Shanann Watts' Brother Praises New Netflix Doc: It 'Gives My Sister A Voice'
Nov. 22 2020, Updated 4:51 p.m. ET
Shanann Watts’ family was involved in the Netflix documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door, which went into detail about her relationship with her husband, convicted murderer Chris Watts.
"I highly recommend watching this," Shanann’s brother, Frankie Rzucek, wrote on Facebook earlier this month. "It’s on Netflix. The director made sure we were a part of the whole process and we met the whole team personally. They made sure we were OK with them making this before they even started, unlike Lifetime’s horrible movie."
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"This documentary gives my sister a voice and she speaks throughout it," he wrote on Facebook. "It also shows what her life was like before he came along and how happy she was with her beautiful family until he cheated and turned into a different person and became that monster."
During Shanann’s funeral in 2018, Rzueck spoke highly of his sister. "Growing up, she was a perfect role model," he said at the time. "She had a lot of friends and was very popular, which made it hard for me being her little brother trying to protect her from heartbreak and other things. She moved out at 18 and never looked back.
"From a young age, I always knew my sister was going to be successful — and nothing would stand in her way,” he continued. "She was born to be a mother. She had ambition in her eyes and wanted a great life for her children and herself."
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Chris, 35, killed his wife — who was pregnant at the time — and their two kids, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, on August 13, 2018. First, Chris strangled Shanann and then disposed of her body on his job site at an oil tank field. Then, he smothered his two daughters to death.
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Chris — who was having an affair with his coworker Nichol Kessinger before he killed his family — pleaded guilty to the murders and is currently behind bars in Wisconsin.
In the documentary, viewers got an inside glimpse of his relationship with Shanann. "I can’t and won’t lose you without fighting for 'us!' I will always fight for our marriage and you!" she wrote in one message. "This is the hardest thing I have ever gone through but you are worth it. Tell me what you need. I love you, baby with all my heart."
As a result, Chris was not happy that his dirty laundry was being aired out in public. "Chris knows that every part of his life is out there for public consumption," a source told PEOPLE. "He hates it. It makes him feel a lot of shame. But he also knows that he brought it upon himself."
Despite committing a crime and ending up in jail, Chris’ parents revealed they don’t think less of their son. “We still love our son no matter what and we miss our grandbabies,” Chris’ dad, Ronnie, told The Sun. "We’re trying to move forward but it’s a very hard task."
"Chris doesn’t know anything about the documentary, we told him nothing about it," Chris’ mom, Cindy, added. "People come up with all these narratives. None of it is true. I’m living it, and I have been living it every single day for two years."