Chris Watts described the murder of his wife and children in medical notes from prison

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing

Convicted murderer Chris Watts described his plans to end the lives of his pregnant wife and two daughters in a series of sickening letters from prison.

Chris is currently serving three consecutive life sentences for the killing of his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and their two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in 2018.

The case, commonly known as the Watts family murders, shocked the world in 2018 when it was revealed that oil field operator Chris had killed his entire family and faked the disappearance.

Chris appeared on national television several times, pleading for information about his missing family before it was later revealed that he had taken their lives. He later confessed to their murders to avoid the death penalty for his actions.

The horrific story later became the subject of a harrowing Netflix documentary titled American Murder: The Family Next Doorwhich showed that Chris had somehow managed to acquire a number of loyal pen pals, many of whom believed him to be innocent.

True crime author Cheryln Cadle was later inspired to write a book about the Watts story and contacted the 39-year-old.

While Chris was incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, the two exchanged a series of letters in which he made a series of chilling confessions regarding the murders.

Chris revealed that he had been “thinking about killing” his wife Shannan for weeks – partly because of an affair with a co-worker – and also admitted to secretly giving her OxyContin to terminate her pregnancy.

Cheryln later published a book, The murders of Chris Wattsin 2020, where she included letters from Chris describing his failed first attempt to kill his daughters.

He attempted to suffocate his children before murdering his wife. He described how his wife's “eyes filled with blood” and her face turned “all black with streaks of mascara.”

In a letter to Cheryln, he wrote: “On the morning of August 13th, I went into the girls' room first, before Shanann and I had our argument. I went into Bella's room, then Cece's room and used a pillow from her bed. [to kill them].

“Therefore, suffocation was the cause of death. After I left Cece's room, I climbed back into bed with Shanann and we started arguing.”

Chris' cruel attempt to kill his daughters had failed and the two girls, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste, woke up.

He continued, “After Shannan died, Bella and Cece woke up again. I'm not sure how they woke up again, but they woke up. Bella's eyes were bruised and both girls looked like they had been through trauma.”

He buried Shannan in a shallow grave near an oil storage facility and placed the bodies of his children in crude oil tanks.

The Watts Family. (Netflix)

After a long correspondence with Chris, Cheryln visited him behind bars, which she described as “surreal.”

In 2021, Cheryln spoke to Inside Edition about the shocking details she learned about the case, explaining that his eyes “turned black” when she talked about the murders.

“Sometimes when he talked about the murders, his eyes would go completely black. His expression would change and he would talk about it so casually, like he was going downstairs to get a cup of coffee,” Cheryln said.

“He talked about it so casually, like he was going downstairs to get a cup of coffee.”