DA says Hickenlooper’s actions will keep Christopher Watts from facing death row

It’s a story that gripped the nation, a Frederick man accused of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters in Weld County.

But now, Christopher Watts has accepted a deal, pleading guilty to the murders.

Watts will now spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, for the first-degree murders of Shanann, Bella and Celeste, unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a dead human body.

The deal also takes the death penalty off the table.

Michael Rourke, Weld County District Attorney, said though it was discussed with Shanann’s family, but wouldn’t have mattered, given recent cases in Colorado.

“We explained to them the extraordinary delays that currently exist in the state of Colorado as a result of, in part, the actions of our current governor,” Rourke said.

Governor John Hickenlooper commuted death row inmate, Nathan Dunlap’s sentence in 2013.

Hickenlooper said he went into office in favor of the death penalty, but seeing the costs and the amount of time it takes to try those cases he changed his mind.

“The death penalty is final, so it should be as close to justice as you can get and it’s actually the farthest away,” Hickenlooper said.