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

PINEHURST, N.C. — The funeral for a slain Colorado mother, her two young daughters and unborn son will be held next weekend in North Carolina.

Shanann Watts, 34, 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.

According to an obituary published Saturday in the Sandhills Sentinel, the funeral Mass is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Pinehurst. The service will be livestreamed on the Boles Funeral Homes & Crematory Facebook Page.

Shanann Watts' brother, Frankie Rzucek, also shared the news on Facebook, asking members of the media to keep their distance.

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.

Shanann Watts was born in New Jersey but grew up in North Carolina, the obituary said.

Chris Watts was charged Monday 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 alleged 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.

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Chris Watts claimed 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.

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