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Chris Watts case: Friend 'dumbfounded' that Watts allegedly confessed to murdering family

Posted at 10:56 PM, Aug 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-17 10:52:32-04

FREDERICK, Colorado — Family friends of the Watts family say they're dumbfounded, confused, lost.

The man who hosted Chris Watts and his little girls for a kid’s birthday party just days before they vanished said Thursday he is still trying to process everything that's happened since.  

Jeremy Lindstrom offers a new perspective on who Chris Watts was, before the man allegedly confessed to murdering his wife and the couple's two daughters.

“You know, the hardest part about it all is — when you're closer to the family... is the 'why?'” Lindstrom said. “The why gets bigger."

Why did Lindstrom's good friend, Chris, allegedly murder his entire family?

"We're dumbfounded,” Lindstrom said Thursday night. “We don't get it. Lost."

PHOTOS: Chris Watts arrested, charged for family deaths

While attending the party at Lindstrom's home, the girls were happy. They were normal. And so was Chris — or so it seemed.

"He would reach out and help anybody that needed help with anything,” Lindstrom said. “He was a good mechanic if you needed help with your car — he'd help you. If you needed help with furniture, he'd be over there in a heartbeat to help you out. You don't know what, when, why, where or how everything goes weird."

And Lindstrom says we may never know, exactly.

"It's just horrible,” he said. “Why do people do this? Why does it come down to this? There had to have been an easier route."