The day after Colorado father Chris Watts pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife Shannan Watts and daughters Bella and Celeste, Nancy Grace appeared on Daily Mail TV to talk about the plea deal that stunned those who have been following the murder case.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Watts, 33, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to all nine felony charges resulting from the murders of his family — a surprise reversal given that Watts had tried to pin the blame on Shannan for strangling their daughters, ages 3 and 4. The plea deal means that Watts will avoid the death penalty — and that Shannan’s family will be spared the pain of a murder trial.

But as Nancy noted on Daily Mail TV, “He didn’t do this to spare her family. He did this to save his own skin.”

Nancy explained that Shannan’s family was involved in the decision to accept Watts’s guilty plea, which is expected to come with consecutive life sentences. Wade County District Attorney Michael Rourke flew to North Carolina to visit with Shannan’s relatives, who decided “they did not want to go through with a death penalty proceeding with no guarantee even after 25 years of sitting on death row he would ever be executed,” Nancy said.

Watts is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19.