SUSAN POWELL - 28 yo (2009) - Stockton (SW of Salt Lake City) UT

Another news report that I heard. The neck and head hatchet wounds did not cause the death of the two boys. Their COD was listed as smoke inhalation. I can only hope that they were in shock from blood loss and didn't experience any more horror than they were subjected to. A waste...such a huge waste.

What was the point of using the hatchet? When I first heard that the house "exploded" and the social worker smelled 'gas' I was thinking of natural gas, not gasoline, and thought "at least it was so quick the boys wouldn't even have known that their lives were over". It was some consolation regarding the children's murders, but to know that he chopped at them first and that there was a fire, they must have been horrified and terrified. What anger this beast must have had-maybe because Charlie was talking? There is just no understanding his horrific behavior. Prayers for the family.
May God grant them the "Peace that passes understanding" that can only come from Him.

As I understand it, the explosions were from multiple gas cans that were surrounding the area of butchery. Horrible to even imagine what those last minutes were like...

He has poured gas all over the house. There were 10 gas cans found in the house.

I cannot imagine the depravity in his mind as he planned the murder of his two precious little boys.

The only good think I have ever read about him is that he killed himself. And the POS tainted that with murdering his very own sons.

ladibug wrote:What was the point of using the hatchet? When I first heard that the house "exploded" and the social worker smelled 'gas' I was thinking of natural gas, not gasoline, and thought "at least it was so quick the boys wouldn't even have known that their lives were over". It was some consolation regarding the children's murders, but to know that he chopped at them first and that there was a fire, they must have been horrified and terrified. What anger this beast must have had-maybe because Charlie was talking? There is just no understanding his horrific behavior. Prayers for the family.
May God grant them the "Peace that passes understanding" that can only come from Him.

I think he had warned them not to talk, and they had just started talking as he had learned in court. I think he wanted them to know they were being "punished" before the house blew up. How cruel.

He was an evil POS

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- In a folder on his work computer labeled "Personal Pics," Steve Powell maintained a peculiar collection of photos: 55 depicting his daughter-in-law Susan but few if any showing his son.

Thousands of images and emails on his Washington state government-issued laptop provide a small glimpse into his increasingly scrutinized world. Authorities said this week that he is a person of interest in her 2009 disappearance in Utah.

The files, obtained by The Associated Press as part of a public records request, portray Steve Powell as a meticulous worker who gathered photos by the thousands and had his life upended by the constant inquiries that ensued after Susan vanished.

He is now in jail on voyeurism and child pornography charges -- and on suicide watch.

Powell's son and Susan's husband, Josh, killed himself and the couple's two young sons in a gas-fueled inferno Sunday that a prosecutor considers an admission that he killed his wife.

Until this week, authorities have only publicly discussed Steve Powell in relation to the charges he now faces. But a warrant and emails indicate that he has been dragged deeply into the Utah investigation surrounding his son, and police say they want to interview him to see if he knows anything about his daughter-in-law's disappearance.

"He may or may not have information that may be beneficial to us," said Sgt. Mike Powell in West Valley City, Utah, where Josh and Susan Powell lived at the time of her disappearance. Sgt. Powell is not related to the family.

The September warrant sought details specifically from Steve Powell's laptop, which he used in his job helping coordinate purchase and placement of school furniture. It also requested a search of state-owned vehicles that Powell may have driven.

Steve Powell said last year that he had a flirtatious and somewhat sexual relationship with Susan Powell. Her parents said she thought he was a creep and moved to Utah in part to get away from him.

In a search of Steve Powell's Washington state home last year, authorities found explicit images on his computers and images of people being photographed without their knowledge. Among them were pictures of Susan Powell.

Those findings led to the charges of voyeurism and child porn, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The state took custody of Josh Powell's boys and turned them over to Susan's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox.

Powell's work computer has a batch of photos of Susan Powell, though none appear to be sexual. They depict her and the kids opening Christmas presents and out during Halloween. A few show Susan Powell and the kids more formally dressed. It's not clear who the photographer is.

An attorney for Steve Powell did not return a call seeking comment.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, who is overseeing the voyeurism prosecution, said it's his understanding from the images collected that Susan Powell is the subject of much of Steve Powell's photographic attention.

He said the many images of Susan Powell might be of some interest to Utah authorities, but he has seen no evidence connecting Steve Powell to what he calls Susan Powell's murder.

Emails show that Powell was actively working in the days around when Susan Powell disappeared on Dec. 6, 2009. He responded to emails the next morning, even drawing praise from a manager for pointing out an oversight related to holiday cards.

A school district contact that he was scheduled to meet with that week said she never had any problems with Steve Powell and never realized he was Josh Powell's father until seeing him later on television.

"He was always professional and did what he was supposed to do," Susan Garthwaite said.

A couple weeks later, on Dec. 21, he wrote to a colleague about how Josh and the boys had moved back to live with him and that the children were traumatized by the bright lights of the media and "the searches."

"Even with Josh and the boys here, I am so numb much of each day that I have to put myself on auto-pilot to get things done," he wrote. "I know there are people with worse problems, but when it's yourself experiencing the suffering, you can't just tune it out."

He then added: "I still need to send a card to Susan's folks."

Her parents said no such card ever arrived.

Powell later described to a colleague in 2011 how he and Josh were baffled by the ongoing investigation in Utah.

The case appeared to take an increasing toll on him. He requested time off around the time of the search warrants and then later complained of harassing phone calls from Utah that accused him of "harboring a criminal, accusing my son of murder."

In the search warrant used to examine Powell's belongings, authorities said, they were investigating a murder in West Valley City, Utah, though nobody has ever been charged with a crime.

Utah investigators say the case remains open and they are still publicly calling it a "missing persons" matter.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/02/10/20120210utah-missing-mom-father-in-law-powell.html#ixzz1m4w1ZTZM

http://fox8.com/2012/02/11/blood-found-on-comforter-in-powells-storage-unit/

"Initial tests detected blood on a comforter found in a storage unit in Washington state belonging to Josh Powell, the man who police say killed his two sons and himself, according to a document filed Friday.

It was not immediately clear who the blood belonged to or how much investigators found on the comforter, which was among the items inside a unit at Western Self Storage in Sumner, Washington. The property report from authorities indicated succinctly that a “presumptive test” of the comforter had tested positive for blood.

Prior to setting a deadly fire last Sunday at his Puyallup, Washington, home, Josh Powell was the only person identified by law enforcement authorities in West Valley City, Utah, as someone they were investigating in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox-Powell.

According to a search warrant request by Pierce County, Washington, Sheriff’s Detective Ryan Salmon, last Sunday “several people began calling 911 saying they had received e-mails from Joshua Powell, telling them goodbye, that he could not live without his kids, and to take care of several things related to his finances.”

Before authorities arrived, Powell is accused of snatching his young sons from a social worker who was delivering them for a supervised visit, locking the door, hacking the kids with a hatchet and starting an explosive fire in the home.

The search warrant request noted that the medical examiner’s office found “sharp impact wounds … on the back of the head of the two children,” that a hatchet was recovered near their bodies, and that “accelerant was apparently used on the bodies.”

According to the detective, Powell last visited the storage unit on the day before he was accused of pulling off the double murder-suicide. That same day, he withdrew $6,500 in cash from a bank — money that is “unaccounted for,” the document said.

In addition to the comforter, authorities took two plastic bins with miscellaneous items, a box with blocks, a white garbage bag filled with children’s clothes and linens, another bag with toys and framed photos from the storage unit. Most of those items were handed over to relatives of Cox-Powell, the property report states.

Funeral services for the two slain boys — Charlie, 7, and Braden Powell, 5 — will be held Saturday.

Josh Powell had said that he last saw Susan in December 2009, after he and his two sons left after midnight to go camping in below-freezing weather in a desert area in Tooele County, Utah. Cox-Powell’s sister eventually reported the mother, who would now be 29 years old, as missing...."

Poster's Note: I could never understand why LE seemed to tip-toe around this investigation. There was so much circumstantial evidence that he
was guilty -imo especially his taking such young children on a midnight camping trip in freezing weather. Admittedly some folks are avid campers, but this was not usual behavior for this family. And when Charlie started remembering and talking, why, oh why weren't they able to search the storage shed, hold Josh for further questioning, KEEP HIS SONS AWAY from him?

A search in Washington of a recycling center near Graham recovered some papers, books and a map of Utah belonging to Josh Powell and his missing wife.

Volunteers combed through more than 10 tons of paper over the weekend looking for materials Powell dropped off the day before he killed himself and his two young sons in an explosive fire.

Searchers found what the Pierce County sheriff's office called a "testament" with Powell's name on it, some paperback books with his wife's name on them and the Utah map.

A Pierce County sheriff's sergeant told KIRO-FM (http://is.gd/nH4iw9 ) detectives are analyzing the materials for any value as evidence.

Investigators are still looking for the body of Susan Powell, who disappeared in 2009 in Utah.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jYHigmTU7OJXjawQNV-33I-CHeFw?docId=e099a19f9f7b45d4a5c62ba4608303ed

ladibug wrote:

Poster's Note: I could never understand why LE seemed to tip-toe around this investigation. There was so much circumstantial evidence that he
was guilty -imo especially his taking such young children on a midnight camping trip in freezing weather. Admittedly some folks are avid campers, but this was not usual behavior for this family. And when Charlie started remembering and talking, why, oh why weren't they able to search the storage shed, hold Josh for further questioning, KEEP HIS SONS AWAY from him?

The attorney was not given the info about the incestuous pornography despite the judge ordering it to be shared with him. Had he known he could have prevented the kids from seeing the monster and being murdered.

Even avid campers don't leave home at that time of night, in that weather, mid-week with two little boys and have a "camping trip". It was clearly a "dump mommy" trip. You are so right about the circumstantial evidence. He should have been arrested or tailed 24/7.

These horrendous murders could and should have been prevented.

This is so awful I still haven't fully taken it all in.

PUYALLUP, Washington—
The family of missing West Valley City mother Susan Cox Powell
acknowledged Monday they were contemplating a lawsuit against
Washington authorities over the child custody case that led to the
murder-suicide involving her children.

"Right now, we need to figure out exactly where the blame lays," Chuck Cox told FOX 13.

Cox cautioned that talk of a lawsuit is premature and there were no immediate plans for any litigation.

"There's a lot of questions about how they could have allowed visitation, knowing what they knew about Josh," he said.

Cox said Monday that he believed Washington state child welfare workers
pushed reunification between Josh Powell and the children, despite red
flags revealed in documents made public last week by Washington's
Department of Social and Health Services. (See related stories) For his part, Cox said he could not bring himself to read the documents because it would be too upsetting.

Josh Powell lost custody of his children after West Valley City police
gave Washington authorities hundreds of pornographic images found on his
computer in 2009, as they investigated the disappearance of Susan Cox
Powell. A judge ordered Powell to undergo a polygraph and psycho-sexual
evaluation. That hearing is believed to have sparked the murder-suicide
that killed Charlie, Braden and Josh Powell.

Cox told FOX 13
that West Valley City police have kept him updated on their ongoing
investigation into Susan's disappearance. He said they were testing a
blood-stained comforter found in a storage unit rented by Josh Powell.
Police also recovered some documents he dumped at a recycling center
just before killing his children.

But it may not help them
solve the mystery of Susan's disappearance. Cox told FOX 13 he believes
that Josh Powell's father, Steven, knows where Susan is. But Steven
Powell, who is jailed on voyeurism and child pornography-related
charges, has already told police he is not cooperating.

"They,
like us, know that Josh was the person who did something, took her away
or killed her or whatever he did. Did he have helpers? Where could she
be? Where could he have dumped her?" Cox said of West Valley City
police. "They have to decide where to go from here."
http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-susan-powell-susan-powells-family-contemplates-lawsuit-20120220,0,3408817.story

Court documents: Susan Powell's blood, hand-written note expressing fear were found in Utah home

Amber Hardman / Hardman Photography via AP
Susan Powell, the Utah mom who went missing in 2009.

By The Associated Press
TACOMA, Wash. -- Authorities investigating the 2009 disappearance of a Utah woman found her blood in the family home and a hand-written note in which she expressed fear about her husband and her potential demise, according to documents unsealed Friday...

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/30/10945991-court-documents-susan-powells-blood-hand-written-note-expressing-fear-were-found-in-utah-home

This man should have been arrested and already serving time when he took his children's lives.

angelm07 wrote:This man should have been arrested and already serving time when he took his children's lives.

---Exactly my thoughts! What additional evidence did they need???
1) A missing devoted mother
2) Blood of the missing in the family home
3) Evidence of a fan on and pointed at a wet spot in the family living room
4) Allegations of kiddie porn and family history of sexual deviance

Hello??? Those children DID NOT have to die! They should have been kept miles away from this asshat.

Susan Powell's father-in-law skipped work at time of disappearance

By Isolde Raftery, msnbc.com

The tragic saga of a woman who disappeared two years ago in Utah and her husband who later killed himself and their two young sons in Washington State continued to unfold this week with even more puzzling details....


http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/05/11026453-susan-powells-father-in-law-skipped-work-at-time-of-disappearance?lite

Judge: Evidence seized in Powell home can be used at trial

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Culpepper issues ruling a day after hearing arguments over the constitutionality of search warrant.

By melinda Rogers | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 1 hour ago • Updated 1 hour ago

A Washington state judge on Tuesday ruled that certain evidence gathered last summer from the home of the father-in-law of missing West Valley City woman Susan Cox Powell can be admitted next month at the man’s pornography and voyeurism trial.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Culpepper announced his decision at a morning hearing attended by defendant Steven Craig Powell, as well as the parents of Susan Powell, Chuck and Judy Cox. The judge found there was probable cause for police to search Steve Powell’s home and seize evidence from it.

Culpepper’s decision followed Monday arguments in which attorneys argued about the constitutionality of a search warrant served by a Pierce County Sheriff’s detective at Steve Powell’s home in Puyallup, Wash., last summer.

Powell, 61, is charged with 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing an image of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. His case is set for a jury trial May 7.

The judge’s decision sets the stage for the case against Steve Powell to proceed. Had the judge sided with defense attorneys, who argued that some or all of the items gathered at the home should be suppressed, prosecutors likely would have found themselves with a lack of independent evidence and difficulties in proceeding forward with the case.

In explaining his decision, Culpepper said it was "very reasonable to infer that Josh and Steven discussed the disappearance" of Susan and concocted an alternative story that she ran away with another man. Culpepper said there were "lots of good reasons" that Josh Powell was a person of interest in his wife’s case and said Steve Powell’s decision to show Susan Powell’s journals on The Today Show —where he claimed the writings were important to the investigation —gave police a reason to ask for a warrant to seek the materials.

At Monday’s arguments, defense attorneys Mark Quigley and Travis Currie claimed some evidence obtained by law enforcement — including a CD containing photos found in a locked compartment in Powell’s bedroom during an Aug. 25 search of his Puyallup, Wash., home — was gathered through an overly broad search warrant that violated his constitutional rights.

The search warrant allowed law enforcement to seize journals belonging to Susan Powell, digital media that contained copies of her journals, as well as "any other fruits or instrumentalities determined to be evidence of kidnapping, homicide and obstruction of justice."

Quigley and Currie argued that taking the CDs violated Steve Powell’s Fourth Amendment rights since law enforcement didn’t explain why the journals would have any evidence of criminal conduct, what type of information may be in the journals, or how that information may be evidence of a crime or assist in providing investigative leads.

Law enforcement investigating the case of Susan Powell already had one journal written from January 2002 to October 2009, which included entries during the time she was married to Josh Powell — the only publicly named person of interest in the case before he killed himself and his two sons in February in a blaze set at his Graham, Wash., rental home.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53971460-78/powell-journals-steve-search.html.csp