared "endangered and missing" on Tuesday and the FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation had been searching for them.
(Image: Instagram)
(Image: NBC)
She had just returned home from a business trip before she went missing from Frederick, Colorado on Monday.
Chris said he last saw his wife at 5.15am before he left for work.
Speaking on NBC's Today show , Watts said he and Shanann had had an "emotional" conversation that morning but didn't give any further details.
He said: "I don't feel like this is even real right now. It's like a nightmare I can't wake up from."
He said Shanann was planning to go to a friend's house with their daughters and Fox 31 reports that was the last time he heard from her.
Watts said he saw his two girls asleep on the baby monitor as he left the house.
(Image: Instagram)
(Image: Instagram)
(Image: Instagram)
He said he text her numerous times but didn't receive any response which he thought was odd.
At around midday, he checked their doorbell camera and saw that a friend had stopped by but no one opened the door.
Watts said he rushed home but no one was there, even though Shanann's car was in the driveway.
He then spoke to police and reported them as missing at 1.40pm.
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Watts said: "When I got home yesterday, it was like a ghost town.
"I was trying to get home as fast as I can, I was blowing through stop lights, I was blowing through everything just trying to get home as fast as I can because none of this made sense."
The Frederick Police Department confirmed they had made an arrest "in connection to the missing person's case" of Shanann and her daughters and were awaiting charges.
(Image: Instagram)
(Image: Instagram)
Dave Baumhover, a detective at the Frederick Police Department, said there were no signs of foul play and there was nothing to suggest Shanann had mental health problems.
Shanann's friend, Amanda Thayer, said she left everything, including her phone, wallet and handbag, inside the house.
According to Facebook, Shanann worked as a brand promoter for Le-Vel, who make a Thrive weight loss and wellness patch, which she can be seen wearing in some pictures.
(CNN) A Colorado man faces three counts of murder after his pregnant wife and two young daughters disappeared this week, authorities said Thursday.
Chris Watts was taken into custody Wednesday night and is being held in the Weld County Jail, north of Denver, the Frederick Police Department said in a statement. He'll appear in court Thursday afternoon.
Shanann Watts, who was 15-weeks pregnant, was reported missing on Monday along with her two daughters, Bella, 3, and Celeste, 4.
Chris Watts
According to a recording on the jail's phone, Chris Watts has been charged with three counts of murder in the first degree and three counts of tampering with physical evidence.
"At this point we have been able to recover a body that we're quite certain is Shanann Watts' body," Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director John Camper said Thursday at a news conference. "We have strong reason to believe that we know where the bodies of the children are and recovery efforts are in process on that."
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The husband of a missing, pregnant Colorado woman was arrested Wednesday evening in connection with her disappearance and that of their two young daughters, police in Frederick, Colorado, said. Chris Watts has been charged with three counts each of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, reports CBS Denver.
The station says Chris Watts confessed to killing Shanann Watts, 34, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. The station says investigators were seen removing items from the family's home. A truck was also taken.
CBS News hasn't independently confirmed that Chris Watts admitted to police that he killed Shanann, Bella and Celeste. Authorities didn't say anything about the whereabouts of the three.
CBS Denver
The station says Shanann Watts' family was also told Chris Watts agreed to bring officers to the bodies.
A relative of Shanann Watts provided this statement tonight. The husband is being held by police. https://t.co/My4xSGrxth pic.twitter.com/8DNpr4xLEN — Tim Wieland (@CBS4Tim) August 16, 2018
Chris Watts told "Today" Wednesday morning he was living a "nightmare." He said the last time he saw his family was early Monday morning before leaving for work.
"I just want them back," he said. "I just want them to come back."
Frederick Police told a news conference earlier Wednesday that officers went to check up on Shanann and the girls in their home around 1 p.m. Monday after a concerned friend said she hadn't heard from Shanann.
One of her friends posted on Facebook that Shanann left her phone, purse, car seats and children's medicine at home Monday morning, CBS Denver reported.
CBS Denver
By Tuesday afternoon, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an endangered missing alert for all three.
The FBI was assisting the CBI and local authorities with the investigation.
EMBED >More News Videos Colorado man charged in murder of missing family. Clayton Sandell reports on August 16, 2018.
#ShanannWattsInvestigation Update 2 of 3: Chris Watts, the husband of Shanann, has been placed into custody and is awaiting charges at this time. He will be held at the Weld County Jail. — Town of Frederick (@TownofFrederick) August 16, 2018
A Colorado man is facing charges in connection with the killing of his pregnant wife and two young daughters after the mother and their little girls went missing earlier this week.Shanann Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and the couple's daughters, Celeste, 3, and Bella, 4, were reported missing Monday by a family friend, according to police in Frederick, about 35 miles north of Denver.A body believed to be Shanann Watts has been recovered, officials said Thursday.Authorities have a "strong reason to believe" they know where the girls' bodies are and recovery efforts are underway, officials added.Watts' husband, Chris Watts, who initially spoke out to the media when his family went missing, was taken into custody Wednesday.Chris Watts, 33, was booked on three counts each of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. He is set to appear at a bond hearing Thursday afternoon."I'm pissed, raged, miserable," Shanann Watts' brother, Frankie Rzucek, told ABC News."I just want to know why," he wrote on Facebook. "My precious family my one and only sibling, my sister Shanann, 2 adorable nieces Bella and Celeste and her soon to be found out unborn son Niko.""May Satan have mercy on his soul," Frankie Rzucek wrote.Family friends who stood by the husband said they were shocked to hear of his arrest.Chris Watts had initially told reporters that his wife, 34, disappeared without a trace, leaving her purse and keys at home."When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here," he told ABC Denver affiliate KMGH-TV Tuesday. "My kids are my life. ... I mean, those smiles light up my life."Friends who spoke with Chris Watts after his family's disappearance said the only thing missing in the house was his daughter's treasured baby blanket.------
