*This article contains spoilers for American Murder: The Family Next Door. Read at your own discretion.*
Photo Credit: Netflix
The new Netflix documentary film, American Murder: The Family Next Door, tells the story of the chilling and unsuspecting crimes of Chris Watts. Watts committed the murders of his pregnant wife Shannan and their two daughters, Celeste and Bella, in August of 2018. Netflix brought together raw, firsthand footage from the police, Facebook and Shannan’s friends and family to retell the events leading up to the murders and the events that followed.
The format of the documentary was different from what I’ve previously seen. We get police footage from body cams, investigation footage, videos and pictures of the Watts family, and even the messages that were exchanged between Shannan and Chris.
Before watching the documentary, I knew very little about the case. From the very beginning of the documentary you see Watts acting strangely, and it’s evident that something is wrong. I was shocked throughout the entire documentary and still left with so many questions. I was so intrigued by the documentary and left speechless by the events that occurred. I could not wrap my head around the idea of a father murdering his innocent children. When Chris first admitted his guilt, he claimed that Shannan was responsible for the deaths of their daughters. I was left thinking this just cannot not be. I just knew he had to be lying; there was just no way that his wife could have done this.
There were just so many twists and turns, and I was most shocked that Watts was having an affair. He was living a double life and his wife suspected it, and yet he kept denying it. Shannan’s life with Chris seemed to be so well put together, but that just wasn’t the case since her husband was ready to start his own life.
What was most heartbreaking was seeing footage of Celeste and Bella, and being scared about what was going to happen next, which was the worst part of all.
As a lover of true crime, I went in having high expectations and this documentary met those expectations. The way the film was put together helped me stay intrigued. The inclusion of Shannan’s text messages was an interesting element to include, which is something I have not seen before in a true crime documentary. For anyone looking for their next true crime film this just might be the one.
