Court documents: Colorado children found in oil well, may have been strangled

The Coloradoan

Show Caption Hide Caption Husband reportedly admits to killing wife, daughters The husband of a missing Frederick woman and their two daughters has been arrested in connection with their disappearance, police confirmed early Thursday morning.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Defense attorneys for the Colorado man accused of killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters filed court documents Friday that suggest the two girls may have been strangled.

Chris Watts, 33, of Frederick was arrested this week on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of tampering with a deceased body in connection with the deaths of his wife, Shanann, 34, and their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.

Formal charges are expected to be filed Monday by Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke.

The court documents obtained by 9NEWS and shared with the Coloradoan also detail that the bodies of the children had "been in an oil well filled with crude oil" for four days.

More: Bodies of missing mom, 2 daughters found in Colorado, authorities say

More: Full interview with Chris Watts 24 hours before he reportedly confessed to killing family

Defense attorney James Merson wrote in one motion that he had spoken with a DNA expert, Richard Eikelenboom.

Merson's requests in the motions focused on mandating that the pathologist take DNA swabs of the girls' necks during the autopsies, which were scheduled to be completed Friday. He also requested that Eikelenboom be present during the autopsies.

“In my opinion, the presence of oil will not destroy the DNA,” Eikelenboom said, according to one of the motions. Eikelenboom also referenced techniques that could be used to preserve DNA "after strangulation."

Merson also requested that DNA samples be taken from Shanann Watt's hands and nails along with the children's nails.

Police said the body of Shanann Watts was found on property owned by Anadarko Petroleum, one of the state’s largest oil and gas drillers, where Chris Watts worked as an operator. Investigators found what they believe are the bodies of 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste nearby Thursday.

Contributing: Kevin Vaughan, KUSA-TV, Denver