Chris Watts Says 'Evil Outside Source' Caused Him to Kill Pregnant Wife and Children in Heartfelt Letter

Chris Watts blamed an "evil outside source" for turning him against his family in a letter to his murdered wife, Shanann Watts.

The convicted killer wrote the message in 2020, nearly two years after murdering Shanann and their daughters, Bella and Celeste.

Chris opened the letter with a birthday greeting to Shanann, who would have turned 36 in January 2020.

"Hey boo! Happy Birthday! Thirty-six years young today. This is the first time of year when I could always say you're 'two' years older than me. You didn't like that too much, but I liked messing with you," he wrote.

The convicted murderer then addressed the killings.

"There's so much I wish I could say to you and make up for what I did to our family. No one needed to go through this. You and our babies had a long life ahead of them and deserved to see that life," he added.

"I promise the man you married isn't the man who turned his back on his family. That man was an aberration brought on by an evil outside source," Chris expressed. "You know the husband and dad I am and would testify to that today."

In the letter, Chris described imagining Shanann and their daughters watching over him from beyond the grave.

"I look outside my window and wonder what we would be doing, and then I get this overwhelming feeling you're looking at me with our babies saying, 'We love you!'" he wrote.

Chris continued: "All of you are a blessing to my life, and your memory lives in my soul every waking moment. I close my eyes and imagine the light of God shining across your cheeks and radiant smiles beaming down from Heaven when you look down upon us."

"The love you felt down here won't compare to the love you feel up there – God's love – and I've dedicated the rest of my time on this earth to showing the love He has shown me. Cheer me on as I walk the path God is putting in front of me. I love you all to the moon and back!" the killer dad concluded.

The letter comes from the book Killer in the Family, written by Melissa G. Moore and Michele Matrisciani.

Cindy and Ronnie Watts got the letter during a prison visit and read it at the family's gravesite in North Carolina, according to the book.

Cindy has continued to insist she cannot believe her son killed Bella and Celeste.

The mom told Moore, "I'm not saying he shouldn't be in jail. He killed his wife, but why the girls? There's no way he could put the girls in that eight-inch hole... It's not how he is; it's just not."

Ronnie has focused on why Chris accepted a plea deal rather than going to trial and wondered why his son never publicly defended himself.

Chris brutally murdered Shanann, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their son, Nico, in August 2018.

He also killed Bella, four, and Celeste, three, before disposing of their bodies at the oil field where he worked.

After initially lying about what happened, Chris pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.