EIGHT YEARS LATER — CHRIS WATTS REPORTEDLY SEEKS MARRIAGE FROM BEHIND BARS
EIGHT YEARS LATER — CHRIS WATTS REPORTEDLY SEEKS MARRIAGE FROM BEHIND BARS
Eight years after Chris Watts pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters, new reports say the convicted killer has applied to marry a woman he met while serving his life sentences.
A NEW CHAPTER FROM BEHIND PRISON WALLS
Watts, 41, remains incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, serving multiple life sentences without parole for the 2018 murders of Shanann Watts, Bella and Celeste.
Now, according to reports cited by People, Watts has reportedly applied to marry Lizzie Henderson, a 39-year-old woman who previously lived in Ohio and has since relocated to Wisconsin.
Henderson has confirmed that she and Watts are in a relationship, although she has declined to discuss many details publicly.
SHE MOVED CLOSER TO HIM
Reports say Henderson relocated to Wisconsin to be closer to Watts.
She has reportedly visited him numerous times at the prison, and she has also applied for a confidential name change reportedly connected to the surname Watts.
Her family has reportedly expressed opposition to the relationship.
Yet Henderson has defended the relationship as something personal between the two of them.
WHO IS CHRIS WATTS?
In August 2018, Shanann Watts was pregnant with the couple’s third child when she and her daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were killed.
Watts initially claimed he did not know where his family had gone.
He later confessed and pleaded guilty to the killings in November 2018.
He received multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.
THE PRISON ROMANCE PHENOMENON
Watts has reportedly received attention from women since his incarceration, including letters from admirers.
People reports that some of his correspondence became romantic or sexually suggestive.
His relationship with Henderson is therefore not the first time Watts has attracted romantic attention while imprisoned.
But the reported marriage application has renewed public fascination with a case that shocked the United States eight years ago.
A MARRIAGE CANNOT CHANGE HIS SENTENCE
Even if the prison wedding is approved, it would not change Watts’ criminal sentence.
He remains imprisoned for life without parole.
Any marriage would therefore take place entirely within the restrictions imposed by the correctional system.
A convicted family murderer.
A wife and two children whose lives were taken in 2018.
A new relationship formed behind prison walls.
And now, reportedly, an application to marry.
The development has left many people asking the same uncomfortable question:
How does someone convicted of destroying his own family find a person willing to build a new life with him from behind bars?
Whatever the answer, one fact remains unchanged:
Chris Watts will remain in prison for the rest of his life.
This post summarizes reports from People and other outlets. The marriage application is reported and remains subject to approval by the relevant prison authorities.
