Chris Watts Confession Interview Transcript Part 5: Chris talks about the reason he plead guilty, harassment from fellow prisoners, hiding evidence, his parents, and his mistress Nikki Kessinger’s strange behavior after his family went “missing”.

(The Chris Watts confession interview transcript is continued from Part One , Part Two , Part Three & Part Four of The Chris Watts Interview Transcript ).

Note to other media outlets about use: I have spent days working on the 5 hour Chris Watts confession interview transcript, since the FBI did not make a full transcription available. You are welcome to use it by linking back to this website.

[ Begin Chris Watts Confession Interview Transcript Part 5] 

Tammy (CBI): They don’t, they don’t hate you. [*In regards to Chris feeling like Shanann’s family, mother Sandy Rzucek, father Frank Rzucek and brother Frankie Rzucek hate him].

Dave (Frederick, CO Detective): In fact while we’re on the subject, I speak with them weekly and I told them we were gonna come here and hopefully you’d speak with us and they told me to tell you, understandably, they’re you know, devastated, but they actually said that they love you. They still love you. Sandy explained it, you know he’s our son..son-in-law..for 8 years. I can’t just turn that off. So they don’t hate you- they don’t.

Chris: That’s amazing to hear that!

Dave: Yeah and I can tell you Sandy was the one that was most resistant to penalties in this case, she told me that from the very beginning. She didn’t want that- it’s God’s decision, it’s not her decision and she told me that even then. So it’s not just a one time thing that she has said it to me, it’s been over the whole course of the event, so that’s probably one of the most honest things someone’s ever told me. It’s pretty amazing. Faith is..well..she’s obviously a believer. So am I. So I get it. I understand it.

Chris: That’s amazing to even hear that.

Dave: Good people.

Chris:  I would have figured they found have hated me—

Dave: They don’t. I mean anybody would think that, I certainly would. I have to admit, I was surprised! Really taken aback my that, but they certainly don’t, so.

Chris: So what’d they say when they knew you were coming out here?

Dave: Um, they said they want to know, you know, details because they need closure and that’s really all they want and they want to keep it private and I said absolutely we’ll talk to him about what you told us just so they can put it past them because they’re having a hard time dealing with it. They’re trying to get past it all and I think that may help, just to

Chris: Closure, you know, I mean my parent still think…I told them I plead guilty for a reason. And I told it to them and when they had that video phone thing Colorado the day before I plead guilty. Like I plead guilty for a reason. I didn’t just — I knew other people were watching I didn’t just go in and be like, just say anything, like they seemed to take it okay..

Tammy: What made you do that, Chris? What made you plead guilty?

Chris: I didn’t want them to go through this for two or four years. I didn’t want my attorneys to lie for me for four years. I mean, they would have done anything I told them to do. I don’t see how they can do that, that’s what attorneys do, like they take their defendant and say hey what happened, okay we’ll go with that story. Like I told them everything I just told you guys and it’s just like they got together well if they ever offered plea deal would you ever want it? Just plead guilty to it? I’m like, yeah, If we can end this, end this. Back in September I told them that.

Tammy: Really?

Chris: Yeah but, it was way too early and prosecution was still doing their investigation, grabbing evidence and all kinds of stuff. That really wasn’t on the table. I think it was around Halloween that’s when the prosecution went to Frank and Sandy and Frankie’s house and was talking, if we could end this would you be open to that? And that’s when the whole death penalty all of that conversation happened. I guess they were surprised that it would just be over..

Tammy: Yeah, we were all in shock, I’m not gonna lie.

Chris: Yeah that was like

Tammy: It was like we were going 100 miles per hour, and we hit a brick wall. That’s what it felt like to all of us, so I mean obviously you had more time to contemplate it then us.

Chris: I mean I told John and Kate and Sophia and Amy if we can just stop this, I know everybody’s telling me to fight this, there’s not enough evidence for this and that and I’m like, “No”. Honestly, this needs to end. For Frank and everybody to have to fly back to Colorado every single time and get reminded of this, I’m sure it’s never going to go away, but to have to come and talk about it, have other people talk about it, have, you know, all three of you get on the witness stand and say what they saw, what they’ve seen, what they heard on tapes and everything like that…I don’t want people to have to relive that over and over and over again for years. Like, if I could just end this for everybody and there was any closure at all they could start then instead of 2022, that way it would only get worse…for everybody.

Tammy: So did it have anything to do with you not having the death penalty?

Chris: No like honestly, when I was sitting it that cell, I felt I should die. I was listening to everybody (*other prisoners) telling me like “Hey if you do this and this you can hang yourself from that cell. You can do this and that —“

Tammy: They were like telling you stuff you could do?

Chris: Yeah, that you could drown yourself in the toilet if you wanted to fill your toilet bowl up or something like that – they’ve been there a bunch of times and at one point I was listening to them. I was just like you know, I just felt like maybe there’s a different purpose for me somewhere. Maybe it’s here. I don’t know. I prayed to God every day that He would move me away from Colorado, like move me away from the DOC there. They were saying there was a hit on me! They said if I was going to a DOC in Colorado I’d last a week and I’d be dead. There’s like the gangs and all the kind of stuff. So I just feel like God moved me here (*his new prison in Wisconsin) for a reason and hopefully I can help people that way. I didn’t want my family, I didn’t want Shanann’s family and all of our friends having to go through that because after awhile I knew that like, this stuff was everywhere and I knew all her Thrive friends and everybody..it would just..break that hole in their hearts a little bit bigger every time. I didn’t want that. I knew it would have gotten worse. I didn’t want it to get any worse than it already was.

Grahm (FBI): Did you ever think about “Boy you know, it could be very believable what I told them. It could be very believable that Shanann did end the girls, and so maybe if I try to convince people that- maybe if I fought with my attorneys on that, maybe I could lessen it somehow”. Did you ever think about that?

Chris: Honestly I never thought about the story until you guys mentioned it. (*Meaning when investigators were interviewing Chris after he failed his lie detector, and while attempting to get the truth out of him asked him if Shanann had done anything. At this point he concocted a story that Shanann was responsible for harming the girls and he killed her in a fit of rage- obviously, this story was preposterous).

Grahm: Yeah?

Chris: Yeah.

Tammy: I wondered.

Chris: I never even thought about it till you guys mentioned it.

Tammy: What did you think about it once it got mentioned?

Chris: Just like I just went with it. I knew my dad was out there and I knew they would probably believe it because my mom and my sister just never really liked Shanann. (*Interesting that he is claiming he made up the story after getting the idea from investigators. That was a very detailed story to have made up so quickly). I mean, through all this I got letters from some of my friends even said “you know when we were over your house we could see Shanann was more of a dominant personality and you’re always helping with the kids and everything and you’re a great dad and everything” we could see a couple things I never saw and whatnot. Even my best friend Mark even said “you know there’s always something that I didn’t really get with Shanann” and I’m just like nobody ever told me any of this stuff. But yeah, I never thought about that story. That’s what my attorneys were going with and then like, I think it was probably the second week I told them what really happened.

Tammy: What did they say after that?

Chris: They were quiet, they were writing it down. They said they wouldn’t judge me, so I told them. I told them about everything that happened and they, you know, appreciated it. I guess most of the time other defendants or their defense don’t tell them actually what happened they just tell them “get me out of here, this Is what happened” but I told them what happened. I didn’t want them going..if this was going to go like anywhere in courts, I didn’t want them to be under a false pretense and get surprised. Cuz I know there were probably things that like you guys probably knew that, I mean, if I lied to them and just told them “no this is what happened”, it would have made them look you know, foolish and stupid and just like unprepared and I’m just like “This is what happened” and they appreciated me telling them that so now they would be prepared and that’s when they were saying if we ever went to them-the prosecution- and said “we could end this” would I be open to it? I’m like “If this could end, end it”.

Tammy: I know there was like, wasn’t her phone found on on the couch or between the couch cushions? Like, did you plant all that stuff?

Chris: I just threw it in there.

Tammy: You just threw it in there?

Chris: Yeah…

Tammy: Why did you do that?

Chris: I don’t know what was going on that morning (laughs). Even like her watch, her phone- if I planned this I would have probably just taken it out to the field with me, you know?

Tammy: What about her ring and stuff? What were you thinking about that?

Chris: It’s like, you know, maybe she wanted, maybe she actually really wanted a divorce, maybe she didn’t want to fix it. I just put it there on the counter.

Tammy: She took it off? Or did you take it off?

Chris: I took it off.

Tammy: Okay. Ohh, so that would look like she was saying I want a divorce, I’m leaving it here when I’m taking off, I see.

Dave: So the phone and her watch in the couch, was that that morning before you left to go to Cervi?

Chris: Yeah I think Nickole’s son found it or something?

Dave: Yeah.

Tammy: What other things did you do that maybe we even missed?

Chris: …the phone and the watch..I think I threw the therapy book she wanted me to read in the trash…

Tammy: That was that morning?

Chris: Probably..I think so.

Tammy: Were you trying to make it look like she threw it in the trash?

Chris: I don’t know I just didn’t think nothing was ever gonna work again, I didn’t know what was going on.

Tammy: Did you go down to the basement? I thought the basement door opened?

Dave: Yeah the door was open. So, there was a lot of movement I think it was around 4:26am or something. The garage door opening, the basement door opening, and then the living room censors at all. Do you remember at all what you were doing around that time? Other then opening up the garage.

Tammy: You had a lot of steps, I’ll just say that.

Chris: So like the basement I’m not really sure, the only thing I really have down there is my workout- the bench press and what not.

Tammy: Do you remember going down there for anything or opening that door for anything? Did you think about “Well maybe I’ll take her out that way”? Is it a walkout basement? I wasn’t at your house.

Chris: No, it’s like a garden level basement, but I don’t remember really, I don’t think I worked out that morning.

Tammy: Like were you packing your lunch in the kitchen, did you have to do all that normal stuff?

Chris: Yeah, oh yeah, I packed a lunch and everything did all that. I don’t remember about the basement or anything unless I just worked out that morning and I just don’t remember- I don’t think I did. Unless there was a trash bag down there.

Tammy: Oh you get trash bags from there?

Chris: Maybe I did. Maybe there wasn’t any in the garage and I went down there and got one.

Dave: Do you normally carry a roll of trash bags in your truck?

Chris: No.

Dave: There was a roll in your truck.

Chris: There was?

Dave: Yeah.

Chris: Maybe I just grabbed and brought it with me then.

Tammy: That would have been kept in the basement, maybe?

Chris: The basement or the garage.

Tammy: I’m sorry, what were you saying, Grahm?

Grahm: Um, one of the more kind of poignant or tender moments in all this was seeing you with your dad when he came in. What was it like when you picked him up from the airport?

Chris: It was, it was very strange. It was kind alike I almost knew this was probably the last time I’d ever see him on the outside. In my head I knew that.

Grahm: Yeah? What did you guys talk about?

Chris: Honestly, like he just wanted to talk about sports, he’s always kinda like you know, distance himself from a problem type thing. You know when, like if there was ever an issue or anything, he’d always want to talk about- just bring up…. Like, when I’d try to get him to quit smoking, like all the time, this was after I graduated high school and what not he would—

Tammy: Are you talking about cigarettes?

Chris: Yeah. And uh, he would always just like, change subjects. He’d say ok yeah yeah I’ll get to it, and then boom, something else. I kinda felt it was kinda like that. He maybe asked a few questions like “Do you know where they’re at?”, “Do you think you know where they’re at or anything like that?” And I just, ya know, told him no, and then like, just wants to talk about sports and just normal things and just kinda..I’m not sure if he maybe knew anything? You know, maybe he kinda figured out maybe something happened and just wants to talk to me as his son.

Grahm: Is it possible he saw that you were in a stressful situation and wanted to do what he always did, what he thinks is comfortable?

Chris: Yeah, I think that was a good way to put it.

Grahm: I bet you picked up a lot of that from him.

Chris: Yea, in stressful situations, the gray hair doesn’t show it, but I try to be not stressed. When I worked on cars there’s a lot of stress cuz it’s on commission you get paid what you do, not by showing up. Anadarko was a little less stressful cuz I get paid just to be there, but—

Tammy: Was your dad’s marriage like yours and Shanann’s marriage as far as, like your dad was more the passive one and your mom was more dominant?

Chris: Oh yeah. My mom was always the more aggressive one.

Tammy: Was she like Shanann in a way? Like were you attracted to Shanann because she was kind of like how your mom and dad’s relationship was?

Chris: It was like, it almost mirrored her mom and dad’s relationship honestly, cuz her dad is like my dad, they’re both like kind calm, cool, collected, and her mom is more like—

Grahm: Sandy rules that roost

Chris: Oh yeah, yeah- very. And it’s just like you know I kinda related it to that. Cuz like her mom always told Shanann that she would marry someone else kinda like her dad, and I felt like I was kinda like her dad. I couldn’t build a lot of things he could, but our personalities were kinda like, I think he really liked me the first time he met me because I was helping Shanann with this a, she had go this car from a dealership she worked at and she was driving around and it felt like the wheel was about to fall off and I pulled over where her dad was and I got underneath and  jacked it up and I was, you know, trying to fix everything. He said any other guy she ever dated would have just stood by and watched me do it. So I think that’s when he really like, kind of liked me. I was always wanting to help people, not to hurt anybody.

Grahm: Well you helped her all through her Lupus, and you were at the colonoscopy, and you were jacking up the car and…

Chris: Yeah, I mean anytime she had an issue with a car at the Dirty South Customs, I would just drive it work, see what I could do with it, do everything I could to help.

Grahm: Yeah. I think one of the reasons Frank and Sandy work so well is because Frank lets Sandy be Sandy. And they probably both saw in you that you let Shanann be Shanann.

Chris: I just- I didn’t try to change her. I just let her be who she is. She’s hung ho. She knows what she wants and she’s gonna go get it. I didn’t say “No, you can’t do that” that’s what her first husband did. He controlled everything. He tried to be Sandy and it didn’t work. And she turned into almost like me. She just kinda like, laid back and let him do what he needed to do and I think she learned after that she could just be herself and with me she could definitely be herself. So that’s how it worked.

Grahm: So do you think your dad had any inkling? Because I’m trying to remember the timing. He showed up when you were still walking around, you weren’t in any trouble yet when Ronnie came.

Chris: Yeah, I had met with you the night before, like for 3 or 4 hours, then I was at Nick and Amanda’s house and that’s when I went to go pick him up.

Grahm: Okay. And you picked him up— it was early that morning, wasn’t it?

Chris: Yeah, it was 10:30 I think when his flight came in.

Grahm: And from there you guys probably drove home and then to the police station.

Chris: Yup.

Grahm: And the talks there were, no type of confession from you?

Chris: No, it was just like you’re just gonna wait. If you’re hungry there’s that barbecue joint down the street, and like it’s good, and you told me he never left.

Grahm: He did not. I wasn’t lying. He’s faithful.

Chris: I don’t know how he lasted that long without food!

Tammy: We ended up giving him food.

Grahm: He was great. And the reason I ask is because when I look back and watch the video, now knowing what I know after talking to you today I can see how genuine he was, but I just didn’t know if you guys had come up with some sort of plan.

Pictured Above: August 2018: Chris Watts & father Ronnie Watts in Frederick, CO police interview room after Chris failed the polygraph (as discussed in the Chris Watts confession interview transcript by Agents Tammy & Grahm). 

Chris: No. We never talked about anything like that. If I had told him anything he would have probably just told me tell them right away

Grahm: I think you’re right.  

Chris: He would have still loved me either way but he would have told me you need to tell them, like, right now. I didn’t think I was gonna be there for 14 or however long it was, 10 hours, I don’t know how I did it that day.

Tammy: You were there a long time.

Chris: Yeah but it was – he woulda told me just to say, just to tell you.

Tammy: Did you know walking in there that you were gonna tell us? Or did you think-

Chris: I didn’t, I mean I knew there was a reason you brought me back in, I know for the uh-

Tammy: What did you think about the polygraph?

Chris: That was horrible.

Tammy: Why do you say that?

Chris: I don’t know how you do that.

Tammy: Why do you say that?

Grahm: (Jokingly) Cuz Tammy’s a torturer?

Tammy: I am not!

Chris: You asked me questions for what, like 3 or 4 hours beforehand, then you do the polygraph and it’s like you just break down someone’s brain to like—

Tammy: To mush?

Chris: To mush! Jello- it’s just like, I know you guys have a job and a plan and you execute it.

Grahm: She’s thorough right? There’s no way to get out of there without the truth.

Chris: No I mean I kinda knew where- cuz right when you asked me about Saturday night when I told you about the Rockies game I was like man, she is going through her head (whispers) “That’s a fucking lie”

Tammy: Well we did know- we found out about Nikki right before the polygraph.

Chris: I figured that out after meeting with John and everybody that she had met with somebody from CBI liken the 14th or 15th. I was like they were talking—oh, okay. You already knew. So, but …

Tammy: I mean, I didn’t know how extensive it was, but yes, we knew.

Chris: Walking in there that day, just walking into that room I knew I wasn’t walking out. Just the feeling I had walking in that room. Just the – I mean, I don’t remember if the polygraph stuff was already in there…I think it was..but it was, I knew-

Tammy: I just feel like sometimes when people, you know, do do that bad thing, and they stay like, some part of me thinks “Well, I think they’re here because they really want to tell us what happened”. It’s not normal that you want to keep all that in. That just kills people on the inside and I could tell it was killing you that day.

Chris: Yeah, I mean it was like, the 13th when I slept in that house, nothing I don’t think I even slept two hours I finally got so tired I just fell asleep. I turned every light on, nothing felt right.

Tammy: What were you thinking about during your media interviews?

Chris: I didn’t want to do it.

Tammy: Why did you do it? Did you feel like you had to do it?

Chris: I felt like they would have just kept knocking on my door until I answer dit and I didn’t even set it up- Nickole Atkinson set it up. She told me “Hey Fox is gonna be at your house at 7:30”. I’m like “What?!” Okay…and you know, I even called you about it, what do you recommend I do, and he’s like it’s kind of up to you.

Tammy: It didn’t look good. Obviously we can’t say “Oh we knew right then he was lying” but I think we all watched it together, and went “This might be bad…”. I had that feeling after I watched it. I could kind of see it in your face.

Chris: I was just lying to more and more people and it’s just like…

Dave: Do you have internet access here?

Chris: No.

Dave: I would say just don’t get into that trap of putting in, watching all that. The social media trap and all that, it’s just ridiculous.

Chris: No, they don’t let you have social media here. I think some of the GP guys are getting these little tablets that are the size of an older iPhone. I think they can use email but I’m not sure about social media.Definitely no social media, I’m not sure about internet or not. This place is probably like a dead zone probably for phones anyway I would think.

Tammy: I don’t know, we’re getting service which is weird! I didn’t think we would!

Tammy: Did you talk to Nikki afterwards? After all this happened?

Pictured Above: Chris Watts & girlfriend/mistress Nikki Kessinger (as discussed in the Chris Watts confession interview transcript)

Chris: On the 13th and the 14th.

Tammy: And what was that conversation like?

Chris: The 13th was kind of like, you know, it was more text and then maybe a phone call like, one phone call and then she thought maybe Shanann like, took off with the kids. Cuz I was telling her I didn’t know where they were and all that. And then the 14th I think she thought maybe something might have happened. Because they hadn’t come back.

Tammy: And why do you say she might have thought that?

Chris: Her, you know, she kept asking me some weird questions like, she kept asking like, questions that only I would know. But she was testing to see if it was actually me on the phone.

Tammy: What do you mean?

Chris: Like, she would ask like, “What’s my dog’s name?”, or “What yoga studio do I go to” or something like that. I would just answer like and then she’s like “I’m not sure if this is you”. I’m like, “Okaaay…”.

Tammy: Is this through text or is this through calls?

Chris: Text.

Tammy: Oh okay, so she wasn’t like hearing your voice… okay.

Grahm: Is it possible she thought you had been arrested, and we were on the phone?

Chris: Either Shanann had my phone or somebody else had my phone or like maybe maybe she thought it was you.

Tammy: Well hopefully Shanann would know all the answers to those questions, right?

Chris: No, this was Nikki asking me.

Tammy: Yeah but if she’s asking you the name of your dog and what yoga studio, wouldn’t Shanann know that?

Chris: Maybe she thought I was with Shanann and she was just trying to figure out where she was.

Tammy: Hmmm.

Chris: Some of the conversation on the 14th got a little bit weird. I think that’s when she met with CBI or something, or FBI, I’m not sure who she met with first.

Tammy: So she talked to you after she met with..?

Chris: Nope she didn’t. She told me like this is the last time you’ll probably hear from me I’m going to stay at my friend Jim’s place while this is all going on. She said not to contact her until this is done. She told me I needed to delete everything. I didn’t delete everything. I’m not sure why I didn’t delete everything, but it probably helped you guys out a little bit.

Dave: SHE told you to delete everything?

Chris: Delete all conversations.

Dave: Did she tell you why?

Chris: She just said delete it. Which I don’t think you can ever delete a text message.

Tammy: We’re pretty good at getting deleted text messages.

Grahm:  When your dad came in one of the first things you guys talked about, you said kind of quietly “I cheated on her, I cheated on Shanann”. Your dad didn’t know until that time?

Grahm: When your dad came in one of the first things you guys talked about, you said kind of quietly “I cheated on her, I cheated on Shanann”. Your dad didn’t know until that time?

Chris:  When I was in North Carolina I spent most of the time with my parents and my sister. You know I told them something like “I don’t think this is going to work”. With what happened with the nuts and everything and them not being able to see the kids, they’re like you know, this is the first time they had talked to me, pretty much.

Grahm:  Oh because you went three weeks or something, right?

Chris: Yeah cuz Shanann had told me to call them when I was at the beach just to smooth everything out. She was like “Alright, whatever is going on in your head you need to fix this”. But she didn’t want the kids to see them, she didn’t want to see them and then like when I did see them after I went and saw my grandmother -she’s in a nursing home- she still wouldn’t go see my parents or anything with the kids so I just told her to leave me there and then come pick me up. I spent the whole day there they said they wanted to see the kids, they just didn’t know if they could ever forgive Shanann for everything that happened that day. I mean I’m not sure everything that was said that day when they had that argument, but, apparently it was a knockdown, drag-out, bomb that went off in there.

Grahm: Pretty hurtful things?

Chris: Yeah. I’m guessing so, and they just don’t know if they could ever forgive her or not. I never told them about cheating on her. They even asked me “Is there somebody else?”

Grahm: Oh did they really?  So they could kind of sense that maybe something was going on?

Chris: Yeah, cuz Nikki was texting me the entire time I was over there so they could kind of see I was texting somebody, but it was like maybe they kind of knew? Like, when I was in San Diego talking to my friend Mark I told him about Nikki. But I didn’t tell him I was going to meet up with her.

Grahm: Okay.

Chris: I should have told him right then. Maybe that would have helped me. I know maybe he had an instance where maybe some girl was coming after him. She was engaged and he ended up getting with her and they were together and then she cheated on him.

Grahm: Is this before he was married or during?

Chris: It was after

Grahm: Okay.

Chris: Like, he could have helped me, honestly. I never told him the whole thing it was a lot further along than I wanted it to be.

Grahm: That’s interesting to think about, right? Your dad could have given you some good advice.

Chris: Yeah, everybody.. but this is my friend Mark.

Grahm: Oh, oh I’m sorry, okay.

Chris: While I was in San Diego.

Grahm: Oh, I got you.

Dave: So you think you told Mark about that hoping maybe he’d question you about it?

Chris: Mark is my best friend you know, I grew up with him. I’ve known him since I was like eight or nine years old. So like, he had been married before and it didn’t work out. They were stationed together or something over in Korea. And it actually just kind of came out in the whole story you know like I just told him there was this girl at work that I’ve been talking to, but I’m distancing myself from her. I was just letting it exponentially get worse. If I had told him, hey ya know he would have been like “Whoa man, take a step back and look!” and like, “Don’t fall into that trap. You’re going to be alone for 5 weeks”. There’s times I wish maybe Shanann didn’t have to go away for five weeks. Maybe we all just went for one week. Nothing would have ever happened. 5 weeks alone I mean that’s the only reason really that was even almost allowed to happen.

✦Click Here to go to PART SIX of The Chris Watts Confession Interview Transcript ✦

Shanann’s Family (Sandy, Frank, and Frankie Rzucek) have asked that those interested in remembering and honoring the lives of Shanann Watts, Bella Watts, Celeste ‘CeCe’ Watts and Baby Nico Watts can make a donation in their honor to one of three charities they adore: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or The Lupus Foundation.