Colorado Springs attorney weighs in on Watts facing death penalty
The Weld County District Attorney’s office likely has weeks to determine whether to seek the death penalty for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body. Reportedly, Christopher Watts admitted killing his pregnant wife and two daughters the night he was arrested. But is that enough to get him the death penalty?
It will still be weeks before we learn what prosecutors decide, but Criminal Defense Attorney, Jeremy Loew says it’s a tough sell in Colorado.
He’s no stranger to defending bad guys.
“I’ve defended people who have murdered people, have sexually assaulted people,” said Jeremy Loew.
So as he learns more about Christopher Watts and the gruesome details that keep coming out, he says it only becomes more clear how difficult it will be for watts’ defense team.
“Anything he said to the police, or to the news is going to be able to be used against him in the trial if it goes to a trial and it’s going to challenging for the defense team to overcome,” he said.
The body of his wife, Shanann, was found in a shallow grave. His daughters in a filled drum of oil. As their bodies were recovered on the grounds of his former work site, prosecutors were already building their case — asking for dna swabs to prove strangulation. But Loew believes it won’t prove helpful.
“His DNA is going to be all over the property and potentially all over the victims in this case,” he said.
Watts will at least spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted. Loew won’t rule out the possibility of the death penalty, but says it’s very difficult in Colorado.
“The last three death penalty trials that have happened, the district attorney’s office has put in a lot of funding ad haven’t had any success.”
A big part of deciding the death penalty is proving a motive — something that hasn’t been clear in this case, but everyone is speculating about.
On Monday we will learn what charges Watts is facing. But he won’t be officially charged until Tuesday.
The last death penalty case in Colorado was a double-murder by Glen Galloway here in Colorado Springs. Before that, James Holmes, the Aurora theatre shooter.
