Disturbing reason why Chris Watts keeps photos of his murdered wife and daughters in his prison cell

Chris Watts is serving multiple consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2018 murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters.

The 40-year-old, who remains incarcerated at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, confessed to smothering his daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three, in the backseat of his truck after strangling his wife Shanann, 34, in August 2018.

Watts said he and Shanann were arguing at their home in Colorado about his extramarital affair with co-worker Nichol Kessinger.

After telling her that he wanted a separation, Shanann allegedly threatened that he would never see their children again, prompting Watts to strangle her in a rage.

Watts received five life sentences without the possibility of parole in November 2018 after pleading guilty to nine criminal charges, including five counts of first-degree murder and one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy.

Chris Watts keeps photos of his murdered wife and daughters in his prison cell

Christ Watts was jailed for life for murdering his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two daughters in 2018 (Facebook)

During a February 2019 interview with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Watts revealed that he keeps photos Shanann, Bella and Celeste on his cell wall.

He said he reads a book to his daughters every night and that 'every time he sees pictures of Bella and Celeste, he doesn’t understand how it all could have happened', according to a CBI report obtained by PEOPLE.

Watts said he 'snapped' and 'right now, I’d have a five-year-old, a three-year-old, and more than likely, a one-month old son and a beautiful wife, and right now it’s just me'.

But why?

Watts murdered his two daughters, Bella, four, and Celeste, three, by strangulation (Facebook)

"There are lots of reasons why a prototypical killer would keep photographs or other mementos of his killing after the fact, such as a means of re-living the event and gaining gratification and enjoyment from it," Dr Dean Fido, an Associate Professor of Forensic Psychology at the University of Derby, UK, tells LADbible.

"However, this doesn’t seem to be the case for Watts, who has repeatedly indicated remorse for his actions, and who has suggested he was not in control at the time."

Dr Fido thinks Watts might be using the images 'as a means of holding some semblance of normality within his life'.

"Consider it a crutch that allows him to more easily picture himself at a more positive time, which, at the same time, might prevent him from engaging in dialogue with professionals that would allow him to fully accept and repent for his actions," he added.

The possibility of narcissism and denial

Watts was having an affair with his coworker Nichol Kessinger (RJ Sangosti - Pool/Getty Images)

Although Dr Fido can't rule out Watts having 'narcissistic, sadistic, or psychopathic tendencies' for keeping the photos in his cell, he admits there is 'very little information available for me to support such assumptions'.

"What is available, however, does indicate regret," Dr Fido says.

"We know that individuals within the criminal justice system, whether convicted or not, can – though not always – use their behaviours to implicitly minimise their behaviour and to gain favour.

"In this example, the keeping of photographs of his family might be Watts signalling to others that he isn’t as big of a threat as he might seen, and is making genuine change.

"Only practitioner psychologists working with him will be able to ascertain whether this behaviour change is a true reflection or not."

Why Watts killed his own family

Watts received five life sentences without the possibility of parole in November 2018 (CBI)

While Watts' motivation behind the murders remains unclear, Dr Fido also points out that 'violence can be motivated through one or more deficiencies in one's biology', including:

• Less proficiently developed brain regions that help attenuate impulsive and reactionary behaviour
• Development - social interactions during their upbringing which shape their behaviour
• Cognition - how they rationalise and understand effective means of conflict resolution.

"We also know that one might be more prone to violence when they lack protective factors in their lives, which – ironically – include having close family ties; making this case particularly interesting," Dr Fido adds.