Police find bodies of pregnant mum and her two children after husband confesses to murder

A MAN has fronted court after allegedly leading investigators to the graves of his pregnant wife and two young daughters.

The bodies of Ms Watts and her children are believed to have been found on the property where Mr Watts used to work.

UPDATE: Investigators who found the body of a pregnant Colorado woman reported missing this week have discovered what they believe are the bodies of her two young daughters.

Searchers found what appear to be the bodies of 4-year-old Bella Watts and 3-year-old Celeste Watts.

The remains of their mother, 34-year-old Shanann Watts, were found earlier on property in northern Colorado owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

The father, 33-year-old Christopher Watts, is being held without bail on suspicion of killing his wife and daughters.

He faces three counts of murder and additional charges relating to tampering with police evidence and is expected to be formally charged on Monday.

Investigators have not said how the three died.

Chris Watts (left) glances back at a Weld County Sheriff's Deputy following a brief appearance at Weld County Courthouse after allegedly leading police to the bodies of his pregnant wife and their two young daughters. Picture: Joshua Polson/The Greeley Tribune via AP

Ms Watts and the couple’s daughters were reported missing last Monday, and the FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in the United States, began a desperate search for them.

Ms Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and her children were declared “endangered and missing” on Tuesday.

Late Wednesday night, police in Frederick, Colorado detained Watts after he allegedly confessed to killing his wife and daughters, CBS Denver reported.

There are reports that Watts had agreed to lead detectives to the bodies of his wife and two children.

Heartbreaking news to share. CBS4 confirms the family of Shanann Watts has been notified by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation that Chris Watts confessed to officers that he killed his wife and their two little girls. https://t.co/Y0Me7UwjGd

— Tim Wieland (@CBS4Tim) August 16, 2018

Frederick Police told a news conference earlier Wednesday that officers went to check up on Ms Watts and their girls in their home around 1pm on Monday, after a concerned friend said she hadn’t heard from Ms Watts.

The friend said she had dropped off Ms Watts at home about 2am Monday when they got home from a work trip. She saw her go inside, Fox 31 reported.

According to the woman, they were due to meet later in the day, but Ms Watts didn’t answer her phone.

“I called her and texted her several times,” Ms Watts’ friend said. “I knew she had a doctor’s appointment that morning because she’s pregnant. She didn’t show up for it … and I was even more concerned.”

By Tuesday afternoon, the CBI issued an endangered missing alert for all three.

Mr Watts told NBC’s Today show on Wednesday morning he was living a “nightmare.”

He said the last time he saw his family was early Monday morning before leaving for work.

The married father of three said he and Ms Watts had an emotional conversation that morning, but he would not go into further detail.

Shanann Watts with one of her daughters. Source: Facebook

Final conversation: Chris Watts said he last saw Shanann early on Monday morning. Source: Facebook

He said his wife informed him she was planning to go with their girls to a friend’s house.

Mr Watts said he called his wife throughout the morning and sent her several text messages but received no response, which struck him as unusual, the Daily Mail Australia reported.

Then around noon, he said he saw via their doorbell camera that a friend stopped by, but no one came to the door.

“When I got home yesterday, it was like a ghost town,” he said. “I was trying to get home as fast as I can, I was blowing through stop lights, I was blowing through everything just trying to get home as fast as I can because none of this made sense.”

FBI and local law enforcement in Colorado began searching for Ms Watts, 34, and her two daughters Bella (L) and Celeste (R) earlier this week. Source: Instagram

Ms Watts captioned this photo posted on her Instagram page on March 12: ‘My world and heart all wrapped up in this photo!’

He added: “I don’t feel like this is even real right now. It’s like a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”

It prompted him to file a missing persons report with the police at 1.40pm.

Frederick Police Department Detective Dave Baumhover said the Watts’ home showed no signs of foul play and he added there was nothing to suggest Mr Watts had mental health problems.

Chris has been arrested after his wife and two children went missing. Source: Facebook

The 15-weeks pregnant mum was a brand promoter for the company Le-Vel, which makes the Thrive weight loss patches.

Friends of Ms Watts have taken to her Facebook page sharing messages of condolences via recent posts which include photos of her two children.