When the Christopher Watts arrest affidavit became public, one intriguing allegation stuck out: that he had an affair with a coworker. Authorities redacted much of the relevant paragraph, and they didn’t identify the person in question.
A Thursday report from The Denver Post might shed more light on that. Nichol Kessinger identified herself as the defendant’s coworker, and claimed she had brief relationship with him.
“He’s a liar,” she said. “He lied about everything.” She was joined in the interview by her attorney Ed Hopkins.
Krista Henery, the lead spokesperson for the Weld County District Attorney’s Office, told Law&Crime that the case remains open, so they are unable to confirm or deny this report, or discuss the specifics of the investigation.
Kessinger claimed she started dating Watts less than two months before his wife Shanann and daughters Celeste and Bella went missing and were found dead.
She said she worked in the environmental department of a contractor for Anadarko Petroleum. Watts also worked for Anadarko.
She said he introduced himself to her in June, and she noticed he didn’t have a wedding ring. She believed Watts to be attractive, she said.
“When he spoke to me, he was very softspoken,” she said. “He appeared to be a good listener.”
According to her, Watts said he had two daughters, and that he was finalizing his divorce.
The two started a physical relationship in early July, but she insisted on taking their time so he could focus on helping his daughters transition during the separation, she told the Post. Watts told her later in July that the divorce was final, and that he needed her assistance finding an apartment for him and his kids, she claimed.
“He made me believe that he was doing all of the things that a rational man and good father would do,” she said.
At no point, however, did she meet his family or friends.
Then Shanann and the girls went missing. Kessinger said she pressed him for the truth after discovering that the media was at his house, and that not only was he still married, but his wife Shanann was pregnant.
“I thought, ‘If he was able to lie to me and hide something that big, what else was he lying about?'” she said. Kessinger claimed that Watts didn’t show emotion, and attempted to change the subject from his family’s whereabouts.
“It seemed off,” she said. According to her, she finally cut him off because of his lies, and told him she didn’t want to talk to him again until his family was found. Kessinger said she reached out to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, and spoke with FBI investigators.
Shanann, 3-year-old Celeste, and 4-year-old were found dead at a property belonging to Anadarko, authorities said.
According to the affidavit, Watts admitted to killing his wife because she fatally strangled their children after he asked for a separation. Kessinger dismissed that story. She said she believed that he killed all three of them.
[Image via RJ Sangosti – Pool and Getty Images]
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