DENVER, Colo. (KDVR/CNN) — Authorities in Colorado charged Chris Watts with killing his two daughters and pregnant wife.
According to police, he claims he killed his wife Shanann after she killed their two daughters.
But investigators say he killed all three of them, hid the bodies, and played the part of worried father and husband for days.
His behavior following the killings is leading to speculation about whether he is a psychopath.
Facebook photos and videos tell a story: the story of a happy marriage and a doting father who appeared to love his wife and two little girls. But we now know there was a much darker side to Chris Watts, a man who now admits he killed his pregnant wife.
University of Denver Clinical Professor Dr. Kim Gorgens said, “It isn’t a personality characteristic you’re going to pick out of a line-up. It’s not as if someone wears a sign that says, ‘you can’t trust me.’ In fact, it’s just the opposite of that.”
Dr. Gorgens specializes in the psychology of criminal behavior. She believes Chris Watts may very likely be a psychopath. “Someone who is really winsome, charming, and psychopathic—it’s not unusual for them to evade detection,” she explained.
Gorgens says 5 to 7 percent of all people are psychopathic. Many—but not all—end up in prison. “Often times they’ll never offend in an illegal capacity and they may actually rise to fame in politics, or as a CEO or of CFO of a business.”
Murders committed by psychopaths are typically well thought out and deliberate, often committed by someone you’d never suspect. Dr. Gorgens said, “Persons who have a psychopathic personality are granted intimate access to people because they’re really good at building those relationships and mimicking emotions.”
Watts claims he murdered his wife only after he saw Shanann strangling one of their daughters—reactionary behavior not consistent with a psychopath.
But only time will tell whether his story is really what happened.
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