Chris Watts Update: Convicted Killer Ready To Appeal His Sentence

As convicted killer Chris Watts spends his time behind bars for murdering his pregnant wife and two young children, he is contemplating an appeal of his sentence.

Watts, who was sentenced to five life sentences in November 2018, wants to change his conviction despite pleading guilty to the murders of his family. Watts has been in touch with a number of attorneys and is looking at his legal options by researching other cases as well as his own, People reported.

“Obviously, it would be an uphill battle for him, because he pleaded guilty,” a source told the news outlet. “And with a guilty plea, you forfeit some of your rights to appeal. But that’s not absolute, so there’s a small chance that it could work out in his favor.”

Because Watts has nothing but time on his hands, he now realizes he will spend the next 50 years in a Wisconsin prison cell, where he only has his family photos, according to People. Watts has come under criticism for having his wife and daughters’ photos hanging on the wall of his prison cell, which he reportedly talks to and reads books and bible scriptures to each day.

While Watts hasn’t found an attorney to represent him just yet, he faces the issue of having the money to pay for legal representation in Colorado while he resides in Wisconsin, where he feels he could explain some of the circumstances surrounding his case, the source said. Watts was moved from a Colorado prison to a Wisconsin prison after receiving death threats from his fellow inmates.

“Everything happened so fast there at the end [of the legal proceedings]. And he’s not sure he was in the right mind to plead guilty like he did. For him, it’s not just about him getting out of jail — it’s also that he hasn’t been able to really have his day in court,” the source added.

Watts, 33, murdered his wife Shanann, 34, who was pregnant at the time with their son, as well as his two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. He disposed of his wife’s body in a shallow grave at his work site and put his two daughters’ bodies in an oil tank.