>> space force! all the way! this is "nightline." >> tonight, bombshell allegations in the colorado murder case. the husband charged with murdering his entire family now blaming his wife. >> he was the one for me. >> saying she killed their daughters when he told her he wanted to separate. the last friend to see shanann watts alive speaking out, confronting that husband. >> he didn't shed one tear. >> but when history and the headlines collide. >> america first. >> america first. >> behind the scenes of "blackklansman," the new movie some are calling spike lee's

best work. >> god bless white america. >> and we hear from the man who says he got inside the klan. >> i thought what have i gotten myself into? i've got to do something. and key of politics. ♪ the emotional chord struck up on stage at the vmas tonight with "one day." but first the "nightline" 5.

good evening. and we begin here tonight with the breaking developments in that haunting colorado murder case. a husband now charged with nine felonies in connection with the murder of his pregnant wife and two young daughters now turning that case on its head. he is now blaming his wife for the deaths of their daughters, saying she turned on them when he told her he wanted to separate. abc's clayton sandell with the bombshell allegations tonight. >> this afternoon my office filed former charges against christopher lee watts. >> reporter: tonight a bombshell twist in the case against christopher watts, accused of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters. in a newly released affidavit watts saying it was his now deceased wife shanann who murdered 3-year-old celeste and 4-year-old bella. >> it is a new twist in this

type of case for the accused to sort of start spinning plates as far as what happened. >> reporter: documents revealing that watts claimed to have talked to his wife about marital separation that morning and later found her actively strangling one of their daughters while the other laid sprawled out on her bed and blue. the affidavit claims he then went into a rage and ultimately strangled shanann to death. >> if the story window up being true, obviously a jury is going to look very favorably and probably a judge too as to what happened. >> reporter: this news coming after a slew of charges against the colorado husband and father. >> at any point did you consider the death penalty? >> way too early to have that conversation. >> reporter: they seemed like the picture of suburban bliss. >> hey, kids. have fun. they're sitting there playing with daddy. >> reporter: in facebook video watts played the part of a loving husband and doting father. ♪ he reads me books ♪ he ties my shoes but behind the smiles perhaps a different story.

those same documents now revealing that chris was actively involved in an affair with a co-worker, something he had previously denied. but according to shanann's friend nicole atkinson, the last friend to see her alive, there were signs the couple's marriage was straining. >> he wasn't being the loving chris that he normally was. he wasn't touching or hugging or doing stuff like that. and he wasn't being as attentive to the girls as he normally is. >> did she suspect he might have been cheating? >> there was speculation, but she didn't want to believe that either. so. >> reporter: all of this a far cry from the portrait of a happy wife on facebook gushing about her supportive husband. >> he stuck around, and he stuck around because he was the one for me. and he is amazing. and i can't tell you how wonderful he is. >> reporter: atkinson had seen shanann that morning around 2:00 a.m., she says, dropping her off at home after returning from an out-of-town business trip. >> she went inside, turned around and waved at me, and shut the door. >> reporter: but several hours later the 34-year-old mother of

two isn't answering her phone. she misses a doctor's appointment. shanann was 15 weeks pregnant. >> she was going to get to hear her baby's heartbeat and see how he or she was doing. >> reporter: growing worried, atkinson says she went over to their house. >> things were not how i would think that they were supposed to be, igus. the front door was locked differently than it normally was. i had my son look in the garage to see if her car was there, and it was there, which was really peculiar because shanann doesn't go places without a car usually because both of the girls are in car seats. >> reporter: atkinson called shanann's husband, who she says tells her the last time he saw his wife and kids was that morning around 5:15 when he left for work. >> so he tells you everything's normal, she's on a playdate. >> yes. >> and you didn't buy that? >> no. because shanann -- like in my mind i couldn't figure out why she'd go on a play date without her car. >> reporter: atkinson says she tells watts she's calling the police for a welfare check and

that he says he'll meet her at the couple's home. >> you knew even then his story was not adding up. >> reporter: it wasn't making sense to me. >> reporter: inside the house authorities find shanann's purse, and keys but no other signs of life. de. shanann was very ocd. everything in her house had a place. everything was labeled. if something was out of the ordinary it was really out of the ordinary for her. >> reporter: still hopeful shanann and her girls are alive, the entire community jumps into action. >> tonight, police issued a miss endangered alert. >> pregnant woman and her two daughters missing from frederick. >> reporter: by tuesday afternoon chris watts is talking to local tv stations. >> shanann, bella, celeste, if you're out there, just -- just come back. like if somebody has her, just please bring her back. >> reporter: interviews that first evoked sympathy but on closer examination suspicion. watts revealing he and his wife exchanged words the morning she vanished. >> it wasn't like an argument. we had an emotional conversation, but -- i'll leave

it at that. but it's -- i just want them back. >> his vocal cords are in my view constricted. it comes with anxiety and stress. >> reporter: former fbi agent and abc news consultant brad garrett points to watts' body language in those interviews. >> when people sort of cross their arms, sort of lock their body down and sometimes start rocking back and forth, it's a defense mechanism. that in combination with a number of other things i think is potentially telling that he's not telling the truth. >> sew does these interviews on tuesday. what did you think of his demeanor overall? >> yeah, it was very odd. he just was sitting there waiting for something to happen. the last time i talked to him he said, i just want to cry. and i looked at him and said, why aren't you? >> reporter: on wednesday everything changed. >> a heartbreaking outcome to the story we have been tracking all week. the confession of a father. >> i didn't know what to say or do. i don't know. i sat on our bed for i don't even know how long and didn't

move. because i -- i didn't want to think that they weren't coming back. >> reporter: late wednesday night watts is arrested. by thursday police were at the oil fields where watts used to work, and within hours found three bodies. court documents revealed they discovered shanann's body in a shallow grave, the bodies of bella and celeste found submerged for days in oil tanks. >> you have the right to counsel. you understand? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: in an interview with authorities watts filling in the blanks, according to an affidavit he loaded all three bodies into the back seat of his work truck and took them to an oil work site. >> if your wife murders your children and then you in a fit of rage murder her, would a logical person then secrete the bodies in such a way and you take them to work? so again, we'll have to see. but it's a story that has on the surface in my view some implausibility. >> it's been a long week for the

frederick police department, obviously for shanann's family. it's been a long week. >> reporter: tonight, nine charges against watts announced at a press conference, including three counts of first degree murder and one for unlawful termination of a pregnancy. shanann's father emotional as he thanked the community for their support. >> and keep the prayers coming for our family. >> reporter: watts is due back in court tomorrow morning. >> i mean, you think back at like the barbecues that you had, the times your kids played together, the times that you spent with them. the places you went with them. like any little thing that would have even remotely given you the idea that it was even possible. i mean, every couples or families have their issues but not to where it justifies what was done. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm clayton sandell in frederick, colorado. next here, hint the scenes with the team behind that new spike lee joint that has audiences buzzing. "blackkklansman."

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now to the new spike lee movie combining news headlines of today with history from the civil rights era. "blackkklansman" is the hollywood version of a police detective's true story investigating the ku klux klan. my "nightline" co-anchor byron pitts with a behind-the-scenes tonight. >> you will not replace us! >> reporter: this american nerve point, more exposed, more raw

than we have seen in generations. reaching a boiling point last year in charlottesville. >> this terrorism is homegrown. homegrown apple pie american terrorism. we have to understand that terrorism is terrorism. >> reporter: now comes comedic relief, with the sharpest of edges. >> what can i do you for? >> well, since you asked, i hate blacks. >> reporter: spike lee's newest film "blackkklansman" based on of all things a true story. >> i'm happy to be talking to a true white american. >> god bless white america. >> reporter: 1978, colorado springs, colorado. a black cop infiltrates the kkk. and as depicted in the movie, buddies up to unsuspecting david duke, then grand wizard of the ku klux klan. >> today we are privileged to be among white men and white women.

>> action. >> reporter: in his unapologetic and about as subtle as a shotgun style, lee links america's ugly past with race to her uncomfortable present. >> the whole goal going in was connect this film that takes place in the '70s with what's happening today. and agent orange, david duke, and the neo-nazis gave me a coda. >> you're referring to? >> the president of the united states. >> president trump? >> i call him agent orange. >> i want to thank you so much for never putting your country second. >> that's right. >> america first. >> reporter: some of the language in the film seems to be lifted from today's political rhetoric. >> from this day forward, it's going to be only america first. america first. >> reporter: this film directly takes on president trump and his

initial refusal to renounce hate groups. >> i think there's blame on both sides. and i have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either. >> you're not a fan of president trump. like many people in america. you take unfair shots at him in this. do you think? >> i doid not tell agent orange to make that statement. he did that. >> you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. >> why should there be any deliberation between you choose between peaceful protesters and hate groups? >> how do you propose to make this investigation? >> well, i've established contact and created some familiarity with a klansman over the phone. >> reporter: "blackkklansman" is the hollywood take on ron stallworth's take about his time as a polkkk.

>> how in the world did you come up with the idea to infiltrate the klan? >> i was talking to ken o'dell, the local klan organizer, on the phone and told him that my sister had recently dated a so-called n word. i hate that term. but had recently dated one. and every time he put his filthy black hands on her pure white body it made me cringe. and i wanted to do something to stop that abuse of the white race. his response to me was you're just the kind of man we're looking for, when can we meet? >> only in america. >> yeah. that's when i thought okay, what have i gotten myself into? i've got to do something. >> reporter: a black man infiltrating the kkk sounds like something from this famous dave chappelle skit about a black white supremacist. but in this case stallworth says it actually happened. he still carries his klan membership card with him today.

>> i have a warped sense of humor. if i'm ever in a fatal car crash some poor cop's going to come on my mangled black body, go flu my personal effects, find that card and just freak out. >> reporter: john david washington, denzel washington's son, plays stallworth in the movie. how was it for you as a young black man relating to this story about a young black man from the 1970s? did it seem familiar? >> that language of hate did. i mean, i was called the n word by a white person in north carolina when i was 10 years old. >> and you remember that still? >> yeah. oh, yeah. but i have a lot of fond great memories of north carolina too. so that's just one. >> i'm not risking my life to prevent a couple rednecks from inviting a couple sets on fire. >> reporter: a white officer agreed to go undercover. >> i'm going to get you your membership card so you can go to the cross burning and get in deeper with these guys. >> reporter: in the movie adam driver plays his white counterpart. >> have a seat. once they send you your membership card you'll be able to participate in all our

programs. >> reporter: stallworth even managed to get david duke himself on the phone. >> grand wizard of the ku klux klan, that david duke? >> yes, that grand wizard and national director, yeah. >> how did you get david duke on the phone, of all klansmen? >> i've always had a philosophy, why should i waste time talking to the lowest rung on the totem pole when i can go directly to the top? >> i consider you a true white american hero. >> is there any other kind? >> no, sir. >> if he wasn't who he was, the type of guy you would want to sit down, have a drink with, talk about whatever. >> i'm just happy to be talking to a true white american. >> amen. it seems like there's less and less of us out there these days. >> but it's when the subject of race came up dr. jekyll became mr. hyde. the monster in him was unleashed. and he was off and running. >> topher grace plays david duke. >> i knew if there was anyone i could do it for, and i don't

mean anyone, i mean if there was one person i'd feel comfortable doing it with it would be spike. >> i just had to say look, no one's going to think that this is you speaking. this is david duke. >> there are moments in that movie where he looks like and he sounds like the david duke of 1978. it was uncanny for me. >> reporter: i've interviewed duke. topher captures the equally charming, charismatic, and calculating white nationalist i've sat across from. >> for those who would dismiss you as men stuck in the past, you say what? >> i say we're the future. >> reporter: duke has mastered the art of intellectualizing what history long ago deemed indefensible. duke is back in the headlines, front and center at last year's ralfully charlottesville, as documented by indy star reporter. >> we're determined to take our country back. we're going to fulfill the promises of donald trump. that's what we believed in. that's why we voted for donald trump. >> reporter: while president trump has disavowed any

affiliation, duke remains a vocal supporter of the president. >> do you hope that president trump sees this movie? >> first of all, i'm not going to the white house. i ain't going! but -- >> i'm thinking the invitation is probably not in the mail. so. just saying. >> i don't have no problem him and david duke seeing it because they're in it. they're in the film. >> reporter: for all the dark humor, creative cinematography, "blackkklansman" is chilling. it's not hollywood. it's hard truth. a new take on one of america's oldest sins. next here in a moment, everybody's talking about from tonight's vmas. ♪ ♪ everything i know is going to be all right ♪ what i just introduced you worto my parents.g?

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finally here tonight, music in the key of politics. ♪

♪ only thing i know is it's gonna be all right ♪ >> the emotional moment at the vmas tonight when dozens of immigrant children and families joined the rapper logic on stage to protest president trump's family separation and detention policy. logic joined by one republic's ryan tedder for that rendition of the new song "one day." hundreds of children remain in federal custody several weeks after a court-ordered deadline to reunify those families. quite a scene at the vmas tonight. we want to thank you for watching "nightline." as always, we are online 24/7 on