THE MURDERS THAT SHOCKED AMERICA BECAME A LIFETIME MOVIE

The case of Chris Watts — the Colorado man who murdered his pregnant wife Shanann Watts and their two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, was turned into a Lifetime movie titled Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer.

FROM REAL TRAGEDY TO THE SCREEN

The Lifetime production dramatized the events surrounding the disappearance and murders of the Watts family.

Sean Kleier portrayed Chris Watts, while Ashley Williams portrayed Shanann. Lifetime scheduled the film to premiere on January 25, 2020.

The film followed the disturbing sequence of events that initially saw Watts publicly appearing to plead for the safe return of his wife and daughters before he eventually confessed to their killings.

SHANANN’S FAMILY OBJECTED

The movie also became controversial before it even aired.

Shanann’s family said they were not consulted about the production and learned about it after the movie was already underway.

Their attorneys said the family was not receiving money from the production and feared the film could reignite online conspiracy theories and harassment surrounding Shanann and her daughters.

That concern was especially painful for a family that had already experienced intense public scrutiny following the murders.

THE REAL CASE

In November 2018, Watts pleaded guilty to murdering Shanann, Bella and Celeste.

He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, along with additional sentences related to the unlawful termination of Shanann’s pregnancy and tampering with the victims’ bodies.

The real case became one of the most widely followed family-murder cases in the United States.

And unlike a fictional crime drama, the people at the center of the story were real.

A MOVIE WAS MADE.

A FAMILY WAS DESTROYED.

 A KILLER CONFESSED.

AND THE VICTIMS’ FAMILY HAD TO WATCH THEIR STORY RETURN TO THE PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT.

The controversy surrounding the Lifetime movie raised a difficult question:

When a real family’s tragedy becomes entertainment, who gets to decide when the story should be told?

This post discusses a real criminal case and its dramatization. The victims and their family should be treated with dignity and respect.