Was there a UM murder case that was solved as easily as Chris Watts' case?(Not on UM)

[Clockwork]

Okay, a bit of backstory for those that don't know this well known case, which is on Netflix. Chris Watts, a husband and father of two girls with one son on the way, killed his pregnant wife in Colorado in 2018. His wife returned home from a business trip at 1:30am, he is seen leaving at around 5am loading something into his truck according to his neighbors porch cam. There is a wellness check on his wife later that day since she is not picking up the phone. She is a big social media presence, so that was strange. That afternoon Chris is informed and comes back to the house and opens up the home for them to search. He claims he doesn't know where they are, suggests she left and took the kids.

He does a couple of interviews, one in which he has the most casual and nonchalant and almost laid back interview you will ever see from a father and husband whose family has been missing for a day (or two?) at that point. Says he wants them to come home, etc. The investigators see that interview and want him to come in for an interview because they know something is up. They look into things and reveal that he was a having an affair.

So he comes in voluntarily to do a polygraph. He is warned he shouldn't be doing a polygraph if he was involved because even the detective tells him that it would be "very dumb" if he did that. Well, he figures he can beat it. He fails it with flying colors, not even close. The detective knows he is being untruthful and interviews him right after the test.

He admits to the affair, denies he killed them, but then his dad comes into the interrogation room with him and he admits he killed his wife after he claims she killed both girls. None of it made sense. So he is arrested right there. He admits he buried all three bodies and shows investigators where the bodies are. But he claims he didn't hurt the little girls. Bodies are discovered, obviously he never is let out. Then at the trial he pleads guilty and admits to killing all three on his own.

So basically he walked into the police station a free man, suspected at best, and never left again. He not only fails the polygraph but breaks down and admits he dumped all three bodies. All in a matter of basically a morning/afternoon. It was so easy for investigators. In reality I think the walls close in on him eventually, but there was nothing to suggest he couldn't pull a Larry Gibson or even anyone else for that matter and be a highly suspected husband yet never get charged. Honestly, he didn't fight for a second and gave up and never left any doubt. Which is good by the way, but shocking.

Anyway, discuss this case if you want as well, I know I do, but has there been a case this easy to solve either in or outside of UM that you know about?

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

Okay, a bit of backstory for those that don't know this well known case, which is on Netflix. Chris Watts, a husband and father of two girls with one son on the way, killed his pregnant wife in Colorado in 2018. His wife returned home from a business trip at 1:30am, he is seen leaving at around 5am loading something into his truck according to his neighbors porch cam. There is a wellness check on his wife later that day since she is not picking up the phone. She is a big social media presence, so that was strange. That afternoon Chris is informed and comes back to the house and opens up the home for them to search. He claims he doesn't know where they are, suggests she left and took the kids.

He does a couple of interviews, one in which he has the most casual and nonchalant and almost laid back interview you will ever see from a father and husband whose family has been missing for a day (or two?) at that point. Says he wants them to come home, etc. The investigators see that interview and want him to come in for an interview because they know something is up. They look into things and reveal that he was a having an affair.

So he comes in voluntarily to do a polygraph. He is warned he shouldn't be doing a polygraph if he was involved because even the detective tells him that it would be "very dumb" if he did that. Well, he figures he can beat it. He fails it with flying colors, not even close. The detective knows he is being untruthful and interviews him right after the test.

He admits to the affair, denies he killed them, but then his dad comes into the interrogation room with him and he admits he killed his wife after he claims she killed both girls. None of it made sense. So he is arrested right there. He admits he buried all three bodies and shows investigators where the bodies are. But he claims he didn't hurt the little girls. Bodies are discovered, obviously he never is let out. Then at the trial he pleads guilty and admits to killing all three on his own.

So basically he walked into the police station a free man, suspected at best, and never left again. He not only fails the polygraph but breaks down and admits he dumped all three bodies. All in a matter of basically a morning/afternoon. It was so easy for investigators. In reality I think the walls close in on him eventually, but there was nothing to suggest he couldn't pull a Larry Gibson or even anyone else for that matter and be a highly suspected husband yet never get charged. Honestly, he didn't fight for a second and gave up and never left any doubt. Which is good by the way, but shocking.

Anyway, discuss this case if you want as well, I know I do, but has there been a case this easy to solve either in or outside of UM that you know about?

I didn't catch this one or don't remember it, maybe because it was so easily solved. At least that's one point in Netflix's favor, but I still prefer the old UM.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

I didn't catch this one or don't remember it, maybe because it was so easily solved. At least that's one point in Netflix's favor, but I still prefer the old UM.

Yeah, just a terrible crime. All for a girl he was seeing behind his wife's back whom police say was not involved in the murders. A lot of this footage is on body cams and news footage and footage from his police interviews. It is uneasy to watch in a way. There is footage of him in his neighbor's house watching his neighbor's porch cam literally load his family into his car. The view is obstructed but he doesn't know if it will show him in the act of the crime. Imagine being in your neighbor's house watching footage of what looks like you possibly loading your family into your truck and knowing what you did but hoping no one else finds out?

[Mike82]

The Hansen sister murders were solved almost immediately, even before the UM episode aired. The only problem was that the jury was collectively missing a few brain cells in acquitting Donnie. One of the few cases I am 100% sure of someone's guilt in the history of UM.

Funny anecdote, there was a made for TV Chris Watts movie filmed at my old workplace in 2020. I only saw it a couple of years ago: my office area was used as an interrogation room, only to later use the hallway outside my office as a location to escort the shackled Watts to "prison", which was actually a college concrete testing lab. I always joked my windowless office felt like a prison cell without bars but I didn't mean it literally! Chris' "house" was also within a stone's throw of my parents place too.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by Mike82

The Hansen sister murders were solved almost immediately, even before the UM episode aired. The only problem was that the jury was collectively missing a few brain cells in acquitting Donnie. One of the few cases I am 100% sure of someone's guilt in the history of UM.

Funny anecdote, there was a made for TV Chris Watts movie filmed at my old workplace in 2020. I only saw it a couple of years ago: my office area was used as an interrogation room, only to later use the hallway outside my office as a location to escort the shackled Watts to "prison", which was actually a college concrete testing lab. I always joked my windowless office felt like a prison cell without bars but I didn't mean it literally! Chris' "house" was also within a stone's throw of my parents place too.

I would love to watch that, as I have seen the trailer. Just don't know where it is to watch it.

Yeah the Donnie Hansen one for sure seemed like it was open and shut. Would have loved to see some footage on that trial just to see what the heck made the jury think otherwise. The scary thing is, Chris Watts would have had a decent shot at beating everything had he not confessed. I suspect they figure out that Shannan is buried out in that field as Chris didn't do a good job covering it up and it literally did look like something had just been buried there. However, they didn't have any bodies, nor even knew if they were dead. Had Chris never taken a polygraph and denied everything he may have gotten off the hook, you never know. Donnie Hansen did. He would have at least had a shot at it in the trial without the bodies found, which is scary that could have happened.

[TheCars1986]

Most cases featured on UM (Jeffrey MacDonald, Robert Fisher, Brad Bishop) that featured a man murdering his entire family where they were either missing or had superficial wounds were solved very quickly. No acid tripping hippies are going to break into a house and brutally beat and stab to death a woman and two young children and leave the father alive with one bruise and a superficial stab wound to the chest.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Most cases featured on UM (Jeffrey MacDonald, Robert Fisher, Brad Bishop) that featured a man murdering his entire family where they were either missing or had superficial wounds were solved very quickly. No acid tripping hippies are going to break into a house and brutally beat and stab to death a woman and two young children and leave the father alive with one bruise and a superficial stab wound to the chest.

Fisher almost certainly is the culprit here unless there is a wild frame up job they did on him, and I mean a calculating and perfect frame up job. Because he is nowhere to be found, even today.

Bishop I have always leaned on the side that he knew something and not only was his family killed but his character was assassinated to make him look like the killer. And no, his government friend did not see him in Italy.

MacDonald you are probably right. I think he was guilty. However, it took them almost a decade to convict him, and he's never admitted it to this day. Chris Watts fessed up to the whole thing with very little pressure within a couple of days.