Colorado Man Faces Possible Charges for Murdering Wife and Daughters
BLACKWELL: New details this morning about the deaths of a pregnant woman and her daughters in Colorado. Listen to one of these little girls here singing about her father.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daddy is a hero, he helps me grow up strong.</s>PAUL: Her dad, Chris Watts, is the prime suspect and accused of killing his wife Shanann, and daughters, four-years-old Bella and three-years-old Celeste. Watts hasn't been charged, but prosecutors are expected to file charges in the next few days.</s>BLACKWELL: Kaylee Hartung joins us now from Frederick, Colorado. Kaylee, what are we learning from these new court documents?</s>KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Victor, there have been new court documents filed last night by Chris Watts' defense team. And they seem to point to the suggestion of strangulation the cause of death for some of these three victims at least. They are asking that the court allow the defense team or the medical examiner to take DNA samples, specifically from the neck and the hands of the little girls. They also want DNA collected from the mother, Shanann. They would like that DNA taken from under her fingernails and from her hands. The defense team doesn't say why they want these samples taken, and it's unclear if the court will allow it, but they have cited a DNA expert in these filings. That DNA expert saying he has a lot of experience taking samples from dead bodies and getting good results after strangulation. That's where that word is coming from, inside those court documents. The autopsies at this point have been completed. But the cause of death has not been shared by authorities. Court proceedings otherwise, and all court documentation has been sealed. We're expecting Chris watts in court Tuesday. He is formally charged on Monday, and that's when we could get more answers to many of the questions that we're still asking here. All of this new information and the tragedy on the whole is so difficult for this community and authorities to process.</s>JOHN CAMPER, DIRECTOR, COLORADO BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS: This is absolutely the worst possible outcome that any of us could imagine. And I think our hearts are broken for the town of Frederick as much as anybody's.</s>HARTUNG: That the director of the Colorado bureau of investigation, one of the many agencies involved in this investigation. And he speaks to a sentiment of this community, of Frederick, Colorado, a small community that came together last night to mourn the loss of Shanann, her daughters Bella and Celeste, but also to show their support for one another in this incredibly difficult time. This street last night was filled with those mourners, this vigil behind me growing all the way up the steps to the Watts home. And last night, Victor and Christi, Shanann's parents were able to join this gathering by facetime.</s>PAUL: OK, I have to ask, are we hearing any indication about a possible motive here, because this is something people -- we just can't wrap our heads around this.</s>HARTUNG: It's the question why. It's the question everyone is asking, whether it be us or the members of this community. I spoke with one woman last night who said she had to have that tough conversation with her 10-year-old son, because she didn't want him to feel afraid in their neighborhood. And when you go back to the question of why, what could have possibly motivated Chris Watts to take this action, authorities are not pointing to any answers there. Like I mentioned, the court documents up to this point have been sealed, all of the prosecution's documentation sealed, and he has not yet been formally charged. But when he goes to court on Tuesday, as we expect him to do after he is formally charged Monday, there is a chance that those affidavits could be unsealed and we will learn more. But until then, that's the question, why.</s>BLACKWELL: It certainly is. Kaylee Hartung for us there in Frederick, Colorado. Thank you.</s>PAUL: We have some new information for you regarding Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul's funeral. It's going to be held August 31st at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit. Public viewings are going to be held August 28th and 29th at the Charles Wright Museum of African-American History, which is also in Detroit.</s>BLACKWELL: And you saw it, maybe you sent out a message. The fans flooding social media with tributes to Aretha Franklin, including a statement from former President Obama. Here is part of it. "For more than six decades since, every time she sang we were graced with a glimpse of the divine. Through her compositions and unmatched musicianship, Aretha helped define the American experience." Aretha Franklin died Thursday from advanced pancreatic cancer. She was 76- years-old.</s>PAUL: ICE agents arrested a man on his way to the hospital. He was with his wife who was going to give birth to their son. So she had to drive herself the rest of the way.</s>BLACKWELL: Plus, a man flies a plane into his own home with his wife and son inside.