A judge in Weld County has sentenced Christopher Watts to three life terms in the murder of his pregnant wife and their two daughters.
Watts, 33, pleaded guilty to the murders of his wife, Shanann, and his daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, as well as a charge of unlawfully terminating a pregnancy.
District Attorney Michael Rourke said Watts did not commit the murders in a fit of rage. He said the killings were calculated and Watts had planned to start a new life with a woman he had been seeing for a couple of months.
Watts stangled his wife to death and smothered the children. He pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.
Judge Marcelo Kopcow said the only appropriate sentence was the maximum he could pronounce.