The attack is said to have happened on the eve of what would have been the couple’s gender reveal party for their unborn child.
Lawyers for Chris Watts, 33, filed a motion on yesterday in Weld County, Colorado, asking for DNA to be taken from the necks of the little girls’ bodies, strongly suggesting they were strangled, according to the MailOnline.
But there has been no official cause of death announced in the case, after the bodies of Shanann Watts, 34, and the couple's two daughters, Bella, four, and three-year-old Celeste, were recovered on Thursday from the oil field where he worked.
Watts, 33, is being held without bail and faces three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of evidence tampering.
Charges are expected to be filed on Monday, with prosecutors believed to be considering the death penalty.
The Watts family murder – what is known so far:
- The bodies of Shanann and her kids have been found dumped in an oil compound
- They were reportedly found hidden inside gas tanks to mask their smell
- Investigators say they were killed at the family home before their bodies were moved
- Prosecutors have been told they now have until Monday to file charges against Watts
- Shanann had just landed a glamorous new job which kept her away from home
- The couple once filed for bankruptcy and were facing a hefty fine in court next week
- Family friends say there were no signs the well-liked couple were in any kind of crisis
- Chris Watts made an emotional appeal for his missing wife and kids to come home
- After the appeal, cops reportedly announced he had confessed to killing his family
Capital punishment is a rarity in Colorado and the state has executed only one offender since it was reinstated in 1977.
The new filing by court-appointed defence lawyer Megan Ring asks the judge to allow a DNA expert to be called to examine the bodies of the two young girls.
The lawyer said she wants to make sure DNA from the little girls’ bodies is maintained and she has not been able to tell if the prosecution is taking steps to do so.
She said in the filing: “It does not seem clear that the coroner, pathologist, or anyone working on behalf of the prosecution team in autopsy plan to take swabs of the necks of the two decedent children.
She asked for “several swabs of the neck” to be taken, along with control swabs on other parts of the girls’ bodies.
Four-year-old Bella and Celeste Watts, three, are said to have been discovered inside fuel tanks which “were mostly full" at the Anadarko oil and gas exploration site where their dad Chris worked.
They were inside the “mostly full tanks in order to conceal the smell", Denver 7 news reported this afternoon citing "high ranking" sources.
The bodies of the girls were found in close proximity to another body whom officers believe to be their 15-weeks pregnant mum Shanann.
Investigators are working on the theory the three victims were killed in the family home before their bodies were moved later.
Wearing shackles and an orange jumpsuit, Watts appeared in Weld County court for the first time on Thursday night.
During the hearing, Judge Marcelo Kopcow said the court found probable cause for Watts’ arrest early on Thursday morning.
Authorities have not revealed a possible motive or other details in the case. A judge sealed the arrest affidavit, which might have provided that information.
"We wish we had a different outcome," District Attorney Michael Rourke said after Watts' court appearance .
"We wish would've been able to locate them alive."
Following the revelations the bodies had been found, John Camper, of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said: “This is absolutely the worst possible outcome that any of us could possibly imagine.
“I think our hearts are broken for the town of Frederick as much as anybody.”
Shanann's brother has now pleaded for 30 seconds alone with the "heartless psychopath responsible" for the killings.
Frank Rzucek wrote on Facebook: "I just want 30 seconds alone with that heartless psychopath. May Satan have mercy on his soul.
"Doesn't take a genius to know who was suspect. My blood is boiling and the pain and anger and sadness I have in my heart.
"Nothing absolutely nothing would get in my way of taking away his life like he did mine and my ENTIRE FAMILY."
But things are said to have changed recently after she landed herself an £63,000-a-year job promoting health supplements and patches.
The perks of her new role included a Lexus company car and paid trips to Mexico, Las Vegas and the Dominican Republic – taking her away from her family.
The young mum was on a work trip just hours before she and her kids were killed, sparking fears her husband felt jealous about her great new job.
In one online video she said meeting Watts was the "best thing that ever happened to her".
She said: “I got a friend request from Chris on Facebook and I was like, ‘Oh, what the heck, I’m never going to meet him.
“I accept, one thing led to another and eight years later we have two kids, we live in Colorado and he’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
The children had spent the weekend at home with their father while their mum was away working, police confirmed.
Meanwhile a tragic text has emerged sent by Watts to his wife after she sent him an ultrasound photo of their unborn baby – who they planned to call Niko – just weeks ago.
He wrote: "Little Peanut!! Love her/him already!!!"
Shanann shared the exchange on Facebook later writing: "I love Chris! He's the best dad us girls could ask for."
A chilling photo has also emerged, which was also posted on her Facebook, showing a "body" covered in a death shroud – days before she was killed.
Tell-tale signs that 'killer dad' may have give himself away?
Renowned body language expert Judi James has analysed Chris Watts' interview and reveals any clues which may have given him away.
"Body language is not a precise science and using it in legal cases like this one can be especially difficult as lying signals can depend primarily on guilt-based responses.
"What this means is that an honest person lying about a very minor misdemeanor can easily look more guilty than a murderer who might be incapable of feelings of guilt or even who believes their actions were justified.
"The other feature of this footage is that – like a lot of people wanting to look honest – he clearly sticks to the true events of his story.
"The narrative here is about the friend calling him and how the house was empty when he got there.
"These are likely to be events that he really did experience, so the verbal version and the non-verbal signals would be more likely to be congruent and it is often this that gives an impression of being cool and collected.
"His arms are folded which would help avoid any gesticulation that might be incongruent to the verbal narrative. Although this creates a physical 'poker face' his emotions still emerge via a side-to-side swaying of the body and a shaking of the head as he talks.
"The head shake will look like a 'no' gesture but it can also be used to register disbelief. His eyes move to his right as he relates his story before coming back to perform sustained bouts of quite level eye contact.
"The sideways glance can suggest someone is accessing creative thinking but this trait isn't true of everyone. Eye contact is often seen as a signal of truthfulness but it is often acted quite effectively by people who are guilty too.
"His blink rate isn't accelerated to a point where you might suspect anxiety or fear but his breathing does sound a little shallow, which can happen under pressure. However that pressure could be caused by either guilt or by anxiety about a missing family."
The mum told how her daughters had wrapped a three-foot plastic doll in the mat from the game Twister.
"I don’t know what to think about this…" Shanann wrote, adding two laughing-tears emojis.
Family friends have now revealed they have been left dumbfounded by the brutal killings.
One man told how he spent time with Chris Watts and his daughters just a few days ago and all seemed fine.
Jerry Lindstrom said: “You know, the hardest part about it all is – when you're closer to the family… is the 'why?'”
"The why gets bigger.
"We're dumbfounded. We don't get it. Lost.
“He was a good mechanic if you needed help with your car – he'd help you.
“If you needed help with furniture, he'd be over there in a heartbeat to help you out.
“It's just horrible. Why do people do this? Why does it come down to this?
“There had to have been an easier route.”
On Wednesday, Watts, 33, appeared on US TV to claim he had absolutely no idea where his wife and kids had disappeared to hours before reportedly confessing to cops.
He was filmed outside the family home as he pleaded for the safe return of his missing family – hours before reportedly admitting to the murders.
He looked into the cameras as he said: "I have no idea, like, where they went.
"I don't feel like this is even real right now. It's like a nightmare I can't wake up from."
During the interview – now seen around the world – he told how he called in the cops after learning his house was deserted.
But just hours later legal sources claimed he had confessed to killing his family.
The FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation are also investigating the incident, local legal sources told reporters on the ground.
During the TV interview, Watts claimed he texted his wife numerous times but didn't get any response which he thought was odd.
He then raced home but found it empty and quickly filed a missing persons report with the cops.
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