The family members of Shanann Watts have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her husband, Christopher Watts, who murdered her, their two daughters and unborn child.
Sandra and Frank Rzucek filed the lawsuit on Nov. 19, the same day Watts received a life sentence in prison. They would use the funds from the lawsuit to pay for funeral expenses and the loss of Shanann’s income and compensate for the “permanent and continuing emotional distress” that resulted from the murders.
The lawsuit also aims to keep Watts from making money from the murders. If he wrote a book about the murders, for example, all of the profits would go to Shanann’s parents. The lawsuit will also prevent Watts from keeping the money made in the sale of the Frederick home where the family lived.
The family’s attorney, Steven Lambert, believes collecting money from Watts won’t be an easy task.
“It’s fairly obvious that Chris Watts doesn’t have money,” he said. “He’s not OJ Simpson. We’re not going to collect millions out of him.”
On Nov 6., Watts pleaded guilty to murdering his family and then hiding their bodies on a rural Weld County oil site.
Authorities released text messages last week that showed how the couple’s marriage was falling apart. In the text messages, Watts told his wife that he didn’t love her anymore like he did before and didn’t want the third child.
“I don’t know how you fell out of love with me in 5.5 weeks, or if this has been going on for a long time, but you don’t plan another baby if you’re not in love,” Shannan texted.
Watts is currently sitting at the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center, where he will undergo evaluations to determine which correction facility he will be housed in.
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