Enid Swamp
Active member
What is it his mother disputes exactly? Why does she thing he shouldn’t be in prison?
American Murder: The Family Next Door - Netflix
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Freedomofspeech89
VIP Member
Not sure what she believes now but at the time I think she believed that Shanann had killed the girls and that he killed Shanann in rage. She thought he’d just admitted to killing all of them because he was coerced into it by the police. Obviously completely not true but she is in serious denial. The whole family are very cold and strange.
Chandler Bing
VIP Member
One of the podcasts I listened to about this had looked into the declined online purchase at 3am and they concluded that it was actually an auto-charge for a subscription service, rather than her physically on a laptop with a card. I am inclined to believe them actually. 2am coming home off a flight, pregnant and not feeling great I think straight to bed is more likely.
Milliehaha123
Chatty Member
What a horrifying case, watched last night 
so much to unpack-
- if they were so broke why was their house so large?
- the house Shanann built herself was also huge?! How much do houses in the US cost to build?
- I also agree that the murders were premeditated- mainly due to how he behaved with his neighbour when he was showing him his footage - he knew about the system as had previously enquired about stolen tools.. therefore he absolutely knew what the camera would and wouldn’t show- meaning that he could get the bodies into the car without it fully being spotted
- agree the girlfriends behaviour is a bit shady but think she’s just a bit of an oddball
- I think the murder had been brewing for a long time to be honest, I think he was fully sick of her and the 6 weeks away gave him a taste of freedom that he had never had before
- I couldn’t get over the amount of footage on her and the family in general- is this normal for MLM? I don’t have Facebook so am not really up to speed with these
all in all what a tragic and unnecessary murder. Agree 100% too that the mother is clearly deranged and needs some serious help!
so much to unpack-- if they were so broke why was their house so large?
- the house Shanann built herself was also huge?! How much do houses in the US cost to build?
- I also agree that the murders were premeditated- mainly due to how he behaved with his neighbour when he was showing him his footage - he knew about the system as had previously enquired about stolen tools.. therefore he absolutely knew what the camera would and wouldn’t show- meaning that he could get the bodies into the car without it fully being spotted
- agree the girlfriends behaviour is a bit shady but think she’s just a bit of an oddball
- I think the murder had been brewing for a long time to be honest, I think he was fully sick of her and the 6 weeks away gave him a taste of freedom that he had never had before
- I couldn’t get over the amount of footage on her and the family in general- is this normal for MLM? I don’t have Facebook so am not really up to speed with these
all in all what a tragic and unnecessary murder. Agree 100% too that the mother is clearly deranged and needs some serious help!
Freedomofspeech89
VIP Member
What a horrifying case, watched last night
- if they were so broke why was their house so large?
- the house Shanann built herself was also huge?! How much do houses in the US cost to build?
- I also agree that the murders were premeditated- mainly due to how he behaved with his neighbour when he was showing him his footage - he knew about the system as had previously enquired about stolen tools.. therefore he absolutely knew what the camera would and wouldn’t show- meaning that he could get the bodies into the car without it fully being spotted
- agree the girlfriends behaviour is a bit shady but think she’s just a bit of an oddball
- I think the murder had been brewing for a long time to be honest, I think he was fully sick of her and the 6 weeks away gave him a taste of freedom that he had never had before
- I couldn’t get over the amount of footage on her and the family in general- is this normal for MLM? I don’t have Facebook so am not really up to speed with these
all in all what a tragic and unnecessary murder. Agree 100% too that the mother is clearly deranged and needs some serious help!
That fact that he was happy to spend 6 weeks away from his family alone should ring alarm bells. I know my husband would be heartbroken to be away from the kids that long. It’s not as though it was work related and it was a necessity. Plus it was highlighted in the doc that he wasn’t even bothered to speak to them during that time either. All massive warning signs but I guess she was pregnant and desperate to keep the marriage together. Just all so tragic and unnecessary.
rachelpixiedust
Active member
Well said @Lanavalentine .
I think what makes this case so awful is that was no warning. Other than some marriage issues, Shannan ha no idea.
He's spent the past few days alone with the girls - days out, birthday parties etc. He admitted he knew he'd put them to bed for the last time ... heknew he was going to kill them , but why? Seriously not all for another woman?
I think what makes this case so awful is that was no warning. Other than some marriage issues, Shannan ha no idea.
He's spent the past few days alone with the girls - days out, birthday parties etc. He admitted he knew he'd put them to bed for the last time ... heknew he was going to kill them , but why? Seriously not all for another woman?
Jennytea
VIP Member
I’ve been listening to an interview on YouTube with him in jail after sentencing and it does give a little bit more insight . It still baffles me how normal he sounds , it’s so far from any other case I’ve learnt about , he’s so different to the ‘usual’ type. When you listen to him talk you could never imagine the horrifying things he has done. I think it was premeditated even though he says it wasn’t . He said when he was strangling her he felt like he couldn’t stop and someone else was in control and that his head had already decided to do it and he couldn’t stop it happening. He says when he was with the mistress he could be himself, he would forget he had a family and wouldn’t think of them . He said he could never ‘be himself’ with his wife and that she made every decision and her personality was over powering and he was always nervous around her. He also said she told him he wasn’t allowed to speak to his mother and father or see them. (None of the above is an excuse or me blaming the victim, it just gives an idea of more motive as I couldn’t see any reasoning behind it before).
MarinaScorpio
Chatty Member
I think the prospect of spending a lot of money on divorce, alimony and then paying for 3 children for many years to come was not something he wanted. He didn't want such a financial burden and wanted to start fresh with his mistress, with no other commitments.
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lalalanded
Guest
So glad I found this thread! I have been fascinated with this case since the day it was reported on. The first article I saw on it wasn't about the case itself, but on the Jezebel blog who reported it from the angle of women who curate their lives on social media. I've watched countless documentaries on it including a lot of Shannan's own social media posts which were all over youtube and there is SO much to unpack about the case. The Netflix doc was good and obviously they had access to Shannan's text messages vie her mum which was never seen before but it left out a hell of a lot that would be relevant. I know a lotof people here are saying 'how could this have come out of nowhere' and in my opinion, it really didn't. There were signs and clues everywhere. Of course, there was no way anyone could predict just how monstrous this man was - not in a million years! But there were plenty of signs all was not well. The point I'm getting at is no one really knows what goes on in a marriage and if someone is trying to present a false narrative then unless you are very invested or astute there is no reason to think they are lying.
I would like to preface anything I add here by saying I in no way blame Shannan for what happened to her or her children. Not in a million years. But there are a lot of unanswered questions. Firstly, they left North Carolina under a cloud of suspicion which I believe was financial. She said they just loved Colorado but there has been talk that they were running from something and wanted a new start. Secondly, the Netflix doc completely left out what Shannan did for a living and this scam of a company called thrive. MLMs are extremely predatory and the equivalent of joining a cult. She completely bought into this and the lifestyle which clearly relied on her fabricating a lifestyle. They couldn't afford their house, they couldn't afford another baby. She was constantly on social media. This lifestyle led me to assume she was either not paying attention to what was happening in her life or she was deliberately covering it up (obviously never believing in a million years that she was married to a dangerous murderer). We've all seen the videos where he looks disinterested and barely utters a word. Clearly all was not well in that home for a long time.
I would like to preface anything I add here by saying I in no way blame Shannan for what happened to her or her children. Not in a million years. But there are a lot of unanswered questions. Firstly, they left North Carolina under a cloud of suspicion which I believe was financial. She said they just loved Colorado but there has been talk that they were running from something and wanted a new start. Secondly, the Netflix doc completely left out what Shannan did for a living and this scam of a company called thrive. MLMs are extremely predatory and the equivalent of joining a cult. She completely bought into this and the lifestyle which clearly relied on her fabricating a lifestyle. They couldn't afford their house, they couldn't afford another baby. She was constantly on social media. This lifestyle led me to assume she was either not paying attention to what was happening in her life or she was deliberately covering it up (obviously never believing in a million years that she was married to a dangerous murderer). We've all seen the videos where he looks disinterested and barely utters a word. Clearly all was not well in that home for a long time.
Wellthisisinteresting
VIP Member
I just also can’t get my head around the fact that did he truly believe he wasnt going to get caught ... what was going to be his story, did he honestly think he would get away with murder ...?! 
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lalalanded
Guest
He is really stupid to the point where I thought he might have a learning disability.I just also can’t get my head around the fact that did he truly believe he wasnt going to get caught ... what was going to be his story, did he honestly think he would get away with murder ...?!
Tui
VIP Member
They had filed for bankruptcy not long after Bella was born but I’m not sure if they were in Colorado by then....
Definitely major financial issues. I read somewhere they had >$70k debt, $2k monthly mortgage, maxed out loads of credit cards.
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lalalanded
Guest
The poor woman was living a lie - they were broke and she was in a really bad marriage but I don't think she could admit it to herself let alone anyone else and she ended up paying the biggest price. It certainly made me question a lot of things.
littlepup
VIP Member
She went to see her and his family and friends and to grow her business. She was networking there and I believe the family were providing an element of childcare. If they were trying to save their finances and I can understand that, most MLNs they earn money on recruitment rather than sales so she just had to have people sign up. She also said before she left everything was relatively fine, they were having sex 3x a day, he'd be affectionate and engaged and they both wanted to work on their relationship but it was just like a switch flicked after she left and got progressively worse until he came out to meet them and wouldn't touch her, only referred to her by her first name rather than pet names he always used, he'd agreed to counselling but was now saying he didn't want it etc
The issue with the MIL happened in the fist week or so and initially she thought his coldness was largely due to that so she didn't realise the extent or seriousness of the problem at first. (I'm getting this from reading the friend's witness statements)
I think she thought it was a blip and they could work it out, a break was a good reset. I think without the other woman she may have been right but once he had that time with her he totally checked out of his family.
Their mortgage was $2700/mth, they'd lived there since 2013 but had agreed to sell and downsize and Shannan had contacted an estate agent a week before she died I think it was.
They were in a pretty terrible state financially
She earned $65-70k/ yr
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lalalanded
Guest
Just looking at this, I wonder if he just considered Shannan and the kids as a financial drain. Is it known how much money she was earning? The fact she raided his pension is really not a good sign. I definitely think the financial issues threw gas on the fire.
Tui
VIP Member
That’s what I don’t get. If she was earning so well and so successful, how were they behind on the mortgage, no real cash assets.... they must have been spending tit loads. Not sure how much he earned.
I find it odd Shanann managed the finances alone to the extent that Chris didn’t even know how to access the online banking. You’d think given their financial history that he would give more of a tit.
Lanavalentine
VIP Member
I just also can’t get my head around the fact that did he truly believe he wasnt going to get caught ... what was going to be his story, did he honestly think he would get away with murder ...?!
Yes I believe he did. It was clear from the documentary that he was extremely unintelligent. His parents also seemed hugely enabling, and when someone grows up like that, they often don’t learn about consequences, because they never have to face them.
His desperation to see his dad during police interviews confirmed that for me. Wanted his dad to make it all go away.
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hnoz
Guest
I did read somewhere that most of their debt was medical debt??