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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Double Tragedies Grip the Nation; Missing Coed Mollie Tibbetts Killed. Aired 6-8p ET

Aired August 22, 2018 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[18:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN CRIME AND JUSTICE: Good evening. I`m Ashleigh Banfield, and this is a special edition of "Crime and Justice" as

two murder cases break simultaneously, two families in torment. Tonight, as two men show their faces in court, charged with killing two beautiful,

young women and two precious little girls. In Colorado, it`s the seemingly perfect father and husband who police say killed his entire family.

And in Iowa, it`s the undocumented farm worker who allegedly abducted a runner leaving her lifeless body in a corn field. And all the disturbing

details are just now beginning to emerge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WATTS, SUSPECT IN FAMILY MASSACRE: Had every light in the house on, I was hoping that I would just get ran over by the kids running in the

door, like just barrel rushing me, but it didn`t happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His two little girls had reportedly been submerged in an oil well for days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is accused of killing his whole family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don`t get it. He would help reach out and help anybody that needed help with anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So who is Chris Watts?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chris was very stand offish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always wondered why.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn`t seem like the type of guy to injure a fly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was he like before he met the apparent love of his life?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chris is a book smart person, he reads something one time, and it`s like, memorized.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Started a family with her.

And then cops say, killed every one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just kept saying he didn`t know where she was, she was on a play date.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what happened in the days before as what he described as her mysterious disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said they were going to separate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was the plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That might have turned a family man --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice. Nice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Into a murderer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes in a relationship, you have to maybe make promises that turn into a major betrayal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is an animal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He sees Mollie running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He covered her up with corn stalks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody should have to go through that, what she went through.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The chilling answer to the question everyone`s been asking for a month, where is Mollie Tibbets?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She got the mail that morning and she hadn`t opened it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight we know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: a body was discovered early this morning in a corn field Southeast of Brooklyn, Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But did she have to go through?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mollie grab a hold of her phone said to leave her alone, I am going to call the police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did Mollie`s accused killer know her before cops say he followed her on a run?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It tells you she had seen her before, see or if he was just drawn to her on that particular day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have never seen this guy ever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he really black out that evening? Or is that a convenient excuse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He blacks out and then comes to near an intersection in which we believe he then placed Mollie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And why would he commit murder, if he was not supposed to be in this country in the first place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is an illegal alien.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just so wrong, so senseless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN CRIME AND JUSTICE: Two heart breaking stories, two tragedies, two families. We`ll begin with Chris Watts. Chris

was the picture of a family man, a hard working operator for an oil company who came home to a beautiful house, with a beautiful family inside. A

pregnant wife who could not stop gushing about him and two little girls who simply adored him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANANN WATTS, VICTIM, WIFE OF CHRIS WATTS: Hit it. Harder.

WATTS: Harder.

(LAUGHTER)

WATTS: Nice. Nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Sure looks like he is the epitome of a good husband and good father, but here`s the thing. Good husbands don`t kill their wives and

leave them in a shallow grave. Good fathers don`t kill their baby girls and dump their little bodies in oil tanks until the little blond pig tails

sink under the grease. And that is what Chris Watts is accused of doing, before asking all of us for help in tracking down his missing beautiful

family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:05:12] WATTS: If somebody has her and they`re not safe, like, I want them back now. I have every light in the house on, I was hoping that I

would just get ran over by the kids running in the door just like barrel rushing me, but it didn`t happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: No, it didn`t happen. Because they were dead and he knew it. Joining me now, Jenna Ellis, attorney and radio host with KLZ 560. Talia

Tirella, is a Crime and Justice producer on location tonight. Karen Smith is a retired detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff`s Office and a

forensic specialist as well and attorney Randy Kessler is with us as well.

Jenna, I am going to begin with you. So many details are starting to emerge about the Chris Watts that we didn`t see on all those Facebook

videos and the Chris Watts that didn`t emerge in all those Facebook posts. What are we discovering about this man?

JENNA ELLIS, ATTORNEY AND HOST, KLZ RADIO: And you know, friends and family, and even people who just recently met Chris are describing him as

stand offish. And there is a recent report out of North Carolina, a woman named Michelle Greer, happened to run into the family, both Shanann and the

little girls as well as Chris, during a vacation in Myrtle Beach. She actually have photos from August 2nd of the family and she described Chris

as stand offish and where she describes Shanann as interacting with the little girls taking pictures and says there is no way that Shanann could

had been the one to kill the two little girls.

BANFIELD: In fact, you know, he may had been stand offish but he still did his duty, for those who saw him out and about, he just -- not only days

before the girls vanished, was out with them at a birthday party, he took them to a birthday party. Jeremy Lindstrom is a family friend, who said he

just couldn`t believe this is the person who is now showing up in orange in shackles. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY LINDSTROM, FAMILY FRIEND: He would reach out and help anybody that needed help with anything. He was a good mechanic, if you need help with

your car, he would help you. If you needed help moving furniture, he would be over there to help you out. You don`t know what, when, why, where or

how everything goes weird. Just horrible. Why do people do this? Why does it come down to this? There had to be an easier route.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So, Jenna, this opposing description of Chris Watts, the now accused family annihilator, he would have done anything for anyone, but he

was very stand offish. So now you look for all the other clues everywhere else in this family`s life. And it turns out back in 2009, this whole

family picked up and packed up in a hurry. They sold a house in Belmont, North Carolina that was in Shanann`s name, and apparently took off leaving

just about all the furniture behind. This is from the Denver Post. What do we know about the person who bought the house and what that man was able

to tell investigators?

ELLIS: Yes, and you know, these types of conflicting reports are very interesting, because people only have one view of the family. And so we`re

learning a lot more details now about a bankruptcy that surfaced and again about these other reports that are surfacing from the family that bought

the house that just found it very odd that there was so much left in the home.

BANFIELD: I mean all of the furniture nearly left behind, and who leaves all furniture behind, when you`re not a millionaire. I mean this family

was not making as much money as they needed to make to live the lifestyle they were making. If I went through some of the actual numbers you would

be alarmed, in fact. The monthly expenses alone were up to $5,000, but the monthly net income for this family at one point was reported at about

$4,900 leaving behind about $11 every month.

So that and a bankruptcy filing tells you you`re spending beyond your means. I want to show you if I can what we discovered from Chris Watt`s

paycheck. Now, this is a paycheck, from 2015 and it was filed because of a bankruptcy document, but what`s really curious is in the small print, child

life insurance, for about $2.20 per check. That apparently was for Bella. Because Cici wasn`t born yet. And spousal life insurance for about $3 per

check. And by weekly earnings of about $2400. Somewhere around $5,000 was what he was making and then Shanann was working part-time back then, not

quite 40 hours a week, but about $18 an hour.

So you can imagine, when you see major purchases that were being made just months before, just six months before a bankruptcy was filed. They have a

home at $400,000 and they have a brand-new Ford explorer at about $600 a month.

[18:10:05] So, these are very, very tight times for a family, possibly living beyond their means. But did anybody suspect anything, Jenna, at

this point about the financial situation, or is it just something that seems like it three years ago?

ELLIS: Well, no, they`re definitely, some of the finances of course, will always point to a possible motive and you have definitely a bankruptcy that

was as of June 2015 that was reported as well as the life insurance. And so how that factors into a possible motive is still being determined.

BANFIELD: Yes, I want to show if I can some pictures, you know, sometimes there are small details that might go unreported, might go undiscussed in

light of the larger story, but there was actually one more little member of the Watts family left behind in that home. It was a member of the Watts

family that was listed on a financial document at one point for $5. It was their family dog. And we have come to know that that family dog was named

Deeder. We saw that family dog in a lot of the different Facebook post and this one in particular now in retrospect from Shanann Watts Facebook page

is particularly distressful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAMILY: Happy birthday to you happy birthday to Deeder.

S. WATTS: Happy birthday. Say happy birthday. He is giving you kisses, you want to give him a kiss?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

S. WATTS: Is he going to give you kisses?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got kisses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give kisses to Deeder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That little dog, who we reportedly know to be named Deeder was left inside the house. Also made an appearance in that remarkable video,

from really only weeks ago, where Chris Watts learned that his wife was in fact pregnant. It was a surprise announcement, you`ve probably seen the

video, but now when you look at it, she is setting up the camera waiting for Chris to come home and you see the dog running through the shot there

again. Happier times. You would think. Except for the fact that Chris Watts admitted to the police that he was having a protracted affair with a

co-worker, presumably at the time he was excited about finding out they were having a third in that video.

Jenna, one other thing that we know is that from some of the reporting that Deeder was picked up by the Theyers, this couple that was very close to the

Watts, they used to spend July 4th and Thanksgiving all together. I guess Deeder was pick up by the Theyers and move along to another home?

ELLIS: Yes, and so the only good news coming out of the story is that the family dog is being taken care of. And hopefully Shanann`s family can come

and pick him up, so the dog is being taken care of.

BANFIELD: If that hasn`t already happened, you can imagine that Shanann`s family, would probably want anything that they could get their hands on

that would remind them of anything left of this Watts family. It is just so tragic. I want to bring in Talia Tirella, producer on location. I know

Talia, you had been very busy in this area not only in in Frederick Colorado, but the surrounding area, because, you know, Shanann would have

had a busy life there. She would have gone to the salon. She would have gone to her coach. She would have gone to the restaurants, she would have

known people, and she would have had friends. These children would had have play dates. Chris Watts would have known the neighbors, they would

have all been friends. What are you finding out?

TALIA TIRELLA, PRODUCER, CRIME AND JUSTICE: Actually, Ashleigh, probably enough, the neighbors in the Watts family neighborhood, they`re not

speaking and the neighbors that are speaking to me are saying that the Watts family pretty much kept to themselves. I`m hearing that the

neighborhood is typically very quiet. There`s no sort of neighborhood luncheons or get together. It seems as though the Watts family pretty much

fell in line with how all the other neighbors were, they were civil when spoken to, but did not really go out of their way to divulge much detail or

plan a dinner or a social event.

BANFIELD: So, I`m looking at some of the pictures from the backyard of the Watts` home. And I know Talia, you mentioned a neighbor saw Chris out

grilling on Sunday night. That is before the murders. I am assuming that is the deck with the grill that you`re referring to. And as the camera

pans down, you can see a playhouse which is where I assume Bella and Cici would spend their afternoon with some of their toys are visible. Are any

other surviving, extended family members of, you know, the girls coming to the house to collect anything? Has there been any sightings of anyone

coming back to that home?

[18:15:09] TIRELLA: Sure, so a neighbor also told me that in the past week or so, she hasn`t seen anyone coming or going, either in or out of the

home, parking in the driveway. She from her knowledge, this neighbor has told me that she thinks this home is still considered a crime scene. And

is not open to any members of the public.

BANFIELD: I want to play something if I can. Somebody in Chris Watts` past, his name is Joe Duty, and he was a former automotive teacher of

Chris. And recalls Chris Watts completely differently than the story that is been emerging. Than the man in shackles in a courtroom facing family

annihilation, listen to how Joe Duty talks about Chris when Chris was a student.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE DUTY, FORMER TEACHER OF CHRIS WATTS: I always wondered why he was so quiet. So now looking at what has happened, I`m wondering if there was

anything in his head way back then he may have kept from everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It`s so remarkable to hear that description. In high school he was described as someone who every girl had a crush on. Except that he was

shy and awkward. Shanann Watts` Facebook suggested exactly the same thing, that he was smart, that he was smarter in fact, than she was. Have a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. WATTS: I was never the smartest kid on the block. I worked my tail off to fight through school. I was not a book -- like Chris is a book smart

person, he reads something one time and it is like, memorized. Me, on the other hand, I was the one staying up until 2:00 in the morning studying and

still struggling -- I`m a horrible test taker. I can know all the answers, but put that test in front of me and I bomb it or I struggle. And I have

always struggled, you know, through school. I have always, a lot of things, like insecurities, all of it played a huge role in my, everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Who could kill that woman, saying the things that she says about her husband. Constantly, effusively, praising those babies. So happy and

optimistic in her life. Who could kill that woman? Who could kill those babies? The Watts family just seemed to have it all, but life inside that

happy looking home was not exactly what it seem. We are going to have more on that after the break.

Later on, the college girl who vanished on a run seems to have been found dead in a corn field. We know who her suspected killer is and we know some

of his alleged secrets. That is next.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This afternoon my office filed formal charges against Christopher Lee Watts.

WATTS: jus comeback. If somebody has her, just please bring her back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The charges that we have filed are as follows. Three counts of murder in the first-degree after deliberation. One count naming

Shanann Watts.

S. WATTS: I am super, super pumped about 2018.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One count naming Bella, one count naming Celeste.

S. WATTS: Are you guys excited?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

S. WATTS: Are you really excited? Oh, my goodness!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: From missing girls to murder charges. We`re still talking about the Watts family Colorado. The couple and their two adorable girls who

once happy home is now abandoned. It is Chris Watts who is accused of killing his wife and daughters so no one will be going home to that house.

My panel is still with me. There is this incredibly unfortunate sound bite of Chris Watts on Facebook, where he was teaching some kind of a tutorial

about relationships. Imagine the coincidence that a few years later, this might surface given the set of circumstances that he finds himself in now.

And I asked you to pay close attention to what he talks about, when he says, relationships, no matter how harmless even at the job can weaken a

bond. Let`s let him describe it. It`s quite something, relationships no matter how harmless even at the job, it can weaken the bond you have with

the partner you have. Sometimes in a relationship, you maybe make promises that could turn into major betrayal. I bet you`re wondering what he looked

like when he said it. Have a peak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:25:00] WATTS: Relationships, no matter how hard, even at a job, you might meet a new person who could strengthen something else and weaken the

bond you have with the partner you have. You spend less time with each other and sometimes you have no time to maintain the relationship.

Sometimes in a relationship, you maybe make promises that can turn into a major betrayal or minor arguments that can turn into things where you say

spiteful comments which can turn into bigger problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Karen Smith, as a detective, is that just an unfortunate video, or is that important looking at the bigger picture of who this man was and

who this man is now?

KAREN SMITH, RETIRED DETECTIVE, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICE: It super important, Ashleigh, and here`s why. We`re looking for motive in this

case, we don`t have it. So they`re going to go back and look at all of these social media posts, all of his past videos, all of his digital

footprint in total to find out who this guy really is. When I watched his interview, it sent chills down my spine because he is cool as a cucumber.

And if he indeed did murder these three people, that is something that detectives are really going to have to look closely at and I am hoping that

they can come up with some kind of motive. Sometimes the question about why somebody does something, is the one question in a criminal

investigation that never gets answered.

BANFIELD: So, we`re trying to figure out the issue of the affair of a co- worker which he told the police eventually after he denied it he was having a specific affair that was serious. And it was with a co-worker Anna

Darko, and presumably, this company is being victimized by this entire story as well. They had nothing to do with this. And yet, they are have

faced the onslaught of the media.

But we were so curious about what kind of a job this man Chris Watts actually performed with this company and the intimate knowledge that he

would have of those tanks, where the little girls were ditch, in the oil. And the site where that wife was buried nearby. And so we looked it up on

YouTube and we found what the field operator job is like. Here`s someone describing for Anna Darko, what the field operator job, which by the way is

exactly what is on Chris`s paycheck for what he did for a living, take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always see everything that happens within our fence, within our facility. When something pops up, they call me on the radio,

our inside guy will call the outside guy and say we need, you need to check on this so they are going to do that.

Check in mechanical integrity, operate on the boards, operate in the plants, touching base with our contractors and touching base with our co-

workers to make sure that everyone is up to speed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy, something else that was on the paycheck, under operator one, which was his job title which you just saw was also life insurance,

life insurance for his wife, life insurance for his baby, this is before the second child was born, Cici. Is that going to factor into a case

against him the fact that there was some kind of life insurance taken out on this family or paid for this family?

RANDY KESSLER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Yes. You know, we always talk about motive, which is about why he do it. But you really don`t have to prove

why he did it. You just have to prove that he intended to do it, and he did it. And you get a conviction. But sometimes a jury is not going to

convict, if they don`t believe that he had a reason to do it. We just don`t believe the facts in front of us, because who in the right mind would

kill their wife and their kids.

So that helps show why he might have done it. It`s not crucial, but it is all those little things that are going to help. That, the girlfriend, you

know, the Facebook post, it`s going to help.

BANFIELD: So what about the possibility that there`s GPS monitoring of company cars and apparently Chris loaded those bodies by his own admission

into the company truck, first saying that it was tools that he needed when he backed into the garage, and then admitting to police that it was bodies

that he loaded into the truck, to take to the work site. Will any kind of GPS on the work vehicle if it exists factor in the case?

KESSLEY: Sure. But only if he denies it. I mean, it sounds like they have got him cornered. Now when they corner him, you know it is nice to

say I am going to admit it, I am going to confess. I am going to cooperate. He is cooperating after he is caught, so that helps and it

helps the investigation more than it helps the trial, if it goes to trial, which I can`t imagine, then certainly if he denies that he was there, they

are going to nail him with that scientific evidence. It`s just stuff that we didn`t have 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. He is going to be put

away for a longtime if he is able to stay alive through this process.

BANFIELD: Yes. Talia Tirella, why don`t you just take me back to the location where you are, this family`s home, I said it before, no one`s

coming back to live there. This family is gone, certainly those girls are not coming back, and who knows if Chris Watts will ever see the light of

day, but right now, there`s no one there, but what is there is obvious, the balloons and the teddy bears and the flowers, that we have now come to know

in this business as the growing memorials when there is a tragedies. Can you describe what is like today?

TIRELLA: Yes, that is right Ashleigh. So, I have been sitting here in their neighborhood, on their street, the Watts family, for almost an hour

now.

And I want to say every five, 10, 15 minutes, someone either from the area or I have even seen license plates from farther away, they`re driving by,

they`re stopping to take photos, they`re leaving teddy bears, flowers. So the memorial is definitely growing in the Watts family home slowly but

surely.

BANFIELD: I`m sure the neighbors are at the same time grieving but very frustrated that people are taking photographs as they drive by. Do you

think these are people, you know, just curious or do you think these are people actually who live in the area who are taking these photographs?

TIRELLA (via telephone): It seems like it`s people who might just be curious. I have kind of noticed that the people who tend to get out and

leave a teddy bear or leave a bouquet of flowers, they take a moment to themselves and, you know, they`re seeming to kind of collect their

thoughts.

Of course I don`t want to pass any judgment, but, you know, the people taking photos as they drive by, who knows what they could be thinking, but,

you know, they`re definitely driving through here pretty often.

BANFIELD: You know, there are a lot of people who are feeling the pain and suffering of grieving as well who may never have known this family. But

when a tragedy like this happens, it becomes very personal for people who maybe have never been in this city before. And you can see that, you can

see that playing out.

Strangers coming by, leaving gifts, messages, as though they felt like they knew these people, or at least wished, wished at some point they could have

known these people. The family life sure did look idyllic on Facebook, but clearly things were different when the camera was not rolling. We got more

on what happened before those murders coming up next.

And then there is the lead that busted open the Mollie Tibbetts case wide open and led investigators to this man, who was not supposed to be in this

country, before he was alleged to have murdered America`s sweetheart, who captivated us for 34 days this summer, as her family desperately searched

for her. The accused killer of Mollie Tibbetts, next.

[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daddy is a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This didn`t seem like the type of guy to injure a fly, let alone his entire family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daddy, daddy, I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It was hard to watch those videos when Celeste and Bella Watts were just missing. But it`s getting a lot harder to watch those videos

knowing that those loving little girls, Celeste and Bella Watts are dead. And so was their pregnant mom, who was so often behind the camera.

Police saying it was dad who did it, who did it to all three of them, the same dad who then confessed. But only to killing the wife. Suggesting she

herself killed the babies. Seems far fetched to you? Seems far fetched to a lot of people.

My panel is back with me now. Randy, as a defense attorney, that story just doesn`t seem to wash with those videos. When you see how loving this mother

is, when you see how she gushes over this family, how her kindness just breaks through the lens, that`s the kind of thing a jury will see and it

will get into their gut.

And then they`re asked to be reasonable and make a reasonable decision as to whether Chris Watts who lied all the way along, isn`t lying this time,

that that woman was in fact a double baby killer. How -- what are the odds? What are the chances a jury will agree?

RANDY KESSLER, ATTORNEY: That sounds like you went through plan A, plan B, plan C, plan D. You got maybe the X, Y, Z and couldn`t come up with

anything else so that was it. I mean, it`s an explanation.

You know, if it`s true, if people want to believe him for other reasons, if he is likable, if they think that there is no way he would have done this,

it gives him something to hang your hat on. But that`s about it.

It doesn`t sound like it`s going to fly. He has got a plea guilty. He`s got to get the best deal he can without going to trial because no way, you`re

right, Ashleigh, a jury is not going to buy that.

BANFIELD: Yeah, likability is a big deal, even when you`re sitting in a cell. And to that end, Jenna, he is not sitting in a typical garden variety

cell, is he?

[18:40:03] JENNA ELLIS, ATTORNEY AND RADIO HOST, KLZ 560: No, after the last reports, he is in solitary, probably for his own safety at this point

in Weld County Jail. He is being held without bond and that will be pending a plea and disposition or ultimately trial.

BANFIELD: What about suicide watch? After all, maybe, you know, if what he says isn`t true, and if what the cops say is true, that he is the actual

killer, he`s got to be feeling like he`s missing at least his girls. Do they have any kind of news on suicide watch?

ELLIS: Not that`s being reported, but typically, you know, Weld County and that jail as a defense attorney, I`ve been in there meeting with clients

multiple times, and that type of thing is taken very seriously there, and so that would not surprise me in the least if that was one of the

considerations, particularly for putting him in solitary at this point.

BANFIELD: Yeah. Karen Smith, real quickly, we look back on his history and it turns out when he grew up in high school, he wanted to be a NASCAR crew

chief technician. He was so good in mechanics he won a competition and got a thousand dollar-scholarship.

Will any kind of defense attorney reach way back there and pull all these positives and try to bring that out in trial to show what a stellar citizen

he is?

KAREN SMITH, RETIRED DETECTIVE, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICE: They can pull all the stops out they want. Any juror is going to listen to that and

frankly dismiss it in the face of these disgusting and horrendous charges. You know, as many homicides as I`ve worked, it doesn`t take the sting and

the heartbreak out of this tragic, tragic case.

And I`m on the verge of tears right now looking at those videos of those girls. And a jury is going to listen to that and they are going to let it

go in one ear and out the other as far as I`m concerned.

BANFIELD: Well, you know what, it`s about being reasonable and almost every trial I`ve ever covered, one of the first questions that comes back

from a deliberating jury is, what`s the definition of reasonable doubt? It`s you.

What`s reasonable to you? What is reasonable? Is that story reasonable? And that`s gong to be a hard sell for a man who lied and lied and lied and

lied. And he lied to all of you on T.V., asking you to help him find his beautiful family.

And those are the kind of videos they will play at his trial, if it ever goes to trial. It was 63 days from indictment. That`s the time period,

whereby prosecutors can ask for the death penalty. And if they do, it`s the fight of his life. And it may be the bargain he has to make.

Talia Tirella, Jenna Ellis, thank you. Karen Smith, Randy Kessler, I`m going to ask you to stick around, if you will.

When Mollie Tibbetts went for a jog five weeks ago, she had no idea the fate she would meet on that country road. And today, the man charged with

her murder stood before a judge for the very first time. A man who was not supposed to be in that courtroom, who was not supposed to be in that town,

who was not supposed to be in this country.

[18:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Her face is still all over Iowa, still smiling at the thousands of people who only wish that they could smile back. Because there are still

hundreds of missing posters blanketing every store front and lamp post in Brooklyn, Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s changed everybody, everywhere who has heard the story because now, you know, even communities that are 50 and 60

miles away from us are watching their children closer. She is a part of all of us.

BANFIELD (voice over): But after 34 days of searching every property in the region for that beautiful smiling face, Mollie Tibbetts` loved ones

aren`t looking anymore. Instead, they`re looking for answers because Mollie`s body has been found.

And even though her suspected killer is behind bars, no one knows why he would do it, why he would hunt down a girl in her hometown while she was

out for her evening run, why he would take her against her will, and why he leave her lifeless body in a cornfield.

MARY JO COLLUM, FRIEND OF MOLLIE TIBBETTS: He covered her up with corn stalks. He`s an animal. That`s all I can think. And where did he come from?

I mean, he said he`s been here seven years? Where? I mean, like, under a rock.

DAVE COLLUM, FRIEND OF MOLLIE TIBBETTS: He knows what the hell he did. He doesn`t have the guts to admit it. That`s how I felt.

BANFIELD (voice over): Twenty-four-year-old Christian Rivera is now charged with first-degree murder. A farm worker with his own apparent

secrets that are just now oozing to the surface.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Joining me now, CNN correspondent Dianne Gallagher. Steven Fabian, correspondent with "Inside Edition." Joseph Scott Morgan, a

certified death investigator and professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University. Karen Smith is still with me as is Randy Kessler.

[18:50:03] Dianne Gallagher, first to you. If you were living under a rock, you might not know this, but every single television across America

was emblazoned with the headlines that this was an undocumented worker and a man who was not supposed to be here. Walk me through that court

appearance today.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so, Ashleigh, that was something that wasn`t talked about too much during the actual court

appearance, his immigration status. Instead, he was sort of brought out in his outfit there, handcuffed, talking through an interpreter. He was

wearing the headphones.

Our Christi Paul actually noted that there were some members who appeared to be family members sitting immediately behind him. A woman who had a very

small toddler child on her lap, who kind of pointed at him when he was brought in, and had a face that looked like she was about to cry the entire

time.

Now, this was pretty much procedural. The next appearance in court will be the 31st of August, but it was to set the bond, which was raised to $5

million from the initial $1 million bond. And his attorney was attempting to make that next appearance closed to the media.

It`s not going to be. It`s going to be open to media to continue talking about this, Ashleigh. But again, this was our first real look at this

suspect and something that a lot of people in Iowa are still trying to come to terms with right now.

BANFIELD: OK. We just saw the glimpse of that young woman with the toddler, sitting in the front row. We know from his attorney that some

extended family of the accused were, in fact, in court. No one can tell us exactly who they are or how they are family, but it was very curious to see

that young woman on the left with a toddler looking very, very forlorn.

They made themselves available in a public setting, which is why we`re showing the pictures. Steven Fabian, I know you`ve been chasing down the

connection perhaps to this young woman. What have you found out?

STEVEN FABIAN, CORRESPONDENT, INSIDE EDITION: Well, listen, today I uncovered some yearbooks from the local high school here. We know that the

woman who is rumored to be Rivera`s girlfriend or current girlfriend or ex- girlfriend, we don`t know, we do know that she went to high school with Mollie.

She was one year older than Mollie, so she was a senior when Mollie was a junior. And I`ve got to say, flipping through the yearbooks today, it was a

bit eerie because, you know, on one page, you`d have Mollie Tibbetts there in her track uniform or on the speech team.

And then on the next page, you`re seeing this girl, who is rumored to be Rivera`s girlfriend on the cheer leading team. So, look, they went to the

same school, they`re one year apart. Forty people per class at this school right down the road here. You`ve got to think they at least were

acquaintances or at least knew of each other.

BANFIELD: Well, I think at some point that will become evident to us. But in the meantime, those are the three people who sat in the front seat

behind the bar in that court appearance. After the break, I`m going to play for you what it sounded like when that judge faced Mr. Rivera and read to

him exactly what he is about to face. That`s next.

[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Tonight, Brooklyn, Iowa is reeling and demanding answers on how this man, 24-year-old Mexican national Christian Rivera managed to hide in

plain sight for five weeks, while police tore the small town apart looking for Mollie Tibbetts. And they`re asking, why did this happen? Because that

man was not supposed to be in this country, let alone their town.

I want to welcome back my guests. I told you I would play for you the moment he would face the judge and there was drama. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Rivera, this is your initial appearance on the charge of murder in the first-degree and on an immigration detainer-notice

of action, filed by the Department of Homeland Security.

CHRISTIAN RIVERA, ACCUSED KILLER OF MOLLIE TIBBETTS (through translator): Yes, I want a hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bond in the amount of $5 million, cash only, in the name of the defendant only and only after approval for pretrial release by

the Department of Corrections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy Kessler, the defense attorney, understandably sought emotion to have a gag order, because the president of the United States

himself was talking about this case last night and called this defendant an illegal alien.

I don`t know how far you`re going to get with a gag order like that, but it is all over television that he was here illegally. How is that going to

factor into his case and could that really disrupt things?

KESSLER: Wow, with $5 million bond, that kind of stuff, jury selection is going to be crucial and pivotal. You know, we`ve got to ask some probing

questions. We`re picking a jury, you know, almost, I want to ask them, did you vote for this presidential candidate or that one?

[18:59:59] You can`t really do that, but you can ask your leanings. So, it`s going to be an interesting trial, for sure.

BANFIELD: Joseph Scott Morgan, just quickly, today the autopsy was complete, but they`re telling us, no information for four to six weeks.

And there is still so much left. Even the charging, it stops right at first-degree murder. There`s no sexual assault, there`s nothing else.

Will they know that now and they`re just holding it to the vest?

JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR OF APPLIED FORENSICS, JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY: Yes, they could very well, Ashleigh. And

let`s keep in mind also her I.D. has not been scientifically verified yet, so that`s another thing that they`re holding out on right now.

BANFIELD: All right. Thank you to all of my guests.

The next hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE begins right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to our second hour of a special edition of the program as we track two bone-

chilling murder cases that have this country transfixed, holding its collective breath.

And they are unfolding at the very same time. Two communities shattered by the details. Two families devastated by the loss of two gorgeous young

women and two adorable little girls.

And tonight, two suspected killers have both shown their faces in court. The Colorado family man who pretended his pregnant wife and daughters were

just missing when, all along, the police say he had murdered them all. And an undocumented farm worker in Iowa who allegedly abducted a college girl

while she was out for an evening jog and then left her lifeless body in a cornfield.

And the details about how it all happened are only now just beginning to come to light.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD (voice-over): Bodies of his two little girls had reportedly been submerged in an oil well for days.

JOHN CAMPER, DIRECTOR, COLORADO BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: At this point, we have been able to recover a body that we`re quite certain is Shanann.

BANFIELD (voice-over): Who could kill his own family?

CHRIS WATTS, HUSBAND OF SHANANN WATTS: Sometimes in a relationship, you have maybe make promises that can turn into a major betrayal.

BANFIELD (voice-over): What kind of man could murder the woman who couldn`t stop praising him?

SHANANN WATTS, WIFE OF CHRIS WATTS: Chris is a book-smart person. He reads something one time and he`s like, it`s memorized.

BANFIELD (voice-over): The mother of his beautiful baby girls.

C. WATTS: We did it, Deeter (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

C. WATTS: I guess -- I guess when you want to, it happens.

BANFIELD (voice-over): And what kind of dad could dump his own daughters in thick, greasy oil?

JEREMY LINDSTROM, FAMILY FRIEND OF THE WATTS FAMILY: We`re dumbfounded. We don`t get it.

BANFIELD (voice-over): Tonight, we introduce you to an accused killer, Chris Watts.

DANELL SEARCH, FAMILY FRIEND OF THE WATTS FAMILY: Chris was very standoffish.

JOE DUTY, FORMER TEACHER OF CHRIS WATTS: I always wondered why he was so quiet.

BANFIELD (voice-over): The Chris Watts you didn`t see on camera.

RICK RAHN, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, IOWA DIVISION OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: He sees Mollie running. It seems that he followed her. He

blacks out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He covered her up with corn stalks.

BANFIELD (voice-over): A typical evening run in her small Iowa town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How this could happen in a place like Brooklyn, Iowa.

BANFIELD (voice-over): Turns into a run for her life.

RAHN: Mollie grabbed ahold of her phone and said, you need to leave me alone, I`m going to call the police.

BANFIELD (voice-over): Why would an undocumented farm worker do this?

RAHN: He is an illegal alien, and seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day.

BANFIELD (voice-over): And what did Mollie Tibbetts have to go through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just so, so wrong. So senseless.

BANFIELD (voice-over): Before she was killed and left to rot in a cornfield.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody, nobody has to go through that, what she went through.

BANFIELD (voice-over): With all of her loved ones, desperately looking for her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to find her. We`re going to find her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a missing person, my sister, actually.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was violated. Our community was violated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s changed everybody, everywhere, who`s heard the story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Two murders, two monsters. Two stories that are tearing families apart. Two stories that have this nation transfixed, all

happening at the same time.

We begin in Colorado. What kind of man could kill his entire family? If you look at someone like Scott Peterson, you might get an idea. But if you

look at someone like Chris Watts, you might not understand because Chris Watts seemed like the perfect family man.

[19:05:03] Hardworking, a Colorado father who apparently left at 5:00 every morning for the oil site where he was hard at work as an operator. And

when Chris came home in the evenings, he came home to a family that adored him. Or at least is certainly what it looked like on Facebook.

In countless family videos, his pregnant wife was posting, it showed Chris in full-on dad mode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. WATTS: Hit it!

S. WATTS: Harder!

C. WATTS: Harder!

(LAUGHTER)

C. WATTS: Nice. Nice. Nice. Hey, high five.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Videos like that help explain why Chris seemed so distraught the day his whole family had, quote/unquote, disappeared. When Chris then

looked at the camera and begged for all of our help in finding his beautiful wife and daughters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. WATTS: If somebody has her and they`re not safe, like, I want them back now. I had every light in the house on. I was hoping that I would just

get just ran over by the kids running through the door, just like barrel rushing me, but it didn`t happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: No, it didn`t happen, did it? Because police say Chris had killed those kids then he`d hauled their tiny little bodies to an oil site

where he worked and he dumped them, they say, into an oil tank.

And police say the reason his wife, Shanann, never came home is because Chris went ahead and killed her, too, burying her body near the girls.

Now, he is the one who could lose his life, who could end up facing death for what he might have done to his family. And for some, the question

isn`t so much, did he do it, as how could he, if he did?

Joining me now, Jenna Ellis, attorney and radio host with KLZ 560; Talia Tirella, CRIME AND JUSTICE producer; Karen Smith, retired detective with

the Jacksonville Sheriff`s Office; and forensics specialist and attorney, Randy Kessler. Welcome to all.

Jenna, right off the top, we are getting to know this man. We are starting to know this man. And he is much different from what the videos perhaps

tell us. He seems more like the man we saw in court with the dead, cold, stare straight ahead, despite the grave situation he`s in and the grave

details of the crime. Who is Chris Watts?

JENNA ELLIS, HOST, 560 KLZ THE SOURCE: You know, what`s very interesting, Ashleigh, is that reports are surfacing out of North Carolina of a woman

named Michele Greer who happened to meet the family, including Chris and also Shanann and the girls, and pictures from August 2nd -- so not even two

--

BANFIELD: Unfortunately, we`re losing our signal with Jenna.

Let me bring in Talia Tirella if I can. She`s our producer who is on site, right now actually, in the town of Frederick, Colorado.

She has been to the home, she has seen the backyard, she has seen the front yard. A growing memorial to this dead family. And she`s also seen

something else, how the neighbors are reacting now that the facts are starting to come out.

Talia, can you tell us a little bit about not only what you`re seeing at the home, but what you`re seeing around the home?

TALIA TIRELLA, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE EDITORIAL PRODUCER (via telephone): Sure, Ashleigh. So I have walked around the neighborhood, I`ve been

knocking on doors, both yesterday and today. Not many people are willing to talk. And those that are willing to talk, they say they are just trying

to get over it.

A lot of people here, you know, it`s a very somber feeling despite the weather. It`s very nice here, it`s very sunny out, there`s a breeze, but

you wouldn`t tell that by the reaction of this community.

It`s a small neighborhood. While the neighbors don`t seem like they were a close-knit community, people are absolutely shocked that this kind of thing

could happen literally right next door.

BANFIELD: And speaking of next door, we`re seeing the view from next door into the backyard of the Watts` family home in Weld County. And I think I

can see the barbecue on the deck that you reported apparently neighbors saw him grilling out there Sunday night. That would be the night before those

overnight murders Monday morning.

And we`re seeing the backyard with the toys and the play structure where the girls must have played. This has got to be just heartbreaking for all

of those neighbors who look at this scene every day and realize that it`s a ghost town. There is no one coming back to that home.

[19:09:58] TIRELLA (via telephone): Absolutely, and that`s correct. A neighbor that I was able to speak with who let me go into her backyard to

get those images of the Watts` family backyard, she says, for the past week or so, since this story broke, she has not seen anyone coming or going out

of the Watts` family home.

And, yes, on top of that, it`s very eerie to look over there and see that grill that she says he was using that Sunday night. And she had told me

previously, she found it strange that evening.

He was outside, grilling, you know, getting dinner ready. She didn`t hear anyone calling him from inside of the home. And now looking back, she

says, she gets a very odd feeling about that night.

BANFIELD: And, Talia, I know you`ve reported that most neighbors say this family seemed to keep to themselves, but we spoke with Jeremy Lindstrom,

who`s a family friend who said, this is not the Chris Watts that I know. This is nothing like the Chris Watts that I know. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSTROM: He would reach out and help anybody that needed help with anything. He was a good mechanic. If you needed help with your car, he`d

help you. If you needed help moving furniture, he`d be over there in a heartbeat to help you out.

It`s -- you don`t know what, when, why, where, or how everything goes weird. It`s just horrible.

Why do people do this? Why does it come down to this? There had to have been an easier route.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: You know, Jenna Ellis, every time someone speaks about this case, especially with intimate connection to the case, you can hear their

voice break.

The friends of the Watts, who spent every Thanksgiving and July 4th and all of the holidays with this family, who actually rescued their dog, their

voices break as they ask that question that the rest of us are asking. How on earth did this happen, and who on earth was this man?

You said just a few weeks ago, there was a photographer, a woman who took a picture when the Watts family was on vacation at Myrtle Beach and waiting

in line for the bungee trampolines. Tell me a little bit about what she described she saw and the person that she saw in Shanann and the person

that she saw in Chris.

ELLIS: Yes. What`s very interesting about this particular woman, Ashleigh, Michele Greer, is that she had no other context for the Watts

family. This was just a casual interaction in line for the trampolines and the bungee cord there at Myrtle Beach while she was on vacation in North

Carolina.

And what`s interesting is that even though she has pictures of the family, she described recalling Chris as standoffish, not really communicating with

her, and yet she describes Shanann as being a warm mother who couldn`t possibly have committed these crimes.

And so for someone who really has no other context, to kind of see that variation between how she describes Chris and how she describes Shanann,

that will probably be very important if this case goes to trial. But it definitely sheds light on what kind of a person she saw Chris to be.

BANFIELD: And we are hearing that he is standoffish. Many others have described him as standoffish. It`s about the third or fourth time I`ve

heard that description, standoffish. Though, from Shanann`s Facebook, he was the light of her life, the perfect man.

There is one small detail that is hard to ignore. And in the light of the severity of the crime, it`s understandable why it hasn`t made headlines.

Because something listed on your family finances as $5 might not be important, but to this family, the family dog was very important.

It`s been reported this dog`s name was Deeter (ph). It`s also been reported that the dog was left behind in that home, in that murder scene.

It`s also been reported that the family friends who spent that Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving together took in the family dog and, apparently, are in

the process or have reunited the family dog with Shanann`s family.

But we couldn`t help but notice it in some of those Facebook postings, especially this one, when the whole family was singing "Happy Birthday" to

that little dog, Deeter (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. WATTS: Happy birthday to you.

BELLA WATTS, DAUGHTER OF CHRIS WATTS: Happy birthday to you.

C. WATTS: Happy birthday to Deeter (ph).

B. WATTS: Happy birthday to Deeter (ph).

S. WATTS: Give him kisses and say happy birthday.

C. WATTS: Birthday, birthday.

(LAUGHTER)

S. WATTS: Oh, he`s --

B. WATTS: Oh! He is cute.

S. WATTS: He is giving you kisses. Cece, do you want to give him a kiss?

CELESTE WATTS, DAUGHTER OF CHRIS WATTS: Yes.

S. WATTS: Is he going to give you kisses?

(LAUGHTER)

B. WATTS: I got to kiss you, I got to kiss you.

(LAUGHTER)

S. WATTS: Give him kisses. Give kisses to Deeter (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Deeter (ph) more than likely won`t be going back to that home that was his home, as well. I don`t know if you saw some of the furniture

in those pictures, but furniture plays into this story as well now because reports come from the "Denver Post" that the couple owned a home in

Belmont, North Carolina back in 2009. It was in Shanann`s name.

[19:14:57] And the person who bought that home from them, a man named Byron Falls, reported that the couple seemed in a real hurry to leave. Such a

hurry, in fact, that they left behind all of the furniture. That`s how he described it, they left behind all of the furniture.

And when you look at the financial picture, this is not the kind of family income where you would think that you could afford to leave all your

furniture behind.

Some of the major purchases that this family made right before filing for bankruptcy back in 2015 -- a home valued at $400,000, a 2015 Ford Explorer

leased at about $588 a month, monthly expenses that apparently totaled $4,897, and a monthly net income of $4,909.

And if you do the math, the amount of money that`s left over once the money comes in and goes out to those expenses is a mere $11.37. That`s how much

money is left over after all the expenses and all the income is added up.

Randy Kessler, that`s important. And it`s important because it looks like this family was living on a shoestring and that the finances were tight.

And doesn`t that factor into a murder case?

KESSLER: I mean, it does. You know, what are the reasons that they think he did it? The jury is going to want to know why he did it.

Now, you know, a lot of people live hand-to-mouth, and that`s not the only reason someone could be guilty of murder. But you don`t have any other

obvious reasons why in the world would somebody do this.

You`ve got to answer that question for the jury. The prosecution has to do that. The good news for the prosecution is, he confessed to one murder, so

he is going away for some period of time. But the rest of it --

BANFIELD: Karen Smith --

KESSLER: -- this is the motive.

BANFIELD: Yes, OK. Just jumping in, Karen Smith, life insurance on his paycheck had him doling out $1.20 every paycheck for child life insurance

and spousal life insurance, $3 per paycheck. The littlest one hadn`t been born yet by the time we had paychecks. At this point, we`re not sure if

there was additional life insurance. But that matters too, doesn`t it?

KAREN SMITH, FORMER DETECTIVE, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICE, FLORIDA: Absolutely. Money, the motive. Just like we just discussed, money is a

huge motive for people to do criminal acts and bad things.

Jealousy, rage are other things. But in this case, that doesn`t seem like that has any play here. The money is going to be very important and the

prosecution is going to have to dig into those finances pretty deep to find out what exactly was going on.

BANFIELD: We`re getting a lot more details inside the home of this seemingly picture-perfect family, a family that, you know, after all, maybe

not have been quite as perfect as it seemed.

Later on in the program, Mollie Tibbetts vanished and then was found dead in an Iowa cornfield. And her accused killer faced a judge today for the

first time. And it was not lost on anyone, he wasn`t supposed to be in that courtroom. He wasn`t supposed to be in this country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:31] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL ROURKE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO: This afternoon, my office filed formal charges against Christopher Lee Watts.

C. WATTS: Just come back. Like, if somebody has her, just please bring her back.

ROURKE: The charges that we filed are as follows -- three counts of murder in the first degree after deliberation. One count naming Shanann Watts.

S. WATTS: I am super, super, super pumped about 2018.

ROURKE: One count naming Bella, one count naming Celeste.

S. WATTS: Are you guys excited?

B. WATTS: Yes!

CELESTE WATTS: Yes!

S. WATTS: Yes? Are you really excited? Oh, my goodness!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: From missing girls to murder charges. We`re still talking about the Watts family from Colorado. The couple and their two adorable girls,

whose once happy home is now abandoned. Because Chris Watts is accused of killing his wife and daughters, so no one will be going home to that house.

My panel is still with me.

There is this incredibly unfortunate sound bite of Chris Watts on Facebook where he was teaching some kind of a tutorial about relationships. Imagine

the coincidence that a few years later, this might surface, given the set of circumstances he finds himself in now.

And I ask you to pay close attention to what he talks about when he says, relationships, no matter how harmless, even at the job, can weaken a bond.

Let`s let him describe it. It`s quite something.

Relationships, no matter how harmless, even at the job, it could weaken the bond you have with the partner you have. Sometimes in a relationship, you

maybe make promises that could turn into major betrayal.

I`ll bet you`re wondering what he looked like when he said it. Have a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. WATTS: Relationships, no matter how harmless, even at the job -- you might meet a new person and you could -- it could strengthen into something

else and could weaken the bond you have with the partner you have.

You spend less time with each other. And sometimes, you have no time to maintain the relationship. Sometimes, in a relationship, you have -- you

maybe make promises that can turn into a major betrayal or minor arguments that could turn into things where you say spiteful comments, which turn

into bigger problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:25:02] BANFIELD: Karen Smith, as a detective, is that just an unfortunate video, or is that important, looking at the bigger picture of

who this man was and who this man is now?

SMITH: It`s super important, Ashleigh, and here`s why. We`re looking for motive in this case. We don`t have it. So they`re going to go back and

look at all of these social media posts, all of his past videos, all of his digital footprint, in toto, to find out who this guy really is.

When I watched his interview, it sent chills down my spine because he`s cool as a cucumber. And if he, indeed, did murder these three people, that

is something that detectives are really going to have to look closely at.

And I am hoping that they can come up with some kind of motive. Sometimes the question about why somebody does something is the one question in a

criminal investigation that never gets answered.

BANFIELD: Sure. So we`re trying to figure out the issue of the affair with the coworker, which he told the police, eventually -- eventually,

after he denied it -- he was having. A specific affair that was serious. And it was with a coworker at Anadarko.

Presumably, this company is being victimized by this entire story as well. They had nothing to do with this, and yet they have faced the onslaught of

the media.

But we were so curious about what kind of a job this man, Chris Watts, actually performed with this company, and the intimate knowledge that he

would have of those tanks where the little girls were ditched in the oil and the site where that wife was buried nearby.

So we looked it up on YouTube, and we found what the field operator job is like. Here`s someone describing, for Anadarko, what the field operator

job, which, by the way, is exactly what was on Chris` paycheck, what he did for a living. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We oversee everything that happens within our fence, within the facility. As stuff pops up, Leo will call me on the radio. And

our inside guy will call the outside guy and say, hey, we need you to go check on this or go do this.

Checking mechanical integrity, operating the boards, operating the plant, touching base with contractors, and then touching base with our coworkers

to make sure that everyone`s up to speed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy, something else that was on the paycheck under Operator 1, which was his job title, which you just saw, was also life insurance. Life

insurance for his wife, life insurance for his baby. This is before the third -- or the second child was born, Cece.

Is that going to factor into a case against him, the fact that there was some kind of life insurance taken out on this family or paid for, for this

family?

KESSLER: Yes. Yes. You know, we always talk about motive. We talk about, why did he do it? But you really don`t have to prove why he did it.

You have to prove that he intended to do it and he did it and you get a conviction.

But sometimes a jury is not going to convict if they don`t believe that he had a reason to do it. We just don`t believe the facts in front of us

because who in their right mind would kill their wife and their kids.

So that helps show why he might have done it. It`s not crucial, but all those little things are going to help. That, the girlfriend, the -- you

know, the Facebook posts, it`s going to help.

BANFIELD: So what about the possibility that there`s GPS monitoring of company cars? And apparently, Chris loaded those bodies by his own

admission into the company truck. First, saying it was tools that he needed when he backed into the garage, then admitting to police it was

bodies that he loaded into the truck to take to the worksite.

Will any kind of GPS on the work vehicle, if it exists, factor into the case?

KESSLER: Sure, but only if he denies it. I mean, it sounds like they`ve got him cornered. And now, when they corner, you know, it`s nice to say,

oh, I`m going to admit it, I`m going to confess, I`m going to cooperate now. He is cooperating after he`s caught so that helps, but it helps the

investigation more than it helps the trial.

If it goes to trial, which I can imagine, then, certainly, if he denies that he was there, they`re going to nail him with that scientific evidence.

It`s just stuff we didn`t have 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. He is going to be put away for a long time if he`s able to stay alive through

this process.

BANFIELD: Yes. Talia Tirella, I want you to just take me back to the location where you are, this family`s home. I said it before, no one`s

coming back to live there. This family is gone. Certainly, those girls are not coming back, and who knows if Chris Watts will ever see the light

of day.

But right now, there`s no one there. But what is there is obvious, the balloons and the teddy bears and the flowers that we have now come to know

in this business as the growing memorials when there is a tragedy. Can you describe what it`s like today?

TIRELLA (via telephone): Yes, that`s right, Ashleigh. So I`ve been sitting here in their neighborhood, on their street, the Watts` family, for

almost an hour now. And I want to say every five, 10, 15 minutes, someone either from the area -- or I`ve even seen license plates from further away,

they`re driving by.

They`re stopping to take photos. They`re leaving teddy bears, flowers. So the memorial is definitely growing in front of the Watts` family home

slowly but surely.

[19:29:59] BANFIELD: I`m sure the neighbors are, at the same time, grieving but very frustrated that people are taking photographs as they

drive by. Do you think these are people, you know, just curious or do you think these are people actually who live in the area, who are taking these

photographs?

TALIA TIRELLA, HLN CRIME & JUSTICE PRODUCER (via telephone): It seems like it`s people who might just be curious. I`ve kind of noticed that the

people who tend to get out and leave a teddy bear or leave a bouquet of flowers, they take a moment to themselves and, you know, they`re seeming to

kind of collect their thoughts. Of course, I don`t want to pass any judgment, but, you know, the people taking photos as they drive by, who

knows what they could be thinking. But, you know, they`re definitely driving through here pretty often.

BANFIELD: We know there are a lot of people who are feeling the pain and suffering of grieving, as well, who may never have known this family, but

when a tragedy lake this happens, it becomes very personal for people who may be have never even been in the city before. And you can see that, you

can see that playing out. Strangers coming by, leaving gifts, messages, as though they felt like they knew these people, or at least wished, wished at

some point, they could have known these people. The family life sure did look idyllic on Facebook, but clearly, things were different when the

camera was not rolling. We`ve got more on what happened before those murders, coming up next.

And then, there`s the lead that busted open the Mollie Tibbetts case wide open, and led investigators to this man, who was not supposed to be in this

country before he`s alleged to have murdered America`s sweetheart, who captivated us for 34 days this summer, as her family desperately searched

for her. The accused killer of Mollie Tibbetts, next.

[19:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BELLA WATTS, MURDER VICTIM: My daddy is a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just didn`t seem like the type of guy to injure a fly, let alone his entire family.

WATTS: My daddy, daddy, I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It was hard to watch those videos, when Cece and Bella Watts were just missing. But it`s getting a lot harder to watch those videos

knowing that those loving little girls, Cece and Bella Watts, are dead and so was their pregnant mom, who was so often behind the camera. The police

saying, it was dad who did it, who did it to all three of them, the same dad who then confessed, but only to killing the wife, suggesting she,

herself, killed the babies. It seems far-fetched to you, it seems far- fetched to a lot of people.

My panel is back with me now. Randy, as a defense attorney, that story just doesn`t seem to wash with those videos. When you see how loving this

mother is, when you see how she gushes over this family, when how her kindness just breaks through the lens, that`s the kind of thing a jury will

see and it will get into their gut. And then they`re asked to be reasonable, and make a reasonable decision as to whether, Chris Watts, who

lied all the way along, isn`t lying this time, that that woman was, in fact, a double baby killer. How -- what are the odds? What are the

chances that a jury will agree?

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I mean, that sounds like you went through Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, and he got maybe to X, Y, Z, and couldn`t

come up with anything else, so that was it. I mean, it`s an explanation, you know. If it`s true, if people want to believe him for other reasons,

if he`s likable, if they think that there`s no way he would have done this, it gives them something to hang their hat on. But that`s about it. It

doesn`t sound like it`s going to fly. He`s got to plead guilty, he`s got to get the best deal he can without going to trial, because no way, you`re

right, Ashleigh, a jury is not going to buy that.

BANFIELD: Yes, likability is a big deal, even when you`re sitting in a cell. And to that end, Jenna, he is not sitting in a typical garden-

variety cell, is he?

JENNA ELLIS, ATTORNEY & RADIO HOST, KLZ 560: No, as of the last reports, he is in solitary, probably for his own safety at this point, in Weld`s

county jail. And he is being held without bond and that will be pending a plea and disposition or ultimately trial.

BANFIELD: What about suicide watch? After all, maybe, you know, if what he says isn`t true and if what the cops say is true, that he`s the actual

killer, he`s got to be feeling like he`s missing at least his girls. Do they have any kind of news on suicide watch?

[19:39:56] ELLIS: None that`s being reported, but typically, in a Weld`s county -- in that jail, as a defense attorney, I`ve been in there meeting

with clients multiple times and that type of thing is taken very seriously there. And so, that would not surprise me in the least if that was one of

the considerations, particularly for putting him in solitary at this point.

BANFIELD: Yes. Karen Smith, real quickly, we looked back on his history and it turns out when he grew up in high school, he wanted to be a NASCAR

crew chief technician. He was so good at mechanics, he won a competition and got a $1,000 scholarship. Will any kind of defense attorney reach way

back there and pull all of these positives and try to bring that out in trial to show what a stellar citizen he is?

KAREN SMITH, RETIRED DETECTIVE, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICE: They can pull all the stops out they want. Any juror is going to listen to that

and, frankly, dismiss it in the face of these disgusting and horrendous charges. You know, as many homicides as I`ve worked, it doesn`t take the

sting and the heartbreak out of this tragic, tragic case. And I`m on the verge of tears right now looking at these videos of those girls. And a

jury is going to listen to that and they`re going to let it go in one ear and out the other, as far as I`m concerned.

BANFIELD: Well, you know what, it`s about being reasonable. And almost every trial I`ve ever covered, one of the first questions that`s comes back

from a deliberating jury is, what`s the definition of reasonable doubt? It`s you. What`s reasonable to you? What is reasonable? Is that story

reasonable? And that`s going to be a hard sell for a man who lied and lied and lied and lied. And he lied to all of you on T.V., asking you to help

him find his beautiful family and those are the kinds of videos they will play at his trial, if it ever goes to trial. It was 63 days from

indictment. That`s the time period, whereby prosecutors can ask for the death penalty. And if they do, it`s the fight of his life. And it may be

the bargain he has to make. Talia Tirella, Jenna Ellis, thank you. Karen Smith, Randy Kessler, I`m going to ask you to stick around, if you will.

When Mollie Tibbetts went for a jog five weeks ago, she had no idea the fate she would meet on that country road. And today, the man charged with

her murder stood before a judge for the very first time. A man who was not supposed to be in that courtroom, who was not supposed to be in that town,

who was not supposed to be in this country.

[19:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Her face is still all over Iowa, still smiling at the thousands of people who only wish that they could smile back, because there are still

hundreds of missing posters blanketing every storefront and lamppost in Brooklyn, Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s changed everybody, everywhere, who`s heard the story. Because now, you know, even communities that are 50 and

60 miles away from us are watching their children closer. She`s a part of all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But after 34 days of searching every property in the region for that beautiful smiling face, Mollie Tibbetts` loved ones aren`t looking

anymore. Instead, they`re looking for answers. Because Mollie`s body has been found. And though her suspected killer is behind bars, no one knows

why he would do it, why he would hunt down a girl in her hometown while she was out for her evening run, why he`d take her against her will, and why

he`d leave her lifeless body in a cornfield?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY JO COLLUM, FRIENDS OF MOLLIE: He covered her up with corn stalks. He`s an animal. That`s all I -- I just can`t -- and where did he come

from? I mean, he said he`s been here seven years? Where? I mean, like, under a rock?

DAVE COLLUM, FRIENDS OF MOLLIE: He knows what the hell he did. He doesn`t have the guts to admit it. That`s how I felt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: 24-year-old Cristhian Rivera is now charged with first-degree murder. A farm worker with his own apparent secrets that are just now

oozing to the surface. Joining me now, CNN Correspondent, Dianne Gallagher; Steven Fabian, correspondent with "Inside Edition." Joseph

Scott Morgan, a certified death investigator, and professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University. Karen Smith is still with me, as is Randy

Kessler. Dianne Gallagher, first to you. If you were living under a rock, you might not know this. But every single television across America was

emblazoned with the headlines that this was an undocumented worker and a man who was not supposed to be here. Walk me through that court appearance

today.

[19:50:02] DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, Ashleigh, that was something that wasn`t talked about too much during the

actual court appearance, his immigration status. Instead, he was sort of brought out in his outfit there, handcuffed, talking through an

interpreter. He was wearing the headphones. Our Christie Paul actually noted that there were some members who appeared to be family members

sitting immediately behind him, a woman who had a very small toddler child on her lap who kind of pointed at him when he was brought in, and had a

face that looked like she was about to cry the entire time.

Now, this was pretty much procedural. The next appearance in court will be the 31st of August, but it was to set bond which was raised to $5 million

from the initial $1 million bond. And his attorney was attempting to make that next appearance closed to the media. It`s not going to be -- it`s

going to be open to media to continue talking about this, Ashleigh. But again, this was our first real look at this suspect. And something that a

lot of people in Iowa are still trying to come to terms with right now.

BANFIELD: OK. And we just saw the glimpse of that young woman with the toddler sitting in the front row. We know from his attorney that some

extended family of the accused were, in fact, in court. No one can tell us exactly who they are, or how they are family but it was very curious to see

that young woman on the left with a toddler looking very, very forlorn. They made themselves available in a public setting, which is why we`re

showing the pictures. Steven Fabian, I know you`ve been chasing down the connection, perhaps to this young woman. What have you found out?

STEVEN FABIAN, CORRESPONDENT, INSIDE EDITION: Well, listen, today I uncovered some yearbooks from the local high school here. We know that the

woman who is rumored to be Rivera`s girlfriend or current girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend, we don`t know. We do know that she went to high school with

Mollie. She was one year older than Mollie so she was a senior when Mollie was a junior.

And I got to say, flipping through the year books today, it was a bit eerie because, you know, on one page you should have Mollie Tibbetts there in her

track uniform or on, you know, the speech team, and then on the next page, we`re seeing this girl who is rumored to be Rivera`s girlfriend on the

cheerleading team. So look, you know, they went to the same school, they`re one year apart, 40 people per class at this school right down the

road here. You got to think they at least were acquaintances or at least knew of each other.

BANFIELD: Well, I think at some point, that will become evident to us, but in the meantime, those are the three people who sat in the front -- in the

front seat behind the bar in that court appearance.

After the break, I`m going to play for you what it sounded like when that judge faced Mr. Rivera and read to him exactly what he is about to face,

that`s next.

[19:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE: Mr. Rivera, this is your initial appearance in the charge of murder of first degree and on an immigration detainer notice of action filed by

the Department of Homeland Security.

CRISTHIAN RIVERA, MOLLIE TIBBETTS MURDERER (through translator): Yes, I want a hearing.

JUDGE: Bond in the amount of $5 million cash only in the name of the defendant only and only after approval for pretrial release by the

Department of Corrections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Tonight in Brooklyn, Iowa, they are reeling and they are demanding answers asking how 24-year-old Mexican national Cristhian Rivera

managed to hide among them in plain sight, while police sent over a month tearing apart that small town searching for Mollie Tibbetts. They`re

asking how he was able to hide from ICE and land a job at a local farm based on false documents that he provided. And they`re asking why did this

have to happen? The questions are building as loved ones gather to mourn their loss and to remember the 20-year-old university of Iowa Student with

the bright future and the infectious smile.

We`ll see you back here tomorrow night, 6:00 Eastern. You can listen to our show any time. Download our podcast on Apple Podcast, iHeart Radio,

Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for watching, everyone. "FORENSIC FILES" begins right now.

END