Prosecutors in the Chris Watts family murder case have asked a judge to seal the autopsy reports for his pregnant wife and two young daughters who were found dead last month in a sensational case that has captured national and international media attention.

KUSA reports that prosecutors filed a motion in the 19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Monday to seal the autopsy reports for Shanann Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, and her 3- and 4-years-old daughters, Celeste and Bella.

Watts has been charged with multiple felony counts, including three counts of first-degree murder. But according to an arrest affidavit, Watts claimed he strangled Shanann in a rage after seeing, via the baby monitor in their home, that she had strangled their daughters, allegedly just after he told his pregnant wife he wanted to separate.

In the motion obtained by KUSA, District Attorney Michael Rourke reportedly said that releasing the autopsy reports could impact the jury and the witness pool, given the intense media attention around the case. He said that the information in the autopsy reports “will be critical evidence at the trial.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Watts’s defense team had asked the court for permission to extract DNA samples from the necks of the suspect’s daughters.

A judge has not yet ruled on the request to seal the autopsy reports.