Chris Watts’ Parents Allegedly Tried To Collect $450,000 Insurance Payout After Shanann’s Murder

Chris Watts’ Parents Allegedly Tried To Collect $450,000 Insurance Payout After Shanann’s Murder

It’s no secret that Chris Watts’ parents weren’t fans of their son’s choice of wife. It was pretty clear that they never liked Shanann Watts and believed she wasn’t good enough for their son, but there’s a major difference between not liking someone and using their death to try and collect a major payout. However, according to Thought Catalog, Cindy and Ronnie Watts tried to cash in on nearly $475,000 in life insurance policies following the murder.

  1. Chris Watts had the insurance policy through his job. The policy, which was due to pay out in the event of an untimely death, included $300,000 for Shanann and $75,000 each for his daughters. While the payout rules exclude suicide or murder, that didn’t stop Cindy and Ronnie from allegedly trying to get their hands on the money, OK magazine reports.
  2. So far, the money has been left untouched. Chris Watts is said to have left the cash in Shanann’s estate, but given that Shanann and her children are all dead, both Chris’s parents and Shanann’s went to court over the cash. It ultimately is said to have gone to lawyers to distribute, but where exactly the cash went has not been made public.
  3. This makes the whole thing even sadder. Considering that money only exists because their son killed his entire family, the fact that the first thing apparently on the minds of Ronnie and Cindy Watts is getting a payout is downright disgusting. They have zero claim to this money in the best of circumstances, and the truth is that the money shouldn’t even exist and Shanann and her children should still be alive.
  4. This is a reminder of just how messed up this case is. Many people have speculated that Chris Watts initially took out the life insurance policies so that he could use the cash to start a new life with his mistress. While there’s no hard proof that this is the case, it’s not hard to imagine it being true.
Piper Ryan is a NYC-based writer and matchmaker who works to bring millennials who are sick of dating apps and the bar scene together in an organic and efficient way. To date, she's paired up more than 120 couples, many of whom have gone on to get married. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Cut, and many more.

In addition to runnnig her own business, Piper is passionate about charity work, advocating for vulnerable women and children in her local area and across the country. She is currently working on her first book, a non-fiction collection of stories focusing on female empowerment.
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