Christopher Watts, the man accused of killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters in August is apparently severely depressed after being kept in isolation after more than a month in jail.
A source at the Weld County Jail in Colorado confirmed that the 33-year-old murder defendant is now on suicide watch, the Daily Mail reports.
'He's not doing well at all,' a source told People. 'The gravity of the situation has hit him like a ton of bricks. Depression is setting in, and he's despondent.'
Currently guards are checking in on Watts every 10-15 minutes to ensure his wellbeing. They are required to make visual contact with him to ensure that he is still alive.
He is Watts is physically searched several times per day and must undergo a complete cell inspection to ensure he is not hiding any contraband or objects with which he could harm himself.
The man accused of killing his wife, two daughters and unborn son is reportedly severely depressed. Photo / Facebook
Watts' freedom is also restricted in the jail and has no access to weights, reading material or television, nor does he have any commissary privileges.
Instead, he is forced to spend his days in bed. 'He sleeps all day and isn't really talking to anyone, including his family,' the source told People.
Occasionally, Watts will speak with the guards who are assigned to his cell block.
For one hour per day, he is allowed to leave his cell and taken to a small room where he is allowed to shower and make phone calls to his family or to lawyers. The room is not occupied by any other prisoners during the time he is there.
Watts was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his 34-year-old wife, Shanann Watts, and their two daughters - Celeste, three, and Bella, four - at their home in Frederick, Colorado.
They were reported missing on August 13 and their bodies were found on the property of Watts', former employer Anadarko Petroleum not long after he was taken into custody.
He is also charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly burying his wife in a shallow grave 35 miles from home and dumping his two daughters into a tank filled with crude oil.
If convicted, Watts faces the death penalty.
Authorities accuse Watts of killing them after she returned from a business trip in the early morning hours of August 13.
A friend of Shanann who dropped her off at home from the airport alerted police after she did not respond to phone calls, according to the Coloradoan.
Watts told police that he and his wife argued 'emotionally' about separating on that morning.
He claims that his wife then strangled both of their children to death.
Watts claims he then strangled Shanann in a fit of rage.
He told authorities that after he told his wife he wanted to separate, he watched as she strangled Celeste while Bella was 'blue', her lifeless body in a bed nearby.
But investigators say Watts is lying. He was arrested on August 15 - one day before the bodies of his wife and their two children were found.
Watts is being held without bond in the Weld County Jail. He has yet to enter a plea.
'The theory that she [Shan'ann] did it doesn't hold any water,' a source close to the investigation told People.
'There is absolutely no evidence that she killed her children.'
Meanwhile, Watts' lawyers are asking the court to investigate whether prosecutors have leaked damaging information about their client to the press. Prosecutors have denied the accusation.
