Nearly eight years after murdering his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, Chris Watts is reportedly trying to marry again — this time while serving multiple life sentences in prison.

Watts, 41, has reportedly applied through the Wisconsin prison system to marry Lizzie Henderson, a 39-year-old real estate agent from Cleveland who developed a relationship with him while he was incarcerated. Henderson has also taken steps toward changing her last name to Watts, according to court records showing that a woman by that name filed a confidential name-change application.

The reported marriage plans mark a startling new chapter in a case that became internationally known after Watts killed Shanann Watts and their daughters, Bella and Celeste, in Colorado in August 2018.

Henderson Reportedly Moved to Wisconsin to Be Near Him

Henderson reportedly relocated from Ohio to Wisconsin, where Watts is imprisoned at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun.

She has since become a regular visitor at the maximum-security facility, according to the report.

Henderson herself confirmed that she and Watts are in a relationship, although she declined to explain exactly how their connection began.

She acknowledged that outsiders might consider the relationship unusual, but said the circumstances that brought them together were something she considered private between herself, Watts and God.

Her relatives reportedly said the couple has now applied for permission to marry within the prison system.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections had been contacted for information about the reported application.

Court Records Show a Confidential Name-Change Filing

Another development appears to show how seriously Henderson is treating the relationship.

Court records confirm that a Lizzie Henderson filed an application for a confidential legal name change. Because the case is sealed, the details of the request are not publicly available.

Her relatives, however, said she has already begun referring to herself as “Lizzie Watts.”

The potential marriage comes against the backdrop of one of the most notorious American family murder cases of the past decade.

Watts is not serving a sentence with any realistic expectation of eventually returning to ordinary married life outside prison.

He received five life sentences without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to killing his family.

The 2018 Murders Destroyed the Watts Family

On Aug. 13, 2018, Watts killed Shanann, who was pregnant at the time, inside the family’s Colorado home.

He then transported her body to an oil-company work site where he was employed.

Watts also killed their daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. He later pleaded guilty to their murders and was sentenced in November 2018.

Investigators said Watts was involved in an affair with a coworker who believed he was already separated from his wife.

In the days leading up to her death, Shanann had confided in a friend about growing problems in the marriage. She was concerned about their relationship, but there was no indication that she believed her husband was preparing to kill her.

The killings drew enormous public attention, particularly after Watts initially appeared publicly as a worried husband and father before the truth emerged.

His case later became the subject of the 2020 Netflix documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door, introducing the story to another massive audience.

Henderson Says Watts Knows How She Feels About His Crimes

Henderson has been asked directly how she reconciles her relationship with Watts with the murders for which he is imprisoned.

She did not offer a detailed explanation.

Instead, she said Watts already knows how she feels about what he did and indicated that she wanted to remain respectful toward those affected by the killings.

She characterized the murders as something profoundly difficult for everyone involved.

Her comments leave many aspects of the relationship private, including exactly when and how she first began communicating with Watts.

But Watts receiving attention from women outside prison is not a new development.

Watts Has Corresponded With Women for Years

By 2020, Watts was already exchanging letters with multiple women from prison.

A person who had communicated with him while he was incarcerated said that Watts received large amounts of correspondence, including letters from women who found him attractive or felt sympathy for him.

With little else occupying his time, he began answering some of them and developed ongoing pen-pal relationships.

Interest reportedly increased after the release of the Netflix documentary.

By 2022, some of Watts’ correspondence had become more suggestive. A source said women sent him provocative photographs and that he responded to their letters.

The source described those outside relationships as especially significant to Watts because his circumstances inside prison are highly restricted. He has been housed in protective custody and does not enjoy popularity among the wider prison population.

Prisoners are permitted to correspond with people outside the institution as long as the exchanges do not create safety concerns. Pornographic material is prohibited, though suggestive photographs are not necessarily barred.

A Possible Wedding Would Come Eight Years After the Killings

The reported effort to marry Henderson adds another complicated chapter to Watts’ life behind bars.

For Henderson, the relationship has apparently become serious enough to inspire a move across state lines, frequent prison visits and a legal name-change filing.

For Watts, it represents a potential second marriage despite the fact that his first ended in the murders of his wife and children.

Yet whatever happens with the reported application will not alter the sentence that defines his future.

Watts remains imprisoned for life with no possibility of parole.

That makes the contrast surrounding the reported marriage plans particularly stark.

In 2018, Shanann Watts and her daughters Bella and Celeste lost their lives at the hands of the husband and father who was supposed to protect them.

Eight years later, the man convicted of killing them is reportedly preparing to take wedding vows again — this time from inside a maximum-security prison.