Obituary pays tribute to slain Colorado mom, daughters, unborn son

PINEHURST, N.C. — The family of Shanann Watts paid tribute to the slain Colorado mom, her two daughters and unborn son in an obituary released over the weekend.

Watts, 34, "was our pride and joy, a true gift from God," reads the obituary, which appears on the websites for the Sandhills Sentinel and Boles Funeral Home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, near where she grew up. "We were so blessed to have such a joyful and wonderful daughter whose beauty was that of a doll."

>> Read the complete obituary here

>> Funeral for pregnant mom, 2 daughters to be held in North Carolina

Watts and her two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were reported missing in Frederick, Colorado, on Aug. 13 before their bodies were found days later. Watts was 15 weeks pregnant with a son, Nico Lee. Watts' husband, Chris Watts, 33, is accused of killing them.

The obituary says Shanann Watts, who had Lupus, "loved and cherished" her daughters and was excited to learn she was pregnant with a baby boy.

"With the anticipation of her son to join them, she knew he would be loved by his sisters and family," the obituary reads.

A funeral Mass is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Pinehurst, the obituary says. The service will be livestreamed on the Boles Funeral Homes & Crematory Facebook Page.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for memorial donations to the Lupus Foundation of America; the Frederick, Colorado, Police Department Missing Persons Division; or St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

The obituary makes no mention of Chris Watts' side of the family.

Last week, he was formally charged with five counts of first-degree murder – including two for allegedly killing a child under the age of 12 while the defendant was in a position of trust, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body. He is being held without bail in Colorado's Weld County Jail.

In a confession to police, he claimed that his wife strangled the girls early Aug. 13 after he told her he wanted to separate, authorities said. Investigators said he had been having an affair with a co-worker.

Chris Watts told police that he "went into a rage" and strangled his wife after seeing her strangling Celeste on the feed of their baby monitor, an arrest affidavit said. Authorities said he admitted to disposing of their bodies, which were found on property belonging to Anadarko Petroleum Corp., his former employer. Investigators discovered Shanann Watts' body in a shallow grave near oil tanks where the bodies of Bella and Celeste had been found submerged in crude oil.

Cox Media Group