Not everyone thought Shanann and Christopher Watts had the perfect marriage. A neighbor told police investigating Watts in the death of his wife and daughters about a different side of the couple.

Nathaniel Trinastich lived next to the Watts family on Saratoga Trail and provided security footage of Shanann Watts arriving home early Aug. 13 and Christopher Watts leaving a few hours later. He also captured Watts backing his truck into his garage, which Watts claimed he did so he could load up his tools for the day.

Christopher Watts was arrested Aug. 15 for the murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters. He pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, three counts of tampering with a deceased human body and unlawful termination of a pregnancy to escape the death penalty and on Nov. 19 received multiple life sentences.

The Times-Call submitted a a Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act request to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office to obtain a body-worn camera recording that captures Frederick police Officer Scott Coonrod, Watts and Trinastich watching the security footage after 34-year-old Shanann Watts, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste were reported missing. The video is one of hundreds of pieces of additional discovery released since an initial round on Nov. 21.

In the video, the three watch the security footage on Trinastich’s television, and 33-year-old Watts bounces from foot to foot, explaining everything he loaded into his truck that day — lunchbox, backpack, water jugs, computers, tools.

Toward the end, Watts leaves the room to speak with a detective outside. Trinastich turns to Coonrod and says, “He’s not acting right.”

Trinastich goes on to tell Coonrod that he often hears the Watts fighting verbally. The last time he heard them fight was before Shanann Watts went to North Carolina, he said.

“To be completely honest with you, my wife and I were wondering when she was on vacation if something happened, because I’ve heard them flat-out screaming at each other at the top of their lungs, and he gets crazy,” he said.

Trinastich also thought that Watts was acting suspicious, talking more than he usually did and “trying to cover his tracks.”

While their neighbors may have heard their fights, it appears their friends never did. All of Shanann Watts’ friends told investigators about how involved her husband was and how he helped out with laundry, cooking and cleaning.

Shanann Watts’ friends, many of whom live outside of Colorado, told investigators that things between the couple seemed perfect until Christopher Watts went to North Carolina.

While on her business trip in Arizona a few days before the murder, Shanann Watts confided in her friends that Christopher Watts said he no longer wanted the baby she was carrying, that they weren’t compatible and that she suspected he may be cheating.

Still, Shanann Watts’ friends told police that she was “blindsided completely” by the sudden change in her husband.

Madeline St. Amour: 303-684-5212, mstamour@prairiemountainmedia.com