Pen Pal Reveals Chris Watts' 'Twisted' Sexual Obsession Behind Family Murders

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A pen pal of convicted killer Chris Watts has claimed he confided that he murdered his pregnant wife and two young daughters in 2018 due to a 'very sexual, very twisted' obsession with his mistress, Nichol Kessinger. Cheryln Cadle, a 72-year-old true crime author, says Watts repeatedly told her he 'couldn't get enough' of Kessinger and that his relationship with her was 'deeply unhealthy' and involved 'dark' sexual acts his wife would not engage in. Cadle says Watts directly tied his decision to kill to his relationship with Kessinger, writing 'If I had not met Nikki, I would never have killed my family.'

Why it matters

This case highlights the disturbing role that sexual obsession and infidelity can play in driving someone to commit horrific acts of violence. Watts' crimes shocked the nation, and Cadle's revelations provide further insight into the twisted psychological factors that may have contributed to the family's tragic murders.

The details

According to Cadle, Watts was enthralled by the nude photographs Kessinger allegedly sent him and by what were described only as 'dark' sexual acts that he said his wife would not engage in. Cadle suggested he might have had 'some sort of fetish' that drove him to share explicit details with her. In one of Watts' letters to Cadle, he directly tied his decision to kill to his relationship with Kessinger, writing 'If I had not met Nikki, I would never have killed my family. All I could feel was now I was free to be with Nikki. Feelings of my love for her was overcoming me. I felt no remorse.'

• Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife Shanann and their two daughters Bella and Celeste in August 2018.
• Cadle began corresponding with Watts in February 2019, about six months after the murders, when he was already serving his sentence at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.

What they’re saying