A Colorado man has been charged with the deaths of his pregnant wife and their daughters last week.
Chris Watts, 33, is facing three counts of first-degree murder and six other counts.
Court papers show he claims it was Shanann Watts, 34, who strangled Celeste, three, and Bella, four, after he told her he wanted to separate.
He told police that “in a rage” he then murdered his wife at their home in the small town of Frederick.
Mr. Watts is due in court on Tuesday to be arraigned.
His nine felony charges include two counts of murdering a child, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.
Mrs. Watts’ body was found by authorities on Thursday, buried in a shallow grave near an oil tank on the premises of a petroleum company that her husband had worked for.
The bodies of Bella and Celeste were later discovered inside oil tanks near their mother’s grave.
Mrs. Watts was 15 weeks’ pregnant.
According to the affidavit, investigators discovered that Mr. Watts was having an affair with a work colleague, which he had denied to police.
The court papers say that a friend dropped off Mrs. Watts at her home from a business trip to Arizona last Monday shortly before 02:00.
Mr. Watts said to police that he then told his wife that he wanted to split up.
He “informed her he wanted to initiate the separation,” according to the affidavit.
Mr. Watts told police “it was a civil conversation and they were not arguing but were emotional.”
According to the affidavit, Mr. Watts told police he then snapped after he “observed Bella ‘sprawled’ out on her bed and blue and Shanann actively strangling Celeste.”
He said he witnessed the alleged strangulation via a baby monitor on his wife’s bedside table, the court documents said.
He said “he went into a rage and ultimately strangled Shanann to death,” the affidavit says.
“Chris said he loaded all three bodies onto the back seat of his work truck and took them to an oil site.”
A friend raised the alarm when Mrs. Watts did not turn up for a 10:00 doctor’s appointment on Monday.
The friend discovered Mrs. Watts’ vehicle in the garage with the children’s car seats inside, according to court papers.
She phoned Mr. Watts and asked him to come home because she was concerned that Mrs. Watts – who suffered from lupus, an autoimmune disease – might have fallen ill.
Mr. Watts arrived to find the police already at the property.
He let them into the home where officers found Mrs. Watts’ handbag in the kitchen.
The sheets and blankets had been stripped off the couple’s bed, but police noted there were no signs of foul play.
Last Wednesday, Mr. Watts appealed on local television for the safe return of his family after they were reported missing.
He told reporters: “I’m just hoping right now that she’s somewhere safe. I just want them home so bad.”
Family and friends have been left stunned by the killings.
Eleven hikers killed in flash flooding in southern Italy
At least 11 hikers have been killed and others are missing after flash flooding in southern Italy.
They were walking in a gorge in a national park in the Calabria region when they were hit by a torrent swollen by heavy rain.
Eighteen others were rescued, including a 10-year-old boy, the regional head of civil protection told Italian TV. Six people have been taken to hospital.
Local officials say the exact number of those unaccounted for is unclear.
Spotlights were brought in as the search in the Pollino National Park carried on through the night.
Carlo Tansi, head of civil protection, told reporters that when the hikers were hit by the water they were “catapulted out like bullets” and were washed down the valley for about 3km (two miles).
“The Raganello Gorge is narrow and tall, it can get up to 1km (3,200ft) high,” he said. “The gorge filled up with water in a really short time.”
Eugenio Facciolla, chief prosecutor of the provincial capital Cosenza, said rescuers were trying to spot small patches of shore or tiny islands where survivors may have ended up.
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The nationalities of the hikers were not immediately known, although the Corriere della Sera newspaper said one of the injured was Dutch and had suffered a broken pelvis.
Malcolm Turnbull: Australian PM survives leadership challenge
SOURCE: BBC.com
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has appealed for unity after surviving a challenge to his leadership from a senior government colleague.
Mr. Turnbull had called the surprise vote himself in a bid to resolve speculation that his leadership was under threat.
In a party room ballot in Canberra on Tuesday, he defeated Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
The prime minister won the vote 48-35, Liberal Party MPs said.
Following the result, he told colleagues: “It’s really important that we put our differences behind us and get on with the job of looking after Australians.”
Speculation over Mr. Turnbull’s future as party leader had escalated in the past few days.
He faced a revolt from conservative MPs over a key climate change policy. That led to him abandoning the plans on Monday in an attempt to blunt conflict within his government.
The PM has also been under long-term pressure due to a series of bad polls and a by-election loss in Queensland.
Polling has suggested the government will suffer a heavy loss in the next general election, which will be held before May next year.
In a bid to clear the air, Mr. Turnbull called for a snap vote on the leadership in a party meeting.
Mr. Dutton, a leading figure from the party’s conservative wing, was nominated as challenger, confirming media reports that he had been gathering support.
Mr. Turnbull said he had invited him to remain in his role, but Mr. Dutton resigned his cabinet position and will return to the back bench.
Mr. Turnbull said he did not “bear any grudge against Peter Dutton”.
“My job is to do everything we can to make sure we are united and work together,” he said.
“That is why it is very important that today the Liberal Party room has confirmed our leadership of the party.”
Mr. Dutton said he accepted the result and would support Mr. Turnbull, but did not rule out making another challenge.
“I want to make sure that I can support the party and make sure we win the next election,” he told reporters.
Deputy leader Julie Bishop said the result showed an “overwhelming vote of support” for the sitting leader.
Australian politics over the past decade has been marked by a series of leadership coups, with three sitting prime ministers deposed by party rivals.
Not a single leader in recent times has succeeded in serving a full three-year term as prime minister.
Under the Australian system, as in the UK, the prime minister is not directly elected by voters but is the leader of the party or coalition that can command a majority in parliament.
Mr. Turnbull himself became prime minister in 2015 after ousting Tony Abbott in a leadership challenge.
The preceding Labour government also saw two prime ministers, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, oust each other in turn.
