The Chris Watts case remains a chilling example of domestic violence, compounded by the horrific nature of the crime. While the focus rightly remains on the victims - Shanann Watts and her daughters Bella and Celeste - understanding the factors surrounding the case requires a comprehensive examination. One aspect that has emerged is Chris Watts's use of Thrive, a weight-loss supplement, and its potential influence on his behavior. This article explores the timeline of Chris Watts's weight changes, focusing on his use of Thrive patches, pills, and shakes, and the possible effects they had on him, as revealed in interviews and investigative documents.
Introduction to Thrive and Chris Watts's Involvement
Chris Watts, the man who murdered his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two daughters, Bella and Celeste, used Thrive, a weight-loss supplement that promises to help boost energy and increase overall health through patches, pills, and shakes. Shanann Watts, worked as a promoter and advertiser for Le-Vel, the marketing company that makes Thrive. She can be seen in online videos and posts raving about it in an effort to recruit new users. Chris said he hated those videos and being a part of them. He said he did it for her but hated being out there for everybody to see. He never wanted to be out there. Investigators talked about a Thrive video that he was in and how it looked like he hated to be a part of it.
Shanann's Success with Thrive and the Family's Finances
Documents released by the Weld County District Attorney's Office reveal just how into Thrive the couple had become. Prior to Shanann starting with Thrive, she and Chris struggled financially. But, once she started selling Thrive, her friend said she was making between $65,000 and $70,000 a year and that she had signed up approximately 200 people. Friends said she won several vacations through the company, which also paid for her Lexus.
Chris Watts's Usage of Thrive
Chris Watts was a regular user of Thrive. In comments his mistress Nichol Kessinger made to police, it seems Watts was an enthusiastic devotee. Kessinger referenced Chris always using Thrive and said he always had two patches stuck to him all the time. She told police he typically wore the patches on his left and right bicep and tricep area and on his lower back - something the product's makers might even describe as overkill, as they recommend wearing only one patch a day. Kessinger said he also used the company's shakes, pills and supplements on a daily basis. Chris said he wore patches and that they definitely had an effect on him. One investigator asked him if he felt like a different person when he wore them? He said that one of the patches that he used, DUO : BURN, a patch for losing weight , appeared to raise his heart rate. He said other patches had caffeine in them but they didn’t affect him in the same way that these did. DUO: BURN patches claim to be made up of mostly Forslean, a plant, extract.
Weight Loss and Physical Changes
Kessinger said Watts lost 13 pounds between July 4 and Aug. 11. Watts didn’t wear a wedding ring at work "because it was getting sized since it was too big after he lost weight and it kept falling off."
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Reported Effects of Thrive on Chris Watts
Chris Watts himself reported experiencing several effects from using Thrive patches. He stated that the DUO: BURN patch, in particular, appeared to raise his heart rate. "It felt like I was working out all day even though I wasn’t,” Chris said. He appeared to blame the patch for unhealthy sleeping habits, stating that his mistress Nichol Kessinger said he’d fall asleep on the couch in the middle of talking and then “pick back up as if I had never fallen asleep. I don’t know if it was an insomnia thing or what but I wasn’t sleeping much, man.” One of the investigators asked if Chris felt the patches changed him. He replied, “I don’t really know, I just know I felt different on those than with any other patch. I could just go longer and longer each day and that was probably a bad thing. I don’t think I was probably sleeping more than three hours a night.”
Timeline of Events Leading to the Murders
Several key dates and events preceded the murders, offering a glimpse into the changing dynamics of Chris Watts's life:
- June 14, 2018: Chris enters coworker Nichol Kessinger's contact information into his phone.
- June 17, 2018: Chris tells Kessinger he is married and has kids but is in the process of separating.
- July 14, 2018: Chris and Kessinger go on a date to a car museum.
- July 31, 2018: Chris flies to North Carolina for the final week of his family's vacation. Shanann appears to have had a fight with her in-laws, which prompted them to skip Celeste's birthday party that summer. Shanann texted, "He has changed. I don't know who he is."
- August 9, 2018: Shanann leaves for a business trip to Arizona.
- August 11, 2018: Chris hires a babysitter, saying he's going to a Colorado Rockies game with his coworkers.
- August 13, 2018: Chris Watts murdered Shanann, Bella, and Celeste.
- August 16, 2018: Shanann Watts' body is discovered in a shallow grave near this oil site.
The Murders and Chris Watts's Confession
In August 2018, Shanann and Chris got into a fight at their Colorado home, Watts told investigators. Watts originally told police his wife was missing but later admitted to killing her. After his arrest, Watts told police that he flew into a rage and strangled his wife and daughters, took the three bodies to a remote oil site north of Denver, buried Shanann in a shallow grave and dumped the girls' bodies inside oil tanks. Watts claims he 'never had any gay experiences' In the February prison interview, Watts said his attorney told him a Wyoming man named John Walsh claimed to have an affair with Watts. When Watts was shown a photo of Walsh, he did not recognize him, he said. Watts admitted to having an affair with Kessinger, telling interviewers he stayed at her house "almost every night while his wife and daughters were in North Carolina" visiting family. Watts also said "Kessinger wanted to have sex all the time" and that "he never had to worry about saying something stupid around [her] and never had to plan what he was going to say when he was with her." Watts told interviewers that he vacationed with Kessinger, indicating that the pair spent much of their time together as he and Shanann grew apart. At one point, Watts said he would sometimes question what he was doing with Kessinger. Watts told interviewers that he did not tell Shanann about his affair with Kessinger but that Shanann told him she knew "there was someone else" the day he murdered her. Watts denied the affair but said he told his wife that "he didn’t think their marriage was going to work." When Watts told Shanann he didn’t love her, she said, “You’re never gonna see the kids again." The conversation lasted less than 30 minutes before Watts strangled his wife, he told interviewers. Watts said Shanann did not fight back or scream, adding he did not know why. Watts told interviewers his daughter walked in on him while he was disposing of Shanann's body. He said Bella, their 4-year-old daughter, Bella, walked into their bedroom and asked, "What's wrong with Mommy?" Watts said he told Bella, "Mommy don't feel good," leading the girl to think Shanann was sleeping. Watts said he wrapped Shanann in a bed sheet, which was recovered at the oil site, dragged her down the stairs and placed her body in the backseat of his truck. Watts said Bella followed him down the stairs crying. Watts told interviewers Celeste, his 3-year-old daughter, probably woke up to the sound of him pulling Shanann down the stairs. Watts placed the girls in the backseat and drove Bella, Celeste and Shanann to the oil site. Watts said he used Celeste's blanket to strangle her and then dropped her into the oil tank.
The Claims and Skepticism Surrounding Thrive
Thrive claims to be packed with “over 100 premium grade vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, digestive enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants, protein, fiber and more” as it bolsters energy and eases aches. But it's important to note, as the Wall Street Journal does, that claims in relation to patches and weight loss are hard to prove. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission suggests consumers be skeptical of such products: "Whether it’s a pill, patch, or cream, there’s no shortage of ads promising quick and easy weight loss without diet or exercise. But the claims just aren’t true, and some of these products could even hurt your health. The best way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories and get more exercise.
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