Defense Lawyer Denied DNA Request

As Chris Watts, accused of killing his wife and two children, sits in protective custody and is awaiting charges sometime today, his defense attorney was denied a DNA request by a Colorado judge on Friday. According to the Coloradoan, Watts defense lawyer, James Merson, requested the coroner to collect DNA from the necks of the two girls who were found submerged in crude oil for four days and may have been strangled. The official cause of death for Shanaan Watts and her daughters, Bella and Celeste, have not been made public at this time.

According to KMGH-TV and the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, the judge who denied the request said in an order on Friday that "he would not tell the medical examiner's office involved in the case how to do its job."

Over the weekend, a candle-light vigil was held in front of the Watts home in Frederick. A memorial has also begun with stuffed animals, flowers, balloons, and messages in front of the residence.

According to the Coloradoan, Shanaan, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was planning a gender reveal party this past Saturday.