Multiple friends, family and community members held a candlelight vigil for Shanann, Celeste and Bella Watts outside of their Frederick, Colo. home earlier this weekend.
The memorial began late Wednesday night with one cross and two stuffed animals.
Every hour since then, this tribute to three lives cut far too short has grown, added by friends of Shanann Watts, the teachers of 3-year-old Celeste and 4-year-old Bella, and people who have never met them but were touched by a tragedy that’s received media coverage from around the world.
Shanann, Celeste and Bella Watts were reported missing by Chris Watts, Shanann's husband and the girls' father, on Monday. Their bodies were found on Thursday.
Dozens of people gathered outside of their Colorado home with messages of love, holding candles in their hands.
There were no speakers. People simply held hands and hugged.
Weeks before their deaths, Shanann was seen smiling at a company event in Rock Hill. The pregnant mother was part of a health and welfare program called Thrive Experience.
Shanann and her husband Chris married in Mecklenburg County, according to NBC Charlotte's sister station KUSA. The family still has a large network of friends in North Carolina.
“I am sick over it, honestly,” said Arie King, of North Carolina, told NBC Charlotte's sister station KUSA.
King’s brother-in-law was previously married to Shanann Watts.
“Any family she has here in North Carolina, we are heartbroken,” King previously said.
A law enforcement source told NBC Charlotte's sister station KUSA that Chris confessed to killing all three of them.
Shanann Watts was pregnant when she was killed. A gender reveal party was scheduled for later in the week, and one longtime friend said she was having a little boy.
Bella is remembered by family friends and quiet and very sweet, while Celeste was very outgoing and always up to something.
NBC Charlotte's KJ Hiramoto contributed to this story.
