Chris Watts missed the court’s deadline to file a response to the lawsuit, which was filed by Shan’ann’s parents, Sandra and Frank Rzucek, the same day he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and their two children, Bella and Celeste.
Chris Watts will not fight the wrongful death suit filed against him by the family of his wife, Shan’ann Watts, the family’s attorney said.
Chris missed the court’s deadline to file a response to the lawsuit, which was filed by Shan’ann’s parents, Sandra and Frank Rzucek, Steven Lambert, an attorney with Greeley’s Grant & Hoffman Law Firm, told The Denver Post.
The suit is intended to make sure any profits from the home owned by Chris and Shan’ann go to the Rzucek family. It will also ensure that Watts would not profit if he writes a book or sell the rights to his story, Lambert told the newspaper.
It was filed Nov. 19, the same day that Watts was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the August murders of Shan’ann and their two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste.
“We have talked to him and he admitted to us as well that there was a felonious killing,” Lambert told the Post. “Based on our conversations with him, he is not fighting this.”
The Rzuceks filed a motion last week for default judgment, which can be awarded if the defendant does not respond to a suit. The judge in the case is expected to make a decision on the motion in the coming weeks.
Last Tuesday, the Rzuceks were granted their request for exemplary damages, which means that any monetary damages they are awarded will be multiplied. In Colorado, a multiplier can be applied if the defendant named in the lawsuit acted intentionally and maliciously.
The Watts home, which is in foreclosure, will be put up for auction April 17.
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