Convicted murderer Chris Watts has filed a formal marriage application behind bars. This ignited widespread public fury nearly eight years after he killed his pregnant wife and two young daughters.
The 39-year-old inmate is currently serving five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Watts has applied for permission to marry an Ohio estate agent named Lizzie Henderson.
Official court records confirm that Henderson has already filed legal paperwork in Ohio to officially adopt Watts' surname ahead of any formal prison ceremony.
An Outrage Across Social Media
The development has provoked intense moral outrage across social media. Thousands of users expressed disbelief that a man convicted of such horrific crimes could be granted the privilege of marriage.
Critics have condemned the relationship as a ghastly display of disrespect towards the memory of his victims. They questioned how a woman could willingly align herself with one of the most notorious family killers in modern American history.
One social media commenter asked: 'Why do people get into relationships with murderers. Tf!'
Another tried to explain the situation: 'There is a theory that certain women are attracted to these men because of abandonment issues. If he's in prison, you know where he is. He can't lie about his location. He can't be physically intimate with another woman.'
Watts gained international infamy in August 2018 following the brutal murders of his 34-year-old pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in Frederick, Colorado.
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A Chilling Crime That Shook the World
After initially giving televised interviews pleading for his missing family's safe return, Watts eventually confessed to smothering his daughters and strangling Shanann. His ex-wife was 15 weeks pregnant with their unborn son, Nico.
He hid their remains at an oil storage facility owned by his then-employer. Watts placed his daughters' bodies inside crude oil tanks and buried Shanann in a shallow grave nearby.
To avoid the death penalty, Watts pleaded guilty in November 2018 to multiple counts of first-degree murder.
He was transferred from Colorado to Dodge Correctional Institution, a maximum-security facility in Waupun, Wisconsin, due to severe security concerns surrounding his safety.
Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome
Despite his lifelong incarceration, Watts has regularly received correspondence from female admirers. This is a psychological phenomenon often referred to by experts as hybristophilia, or 'Bonnie and Clyde syndrome.'
Henderson, who reportedly established contact with Watts through prison correspondence after he claimed to have become a born-again Christian, eventually relocated state lines to pursue the relationship. Addressing public criticism surrounding her choices, Henderson stated that her connection with the convicted killer remains a matter solely 'between me, him, and God.
Can Watts Get Married Behind Bars?
Under United States law, prison inmates keep a constitutional right to marry following the landmark 1987 Supreme Court ruling in Turner v. Safley. However, correctional authorities keep strict oversight about the logistics of institutional weddings.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections requires prison wardens to check and approve all inmate marriage requests, assessing potential security risks, background checks, and administrative protocols.
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Furthermore, state regulations dictate that any approved ceremony inside a maximum-security facility will be severely restricted.
Wisconsin prison policies explicitly forbid conjugal visits for all incarcerated individuals regardless of marital status. Any nuptial service would be limited to a brief administrative proceeding inside the facility, with physical contact between the couple strictly limited to short, supervised embraces at the beginning and conclusion of visitation periods.
Representatives for Shanann Watts' family have not released an official statement about the marriage filing, though public advocacy groups for victims of domestic abuse continue to voice strong condemnation over the ongoing public attention afforded to the inmate.
