Justice for suffering family of murdered pregnant mom and her children (2024)

Who I am?

My name is Frankie Rzucek. On 13 August 2018, my only sister, Shanann Watts along with her two daughters Bella Marie and Celeste, aged 4 and 3, and unborn son Nico, were brutally murdered by her husband (and their father) Chris Watts.

Following several days of attempting to conceal the murders and manipulating the police, Watts eventually confessed to murdering my family, by suffocating them and dumping their bodies into oil tanks. A heartless and cruel act he committed because he had a lover and sought to start a new life.

My sister, nor my beautiful nieces and soon to be nephew did not deserve the tragic fate that was met before them. My sister was an inspiration to many, she was a strong, selfless woman who worked hard for her family and adored her children in every possible way. Whilst my nieces with their precious smiles and kind little hearts had their whole lives ahead of them.

It is nearly impossible to describe the devastation of my family, particularly my parents who have lost their only daughter and grandchildren to a psychotic murderer.

Each day that passes by, my mother, my father and I mourn the death of our beloved family and pray that their souls rest ever so peacefully.

Why am I raising funds?

Following the murder of my sister and her children in 2018, my family and I have been attacked on social media by online trolls from all over the world. These online trolls are sending us floods of threatening, bullying and abusive messages, many of which in a sick way blame my sister for her own murder, and suggest my family and I have taken bribes to conceal parts of the murder investigation, in an attempt to free the actual culprits.

It deeply saddens us that even in times of death, in what has been the hardest time of our lives, these online trolls have gone to such lengths to dishonour my sister and my family by fabricating slanderous, callous, and outright false claims about us. This cannot continue and we are fighting for justice.

In 2020, a Netflix documentary was produced by director Jenny Popplewell, by using raw, first-hand footage and evidence to depict the tragic murders committed by Watts.

My family and I worked alongside Ms Popplewell and stood in full support of the documentary, because it gave my family and I a platform to voice the truth, silence the online trolls, raise awareness for domestic violence and highlight the sheer evilness committed by Watts. This would have been the wishes of my late sister.

Despite this, one of the main instigators of this harassment campaign, continued to harass and attack our family. This user is UK based and has dedicated a substantial amount of his time dissecting my sister’s murder case, and in the process of doing so has invented many unfounded theories and claims about my sister and our family.

Just to name a few, he has asserted that there was an accomplice to the murders committed, that I hold a criminal record and that we as a family are profiting from these tragedies.

This internet user has amassed a fan base of so far 66.6k subscribers, who like him, have also developed an unhealthy obsession with the murder of my sister and her children, and inundated my family and I with threatening and abusive messages online.

The online trolls and internet user responsible for the cruel campaign of harassment and defamation against us, have full knowledge that we do not have the means to put a stop to this. We are simple people with limited means, who have never left the US, let alone travelled to the UK.

So many of you have already shown my family and I so much support and love, of which we are eternally grateful for. However, as this matter is escalating, we are now fighting for justice and seek your help and donations to successfully do so.

Why I ask for your support?

With the support of my solicitors, Cohen Davis, an award-winning social media specialist firm, who have agreed to work on our case under reduced legal fees, we are planning to commence a case of harassment and defamation in the High Court, against a number of the positively identified online trolls.

As a family, we have limited means, a fact that I believe the online trolls are counting on to continue to inflict pain and suffering on us, without any consequence to them.

We hope that you as good, generous and justice-seeking people will support us in bringing the harassment campaign to an end once and for all. Something we will never be able to do without your support.

All we want is for Shanann, Bella Marie, Celeste and Nico’s legacy to be respected. With your generous help and support, my family and I will be able to bring this injustice to an end and put a stop to the harassment we are receiving from the online trolls and internet user.

How much I am trying to raise?

I am hoping to raise £25,000 with a “stretch” target of £45,000 to fund the legal costs in bringing a case of defamation and harassment against the online trolls, and specifically the internet user.

I have already committed nearly £5,000 to this case which was part of what I raised through my GoFundMe Page. I have collected a further £5,000 which will also go towards my solicitor’s fees. However, the funds I have raised to date will not cover the entire legal expense of my case, which is why my family and I need your help.

The solicitors are currently preparing the case but there is a huge amount of preparation required to initiate proceedings. This includes the preservation and evaluation of thousands of posts, documents, and videos, something of which my solicitors, along with other good-natured people in the UK, have already begun committing their time to.

Why this case is important?

Online trolls’ prey on the vulnerability of innocent people. We, a grieving family, have fallen victim to this cruel and vicious online hate, because these trolls have considered us to be a weak and vulnerable easy target.

It is unacceptable that these online trolls should be allowed to hide behind the mask that is the internet, and bully vulnerable families, such as mine, without any real consequences. Online trolls must begin to understand that this is not acceptable and will in no way be tolerated by my family anymore. Especially when the abuse is being directed towards deceased members of my family.

Anyone can fall victim to online trolls and abuse, and so we must stand together in order to put these kinds of ordeals to an end.