Susan Powell -- Missing 12/7/09

APNewsBreak: 8 minutes to send cops to Powell home

MIKE BAKER and GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

TACOMA, Wash. — Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when sheriff's deputies were dispatched, and it took another 14 minutes for a deputy to get to the home.

Read more:
http://ap.savannahnow.com/pstories/us/20120208/952966608.shtml

How odd, I read the article hours ago and even left a comment, yet I missed the part about the insurance policy. I guess my brain is over-saturated with print media and it wasn't until I heard it that it registered.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/07/1062711/-DISGUSTING-Westboro-Haters-to-Picket-Funerals-of-Boys-Killed-by-Father

[snipped] The Westboro Baptist Church just announced they will picket the funeral of Charlie and Braden Powell, who were killed earlier this week by their father. From the Twitter feed of Margie Phelps, daughter of the haters' founder Fred Phelps:

"Westboro will picket the funerals of the Powell boys Sat 02/11 @ 12:15p to remind GOvernor Gregoire they died because of her rebellion." [snipped]

DISGUSTING! KH

Oh my god! Not the Westboro wackos!! This is insane!

Caseworker who dropped Powell kids off struggling, husband says

Posted: 4:58 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012


Larry Benson


SEATTLE —


The husband of the caseworker who called 911 shortly before Josh Powell set off an explosion at his home Sunday that killed him and his two sons said the woman is still too shaken up to speak about the experience and is suffering from post-traumatic stress.



That man, Larry Benson, said his wife, Elizabeth Hall, called him right after she called 911 as she stood in horror watching the house with Powell and his two boys inside burn.

Read more:


http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/caseworker-who-dropped-powell-kids-struggling-husb/nHX93/

Grandfather of slain boys responds to Powell family’s statement

Posted: 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012


~Snipped~
PUYALLUP, Wash —


Chuck Cox, the grandfather of the two boys slain by Josh Powell, reacted to a statement put out by Powell’s aunt and uncle.


Powell family statement:

"...We feel that this family tragedy was set into motion from the beginning, due in part to the various questionable government agencies' practices, religious bias, the Internet kangaroo courts, and sensationalized news media,” the statement said.



Mr. Cox response:

"What about his actions? They're talking about the media and the system and all that, and that's the whole thing. But what about your own actions? What about being a loving father? About being a loving husband?" said Cox.

Concerning the media coverage, Cox said he had little sympathy for Powell.

Read more:
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/grandfather-slain-boys-responds-powell-familys-sta/nHXxd/

khintx wrote:http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/07/1062711/-DISGUSTING-Westboro-Haters-to-Picket-Funerals-of-Boys-Killed-by-Father

[snipped] The Westboro Baptist Church just announced they will picket the funeral of Charlie and Braden Powell, who were killed earlier this week by their father. From the Twitter feed of Margie Phelps, daughter of the haters' founder Fred Phelps:

"Westboro will picket the funerals of the Powell boys Sat 02/11 @ 12:15p to remind GOvernor Gregoire they died because of her rebellion." [snipped]

DISGUSTING! KH

Seriously? Get a life people, go picket somewhere else!
Not these little boys funeral!

Who are these Westboro people and what did the boys ever do to them?

Wisteria wrote:Who are these Westboro people and what did the boys ever do to them?

They are a sick bunch of church members (Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church) who like to picket soldiers' funerals and shouting that God is judging America and they bless the weapons that killed the soldiers...they are vile creatures.

Very well said, Sherry!!

Mother said Josh Powell threatened her

According to statements made in divorce papers by Josh Powell's mother, Powell once threatened his mother with a butcher knife, exhibiting violent behaviors that culminated with him killing himself and his sons.

Published: Feb. 9, 2012 at 1:38 PM


TACOMA, Wash., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The mother of Josh Powell, who killed himself and his sons in a fire in Washington state, said in divorce papers he exhibited disturbing behavior as a teenager.

Terrica Powell said her son once threatened her with a butcher knife when she asked him to do the dishes, ABC News reported. In court documents from the 1992 proceeding obtained by ABC, Terrica Powell said her son also attempted suicide.





Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/02/09/Mother-said-Josh-Powell-threatened-her/UPI-59251328812737/#ixzz1lvGsZe2A

Too bad he didn't do it back then. Susan would still be alive, and perhap married to a good christian man with whom she could have had children.

www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=19176835&title=worker-josh-powell-told-son-he-had-surprise-&s_cid=featured-1

What a sadistic bastard! No doubt he was "giving" the surprise to Charlie while Braden cried. I'm sure Susan was surprised by him as well.

What I want to know is why didn't Mrs. Powell fight for custody if she though SP was a bad influence or petition that they be placed in foster care if she couldn't have them herself? Perhaps none of this would have happened if someone had intervened during childhood.

That Josh was killing hamsters doesn't surprise any of us, it is a classic behavior in truly disturbed criminals.

I wonder what they expect to find in a landfill in Washington state. I would have expected Josh to dispose of anything to do with Susan's disappearance long ago and (if it were me) somewhere between Utah and Washington on one of his two trips between states when he relocated.

www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53480923-78/powell-police-roach-washington.html.csp

Puyallup, Wash. • Police here are searching a landfill after receiving a tip that Josh Powell may have taken papers there shortly before he murdered his children and committed suicide in the fire he set at his home.

Investigators from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office searched a cordoned off area of a waste disposal site and recycling center near Powell’s Graham area home on Thurday, but the effort had so far failed to yield anything relevant to the case, said office spokesman Ed Troyer.

Search efforts will resume Sunday, Troyer said. Investigators had received a tip that Powell may have taken office paper to the recycling center on Saturday, according to Don Taylor, assistant district manager for LRI Hidden Valley, which owns the landfill.

Taylor said there are no security cameras on site, and Saturday was one of the site’s busiest days on record as people disposed of debris from a recent storm.

As investigators continue their search for clues that could complete a timeline of Powell’s activities leading up to the Sunday blaze or solve the case of his wife’s 2009 disappearance, one lawmaker was calling for a review of the custody case involving the Powell children.

Saying it was "outrageous" to grant Powell visitation with his sons, a state senator said Thursday she wants to see what West Valley City police shared with the Washington agency in charge of child welfare here.

"This material should be made public," said Sen. Pam Roach, a Republican whose district includes part of the county where Powell murdered his children. "I want to see it all."
Roach this week sent a public records request to the Department of Social and Health Services asking for the materials West Valley City police sent the agency before the supervised Sunday visit. A social worker told dispatchers that Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, were a single step ahead of her when they entered Powell’s home and he locked her out.

West Valley City police, who have been investigating the disappearance of Susan Powell, last week confirmed they sent information related to the welfare of the Powell children to Washington authorities. A department spokesman on Thursday declined to elaborate on what that information was.

An attorney representing the state at a Feb. 1 custody hearing in Pierce County Superior Court characterized the information as explicit images gleaned from a computer during a 2009 police search of the Powell home in Utah.

DSHS spokesperson Sherry Hill said Thursday a child welfare worker was allowed to review the images, and Pierce County also shared them with a psychologist who then recommended Powell undergo a psychosexual examination and polygraph test. A judge overseeing the custody case ordered the examinations following the Feb. 1 hearing.

Without the psychologist’s recommendation, the department "likely" would have started on a plan to transition the children home to Josh Powell, Hill said. Thomas Shapley, another department spokesperson, added that the images were the only materials West Valley City police shared from the Powell home they thought were concerning.

"At no time did our department get any bulletins, briefings, red flags, warnings — anything like that — warning of the boys’ safety," he said.

The agency is already planning its own internal review of how the deaths occurred.

While she waits for the agency to process her request, Roach is convinced mistakes were made in Washington. DSHS and the judge overseeing the custody case were working toward returning the children to Powell, Roach said, despite concerns the boys had been exposed to pornography.

The children were removed from Powell’s custody and placed in the care of their maternal grandparents after Powell’s father, Steve Powell, was arrested in September on charges of voyeurism and child pornography. Prosecutors allege Steve Powell photographed two girls who were his neighbors at the time through the windows of their homes. Powell and his sons had been living in his father’s home before the arrest, but Powell had denied knowing anything about his father’s alleged activities.Roach doesn’t believe the denial.

"Just the judgment of Josh Powell allowing his children to be in a home where he knew his father was engaged in pornographic behavior was enough" to deny visitation, Roach said Thursday.

The suspicions that Powell murdered his wife, or at least the judgment he showed with his claim that he took his then 4- and 2-year-old sons camping in a snowstorm the night she disappeared, should have been factors for denying visits, too, Roach said.

"Whether this points to the judge [making mistakes], whether this points to DHS, we need to find out," Roach said.

While DSHS is obligated to process her records request, it’s unclear how much weight Roach’s criticisms will carry in Washington. Her colleagues in the state legislature have censured her twice.

Washington authorities have already pledged to examine the role of emergency dispatchers who handled the social worker’s 911 call. Recordings of 911 calls and logs obtained by the Associated Press show it took 22 minutes from when the call was made to when sheriff’s deputies arrived at Powell’s home.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant on a storage shed owned by Powell earlier this week, but the results of that search have not yet been made public.

Both of Powell’s children suffered chop injuries believed to have been caused by a hatchet before they died in the fire set by their father. Powell sent goodbye emails and voice mails to family members prior to the murders, but not in enough time to stop them, police have said.

In one voice mail aired by ABC’s Good Morning America, Powell provided his only explanation for the crimes: "I am not able to live without my sons and I’m not able to go on anymore." Police have said he made no mention of his missing wife in any of the messages.

Powell’s sister, Alina Powell, has said she believes her brother was the victim of harassment and abuse following the disappearance. In a story aired on Good Morning America Thursday Alina Powell said she still believes her brother is innocent in his wife’s disappearance.

Alina Powell told the network she felt "this was the act of somebody who had been so damaged by the lack of due process, so harassed and abused and lied about" that he felt there was no other way to spare himself and his children emotional and physical pain.

West Valley Police have said they are still investigating the disappearance of Susan Powell and are working with Washington authorities.

— Brooke Adams contributed to this report.

ncarlisle@sltrib.com

From Wisteria's link upthread.

Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise'

By Sam Penrod and The Associated Press

February 9th, 2012 @ 6:10pm


WARNING: The article below contains disturbing details about the Powell case.

SEATTLE — The Washington state social worker who was supposed to supervise a visit between Josh Powell and his young sons says Powell told his oldest boy he had a "surprise" for him moments before attacking and killing the children.

Social worker describes Sunday's event

Elizabeth Griffin-Hall said in an interview to air on ABC's "20/20" on Friday that Powell slammed the door on her after he had the children inside the house on Sunday. Hall said she banged on the door to try to get inside and heard Powell tell 7-year-old Charlie: "I've got a big surprise for you." She also heard 5-year-old Braden crying.

Authorities said Powell used a hatchet on his children, then set a house fire that killed them all.

Read more:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=19176835&title=worker-josh-powell-told-son-he-had-surprise-&s_cid=featured-1

Phelps also suggests that blame for the boys' deaths lies with Gov. Christine Gregoire, who is poised to sign a bill approving same-sex marriage: "This is why God's cursed you w Josh Powells blowing up kids," she tweeted, and then pointed to a headline about the pending legal action.

News of the church plans were immediately followed by Occupy Seattle's plans to counterprotest: "Westboro Baptist Church will B picketing a tragic funeral #OccupySeattle will B gathering 2 shield mourners from them," the movement tweeted.

latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/02/westboro-baptist-church-funeral-josh-powell-children-.html

Bravo, Occupyseattle!

Detective: Josh Powell computer depicted parent-child sex

Nightly News

Josh Powell and his sons.
By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

SEATTLE -- A computer in Josh Powell's former home in Utah had animated images that depicted "incestuous" sex between parent and child, Pierce County authorities said, and a state official said the material prompted a judge to order Powell to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation just days before he killed his children and himself.

Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the images collected by investigators in Utah two years ago were realistic computer-generated depictions of "incestuous" parent-child relations.

The documents and images were recovered by police in West Valley, Utah, and sent to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department under a restrictive court order on Feb. 1, NBC station KING 5 reported. According to Washington's Department of Social and Health Services Public Affairs Senior Director Thomas Shapley, the material prompted the court to stop a process that likely would have returned Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, to their father's custody.
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Shapley said the material found on the computer was so disturbing that it prompted the state psychologist consulting in the custody case to change his opinion and recommend that the court prevent the return of the children.

An attorney for Powell's in-laws wasn't invited to see the materials before a custody hearing last week, the AP said. Lawyer Steve Downing told the AP that he might have asked the court to change the terms of Powell's supervised visitation with the boys -- if he had seen the images.

Meanwhile, the state social worker who brought Powell's two boys to his house said she heard the father tell one son he had a "surprise” for him, according to ABC News.

(for the rest of the article click on link)
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/09/10366586-detective-josh-powell-computer-depicted-parent-child-sex

An excerpt of an interesting piece going into JP's childhood and early years of marriage.

Josh Powell's troubled past

The troubling questions and search for understanding has put the focus on Josh Powell and his father, Steven. Trouble appeared long before Josh ever met Susan Cox.

It was in Nov. 1992, when Powell was 16, that his mother expressed concerns about her sons and what she felt they were learning from her Steven Powell, her husband.

"To see them becoming so hardened toward others and scornful of law and order is very frightening to me," Terrica Powell wrote in a court declaration. "I feel that they are being victimized by Steve's distorted teachings. I am hoping that they will be able to receive the kind of help they need in time to prevent them from destroying their lives, or others' lives around them."

"With the kind of disrespect the kids have learned to have regarding laws, I worry about what they will do. It seems like there is a sickness pervading my family and I have been powerless to stop it."
–Terrica Powell, in divorce documents

The disturbing details of Josh Powell's adolescence can be found in close to 200 pages of court documents filed as part of a divorce proceeding. They include threats he allegedly made to his mother with a butcher knife, and his killing of a pet hamster. Terrica Powell wrote numerous times about Josh Powell, who apparently followed his father's lead in harassing and abusing their mother, according to the documents.

"With the kind of disrespect the kids have learned to have regarding laws, I worry about what they will do," Terrica Powell wrote. "It seems like there is a sickness pervading my family and I have been powerless to stop it."

Still, the woman wrote that Josh "has shown moments of thoughtfulness and cooperation" and "sometimes shows a very sweet side." In one declaration, an aunt said Josh Powell, then 14, attempted suicide by hanging.

Terrica Powell said many of her son's issues at the time might have stemmed from a turbulent relationship with his father. Steven Powell would "pointedly attack" Josh Powell, she stated in the documents.

"I think that much of Josh's difficulties through the years has stemmed from not knowing where the boundaries are — what are the limits of acceptable behavior," she said .

Time and time again, the documents and affidavits characterize Steven Powell as controlling, manipulative and verbally abusive. All of these traits have also been used to describe his son. Steven Powell remains in a Washington jail awaiting trial on children pornography and voyeurism charges.

Former friends speak out

Rachel Marini, who knew Josh Powell before he married Susan Cox, said she and her husband, Tim, became good friends with the couple in Washington. But she eventually started to take issue with the way Josh Powell treated his wife.

Enlarge image
Josh Powell, the husband of missing Utah woman Susan Powell, listens during a court hearing regarding the custody of his two sons, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011, in Tacoma, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

"Every restaurant we ate at, Susan could have one thing from the dollar menu, but he could have whatever he wanted," Marini said, recalling a road trip the group took. "He just had to be in control of every situation and the one who called all of the shots."

Marini said she was also concerned about the callousness with which he treated his children. He wouldn't extend his hand to keep a young Charlie from falling down the stairs, instead calling Susan Cox Powell in from another room to help the child. At one point, the boy appeared malnourished because Josh Powell said he wasn't "wasting his table food" on the child.

"Josh has always scared me as a parent," Marini said. "He's never been an attentive or responsible parent."

"We will never forget Susan," Marini said this week. "She was such a wonderful girl. She was so happy and friendly and a friend to everyone we met."

She said Josh Powell's final act was evidence of his guilt.

"If he was capable of doing that to these two children he claimed he loved … of course he could do something similar to Susan," Marini said. "I'm ashamed to have once called him my friend. He and Susan were once one of our best friends. I don't know how I could have known him for 12 years and not known what a maniac he was."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=19176835&title=social-worker-describes-last-moments-with-powells-joshs-troubled-past-revealed&s_cid=featured-1

Reminder:

Today/tonight the Josh Powell tragedy will be featured on the following TV programs:

Dr. Phil Show ( the Cox's will be guests)

20/20

Dateline

Please check you local listing for the times.

20/20 and Dateline are on at 9 p.m. in my area: CST

The Houston media market dropped the Dr. Phil Show a few years ago due to low ratings. However, I can get it at 4 p.m. via satellite from another media market.

Powell family tragedy on ‘20/20,’ ‘Dateline,’ ‘Dr. Phil’ on Friday

February, 9 2012 6:23 PM

By Hal Boedeker
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL


The Powell family tragedy that stunned the nation will be explored on “Dr. Phil,” “Dateline NBC” and ABC’s “20/20,” all airing Friday.

In an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw, Susan Powell’s parents talk about the loss of their grandsons.

Read more:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/02/powell-family-tragedy-on-2020-dr-phil-on-friday.html