Chris Watts, who is serving a life sentence for murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters, claimed he is a “new man” in recent prison letters to a female pen pal, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
Watts has multiple pen pals and often writes long letters that contain Bible verses, according to the Daily Mail. In the letter viewed by the outlet, Watts not only claimed he is a “new man,” but also said he is “not the person who committed those horrible acts” in reference to the murder of his wife, Shanann and their daughters, Bella and Celeste. (RELATED: REPORT: Man Charged With Sexual Abuse After 11-Year-Old Stepdaughter Allegedly Gives Birth To His Child)
“I am a new man. I am not the person who committed those horrible acts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, ‘if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ That’s me. I’m a new creature,” Watts wrote.
“I know that God does not see me as a sinner who killed his family; he sees me as His child. I have confessed my sins. I am forgiven. The hardest thing I have had to do was to forgive myself,” he added. In a 2021 letter, Watts blamed his mistress, Nichol Kessinger, for the murder, the Daily Mail separately reported in April.
“I was misled, I was tempted by a harlot. I was weak and I allowed myself to be fooled by an evil woman. She led me from the path of righteousness. I know that you will deal with her someday. She will be judged,” Watts wrote in a letter addressed to God.
In 2018, Watts admitted to killing Shanann and their two daughters and stuffing their bodies in an oil tank. Watts strangled Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their son, Nico, according to the New York Post. He suffocated Bella and Celeste, the outlet reported.
Kessinger has never been charged with any crime, and investigators do not believe she was involved in the murders, the Daily Mail reported.