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'The Devil ... Can Be Transformed Into Anything,' Chris Watts' Grieving In-Laws Say
Frank and Sandra Rzucek originally thought their daughter's husband was a gift from God, but now say "he must have snapped."
Before Chris Watts murdered their daughter and grandchildren, Sandra and Frank Rzucek thought he was sent from heaven. Now they think he's "the devil."
“We did scream at God, yes we did,” Sandra told ABC’s “20/20. “The devil comes to you in any shape, size and form and can be transformed into anything.”
Last month, Watts was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars after confessing to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann, 34, and their children, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste before dumping their bodies at an oil site where he worked. The high-profile case is featured in the season premiere of "Criminal Confessions," airing Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6pm ET/PT on Oxygen.
The Rzuceks say they still can’t understand how and why their son-in-law could inflict such terrible acts of violence.
“That’s the big word – Why?” said Frank. "He must have snapped, because there’s nothing else I could figure out what happened to him.”
Early on in his relationship with Shanann, Watts made a great impression on his future mother-in-law.
“You just don’t sleep very good with lupus,” Sandra Rzcuek said, referencing her daughter's disease. “She had her head on his lap, and they were watching TV. He didn’t move. He didn’t get up to go to the bathroom. He didn’t get a drink. He let her sleep for four hours. I told her, ‘God must’ve sent him to you.’”
But something clearly changed over the course of their eight-year marriage. Watts cheated on Shanann multiple times, according to investigation records released by the district attorney's office after his sentencing last month. While Shanann was desperately pleading with him to work on their relationship and reportedly buying self-help books for him, Watts was planning his future with his coworker Nichol Kessinger. Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke described Watts as seeking a "fresh start" when discussing the motive for the brutal murders.
[Photos: Weld County District Attorney’s Office, Associated Press]
