Chris Watts was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and his daughters. Photo / File
Chris Watts was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and his daughters. Photo / File
Convicted murderer Chris Watts, serving multiple life sentences for killing his pregnant wife and their two daughters, was court ordered last week to pay US$6 million ($9.3 million) to his wife's parents.
Sandra and Franklin Rzucek, parents of Shannan, filed a civil lawsuit against Watts in November last year -the same day he was sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences with no parole for the horrific murders of his family, the Daily Mail reported.
In August 2018, Watts strangled his pregnant wife Shanann to death, wrapping her body in a blanket. It woke his daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three who began to cry after seeing their mother's lifeless body.
Sandra and Frank Rzucek, the mother and father of Shanann Watts, left and centre, look on as the judge talks during the sentencing of Chris Watts. Photo / Getty Images
Watts dumped her body in the back of his truck, drove it to a remote oil work site and buried her in a shallow grave.
He would later suffocate Celeste with a blanket and dispose of her body in an oil tank.
After witnessing what he did to her little sister, a fearful Bella yelled "Daddy no!" — the last words she spoke before he suffocated her and disposed of her body in a separate oil tank.
Weld County Judge Todd Taylor ruled Watts, who pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and daughters, owed US$1 million ($1.55m) for each of their deaths and a further US$3 million ($4.67m) for emotional damages.
The Denver Post reported that this figure is set to grow in interest by 8 per cent each year.
The Rzuceks are unlikely to see the money, and filed the suit merely to prevent Watts from profiting from the deaths should he decide to write a book or sell the rights to his sordid story.
Watts, 34, who is serving his life sentences at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, did not fight the lawsuit, and reportedly agreed to the figure before the trial began.
Chris Watts sits in court for his sentencing hearing at the Weld County Courthouse on November 19, 2018. Photo / Getty Images
Chris Watts was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and his daughters. Photo / File
A court document stated that the Rzucek family "has not been the same" since the murders.
Watts reportedly agreed with the US$6 million figure. Photo / Supplied
"For a substantial period of time following the discovery of their daughter and grandchildren's murders, they were unable to work, leave the house, or even eat."
