Chilling CCTV has emerged of the moment Chris Watts bought himself breakfast shortly after disposing of the bodies of his wife and young daughters.

Footage shows how the killer purchased a sandwich and chatted to a cashier as he visited a convenience store in Colorado at 8am on the morning of August 13.

The 33-year-old, wearing a bright orange t-shirt and baseball cap, takes a quick look around at his surroundings and puts money back into his wallet before calmly leaving the shop.

Prosecutors say Watts had disposed of the bodies of his daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in an oil tank just before the shop surveillance video was taken.

The body of wife Shannan, 34, was buried near a crude oil field.

The video is part of newly-released evidence used to convict Watts of his family’s slaying.

Watts pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and unlawfully terminating a pregnancy on November 19 after striking a plea deal with prosecutors.

He will be locked up for life after authorities agreed to take death sentence off the table in exchange for his admission of guilt.

Their disappearance sparked a two-day manhunt as the tearful father pleaded for help in locating his missing family.

He was arrested shortly after but maintained that he was not responsible for the deaths of his children.

Prosecutors said that Watts killed his family because he wanted to start a new life with his mistress.

Harrowing details of how Chris Watts’s family’s decomposing bodies were also revealed in new crime scene reports.

Shanann Watts was discovered in a "foetal position" in a shallow grave with her knees "pulled up to her chest" and her feet positioned "up".

Her face was "facing down into the ground", while her back was positioned upwards, according to the reports.

Her left arm, meanwhile, was extended near her head.

Shanann, a "loving" mum, was located around "nine inches below the surface grade" at an Anadarko Petroleum site where Watts worked.

The bodies of the couple’s daughters, Bella and three-year-old Celeste, were discovered at the bottom of oil tanks at the site.

They were found after workers began the process of "unloading and emptying" the contents of the tanks during the investigation.

A crime scene report – among nearly 2,000 pages of records released on the case – details the moments the youngsters were located.

"Upon the completion of emptying the east tank, a juvenile female victim believed to be Celeste Watts, was found buried in crude oil sludge at the bottom of the east tank," it states.

Newly released texts also revealed how Chris Watts’ marriage crumbled in the weeks before the shocking murders.

Some 2,000 pages of documents were released by Weld County District Attorney and reveal chilling exchanges between Watts and wife Shannan where they openly discuss their deteriorating relationship.

On July 24, Watts’ wife texted her husband explaining how she felt he was emotionally distant during a six-week trip to visit relatives.

She said: "l realised during this trip what’s missing in our relationship! lt’s only one way emotions and feelings.

"I can’t come back like this. I need you to meet me halfway. You don’t consider others at all, nor think about others feelings."

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The Watts family murders

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