The woman who was having an affair with convicted murderer Chris Watts when he killed his pregnant wife and two daughters has reportedly applied to change her name.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Nichol Kessinger and Chris Watts began an affair in the spring or summer of 2018, months before Watts killed wife Shanann and their two young daughters, Bella and Celeste. Kessinger came forward to police shorty after Shanann and her daughters went missing, claiming in police interviews that she was concerned for the family members after learning that Shanann was pregnant – something she said Watts never disclosed.
Kessinger told police that she knew Watts was still married, but believed he and his wife were headed for certain divorce. After initially denying he hurt his family, and changing his story multiple times, Watts ultimately pleaded guilty to the murders and is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.
CrimeOnline previously obtained documents appearing to show that Kessinger had performed internet searches of both Chris Watts and Shanann Watts names several months before she told police she met Chris at work. The Weld County District Attorney could not explain the apparent inconsistency and said authorities did not believe that anyone else was involved in the killings. The district attorney confirmed that Chris Watts’ confession effectively ended the murder investigation.
August 4: While CW is away, NK searches for wedding dresses on the internet for over 2hrs, according to a review of her cellphone data. #ChrisWatts #ShanannWatts #NicholKessinger #AmericanMurderTheFamilyNextDoor pic.twitter.com/mn4kypFt1X
— chriswattscase (@chriswattscase) October 10, 2020
Since giving an interview to the Denver Post in late 2018, Nichol Kessinger has been entirely out of public view, leading to rumors and speculation that she might be living under a new identity. On Friday, Daily Mail reported that Kessinger had applied to change her name in Jefferson County, Colorado, which neighbors Weld County, where the Watts family lived and where Chris Watts killed his wife and children.
According to the Daily Mail report, Kessinger filed an application on October 1 and was due in court on Thursday, October 15.
CrimeOnline has not independently verified the authenticity of the documents obtained by Daily Mail. We will provide further confirmation when more information is available.
As the report notes, Kessinger’s reported name change application closely coincided with the release of a popular Netflix documentary about the Watts case, “American Murder, The Family Next Door.”
Read more of CrimeOnline’s coverage about the Chris Watts murders here.
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