45: The “Other” Craigslist killer & the Watts Family Murders

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When Nicole Atkinson dropped her friend Shanann Watts off at home early one morning, everything seemed fine. But the next day, Shanann didn’t answer any of Nicole’s texts. Then Shanann missed her 10 a.m. doctor’s appointment. Nicole called Shanann’s husband, Chris, but he seemed kind of dismissive. That didn’t set well with Nicole. So she called the police.

Then Kristin wraps things up with a murdering con man. In the post-recession era, Richard Beasley dreamt up a near-perfect con — one that preyed on men who were down on their luck. He posted a job on Craigslist that promised $300 a week and a two-bedroom trailer — all in exchange for watching over a 688-acre ranch. Applications poured in. But there was no job. Richard’s Craigslist ad was his twisted way of luring unsuspecting men to Ohio.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“Murder by Craigslist,” by Hanna Rosin for The Atlantic
“’Craigslist’ killer Richard Beasley sentenced to death,” Cleveland.com
“Death sentence for Craigslist killer upheld by Ohio Supreme Court,” Cleveland.com
“The Craigslist Killer: Richard Beasley” episode of Monster in my Family

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“A Secret Mistress Comes Clean & a Suspicious Bed Sheet Spotted from the Sky: How Chris Watts Was Caught” by Adam Carlson, People Magazine
“Murder Suspect Husband Gave TV Interviews, Before His Arrest, Outside House Where Wife & Kids Likely Died” by Adam Carlson, People Magazine
“Chris Watts case: What we learned from unsealed affidavit” by Madison Park, CNN
“Timeline: Key dates in investigation of deaths of Shanann Watts, 2 daughters in Colorado” by Sady Swanson, Fort Collins Coloradoan
“Court documents: Watts children found in oil well, may have been strangled” by Coloradoan Staff, Fort Collins Coloradoan
“Chris Watts sentenced to five life terms without parole for killing pregnant wife, two daughters” by Blair Miller, Denver 7 News