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Josh Powell

Elaine Thompson/AP

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Josh Powell, a person of interest in the Dec. 6, 2009 disappearance of his wife Susan, killed himself and the couple's two young sons on Sunday in a planned, intentional explosion, police confirm Sunday.

According to the The Seattle Times, a case worker delivered the boys to Powell's house Sunday near Tacoma, Wash., when Powell pushed the worker out of the house. Moments later, there was an explosion. Officials have recovered three bodies from the house that they believe are Josh Powell and his sons Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5.

The case worker "was forced out, and an explosion happened shortly thereafter," Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, told the newspaper.

The Associated Press reports that Powell's lawyer in his custody case, Jeffrey Bassett, received a three-word email from his client minutes before the explosion. It said, "I'm sorry, goodbye."

Only days earlier, a family court judge told Powell that he was not likely to get custody of the boys anytime soon, and that he needed to undergo a psychological review. The boys were in the custody of their grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox.

Powell had denied any role in his wi...appearance, and had told police that she went missing while he took the boys on an overnight camping trip in a snowstorm. He recently told the family court judge that Chuck and Judy were not taking good care of the boys and were turning their two sons against him.

Powell lost custody on Sept. 22 after his father, Steve Powell, was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography.

Simply incredible. And his father is as big a creep as he was.

I pray for the children's souls.

The guy was a murder suspect-so why were his kids allowed around him anyway?

The guy was a murder suspect-so why were his kids allowed around him anyway?

scriptgirl said:

The guy was a murder suspect-so why were his kids allowed around him anyway?

He had lost custody. The kids had been brought over by a social worker for a visit. He got the kids in the house, locked the social worker out, and then killed them and himself.

I don't understand why people do this. I mean I know it's more than likely the case of "if I can't have my kids, you won't either" but it's so damn selfish. Why kill your own flesh and blood over your selfishness????

And what's up with these cases lately? I know it happens, but it seems like there's been a spike in this activity lately. A man in my city (about a couple of counties over) just killed himself and his twin girls over a custody dispute with his ex-wife.

He shouldn't have seen those kids. I hope they find his wife's body. No doubt to me that he murdered her

wy couldn't he just have killed himself?? those poor kids

The 7 year old had started telling the grand parents that "mommy was in the mine." So he knew the jig was up.

Holy shit-that poor child must have seen his mother killed. What was the motive for Josh killing his wife?

XxAxX said:

wy couldn't he just have killed himself?? those poor kids

Exactly. Don't get me wrong, I'm no advocate for suicides, but my goodness if you feeling that helpless just take yourself out, don't take others, especially innocent children, with you.

lazycrockett said:

The 7 year old had started telling the grand parents that "mommy was in the mine." So he knew the jig was up.

I believe he needed to silence his older son who began speaking and recalling the event.

So he found a way to silence both children permanently... new laws will be made after this tragedy (I hope) were children are better protected so crap like this NEVER happens again.

I am angry.

It comes down to a twisted sense of "ownership".

I am willing to bet that the same twisted sense of ownership is why wifey went missing in the first place.

and for the children.

This kinda reminds me of a case in Michigan-2 parents divorced, arguing over custody. The dad gets the kids to himself on Thanksgiving-3 darling boys-and suddenly the boys are never seen again and the father can’t come up with an explanation. The bodies aren’t found, but the dad is convicted of manslaughter, I think and now he is in jail.

scriptgirl said:

This kinda reminds me of a case in Michigan-2 parents divorced, arguing over custody. The dad gets the kids to himself on Thanksgiving-3 darling boys-and suddenly the boys are never seen again and the father can’t come up with an explanation. The bodies aren’t found, but the dad is convicted of manslaughter, I think and now he is in jail.

Sick.

What I don't get is this-Powell lived in Washington-yet his wife's parents had custody-they live in Utah, I think, so child services flew the kids to Washington just to see their dad?

lazycrockett said:

The 7 year old had started telling the grand parents that "mommy was in the mine." So he knew the jig was up.

Even so, all he had to do was kill himself to avoid jail & humiliation

The Powell case started in Utah because that is where Josh and Susan Powell lived when she disappeared. Susan had been missing maybe 9 days when Josh packed up and moved in with his father in Washington State.

Josh Powell continued to deny that he had any roll in his wife's disappearance, so unless they happen to find some evidence in the charred remains of the house, or his piece of shit father finally talks, his motive may never be known.

My heart goes out to the Cox family, (Susan's family). They worked so hard to find out what happened to their daughter and to protect their grandsons.

The men of the Powell family are and were vile. The father was caught video taping neighborhood girls and women changing their clothes and going to the restroom. Josh and the two small boys lived in the house at the time.

Steven (I think that's the dad's name) told the media that "Susan was a very sexual being. She liked it." (when he made advances towards her) etc. Just vile. Susan's friends have said that is absolutely untrue and she was very uncomfortable around her father-in-law. Josh's brother started a website just last week accusing the Cox family of deviancy etc and saying that the children were in danger in their grandparents' custody.

Josh has one sister who is estranged from the family. She sided with Cox family and said that Josh and her father were a danger to the children.

The whole ordeal is just sickening!

Steven Powell is in jail in Washington because of the images on his computer. He's been on suicide watch since he was notified of his son and grandsons' deaths.

When Steven was arrested and it started coming to light what he was doing and when he started saying the Susan came on to him and all that nonsense, I thought that Josh and his dad probably killed and disposed of her together, or at the very least came up with the plan to and Josh carried it out.

I think Susan was about to go to the police about her sicko father-in-law and husband and get her and the kids out of there. I think she made the mistake of telling Josh, so he killed her to shut her up.

My questions-

Where is Josh's mom?

I wonder if the dad ever made advances to his daughter?

Where was steven Powell videotaping these women at?

How was Josh able to move to another state if he was a murder suspect?

If Susan was to go to the police, what charges would she have filed?

The Mom is probably dead so that means everyone in that family unit is gone. So sad the children and wife had to pay for the Father's psychosis.

Just unbelievable.

No, I mean where is Josh’s mom. I know his wife, Susan, the mother of the boys was murdered, but is Josh’s mom alive?

Steven Powell and his wife were divorced (I think). I think she has spoken one time in all of this, but has very much stayed out of the picture.

I tried to google information about her, but came up with nothing.

I'm really not sure about Josh Powell's mother.

Steven Powell was married 2x?

I pray for the social worker too.

scriptgirl said:

Steven Powell was married 2x?

I don't think so.

Steven Powell's ex = Josh Powell's mom.

I think...there really hasn't been much information about her.