There was no warning.

I know this case has been talked about to death (no pun intended) but it's the one true crime case that I just haven't been able to get out of my head.

What really gets me out of everything was how there were no warning signs with him. There really wasn't. Not every guy who cheats on his wife is capable of murdering his wife and kids. Not every guy who is "kind of reserved" kills their family. There was literally no warning. I try and think about what lead to what he did and how he was capable of it but I can't. It's just so strange.

in WattsMurdersby Mental_Web55

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shattered_illusions

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There weren't any obvious warning signs for murder per se. But he was throwing huge red flags for being an emotionally abusive asshole. I think there were plenty of warnings that he began resenting her and wanted to get divorced from her asap.

He stopped calling Shanann for the 5 weeks she was in NC without him, and rarely ever picked up when she called him. He wouldn't have sex with her or even sleep in the same bed as her when he finally met with her after those 5 weeks. He acted very cold and hateful towards her. He told her he didn't want the baby she was pregnant with. He wanted to sell their house right away, and had even convinced Shanann to contact a realtor. He was so emotionally abusive towards her that she spent the weekend away at her work conference crying to her friends. (And her friends were legitimately concerned for her health because she had stopped eating and drinking properly.)

Pregnant women are much more likely to experience domestic violence and/or be murdered by their intimate partner. If your husband ever starts acting this hateful towards you while you are pregnant, there is a higher than normal chance he might murder you. So don't try to fight to save the marriage when you see so many red flags; take your children and go stay with a trusted family member, or friend, or women's shelter.

jjc1140

I'll never forget him taking a picture of the giant life size doll and covering it with the white tarp that was part of the kids game. Only the feet of the doll were sticking out. He told Shannan the kids did it. He is sick. 3 days later they were all dead.

Fabulous-Parking-39

Yep this was the warning (although Shannan shouldn’t be expected to have seen it). Chris was excellent at pretending to be normal but this was a rare mask off moment - he was relishing the moment he’d get to kill and he couldn’t resist torturing Shan’ann in his sneaky way. Someone who snaps doesn’t do this.