Netflix's newest true crime documentary is a disturbing watch. American Murder: The Family Next Door tells the harrowing story of the 2018 murder of 34-year-old Shanann Watts and her two young daughters—Bella, four, and Celeste, three—at the hands of their husband and father, Chris Watts.
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The show recaps what happened in the lead up to the killings; how Chris was having an affair, and then lied to police and the media about his family's "disappearance", insisting he believed his wife had left him. It didn't take long for the grim truth to come out, however. Watts eventually confessed in police custody after badly failing a polygraph test, and later pleaded guilty to the murders in court.
But aside from all that, there's one aspect to this awful case that isn't really covered in any depth in the 80-minute documentary: The couple's finances. As was detailed by local media at the time of the murders, Shanann and Chris had previously filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after racking up credit card debt, student loan repayments and outstanding medical bills. Court documents indicate that Chris had been the primary earner in the run up to their financial woes, bringing in about $61,500 (around P2.9 million) per year, while Shanann had been making an hourly rate working in a call center at a children's hospital.