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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Picture Perfect Family Rocked By Murders; Doting Father Or A Cold Blooded Killer; Shocking New Evidence Collected In Case. Aired 6-8p ET

Aired September 19, 2018 - 18:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

[18:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think we touch what a dog`s nose can do. Every day I see him do things that -- you just stand back and say,

"How could they?"

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news tonight, police finally reveal a piece of evidence in the case against Chris Watts.

SHANANN WATTS, VICTIM, WIFE OF CHRIS WATTS: Mommy has a baby in her belly.

BELLA WATTS, DAUGHTER OF CHRIS AND SHANANN WATTS: Yay!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We still don`t know how the Watts girls died.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don`t know what`s in that autopsy report.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But they could be close to knowing what happened in that house.

Was something tracking daddy`s movements that will prove who killed who and where?

CHRISTIAN WATTS, HUSBAND OF SHANANN WATTS, SUSPECT: This house is not complete without anybody here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And whether daddy`s story to police is true.

B. WATTS: My daddy is a hero. He helps me grow up strong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Minute by minute, circuit by circuit, chip by chip was every step taken by Chris Watts logged in the cloud?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is not the Chris we know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a murderer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did he do that night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`d be surprised what people throw away in their trash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did he move about the house after his wife and daughters were killed?

WATTS: At first day, I was like I want to get out and drive around. You won`t know what to look for.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what is he doing every day behind bars?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not doing well at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To try to bolster his case.

WATTS: This has got to stop. Like, somebody has to come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN CRIME AND JUSTICE: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield, this is "Crime and Justice." We have some breaking

news to bring you right off the top of the program. The Colorado father accused of killing his pregnant wife and kids. Police say, he hid their

bodies at his worksite, dumping his two little daughters in oil tanks and burying their mom nearby. But the officers have been so tight lipped about

the rest of the investigation, all those dark little details. Morsels of evidence that could tell us whether Chris Watts was the killer.

And tonight something different. A bombshell new motion just filed with the courts. Investigators starting to actually show us what they have in

this case, because it seems that something was left behind at that worksite. Something that could distinctly connect Chris Watts to the crime

scene and maybe even to the murders. Joining me now, Kyle Peltz, crime and justice producer who has been watching this court site for every single

documents that drops. This one, just drops and for the first time they`re actually talking about the evidence.

KYLE PELTZ, CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: Right, it just came out today. Now we know previously prosecutors have wanted to collect cheek swabs,

fingerprints, items like that.

BANFIELD: Palm prints as well.

PELTZ: Palm prints as well, photograph of his hands. Well, now a new document is coming out. They are also seeking to collect footprints from

Chris Watts.

BANFIELD: Chris Watts own bare feet. They want those inked and delivered to the prosecutors?

PELTZ: Exactly.

BANFIELD: Now, let`s go back for a second, because he is fighting giving those swabs, the cheek swabs, he is fighting giving them the handprints,

the palm prints, the fingerprints. Which is insane if you ask me, those are standard operating procedure. He could fight this too?

PELTZ: I`m sure he will fight this. When he was fighting giving his cheek swabs and handprints which still as far as we know hasn`t been ruled on.

One of the things he said was, in a court document that previously came out. Prosecutors said, numerous items were collected and sent for testing

at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Now, we had no idea what items those could be. And Chris Watts referenced that when fighting prosecutors

saying, that was very generic.

BANFIELD: Well, generic or not. Barefoot prints, there has to be a strong reason that they need his barefoot print. What did they find at the site

other than the sheet that we already know was there? What else?

PELTZ: Right. They say they found something at the site where the victim`s bodies were. That oil site, now remember, there`s three places,

there`s one tank where one girl was found. Another where another little girl was found. And then we have the shallow grave where Shanann was

found. It is not clear where they found this piece of evidence and they`re calling it evidence number 26. It`s a bag. They found a bag that they say

contains footprints.

BANFIELD: Did they say. Listen, a bag can be anything.

I got garbage bags, I have luggage that I say, let`s go pick up the bags. I got a gym bag. I have a backpack sometimes call it bag, are they

characterizing what kind of bag?

PELTZ: All they`re saying is bag, could be a garbage bag, it could be a gym bag, like you say, we just don`t know yet. But we know, this is one of

those mysterious items they sent for testing. And now they found something, a footprint.

BANFIELD: Evidence item from the Frederick Police Department number 26. Which makes me wonder if there were 26 items at that site, or if this is

just on top of everything else they brought in to the Frederick Police Department regarding it. Do you know at all about the location of the bag?

Was it in those two 20 foot tall oil tanks? Did they find it inside the oil tank, did they find it say in the shallow grave? Did they find it

scattered on the desert on the side. Anything that we know about it.

[18:05:04] PELTZ: I think that is a great question, and we may find the answer when Chris Watts replies to this. But all prosecutors are saying

right now, it`s a bag that was collected at the scene where the bodies were located. It could be anywhere.

BANFIELD: No indication of whether a body had been in the bag. Because obviously, Kyle, if the story that the police say Chris Watts told them in

the police station is true. He loaded three of his family members into his truck. Carted them off to this site and tossed those girls into the tanks.

And buried Shanann in the shallow grave. What did he use to ferry them. What did he convey those bodies in? He sure as hell didn`t put three live

bodies in that open truck. You know, in the bed of that pickup and drive off into the rising sun.

PELTZ: Well, that is the big question, but all prosecutors are saying right now is a bag.

BANFIELD: So this is official. This is something that the prosecutor -- again, this is prosecutors, not defense. This is official evidence that

they`re calling evidence piece at the Frederick Police Department, item number 26. Did they say there`s a footprint, a barefoot print on the bag?

PELTZ: What they say, yes. A possible barefoot impression on the bag.

BANFIELD: So, here`s my guess, you and I have reported crime for a while now. Is it possible they`re looking to exclude that there`s a foreign

footprint? Some other man or some other woman`s barefoot print on this bag found at the murder scene? Because frankly, Chris Watts footprints could

be all over every product, every single thing that is in his house.

PELTZ: Right now, I think that exactly what they`re trying to do here is figuring out exactly who that footprint belongs to, if it`s not Chris

Watts. That is going to be very telling as well.

BANFIELD: Troy Slaten, as a defense attorney, help me to sort of navigate the significance of this piece of evidence. I mean, you just heard me spit

balling essentially. Is that the prosecutor saying, OK, we found a bag? It`s got a barefoot print on it, it`s at the murder scene, we know Chris

Watts footprint isn`t necessarily going to mean he did this, but we also know that if the defense finds out that someone else`s footprint is on it.

That is a big chalk in his column. You help me sort of put it into perspective.

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So, what the prosecution is trying to do is rule out the ability for Chris Watts to point the finger at somebody else.

Or to be able to make the argument to the jury that it somehow wasn`t him, or that somebody else was involved. They want to make sure that the case

is airtight. A case of this importance is completely foolproof before they go to a jury if they end up going before a jury.

BANFIELD: If it`s Chris Watts` barefoot print on the bag found at the burial site. It really doesn`t tell us anything, or does it?

SLATEN: It tells us that he was there at some point. That is all that it tells us.

BANFIELD: Which is nothing, because effectively, if we believe the police affidavit, he already told us that, correct?

SLATEN: That is right. But what they`re trying to do is rule out another person, so that way, he is not able to go like this and point to somebody

else.

BANFIELD: Which is still super fascinating, because it looks like they have two jobs to do, and that is prove it`s him. Disprove it is someone

else. Hold that thought for a minute. Vincent Hill, former National Police Officer, Private investigator, help me to sort of determine the

realities of finding a barefoot print on -- and all we can call it is a bag. Some fabrics and some surfaces, don`t record barefoot prints like

other fabrics and surfaces and plastics. Can you help me to maybe try to narrow down what a bag in this case could be? How could they find a

footprint? A barefoot print on a bag?

VINCENT HILL, FORMER NATIONAL POLICE OFFICER, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, Ashleigh, to your point, I would assume that this bag is some type of

plastic or a tarp like bag. Something that would actually track the oils in your skin to get those footprints. It`s very important here, if that

bag was found at the crime scene in the proximity of the bodies, then how did the bag get there if he was not involved? So he can`t come back later

and say, it was someone else, what we would have to assume that someone else went into his house. Got a bag with his footprint and planted it

there. Not likely.

BANFIELD: Yes, and I`m still sort of spit balling all of the different possibilities. What if another crew member, many days beforehand happened

to leave his bag behind. I mean, it would have to be an empty bag for it to be mysterious, if it had all of his gym clothes in it or etcetera of his

work tools or something. That would be significant. But generally speaking at a site like that, I mean, you just put a picture up again, the

thing is just pristine clean. All it is gear and sand, not a bit of debris, not even lunch box or an orange peel, it would appear from some of

the photos that we`ve been able to ascertain of this extremely remote place.

[18:10:02] It`s not highly trafficked either, I mean, look at it. It takes a long time to get there. You can`t just drive in if you don`t belong

there, and it is locked up tight. So it`s not the kind of place that is frequented by anybody else other than the crews that need to be there. And

it seems to be the kind of place that operates on its own as well, without a heavy crew presence. So, it`s not as though there`s a lot of debris or

things left behind.

There is always that possibility though. Steve Helling, I want to bring you in real quickly on this development. There`s two reasons that I want

to bring you in, number one, I think you of all people can attest how airtight it has been in order to try to get information out of this case,

you being the exclusion. You have a source, you have a couple sources, and you`ve been breaking. Remarkable information on this case. You have to

admit, this is big. The fact that there`s this bag that is been found at the site.

STEVE HELLING, SENIOR WRITER, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: It is big. And you know, your mind just starts racing. You start wondering, is this a bag he wore

over his feet? To cover his footprints, you have no idea what it is. You know, we can make up things all that we want, but one of these days, I

think it`s going to be very soon, we`re going to find out exactly what this bag is, what the nature of it is, and what they found on it. Just because

the paperwork that is being filed right now, means that we`re going to get some answers.

BANFIELD: And when you say the paperwork, do you have inside information? Are you talking about how much Chris Watts has been fighting back against

all of these requests from the prosecution?

HELLING: Here is the thing. Chris Watts is not fighting back, but his lawyers are, his lawyers are responding to things that are being filed.

Chris is not doing very well in jail right now, so, he is not really aiding in his defense right now, but his defense lawyers are certainly answering

everything with their own answers.

So, I expect that there`s going to be -- either they`re going to do the footprint and submit that, or else they`re going to come up with a reason

why not. Either way, we`ll have some sort of paperwork there.

BANFIELD: Yes. You know, how I always refer to, if your lawyer is doing something on your behalf, it`s you. You are the one who can direct them

and you can indirect them as well, so fascinated, that little nugget you just dropped that he is not doing well behind bar. What else are you

hearing about his demeanor, as he sits 23/7 locked up, in that single cell with nothing. No television, no reading materials inside his cell. A

miserable existence.

HELLING: Well, you know, you and I have talked about the things that he can`t do. He is not watching TV, he is not reading, he is not doing all

this type of thing. I did speak to somebody who has spoken to him directly to him, and they said, it`s all sinking in to him right now, he knows

what`s -- he understands what`s going on. And he is -- he is just sleeping a lot. He is not really talking very much anymore. And he is just kind of

lost in his own thoughts.

BANFIELD: What about all these reports of the crying that he is whimpering and crying throughout the night, etcetera, how does your source

characterize it?

HELLING: Well, we ran a story on people.com last night that said, basically, you know, he said depression -- the source said depression is

setting in. Obviously my source is not -- cannot diagnose clinical depression. But using it loose set of terms, he is sad, he is withdrawn.

He is not the person that he was before he went to jail.

BANFIELD: Anything else about his demeanor?

Listen, I found it fascinating just to find out he has nothing to do for 23 hours a day. He can`t have any reading material other than those communal

newspapers that are out on that hour out room table where he is also alone. He can make a phone call, he can have a shower. Or he can read one of

those newspapers, but no exercise equipment, nothing else.

Is there anything else in terms of communications with some other inmates? Because he has visual contact and he has got verbal contact with other

inmates, which means his door is not solid. Do we know who he is talking to or who`s talking to him?

HELLING: I don`t know if he is talking to other inmates or not. I can`t imagine that he has a lot to talk to them about, considering he is not even

really making phone calls to his family here or whatever. So I can`t imagine that he is making a friend in jail. You know, yes, there is visual

contact. There can be auditory contact between prisoners, but there`s no indication right now that he struck up any sort of friendship or any sort

of conversational relationship, you know, at all.

BANFIELD: OK. After the break and a little bit down the road, Steve, I am going to ask you specifically about emotion that Chris and his lawyers have

put forward regarding who visits him in the jail, and why you and I who pay for his three squares a day and the bars the bars that protect him are not

allowed to know who`s there. Typically we`re allowed to get visitor lists and things like that, but there`s a motion that he and his lawyers have

filed that really wants to suppress all of that material.

[18:15:05] So, after the break I want to ask you about that, but then there`s also this. I`m just going to hold up this little picture I have

here. You know what that is? An Apple watch. Everybody has them. Some people have the older versions, some people have the newer versions. I

don`t have one at all, because my kids do. There`s some stuff that the Apple watch records. I don`t know if you know about all the technology

that you`re wearing on your wrist, don`t go murder anybody. Because it`s like a teeny tiny little spy that is hanging out on your body that will

tell us where you went, what stairs you climbed and how far away you went from your house. Now think about the story that Chris Watts allegedly told

the police.

I went down stairs for a moment, and when I came back up, there it was on the baby monitor, Shanann strangling my daughter, what if he is wearing

that watch. Oh and there is a lot more too. That is next.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is in jail right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not doing well at all. Depression is setting in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re entitled to have anyone visit you in jail. As long as they`re on the list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris is alone in his cell for 23 hours a day.

WATTS: I need to see everybody again, this house is not complete without anybody here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He never once cried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could one of those visitors be someone that he had an affair with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: they check on him every five or 10 minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: One thing that Chris Watts is not doing, is looking down on his wrist and checking his Apple watch. And he may have done that a lot, too.

Because that guy was fit, he was super fit. He had dropped like 50 pounds, and he looked like he was the vision of the cover of men`s health. And if

you ever see one of these little guys, this little Apple watches, they`re unassuming. And you might not think much about it, right? They may not

even catch your attention. Except when you`re you are involved in an investigation and you told quite a specific story about where you are and

what you were doing when murders occurred, your apple watch may have a different version of what you were up to in the moments you said certain

things happen and certain things didn`t. And guess what, Mr. Chris Watts had an Apple watch and so does Shanann Watts. That is significant, because

their activity levels will be very specific on the nights they were killing or being killed.

Marcel Brown is a technology consultant and he is the author of the cheap skates guide to travelling with your iPhone. And then that would be, you

know a lot about an Apple watch. Marcel it is really good that you are here. It occurred to us when we read the warrantless affidavit, the arrest

affidavit that Chris Watts` version of what happened according to the police. His confession according to the police had him going down stairs

for a moment after having a conversation about splitting up with Shanann. Somewhere around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. Coming back upstairs.

Seeing on the baby monitor that one of his daughters is dead, and the other one is actively being strangled.

Please sort of lay out for me what his Apple watch would be telling us? If he were actually wearing it at that time.

MARCEL BROWN, TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT: Well, from that description, probably not a whole lot. The Apple watch will records set activity going upstairs.

It will record the time that he did that. If he was running up and down the stairs frequently, that would really show up. If he went down the

stairs one time it may show that one time. To go up and down the stairs.

BANFIELD: But it`s pretty significant that your Apple watch doesn`t just show how many steps you take throughout the day. It tells you if you`re

stepping up and down staircases and if his story is true. His apple watch would have to say he went up and down those staircases at the time he said

that he went up and down the staircase, correct?

BROWN: Correct. In theory, if everything -- if he had his watch on, if it was attached correctly and all that, it should show at least one flight of

stairs.

BANFIELD: Up in the top, right-hand side. This is 949 on our example right there. That is the time of day, correct?

BROWN: Correct.

BANFIELD: Does that all lodge into the cloud and save for posterity, for us all to analyze our fitness activity for the last couple weeks or months?

BROWN: Your fitness activity in the health app on your iPhone is recorded. And I believe that data is saved in the cloud for under your own account.

BANFIELD: So that is pretty fascinating, if the prosecutors felt like it. They could assess all of the cloud base information about Chris Watts`

heart rate, his activity level, the staircases he did or didn`t climb at the times he said he did. They could see all of this data because of the

little spy hanging out on his wrist. If he was wearing it at the time.

BROWN: Correct.

BANFIELD: All right. So Marcel, that is the Chris Watts story, and how it may have been logged by his watch. We also know that Shanann had this

watch. And in fact we know specifically that she had the series 3. The series 3 Apple watch is specific because of that little red dot on the

crown, right, on the image that we`re showing?

[18:25:13] BROWN: Correct. Right, the cellular version has the red dot.

BANFIELD: OK. And on the picture that you see on your screen, you can see she is wearing that sticker, she has the level patch on her hand, and right

below that is the series 3 watch with that red crown. Correct?

BROWN: Correct.

BANFIELD: So, this is the fanciest data collector of the series, right? Of the Apple watch variety. Could you tell me -- listen, the story that

Chris tells us, and Nicole Atkinson confirms that Shanann came home from her work trip at about 2:00 in the morning. She takes her shoes off at the

door. And she leaves her suitcase at the base of the staircase. And if she got that watch on, she climbs a set of stairs. What else will that

Apple watch tell us about the story that Chris tells us? That they were awakened at about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, they had a conversation and

she went and killed the kids?

BROWN: Well, the Apple watch to set the stage first. The Apple watch, it`s very accurate when you have it in exercise mode. So it can track your

exact location, when you go in a run, your exact heart rate continuously, all that sort of thing. If the Apple watch is not in exercise mode, it

periodically scans your heart rate, your activity level that sort of thing. So, if you become more active, it starts to become more -- it monitors it

more. So, in theory, if she suddenly had elevated heart rate, if her motions become more manic, whether she is attacking someone or being

attacked. That type of data could be logged.

BANFIELD: OK.

BROWN: In theory, it could show steps, it could show elevated heart rate, increased activity all of that.

BANFIELD: And so, what you would have to assess if you`re just looking at bare numbers and again, that are logged into the cloud. And they`re on the

watch too. Because the series 3 keeps the data on the watch for about 30 days. Now we are outside of the 30 day window, so I sure hope that the

prosecutors and detectives in this case, you know mind every piece of electronic information that these pieces of equipment would have yielded

prior to the 30 day expiration, but I do understand and correct me, if I`m wrong, Marcel. That even after the 30 days, if your watch is in proximity

with your phone, and we have no reason to believe that Shanann was anywhere further from her phone than a room or two, right? She is in her house,

apparently when all these killings happen. So the phone would have pulled that information off her watch as she is having something done to her or is

doing something to someone. And would have thrown it up in the cloud for posterity, correct?

BROWN: Correct. The watch as long as it`s on the same Wi-Fi network should transmit that data to the phone.

BANFIELD: OK. A couple other questions about Shanann`s activity. An activity level really shows your heart rate, right.

BROWN: It shows motion and heart rate.

BANFIELD: OK, motion and heart rate. Let me just spitball for a second here. If Shanann was strangled in her bed and awoke to a strangling, what

would this watch if she is wearing it, what would this watch tell us?

BROWN: Well, in theory, it could show elevated heart rate. It could possibly if there was a struggle, maybe show there was activity, some

motion going on. That could be about it, it doesn`t record your breath or anything like that.

BANFIELD: It wouldn`t record any steps if she is being strangled in her bed -- but if Chris`s story is true, her watch would have shown us that she

is got an energized level of activity, because she is having a very emotional conversation about splitting up with her husband. And then an

additional burst of energy to get up out of bed and start walking toward the girls rooms, actively strangle one girl, additional steps to the other

girl`s room, actively strangle another girl. And then an incredible walloping amount of energy when she is actively strangled by Chris Watts,

right? This would all be very clear on the Apple watch if she is wearing it, correct?

BROWN: To some extent you would get that level of activity, whether or not it could be determined as clearly, the motions, the actions you just

described I think would probably be left to the attorneys to try to make that case.

BANFIELD: But to be clear, would the watch show an increased level of activity if she were in an emotional conversation?

BROWN: Very possibly if her heart rate went up, that could be con screwed that way.

BANFIELD: If she took 15 steps to a child`s room after that. Would those steps be registered?

BROWN: Since the watch was not probably not in exercise mode, it would be questionable if those steps would be recorded that specifically or not.

Because the watch may think you`re just walking, in which case it`s not considered a high level of activity.

BANFIELD: I thought all your steps are logged. Everybody wants to know how many damn steps they took all day long.

BROWN: As long as you`re -- it does counts your steps.

BANFIELD: OK.

BROWN: Whether it counts the steps and records that in the time activity is the other question. Like I said, if it`s in exercise mode, it`s very

accurate. If it`s not --

BANFIELD: OK.

BROWN: -- in exercise mode, it`s kind of periodic --

BANFIELD: Listen. This girl was all about fitness. I have no reason to believe that if she didn`t have that took at her disposal, she wouldn`t

have had that thing going.

She`s pointing to her watch all the time, and her stickers and, you know, her patches and her fitness and all the rest. So, who knows if she was

wearing it. I don`t wear my watch to bed, maybe she does, maybe she doesn`t. But then there`s this next question I have for you.

BROWN: That`s a good question (ph).

BANFIELD: If she came home at 2:00 a.m. and she kicked off those shoes and she climbed the stairs, that staircase would register on her watch. If she

were strangled within that time, what would the watch say?

BROWN: If she was strangled and her heart stopped, you could probably get the last recorded time of the heart rate measurement, and that would kind

of give you an approximate time of last -- I guess last time she was alive.

BANFIELD: So, I just want to show a picture, if I can, while you`re saying that. I want to show that picture. I`m going to ask our crew to put up the

emergency services image that the watch shows. It says, it looks like you`ve taken a fall. And then you have the option there, emergency SOS or

click, I fell, but I`m OK.

And then there is this other option that comes up at emergency services. This series three, if your heart stops or you are falling down on the

ground. She might have had this option to hit, I fell but I`m okay, or her heart might have stopped and that image might have come up and there was no

answer. Is that possible?

BROWN: No. The fall detector is on the brand new Apple watches which are due to be released very soon. So that`s not an option that would have been

available on a series three.

BANFIELD: On a series three. What about the -- what about the notion that her heart stopped? None of this push notification --

BROWN: That`s not --

BANFIELD: -- of emergency services would have come through?

BROWN: No, that`s not a feature of the Apple watch if -- it does not detect your heart rate.

BANFIELD: Would the Cloud information show that her heart stopped and time of death?

BROWN: It would show the last recorded heart rate activity. So that could be used to let -- that may be the last time she was alive.

BANFIELD: Yeah.

BROWN: Especially if she had elevated heart rate and it suddenly stopped.

BANFIELD: Marcel, this is truly one of the more fascinating forensic conversations, I think, I`ve ever had because it`s all kind of happening --

BROWN: Thank you.

BANFIELD: -- in real time. We`re all finding out just what electronic Big Brother stuff we invite into our lives and how it can come back to bite you

in the ass if you kill someone. Thank you so much for this. It`s just fantastic information.

BROWN: Thank you.

BANFIELD: So, there you go. Marcel has told what the digital plan and map in the Cloud should say about both Shanann and Chris, the night that those

little girls and that woman were killed. Who did it, how they did it, how many stairs they might have taken or not taken.

And then there`s all that activity afterwards, when Chris Watts was taken in by his by neighbors, the Thayers, the friends. The Thayers who were so

upset about him because his wife and children were missing, and they let him sleep at their house. But then they noticed something odd. It was

really odd. And they called the police. I`ll tell you what it was, next.

[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: I`m still not over this. I`m sorry, but I`m still not over the Apple watch. As a silent little spy on the wrist of someone who may be a

triple murderer. Right? So, you know, when I heard that when your heart stops, you don`t get the notification. I kind of felt like, maybe this

technology is so fast and furious, it`s a little complicated. And Marcel Brown, it is complicated, isn`t it?

BROWN: It is.

BANFIELD: There actually -- there is some more push notification on the series three. Lots of great stuff coming out on the next watch. But on the

watch that Shanann had, there actually is some technology, right, that would say, hey, girl, you OK? My words, not theirs.

BROWN: Yes. Yes, the Apple watch does have features where it can track heart rate abnormalities. Things like -- I think they call arrhythmia --

I`m not a doctor. I don`t remember these particular terms, but whether or not it can -- it will do the stoppage is questionable because, I think in

theory, you could take your watch off, obviously it`s not going to know that. It will know that -- it will detect that there`s no more heart rate

but it shouldn`t call --

BANFIELD: There`s so much.

BROWN: -- it shouldn`t call 911 just if you take your watch off. So --

BANFIELD: There`s so much.

BROWN: -- there are many things --

BANFIELD: There`s so much data. It`s bizarre. In fact -- hold on one second because we`re literally googling it live on the air as we speak to

you as well because way down in the fine print -- Kyle, do you have the site up?

KYLE PELTZ, CRIME & JUSTICE PRODUCER: Yeah, I put up Apple.com here. We know Shanann has the series three based on that little red dot.

[18:39:57] And when you look up the Apple watch on the Apple website series three, it says, you can monitor your heart rate, get warnings when

an unusually high or low heart rate is detected. Emergency SOS lets you initiate an immediate call for help.

BANFIELD: That`s incredible. So, theoretically, if she had the watch on, and I don`t know when she was killed. I don`t know if she was killed the

minute she came in the door from her work trip, which by the way, when I`m on a work trip, I got my watch on all the way until I`m ready to go to bed.

Or whether it`s true Chris said they -- you know, she went to bed. Two or three hours later, she is awaken to a bad conversation. Maybe she is or

maybe she isn`t at that point wearing her Apple watch.

But I think it`s fascinating stuff. And I don`t think it`s the last we`ve heard of it. There`s a couple of other critical pieces in this puzzle as

well. Because as we try to keep peeling back all these layers on Chris Watts and figure out the image of a killer, it`s not him, right? The image

of the killer is not Chris Watts.

Chris Watts seems like that guy that everybody likes. And the roommate from, you know, just 14 years ago told us, yeah, he`s a great guy. He`s

hard-driven to work. He doesn`t lie. He never lied to me. And you know what, his best friends, the Thayers, sure said they never lied to them.

At least not up until the night they put him up because they were so worried about him, because he was so worried about his missing family.

Yeah, those Thayers. These poor friends who believed they got sucked into a lie. A very big lie. That they had Chris Watts sleeping across the hall

from their little daughter two nights after his family is killed. Boy, do they feel bad about that now.

In fact, they`re speaking out in some interviews and talking about, you know, not only how they feel duped, but the signs, just the signs that as

they look back on it, as he`s at their house and, you know, ostensibly supposed to be very worried about his missing family, he really didn`t seem

that worried at all.

Do we have that sound bite that shows -- watch how they characterized Chris Watts, the guy with the missing family, who they welcomed into their home,

who they`d like to help, and how they describe him?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA THAYER, FAMILY FRIEND: Through no time in the 48 to 72 hours we were with him, did he ever, ever show remorse. He was his normal self.

NICK THAYER, FAMILY FRIEND: Right.

A.THAYER: Like he just -- he was on his phone and, you know, we were trying to make light of the situation and talking.

N.THAYER: Coming up with ideas of what we could do.

A.THAYER: Coming up with ideas and -- like where could she have gone, those sorts of things.

N.THAYER: Right.

A.THAYER: And he just -- he never once cried. I guess that`s now a red flag?

N.THAYER: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: He never once cried. He`s at his friends` house for support, right? Wife and daughters are missing. They`ve been missing now more than

24 hours, because this would be Tuesday night. He spent Monday night at his house. Interesting.

Tuesday night he spent at the Thayers` house. They even described that he paced back and forth, was on his phone, and was eating pizza. But not in a

way that a desperate man who hasn`t eaten in days, was forced to eat a piece of pizza.

They just sensed something wasn`t right about the way he was just casually and comfortably eating pizza. Wife and daughters are gone. You know, gone

since noon Monday. And here we are more than 24 hours later and doesn`t seem that worried at all.

And then maybe what`s even more bizarre -- and by the way, my thanks to ABC News for that -- for getting that interview, because that may be critical

as we go into litigation of this case -- how they felt his reactions were afterwards. But then there`s this interview that Nick Thayer, his wife

Amanda, but Nick Thayer said it was weird that he didn`t even seem to want to look for them. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

N.THAYER: It was Tuesday afternoon. And it was just kind of too -- I thought too easily ways of knowing where she could have been and he didn`t

seem all that eager to look into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Didn`t seem all that eager to look into it? Your wife and your two darling babies who you want to see barrel roll you as you walk in the

door are missing, and you don`t even seem eager to look for them? It just doesn`t make any sense.

Well, guess what, after the break, we`ve got something that may actually speak to that issue of not wanting to go and look for them. Chris even

suggested the police told him not to look for them. Think about that for a minute.

During the break, just think about a police officer saying to you, your children are missing, your wife is missing. No, no, sir, don`t look for

them. Don`t look for them. That is what Chris Watts wanted us to believe and if you don`t believe me, I got the proof.

[18:45:00] I`m going to show you he says it on camera after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: You have some incredible questions about this case. We have lots of questions.

[18:49:58] But some of the investigations being done out there in the community literally on Facebook are fascinating. And they really do probe

to the critical elements of this case. I want to read you this question from Ronda Castleradar (ph).

She said, maybe the friend`s persistence on Monday -- that`s Nicole Atkinson who came over on Monday saying I don`t know what`s wrong with my

friend, Shanann, but she`s not answering her calls and I`m worried about her -- maybe the friend`s persistence on Monday is what caused him, Chris,

to be caught so quickly.

Maybe he planned t take more time to dispose of the bodies, she did work from home.

That`s interesting and really, really insightful (INAUDIBLE) because we were really curious about this very interesting part of the interviews that

Chris Watts gave from his front porch, specifically about how he shouldn`t be out there looking for them. No, no, police told him not to. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WATTS, ACCUSED KILLER DAD: Out auto is -- I mean, you can`t just drive around and look. I mean, it`s just like you wouldn`t really know what

you`re looking for. That`s what the cops told me that first day I was like, I want to get out and drive around. They said, you wouldn`t know what to

look for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Vincent Hill, as a former police officer, is that true? Do police tell spouses, don`t go looking for your missing wife and children?

No, don`t do that.

VINCENT HILL, FORMER NASHVILLE POLICE OFFICER AND PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Hi, Ashleigh. I lost count of how many missing person cases I worked, but I

never told the family member, don`t look for your family.

Nobody knows where you may go, your friends, where they hang out, where you may hang out more than the family. So, why would an investigator even say

that?

BANFIELD: Thank you. And that`s exactly what I assumed. And there you got it straight from the source, the cop, he knows best. You`re not told to

stay at home while your wife and children are missing.

HILL: Not at all.

BANFIELD: All right. On Twitter, Ryan (ph) asked us, did Shanann`s friends and/or family ever suspect that Chris wasn`t quite right? I just can`t

imagine there weren`t any signs that this man was a whack job.

Well, that`s if he`s guilty, we don`t know that. But I can tell you that Richard Hodges was his former roommate when they were in a college program

together, and he was on this program last night. We dug way back to find out if there were signs, and maybe this is even more mysterious. Here`s his

answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD HODGES, FRIEND OF CHRIS WATTS: So, after we finished school, we both worked together at the same dealership. He was very good at what he

did. He was very good at working on cars. That was one of his natural talents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Steve Helling, that was about it. He is great on cars. He never lie. He was a great guy. He was like a straight "A" student. This is so

mysterious.

STEVE HELLING, SENIOR WRITER, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: It is mysterious, but you do also have to wonder, why was she reported missing so quickly by her

friend? They had to assume something was wrong, because if I don`t answer my phone for days, people aren`t going to call the cops on me.

BANFIELD: Interesting. So the friend might have known something that we don`t know about Chris` behavior. Yeah, it`s a really good point too. You

wouldn`t just bat down Chris` phone as opposed to call the police immediately. It`s very, very good.

HELLING: Exactly.

BANFIELD: Thank you for that. There is this story I need to bring you right now. One of the people who abducted Elizabeth Smart back in 2002,

walked out of prison. Just walked out of prison. This is her, Wanda Barzee. Where is she headed after 15 years of being locked up? Great question,

right? Here`s the scary part. We don`t know. Is this right?

[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Everybody sleeps a little better at night with a sex offender stuck behind bars. But some sex offenders served their time and they get

out of prison fair and square. Even the ones who are responsible for one of the most horrifying kidnapping cases in American history.

As of today, Wanda Barzee is a free woman. The same woman who helped her husband hold 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart captive in the wilderness where

she was drugged and starved and raped every day for nine months. Fast forward 15 years. And Wanda Barzee walked out of state prison this morning.

Thanks to the lawyer who argued that her time in federal prison should count towards her state conviction. Barzee is now 72 years old. But a very

grown-up Elizabeth Smart says she is still dangerous. Listen to what she told CBS this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH SMART, KIDNAP AND RAPE VICTIM: She would encourage him to rape me. She would sit right next to me, like, the side of her body would be

touching me while --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While he`s raping you?

SMART: -- while he was raping me. I mean, she was right there. So, I mean, she -- there were no secrets. She knew what was going on. And, I mean, she

just was the kind of woman that -- she was just evil and twisted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Evil and twisted and now free. And judging by this picture, doesn`t seem too worried about the severity of the situation. A big smiling

mugshot. This is for her sex offender registration. A grim and sick reminder to everyone out there, please check your local registry. No matter

where you live in this country.

The next hour of "Crime & Justice" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[19:00:05] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Breaking news tonight, police finally reveal a piece of evidence in the case against Chris Watts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Mommy has a baby in her belly.

ELLA WATTS, DAUGHTER OF CHRIS WATTS: Yay!

BANDFIELD: We still don`t know how the Watts girls died many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don`t know what`s in that autopsy report.

BANDFIELD: But we could be close to knowing what happened in that house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have closed doors.

BANDFIELD: Was something tracking daddy`s movements that will prove who killed who and where?

CHRIS WATTS, SUSPECT OF KILLING HIS WIFE AND CHILD: This house is not complete without anybody here.

BANDFIELD: And whether daddy`s story to police is true.

ELLA WATTS: My daddy is a hero. He helps me grow up.

BANDFIELD: Minute by minute, circuit by circuit, chip by chip was every step taken by Chris Watts logged in the cloud?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s not the Chris we know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s a murder.

BANDFIELD: What did he do that night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`d be surprised what people throw away in their trash.

BANDFIELD: How did he move about the house after his wife and daughters were killed?

WATTS: That`s first day I was like I want to get out and drive around. But you wouldn`t where to look for.

BANDFIELD: And what is he doing every day behind bars?

UNDENTIFIED MALE: He`s not doing well at all.

BANDFIELD: To try to bolster his case.

CHRIS WATTS: This has got to stop like somebody has to come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANDFIELD: Good evening everyone. I`m Ashleigh Bandfield. This is Crime and Justice. And we have some breaking news to bring you right off the top

of the program. The Colorado father accused of killing his wife and kids. Police say hid their bodies at his worksite, dumping his two little

daughters in oil tanks.

But he officers have been so tight lipped about the investigation, all those dark little details, morsels of evidence that could tell us whether

Chris Watts was the killer. And tonight something different. A bombshell new motion filed with the courts.

Investigators starting to actually show us what they have in this case because it seems that something was left behind at that worksite.

Something that could distinctly connect Chris Watts to the crime scene and maybe even to the murders. joining me now, Kyle Peltz, Crime and Justice

producer who has been watching this court site for every single document that drops. This one just dropped and for first time they`re actually

talking about the evidence.

KYLE PELTS, CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: Right. It just came out today. Now we know previously prosecutors wanted to collect cheek swabs,

fingerprints, items like that from Chris Watts --

BANDFIELD: Palm prints, palm prints as well.

PELTS: Photographs of his hands.

BANDFIELD: Yes.

PELTS: Well now a new document has come out. They are also seeking footprints from Chris Watts.

BANDFIELD: Chris Watts own bare feet. They want to ink --

PELTS: Inked and submitted.

BANDFIELD: And -- and delivered to the prosecutors.

PELTS: Exactly.

BANDFIELD: Now let`s go back for a second because he`s fighting giving those buckle swabs, the cheek swabs -- he` fighting, giving them the

handprints, the palm prints, the fingerprints which is insane if you ask me. Those are stand operating procedure. He could fight this too?

PELTS: And I`m sure he will fight this. When he was fighting giving his cheek swabs and handprints which still as far as we know hasn`t been ruled

on. One of the things he said was, in a court document that previously came out prosecutors said numerous items were collected and sent for

testing at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Now, we had no idea what items those could be. And Chris Watts referenced that when fighting

prosecutors saying, that was very generic.

BANDFIELD: Well, generic or not. Barefoot prints, there has to be a strong reason that they need his barefoot print. What did they find at the site

other than the sheet we know was there? What else?

PELTS: Right. They say found something at the site where the victim`s bodies were. That oil sight. Now remember there`re three places. There`s

one tank where one girl was found. Another where another little girl was found and then we have the shallow grave where Shanann was found. It`s not

clear where they found this piece of evidence. And they`re calling evidence number 26. But it`s a bag. They found a bag that they say

contains footprints.

BANDFIELD: Did they say -- listen, a bag. A bag can be anything. I`ve got garbage bags. I have luggage that I say let`s go pick up the bags.

I`ve got a gym bag. I have a back pack that sometimes I call a bag. Are they characterizing what kind of bag?

PELTS: All they say is bag, could be a garbage bag, could be a gym bag like you say. We just don`t know yet. But we know this is one of those

mysterious items they sent for testing. And now they found something, a foot print.

BANDFIELD: Evidence item from the Frederick Police Department number 26 which makes me wonder if there were 26 items at that site, or if this is

just on top of everything else they brought in, you know, to the Frederick Police Department regarding it.

Do you know at all about the location of the bag? Was it in those two 20 foot tall oil tanks? Did they find it inside the oil tank, in the shallow

grave? Did they find say in the shallow grave? Did it scattered on the desert on the side. Anything that we know about.

PELTS: I think that`s a great question, and we may find out when Chris Watts replies to this. But all prosecutors are saying right it`s a bag

collected at the scene where the bodies were located. It could be anywhere.

BANDFIELD: And no indication of whether a body had been in the bag because obviously, Kyle if the story that the police say Chris Watts told them in

the police station is true. He loaded three of his family members into his truck, carted them off to this site and tossed those girls into the tanks

and buried Shanann in the shallow grave. What did he use to ferry them? What did he convey those bodies in? He sure as hell didn`t put three live

bodies in that open truck, you know, in the bed of that pickup and drive off into the rising sun.

PELTS: Well, that`s the big question but all prosecutors are saying right now is a bag.

BANDFIELD: So this is a -- well this is official. This is something that the prosecutor -- this is prosecutors, not defense. This is official

evidence they`re calling evidence piece from the Fredrick Police Department item number 26. Did they say there`s a footprint, a barefoot print on the

bag?

PELTS: What they say, yes, a possible barefoot impression on the bag.

BANDFIELD: So and here`s my guess, I mean you and I have reported crime for a while now. Is it possible they`re looking to exclude there`s a

foreign footprint? Some other man or woman`s barefoot print on this bag found at the murder scene? Because frankly, Chris Watts footprints could

be all over every product, every single thing that`s in his house.

PELTS: Right and I think that`s what they`re trying to do here is figure out who that footprint belongs to, if it`s not Chris Watts, that`s going to

be telling as well.

BANDFIELD: Troy Slaten and as Defense Attorney help me to sort of navigate the significance of this piece of evidence. I mean you heard me spit

balling essentially. Is that the prosecutor saying, OK. We found a bag. It`s got a barefoot print on it.

It`s at the murder scene. We know Chris Watts is footprint isn`t necessarily going to mean he did this. But we also know that if the

defense finds out that someone else`s footprint is on it. That`s a big chalk in his column. You help me put it into perspective.

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So what the prosecution is trying to do is rule out the ability for Chris Watts to point the finger at someone else or

to be able to make the argument to the jury that it somehow wasn`t him, or that somebody else was involved. They want to make sure that the case is

airtight. A case of this importance is completely foolproof before they go to a jury if it ends up going before a jury.

BANDFIELD: Because Troy if -- if its Chris watts barefoot print on the bag found at the burial site. It really doesn`t tell us anything, or does it?

SLATEN: It tells us that he was there at some point. That`s all that it tells us.

BANDFIELD: Which is nothing, because effectively, if we believe the police affidavit, he already told us that, correct?

SLATEN: That`s Right.

BANDFIELD: Yes.

SLATEN: What they`re trying to do is rule out another person so that way he`s not able to go like this and point to somebody else.

BANDFIELD: Which is super fascinating, it looks like they have two jobs to do, and that is prove it`s him, disprove its someone else. So hold that

thought for a minute. Vincent Hill, Former Police Officer, Private Investigator, help me to sort of determine the realities of finding a

barefoot print on -- and all we can call it is a bag.

Some fabrics and some surfaces don`t record barefoot prints other fabrics and surfaces and plastics. Can you help me to maybe try to narrow down

what a bag in this case could be? How could they find a footprint, a barefoot print on a bag?

SLATEN: Well actually to your point I would assume that this bag is some type of plastic or a tarp like bag. Something that would track the oils in

your skin to get those footprints and it`s very important here, if that bag was found at the crime scene in the proximity of the bodies, then how did

the bag get there if he was not involved? So he can`t come back later and say, it was someone else, what we would have to assume that someone else

went into his house, got a bag with his footprint and planted it there. Not likely.

BANDFIELD: Yes. And I`m still, you know, sort of spit balling all of the different possibilities. What if another crew member, many days beforehand

happened to leave his bag behind, I mean it have to be an empty bag for it to be mysterious, if it had all of his gym clothes in it, et cetera his or

work tools or something. That would be significant. But generally speaking at a site like that. I mean you just put the picture up again. The thing

is pristine clean.

All it is, is gear and sand, not a bit of debris, not even a lunch box or an orange peel it would appear from some of the photos we`ve been able to

ascertain from this extremely, extremely remote place. It`s not highly trafficked either. I mean look at it.

It takes a long time to get there. You can`t just drive in if you don`t belong there. And it is locked up tight. So it`s not the kind of place

that is frequented by anybody other than the crews that need to be there.

And it seems to be the kind of place that operates on its own as well, without a heavy crew presence. It`s not as though there`s a lot of debris

or things left behind. There is always that possibility though. Steve Helling, I want to bring knew quickly on this development. There`re two

reasons I want to bring you in, number one, I think you of all people can attest how airtight it`s been in order to try to get information out of

this case, you being the exclusion.

You have a source, you have a couple sources. You`ve been breaking. Remarkable information on this case. You have to admit, this is big, the

fact that there`s this bag that`s been found at the site.

STEVE HELLING, JOURNALIST: It is big. And, you know, your mind just starts racing, you know, you start wondering, is this a bag he wore over his feet

to cover his footprints. You have no idea what it is. And you know we can make up things all we want but one of these days, I think it`s going to be

very soon, we`re going to find out what this bag is, what the nature of it is, and what they found on it. Just because the paperwork that`s being

filed right now, means that we`re going do get some answers.

BANDFIELD: And when you say the paperwork, do you have inside information? are you talking about how much Chris Watts is fighting back against all of

these requests from the prosecution?

HELLING: Well here`s the thing Chris Watts is not fighting back but his lawyers are. His lawyers are responding to things that are being filed.

Chris is not doing very well in jail right now and so he`s not aiding in his defense right now. But his defense lawyers are certainly answering

everything with their own answers. So I expect that there`s going to be -- either they`re going to do the footprint and submit that, or else they`re

going to come up with a reason why not. And either way, we`ll have some sort of paperwork there.

BANDFIELD: Yes. You know how I always refer to it. If your lawyer is doing something on your behalf, it`s you. You are the one who can direct

them and you can undirect them as well. So I`m fascinated, that little nugget that you just dropped that he`s not doing well behind bars. What

else are you hearing about his demeanor, as he sits 23/7 locked up in that single cell with nothing, no television, no reading materials inside his

cell, a miserable existence..

HELLING: Well, you know, you and I have talked about the things that are in -- the things that he can`t do. And he`s not watching TV, he`s is not

reading, he`s not doing all this type of thing. I did speak to someone who has spoken to him, directly to him and they said, it`s all sinking in to

him right now. He knows what`s -- he understands what`s going on. And he`s, you know, he`s just sleeping a lot. He`s not really talking very much

any more. And you know he`s just kind of lost in his own thoughts.

BANDFIELD: What about all these reports of the crying that he`s whimpering and crying throughout the night, et cetera? How does your source

characterize it?

HELLING: Well, we ran a story on people.com last night that said, basically, you know, he said depression, you know, the source said

depression is setting in. You know obviously my source is not -- cannot diagnose clinical depression but using it in the loose sense of the term.

He`s sad. He`s withdrawn. He`s not the person that he was before he went to jail.

BANDFIELD: Anything else about his demeanor? And listen I found it fascinating just to find out he has nothing to do for 23 hours a day. He

can`t have any reading material other than those communal newspapers out on that hour out room table where he`s also alone. He can make a phone call.

He can have a shower or read one of those newspapers but no exercise equipment, nothing else.

Is there anything else in terms of communications with inmates? because he`s got visual contact and he`s got verbal contact with other inmates,

which means his door is not solid. Do we know who he`s talking to or who`s talking to him?

HELLING: Well I don`t know if he`s talking to other inmates or not. I can`t imagine that he has a lot to talk to them considering that he`s not

even really making phone calls to his family here or whatever. So I can`t imagine he`s making a friend in jail, you know. Yes, there is visual

contact. You know there can be auditory contact between prisoners. But there`s no indication right now that he struck up any sort of friendship or

any sort of conversational you know relationship at all.

BANDFIELD: After the break and a little bit down the road, Steve, I`m going to ask you specifically about a motion that Chris and his lawyers

have put forward regarding who visits him in the jail, and why you and I who pay for his three squares a day and the bars that protect limb are not

allowed to know who`s there. Typically we`re allowed to get visitor lists and things like that but there`s a motion that he and his lawyers have

filed that really wants to suppress all of that material.

So after the break I`m going to ask you about that. But then there`s also this. I`m going to hold up this little picture I have here. You know what

that is, right? Like an Apple watch. Everybody has them. Some people have the older versions, some people have the newer versions.

I don`t have one at all because my kids do. But there`s some stuff that the Apple watch records. I don`t know about all the technology you`re

wearing on your wrist but don`t go murdering anybody because it`s like a teenie tiny spy that`s hanging out on your body that will tell us where you

went, what stairs you climbed and how far away you went from your house.

Now think about the story Chris Watts told the police. I went down stairs for a minute, and when I came back up, there it was on the baby monitor,

Shanann strangling my daughters. What if he was wearing that watch? And there`s a lot more too. That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s in jail right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s not doing well at all. And depression is setting in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re entitled to have anyone visit you in jail as long as they`re on the list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris is alone in his cell for 23 hours a day.

CHRIS WATTS: I need to see everybody again, this house is not complete with -- without anyone here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He never once cried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s one of those visitors. He could one of those visitors be someone he had an affair with?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s checked on every five or ten minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was my closest best friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: One thing that Chris Watts is not doing, is looking down on his wrist and checking his apple watch. And he may have done that a lot, too

because that guy was fit. He was super fit. He had dropped like 50 pounds, and he looked like he was the vision of the cover of men`s health. And if

you see one of these little guys, one of these little apple watches, is kind of unassuming and you might not even think much about it, right? You

might not even catch your attention. Except when you`re involved in a murder investigation and you`ve told quite a specific story about where you

were and what you were doing, when murders occurred. Your apple watch might have a different version of what you were up to in the moments you

said. Certain things happened and certain things didn`t. And guess what? Mr. Chris Watts had an apple watch. And so did Shanann Watts and that`s

significant because their activity levels will be very specific on the nights they were killing or being killed.

Marcel Brown is the Technology Consultant and he`s the author of the cheap skates guide to your iPhone. And then the addendum to that would be, you`d

know a lot about an apple watch too.

Marcel, it`s really good you`re here.

MARCEL BROWN, TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT, APPLE: Thank you.

BANFIELD: It occurred to us when we -- when we read the warrant less affidavit, the arrest affidavit that Chris Watts version of what happened

according to the police. His confession according to the police had him going down stairs for a moment after having a conversation about splitting

up with Shanann somewhere around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. Coming back upstairs, seeing on the baby monitor that one of his daughters is dead, and

the other one is actively being strangled.

Please sort of lay out for me what has Apple watch would be telling us? If he were actually wearing it at that time.

BROWN: Well from that description, probably not a lot. The Apple Watch will record step activity going upstairs. It will record the time he did

that. So if he was running up and down the stairs frequently, that would show up. If he went up and down the stairs one time, it may show that one

time to go up and down the stairs.

BANFIELD: But it`s pretty significant that your Apple Watch doesn`t just show how many steps you take throughout the day. It tells you if you`re

stepping up and down staircases and if his story is true. His Apple Watch would have to say he went up and down those staircases at the time he said

that he went up and down the staircase, correct?

BROWN: Correct. In theory, if everything -- if he had his watch on, if it was attached correctly and all that, it should show one flight of stairs.

BANDIELD: OK. And a little number up in the top, right-hand side. This is 9:49 on our example there. That`s the time of day, correct?

BROWN: Correct.

BANFIELD: Does that lodge into the cloud and save for posterity, all of us to analyze our fitness activity for the last couple weeks or months?

BROWN: Your fitness activity in the health app is recorded. And I believe that data is saved in the cloud.

BANFIELD: So that`s pretty fascinating. If the prosecutors felt like it, they could assess all of the cloud base information about Chris Watts heart

rate, his activity level, the staircases he did or didn`t climb at the times he said he did. They could see all of this data because of the

little spy hanging out on his wrist. If he -- if he was wearing it at the time.

BROWN: Correct.

BANFIELD: All right, so Marcel, that`s the Chris Watts story, and how it may have been logged by his watch. We also know that Shanann had this

watch. And in fact, we know specifically that she had the series 3. The series 3 Apple watch is specific because of that little red dot on the

crown, right? On the image that we`re showing?

BROWN: Correct. Right. The cellular version has the red dot.

BANDFIELD: OK. And on the picture you see on your screen you can see she`s wearing that sticker. She has the level patch on her hand, and right

below that is the series 3 watch with the red crown. Correct?

BROWN: correct.

BANDFIELD: So this is the fanciest data collector of the series, right? Of the apple watch variety.

BROWN: Right.

BANDFIELD: Could you tell me what it would -- listen, the story that Chris tells us, and Nicole Atkinson confirms, that Shanann came home from her

work trip about 2:00 in the morning. She kicks her shoes off at the door. She leaves her suitcase at the base of the staircase. And if she has that

watch on, she claims the set of stairs. What else will that Apple watch tell us about the story that Chris tells us? That they were awakened at

4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, had a conversation and she went and killed the kids?

BROWN: Well the apple watch to set the stage first. The Apple watch is very accurate when you have it in exercise mode. So it can track your exact

location, your exact heart rate continuously, all that sort of thing. If the Apple watch is not in exercise mode it periodically scans your heart

rate, your activity level that sort of thing. So if you become more active, it starts to become more -- it monitors it more. So in theory, if she

suddenly had elevated heart rate, if her motions become more manic, whether she`s either attacking someone or being attacked. That type of data could

be logged. in theory, it could show steps, it could show elevated heart rate, increased activity all of that.

BANDFIELD: What you would have to assess if you`re looking at bare numbers that are logged into the cloud. And they`re on the watch too. The series 3

keeps the information on the watch for about 30 days. Now we are outside of the 30 day window. So I sure hope the prosecutors and detectives in this

case mind every piece of electronic, you know, mind every piece of electronic information that these pieces of equipment would have yielded

prior to the 30 day expiration.

But I do understand, and correct me if I`m wrong, Marcel that even after the 30 days if your watch is in proximity with your phone, and we have no

reason to believe that Shanann was anywhere further from her phone than a room or two, right? She`s in her house, apparently when all these killings

happen. So the phone would have pulled that information off her watch as she`s having something done to her or doing something to someone. And would

have thrown it up in the cloud for posterity, correct?

BROWN: Correct. The watch as long as it`s on the same WiFi network should transmit the data to the phone.

BANDFIELD: OK. So a couple other questions about Shanann`s activity. An activity slows your heart rate, right?

BROWN: It shows motion and heart rate.

BANDFIELD: OK, motion and heart rate. Let me spitball for a second here. If Shanann was strangled in her bed and awoke to a strangling, what would

this watch if she`s wearing it, what would this watch tell us?

BROWN: Well in theory, it could show elevated heart rate. It could possibly if there was a struggle, show there was activity, some motion

going on. That could be about it, it doesn`t record your breath or anything like that.

BANDFIELD: But it wouldn`t record any steps if sleaze being strangled in her bed -- if Chris`s story is true her watch would show us she`s got an

energized level of activity, because she`s having a very emotional conversation about splitting up with her husband. and then an additional

burst of energy to get up out of bed and start walking toward the girls rooms, actively strangle one girl, additional steps to the other girl`s

room, actively strangle another girl. And then an incredible walloping amount of energy when she is strangled by Chris Watts, right? This would

all be very clear on the apple watch if she`s wearing it, correct?

BROWN: To some extent you would get that level of activity, whether or not it could be determined as clearly, the motions, the actions you just

described I think would probably be left to the attorneys to try to make that case.

BANDFIELD: But to be clear, would the watch show an increased level of activity if she were in an emotional conversation?

BROWN: Very possibly if her heart rate went up, that could be construed that way.

BANDFIELD: If she took 15 steps to a child`s room. Would those steps be registered?

BROWN: Since the watch was probably not in exercise mode it would be questionable if those steps would be recorded that specifically or not

because the watch may think you`re just walking, in which case it`s not considered a high level of activity.

BANDFIELD: I thought all your steps are logged. Everybody wants to know how many steps they took all day long.

BROWN: As long as you`re in -- it does count your steps.

BANDFIELD: OK.

BROWN: Whether or not it counts the steps and records that in the time activity is the another question. Like I said, if it`s exercise mode, it`s

very accurate. If it`s not in exercise mode, it`s kind of periodic --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: This girl was all about fitness. I have no reason to believe if she didn`t have that tool at her disposal, she wouldn`t have that going and

no -- she`s pointing to her watch all the time, and her -- and her stickers and, you know, her patches and her fitness and all the rest. So, who knows

if she was wearing it. I don`t wear my watch to bed, maybe she does, maybe she doesn`t. But then there`s this next question I have for you.

BROWN: That`s a good profession.

BANFIELD: If she came home at 2:00 a.m. and she kicked off those shoes and she climbed the stairs. That staircase would register on her watch. If

she were strangled within that time, what would the watch say?

BROWN: If she was strangled and her heart stopped, you could probably get the last recorded time of the heart rate measurement. And that would kind

of give you an approximate time of last -- I guess, last time she was alive.

BANFIELD: So I just want to show a picture if I can while you`re saying that. I want to show that picture. I`m going to ask our crew to put up

the emergency services image that the watch shows. It says, it looks like you`ve taken a fall and then you have the option there, emergency SOS or

click I fell but I`m OK. And then there`s this other option, it comes up emergency services.

This Series 3, if your heart stops or you are falling down on the ground. She might have had this option to hit, I fell but I`m OK or her heart might

have stopped and that image might have come up and there was no answer. Is that possible?

BROWN: No, the fall detector is on the brand new Apple watches which are due to be released very soon. So that`s not an option that would have been

available on a Series 3.

BANFIELD: On the Series 3. What about -- what about the notion that her heart stopped? None of this push notification of emergency services would

have come through?

BROWN: No, that`s not a feature of the Apple watch if -- it does not detect your heart rate.

BANFIELD: Will the cloud information show that her heart stopped and time of death?

BROWN: It would show the last recorded heart rate activity. So that could be used to let -- that may be the last time she was alive. Especially if

she had elevated heart rate and it suddenly stopped.

BANFIELD: Marcel, this is truly one of the more fascinating forensic conversations I think I`ve ever had because it`s all kind of happening in

real-time. We`re all finding out just what electronic big brother stuff. We invite into our lives and how it can come back to bite you in the ass if

you kill someone. Thank you so much for this. It`s fantastic information.

BROWN: Thank you.

BANFIELD: So, there you go. Marcel has told you what the digital plan and map in the cloud should say about both Shanann and Chris the night that

those little girls and that woman were killed. Who did it, how they did it, how many stairs they may have taken or not taken. And then there`s all

that activity afterwards, when Chris Watts was taken in by his neighbors, the Thayers, the friends.

The Thayers were so upset about him because his wife and children were missing. And they let him sleep at their house. But then they noticed

something odd. It was really odd. And they called the police. I`ll tell you what it was next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:38:17] BANFIELD: I`m still not over this. I`m sorry but I`m still not over the Apple watch. As a silent little spy on the wrist of someone who

may be a triple murderer. Right? So, you know, when I heard that when your heart stops you don`t get the notification. I kind of felt like,

maybe there is -- maybe this technology is so fast and furious, it`s a little complicated. And Marcel Brown, it is complicated, isn`t it?

BROWN: It is.

BANFIELD: There is some more push notification on the Series 3, lots of great stuff coming out on the next watch. But on the watch that Shanann

had, there actually is some technology, right? That would say, hey, girl, you OK? My words, not theirs.

BROWN: Yes, yes. The Apple watch does have features where it can track heart rate abnormalities. Things like -- I think they call it (INAUDIBLE)

or, you know, I`m not a doctor. I don`t remember these particular terms. But whether or not it can -- it will do the stoppage is questionable

because I think in theory you could take your watch off obviously, it`s not going to know that.

It`s -- or it will know that -- it will detect that there`s no more heart rate but it shouldn`t call SO -- it shouldn`t call 911 just if you take

your watch off. So --

BANFIELD: Yes. There`s so much data. It`s -- you know, hold on one second because we`re literally Googling it live on the air as we -- as we

speak to you as well because way down in the fine print, Kyle, do you have -- have you got the site up?

KYLE PELTZ, HLN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: Yes. I put up Apple.com here. We know Shanann has the Series 3 based on that little red dot. And when

you look up the Apple watch on the Apple Web site, Series 3, it says you can monitor your heart rate, get warnings when an unusually high or low

heart rate is detected, emergency SOS lets you initiate an immediate call for help.

[19:40:07] BANFIELD: That`s incredible. So theoretically, if she had the watch on, and I don`t know if she was killed. I don`t know if she was

killed the minute she came in the door from her work trip which by the way when I`m on a work trip I got my watch on all the way until I`m ready to go

to bed. Or whether it`s true, what Chris said, they, you know, she went to bed three or -- two or three hours later she`s awakened to a bad

conversation.

Maybe she has or maybe she isn`t to that point wearing her Apple watch. But I think it`s fascinating stuff and I don`t think it`s the last we`ve

heard of it. There`s a couple other critical pieces in this puzzle as well. Because as we try to keep peeling back all these layers on Chris

Watts and figure out the image of a killer, it`s not him, right? The image of the killer is not Chris Watts. Chris Watts just seems like that guy

that everybody likes.

And the roommate from, you know, just 14 years ago told us, yes, he`s a great guy. He`s hard driven to work. He doesn`t lie. He never lied to

me. And you know what, his best friends, the Thayers sure said they never lied to them. At least not up until the night they put him up because they

were so worried about him, because he was so worried about his missing family. Yes. These Thayers, these poor friends who believed they got

sucked into a lie.

A very big lie that they had Chris Watts sleeping across the hall from their little daughter two nights after his family is killed. Boy, do they

feel bad about that now. In fact, they`re speaking out in some interviews and talking about, you know, how -- not only how they feel duped, but the

signs, just the signs that as they look back on it, as he`s at their house and, you know, ostensibly supposed to be very worried about his missing

family, he really didn`t seem that worried at all.

Do we have that sound bite that shows -- watch how they -- what -- you know, how they characterized Chris Watts, the guy with the missing family,

who they welcomed into their home. Who they`d like to help, and how they describe him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA THAYER, CHRIS WATTS` FAMILY FRIEND: Through no time in the 48 to 72 hours we were with him, did he ever, ever show remorse. He was his normal

self. Like he just -- he was on his phone and we were trying to make light of the situation and talking.

(CROSSTALK)

NICK THAYER, CHRIS WATTS` FAMILY FRIEND: Coming up with ideas of what we could do.

A. THAYER: Coming up with ideas. And like when -- like where could she have gone, those sorts of things, and he just -- he never once cried. I

guess that`s now a red flag?

N. THAYER: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: He never once cried. He`s at his friends` house for support, right? Wife and daughters are missing. They`ve been missing now more than

24 hours, because this would be Tuesday night, he spends Monday night at his house, interesting. Tuesday night he spends at the Thayer`s house.

They even described that he paced back and forth. Was on his phone and was eating pizza.

But not in the way that a desperate man who haven`t eaten in days was forced to eat a piece of pizza. They just said something wasn`t right

about the way he was just casually and comfortably eating pizza. Wife and daughters are gone, you know, gone since noon Monday and here we are more

than 24 hours later and he doesn`t seem that worried at all.

And then maybe what`s even more bizarre -- and by the way my thanks to ABC News for that -- for getting that interview because that may be critical as

we go into litigation of this case. How they felt his reactions were afterwards. But then there`s this interview that Nick Thayer, his wife

Amanda but Nick Thayer said, it was weird that he didn`t even seem to want to look for them. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

N. THAYER: It was Tuesday afternoon and it was just kind of too -- I thought too easily ways of knowing where she could have been. And he

didn`t seem all that eager to look into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Didn`t seem all that eager to look into it? Your wife and your two darling babies who you want to see barrel roll you as you walk in the

door are missing. And you don`t even seem eager to look for them. It just doesn`t make any sense. Well, guess what, after the break, we`ve got

something that may actually speak to that issue of not wanting to go and look for them. Chris even suggested the police told him not to look for

them.

Think about that for a minute. During the break, just think about a police officer saying to you, your children are missing, your wife is missing.

No, no, sir don`t look for them. No, no. Don`t look for them. That is what Chris Watts wanted us to believe and if you don`t believe me, I`ve got

the proof. I`m going to show you, he says it on camera, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:52] BANFIELD: You have some incredible questions about this case, we have lots of questions. But some of the investigations being done out

there in the community literally on Facebook are fascinating. And they really do probe to the critical elements of this case.

[19:50:08] I want to read you this question from Rhonda Castleraider. She said, maybe the friends` persistence on Monday, that`s maybe the friend`s

persistence on Monday, that`s Nicole Atkinson who came over on Monday saying, I don`t know what`s wrong with my friend Shanann but she`s not

answering her calls and I`m worried about her. Maybe the friends` persistence on Monday is what caused him, Chris, to be caught so quickly.

Maybe he planned to take more time to dispose of the bodies. She did work from home. That`s interesting and really, really insightful, Rhonda,

because we were really curious about this very interesting part of the interviews that Chris Watts gave from his front porch. Specifically about

how he shouldn`t be out there looking for them. No, no. Please told them not to. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WATTS, ACCUSED KILLER DAD: Colorado is -- I mean, you can`t just drive around and look. I mean, it`s just like, you wouldn`t really know

what you`re looking for. That`s what the cops told me. That first day, I was like, I won`t get out and drive around. You wouldn`t know what to look

for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Vincent Hill, as a former police officer, is that true? Do police tell spouses don`t go looking for your missing wife and children?

No, don`t do that.

VINCENT HILL, FORMER NASHVILLE POLICE OFFICER: Hey, Ashleigh, I lost count of how many missing person cases I worked but I never told a family member

don`t look for your family. Nobody knows where you may go, your friends, where they hang out, where you may hang out more than the family. So why

would an investigator even say that?

BANFIELD: Thank you. And that`s exactly what I assumed and there you got it from the -- from -- straight from the source, the cop, he knows best.

You`re not told to stay at home while your wife and children are missing.

HILL: Not at all.

BANFIELD: All right. On Twitter, Ryan (ph) asked, did Shanann`s friends and/or family ever suspect that Chris wasn`t quite right? I just can`t

imagine there weren`t any signs that this man was a whack job. Well, that`s if he`s guilty. We don`t know that but I can tell you that Richard

Hodges was his former roommate when they were in a college program together and he was on this program last night, we dug way back to find out if there

were signs, and maybe this is more mysterious. Here is his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HODGES, CHRIS WATT`S FORMER ROOMMATE: So, after we finished school, we both worked together at the same dealership. He was very good

at what he did. He was very good at working on cars. That was one of his natural talents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Steve Helding, that was about it. He`s great on cars. He never lied. He was a great guy. He was like a straight A student. This is

mysterious.

STEVE HELLING, SENIOR WRITER, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: It is mysterious. But you do also to wonder why was she reported missing so quickly by a friend?

They had to assume something was wrong because if I don`t answer my phone for days, people aren`t going to call the cops on me.

BANFIELD: Interesting. So the friend might have known something that we don`t know about Chris` behavior. That`s a really good point too. You

wouldn`t just bat down Chris` phone as opposed to call the police immediately. That`s very, very good. Thank you for that.

There is this story I need to bring you right now. One of the people who abducted Elizabeth Smart back in 2002, walked out of prison. Just walked

out of prison. This is her, Wanda Barzee. Where is she headed after 15 years of being locked up? It`s a question, right? Here is the scary part.

We don`t know. Is this right?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:02] BANFIELD: Everybody sleeps a little better at night with the sex offenders stuck behind bars but some sex their time and they get out of

fair and square. Even the ones who are responsible for one of the most horrifying kidnapping cases in American history. As of today, Wanda Barzee

is a free woman. The same woman who helped her husband hold 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart captive in the wilderness where she was drugged and starved

and raped every day for nine months.

Fast forward 15 years and Wanda Barzee walked out of state prison this morning. Thanks to the lawyer who argued that her time in Federal prison

should count towards her state conviction. Barzee is now 72 years old but a very grown up Elizabeth Smart says she is still dangerous. Listen to

what she told CBS this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH SMART, KIDNAP VICTIM: She would encourage him to rape me. She would sit right next to me, like the side of her body would be touching me.

GAYLE KING, CBS ANCHOR: While he`s raping you?

SMART: While he was raping me. I mean, she was right there. So, I mean, she -- there were no secrets. She knew what was going on. And I mean, she

just was the kind of woman that she was just evil and twisted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Evil and twisted and now free. And judging by this picture, doesn`t seem too worried about the severity of the situation. A big

smiling mug shot. This is for her sex offender registration. A grim and sick reminder to everyone out there, please check your local registry. No

matter where you live in this country. Thanks for watching. "FORENSIC FILES" begins right now.

END