Chris Watts in prison relationship with Ohio woman who relocated to Wisconsin to be closer to his prison, family confirms
Chris Watts, the Colorado man serving five life sentences for murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters in 2018, has reportedly applied to marry a woman he met while incarcerated.
According to the Daily Mail, Watts, 41, is in a relationship with Lizzie Henderson, a 39-year-old realtor who relocated from Ohio to Wisconsin to be closer to him at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun.
Henderson’s family told the outlet that the couple had submitted a marriage request through the prison system and that she had already begun using the name “Lizzie Watts.”
Photographs obtained by the outlet showed Henderson wearing what appeared to be wedding rings and sealed court records revealed she filed an application to legally change her name on September 12, 2025.
Prison visitation records indicated that Henderson had visited Watts 20 times over the previous year and spent Christmas Day with him in 2024.
Henderson confirmed the relationship when contacted by phone, acknowledging it could be perceived as “weird.” When asked how it began, she said, “How things began is between me, him and God.”
When asked directly about Watts’ crimes, she replied, “How I feel about it? He knows. He knows how I feel,” adding, “I don’t know all the people involved but I would want to respect them.”
Henderson described the murders as “something harsh for anyone to experience.”
An eyewitness identified as Lisa Johnson told the outlet she witnessed the couple during a visit in August 2025, one day after the seventh anniversary of the killings. Johnson said she recognized Watts immediately after having watched the 2020 Netflix documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door.
She described Henderson as appearing “googly-eyed” around Watts and said he held a Bible during the visit.
She described Henderson as “googly-eyed” and eager to pose for a photo with him and said Watts held a Bible throughout the encounter. According to Johnson, the pair embraced and kissed during the brief period inmates at the maximum-security facility are permitted physical contact.
Johnson said she heard Watts tell Henderson, “I’ll see you next time,” to which Henderson responded, “I can’t wait to see you again. I love you.”
Watts was convicted of killing his wife, Shanann Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant and their daughters, Bella, 4 and Celeste, 3.
On August 13, 2018, Watts strangled Shanann at their home in Frederick, Colorado. He then drove to the Anadarko Petroleum oil field where he worked, taking his daughters and Shanann’s body with him.
He later admitted to killing Bella and Celeste by smothering them before disposing of the bodies at the oil field.
Watts initially attempted to blame Shanann for the children’s deaths before eventually confessing. He later told investigators the killings were tied to his desire to start a new life with Nichol Kessinger, a coworker with whom he had been having an affair in the weeks leading up to the murders.
Henderson is not the first woman Watts has been linked to since his conviction. He has maintained correspondence with several female pen pals while in prison and a woman identified as Amanda McMahon has previously spoken publicly about an alleged affair with Watts in 2017 and early 2018.