Chris Watts’s parents want him to take back his murder confession, claiming he was "railroaded" into a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
Speaking out for the first time about their son’s case, Cindy and Ronnie Watts insisted he isn’t a "sociopath" and they want to find out the truth.
Appearing in a televised interview, an emotional Cindy said she was desperate for Watts to "fight", adding: "I want him to not take this plea deal."
She also said "there’s no telling what will be done" to her son in prison.
Last week, Watts wore a bulletproof vest as he pleaded guilty to the nine charges against him at a court in Colorado, US.
These charges included the murders of his pregnant wife Shanann, 34, and their two daughters, Bella, four, and three-year-old Celeste.
But Cindy doesn’t believe her son killed the two girls.
Instead, she considers his story that he killed Shanann after discovering she had strangled their children to death to be true.
Watts has previously claimed that he strangled his expecting wife in a rage after realising she had killed the youngsters.
“I know he confessed, but he was railroaded into it,” his mother, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, told the Denver Post.
She added: "I want him to take back the plea deal."
Cindy believes her son’s public defenders were solely focused on saving him from a potential death sentence when he struck the plea deal.
In an interview with Denver 7, she said the focus was to "save his life".
"Save his life and life in prison – to me there’s no difference," she said.
"He’s going to die in prison…. I just want him to fight. I want him to not take this plea deal. I want him to plead not guilty to the children."
Ronnie, meanwhile, told the news station that there remains "a whole lot of unanswered questions" about the case, which has shocked the world.
The father added: "I just want to make sure he’s doing the right thing. If he didn’t kill the children, I want him to face that and let them prove it."
The parents have claimed they repeatedly tried to speak alone with their son, but that they were prevented from doing so by his attorneys.
At one point, Cindy reportedly told her son: "You did not do this." She told him not to confess, but claims attorneys quickly shut down the conversation.
In a statement responding to the Watts family’s claims, Shanann’s parents said Watts pleaded guilty to murdering his family "because he is guilty".
They added: "Their false statements, however hurtful and inaccurate, will never alter the truth about Shanann and will never alter the truth about the crimes committed by their son.
"Her memory and reputation deserves to be protected. And her family is fully prepared to do so."
Shanann, a "faithful" wife and "loving" mum, was 15 weeks’ pregnant with a son she was going to name Nico when she was slaughtered by her husband.
The killings took place on either August 12 or 13.
Watts buried Shanann in a shallow grave and stuffed their daughters’ bodies in oil tanks where he worked, officials have said.
The bodies were discovered days after the trio were reported missing from their home in Frederick, Colorado. It has been widely reported Watts strangled them to death, but this has never been confirmed.
Last week, Shanann’s family sat in the courtroom’s front row as they listened to Watts enter his pleas, the Denver Channel reported.
The killer wore a bulletproof vest as he admitted to nine charges.
They were: three counts of first-degree murder after deliberation, two counts of first-degree murder – victim under 12/position of trust, one count of first-degree unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
Watts is now facing life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
He will be sentenced on November 19.
After Shanann, Bella and Celeste ‘vanished’ three months ago, the murderer made a tearful TV plea to find them.
Days later, on August 15, he was arrested but denied he had killed them.
However, he began repeatedly changing his story to police.
He claimed that his wife had strangled their daughters in revenge after he revealed he was having an affair and wanted to split.
He allegedly told detectives that he flew into a rage and strangled Shanann after catching her in the act on a baby monitor screen.
But police rejected Watts’s story and charged him with three counts of first-degree murder.
Bella and Celeste’s bodies were found on the property of Anadarko Petroleum, one of Colorado’s largest oil and gas drillers.
Shanann was discovered dead in a shallow grave nearby.
The mum had been initially reported missing after returning home from a business trip to Arizona at around 1am.
Watts had spent the weekend at home with their children.
He claimed he last saw his wife at 5.15am before he left for work.
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Speaking on NBC’s Today show, he said he and Shanann had had an "emotional" conversation that morning and had stayed up talking .
However, he 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."
Watts allegedly eventually confessed to police after giving a number of interviews to national media. Police said he led officers to Shanann’s body.
Ahead of Watts’s guilty pleas last week, it had been reported that the killer was on "suicide watch" and was "not doing well at all".
A source told People: “The gravity of the situation has hit him like a ton of bricks. Depression is setting in, and he’s despondent."
Shanann and her daughters were laid to rest on September 1.
In a moving tribute at their funeral service, the mum’s brother, Frankie Rzucek, said she had wanted a "great life" for her children.
"I always worried about her and the girls being so far, because I couldn’t protect them," said Frankie.
Meanwhile, a tribute from Shanann’s dad read: "Daddy loves you. You are a wonderful daughter and a great mother.
"You are nothing but pure love, always caring fro everyone. You will always be Daddy’s little girl."
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