Missing / Located Persons > Rocky Mountain: CO, MT, UT, and WY
Missing Woman: Susan Powell--UT--12/06/2009
LoriDavis:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/testimony-ends-in-washington-voyeurism-trial-of-father-in-law-of-missing-utah-woman/2012/05/14/gIQAIHrBPU_story.html
Testimony ends in Washington voyeurism trial of father-in-law of missing Utah woman
By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, May 14, 5:53 PM
TACOMA, Wash. — Testimony in the voyeurism trial of Steve Powell, the father-in-law of missing Utah mother Susan Powell, came to an abrupt end Monday as prosecutors rested their case and defense attorneys declined to call their own witnesses.
The final volley of information explored a brief slice of Steve Powell’s personal journals, concluding a trial with a very narrow scope. Neither side examined Steve Powell’s relationship with Susan Powell, whose 2009 disappearance triggered scrutiny of the Washington man.
Steve Powell was never called to testify. He faces 14 voyeurism counts, including accusations that he filmed two neighbor girls using their second-floor bathroom.
A Utah investigator testified about an entry in Steve Powell’s journal, which prosecutors say was uncovered during a search of his home last year. West Valley City Police Sgt. Todd Gray said Steve Powell wrote how he enjoyed taking video of “beautiful women of every age” and that he took the images for personal use.
Defense attorneys have at times pointed out that other people lived in Steve Powell’s home, including Susan Powell’s husband for a time after her disappearance. Josh Powell was being investigated in her disappearance before he killed himself and the couple’s two children this year.
Susan Powell’s father, Chuck Cox, said he wished his daughter had been a larger focus of the testimony in Steve Powell’s trial. Authorities have said many images in Steve Powell’s files were of Susan Powell and were taken without her knowledge.
Cox said it appeared that prosecutors were trying not to prejudice the jury by referencing Susan Powell.
“I think they were being too cautious,” he said.
Steve Powell was arrested in the voyeurism case last year after authorities investigating Susan Powell’s disappearance searched his home and found the images. Prosecutors say two neighbor girls filmed by Steve Powell were about 8 and 10 when the images were recorded in 2006-07.
The girls, identified in court only by their initials, testified last week that it never occurred to them that someone might be filming them as they washed, got dressed or used the toilet in their second-floor bathroom.
After testimony ended Monday, defense attorneys moved to dismiss all but two of the voyeurism counts, arguing prosecutors had failed to prove the images were from separate instances. But prosecutors said the images showed different levels of daylight, different clothing and different items in the background.
Judge Ronald Culpepper dismissed the defense motion.
Steve Powell faces a standard sentence of around four years if convicted, but the state has alleged aggravating factors that could result in a longer term. Closing arguments for the case were set for Tuesday.
LoriDavis:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-29/father-in-law-of-missing-utah-mom-prison-release/55929616/1
Father-in-law of missing Utah mom may be released in year
June 29, 2012
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The father-in-law of missing Utah woman Susan Powell may be released from prison in less than a year, despite being convicted of 14 voyeurism counts.
Steven Powell was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1 / 2years in prison for recording images of two neighbor girls in their bathroom. After factoring for time served, good time and reductions because he is a nonviolent offender, the state has calculated his potential release date as May 23, 2013.
Prosecutors had asked for Powell to be sentenced to 10 years.
Susan Powell disappeared from her Utah home in 2009. Her husband, Josh, was a focus of the investigation until he killed himself and the couple's two children earlier this year. Steven Powell was arrested last year after authorities investigating her disappearance searched his home in Washington state.
Investigators said they found thousands of images of women and girls who seemed unaware they were being photographed, including images of Susan Powell. They filed charges based on video taken of the neighbor girls, who were about 8 and 10 years old when the images were recorded.
Powell also faces three years of supervised release following the sentence.
Authorities say they want to speak with Steven Powell about his daughter-in-law's disappearance.
LoriDavis:
http://www.abc4.com/content/news/state/story/Susan-Powell-s-parents-to-sue-Washington-over/ksG41ZsA8k-UnTkKQ3dNEg.cspx
Susan Powell’s parents to sue Washington over grandchildren murders
Updated: 8/03 9:04 pm | Published: 8/03 5:40 pm
Reported by: Noah Bond
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – Susan Powell’s parents filing a lawsuit against Washington State because of apparent breakdowns in the system designed to keep their grandchildren safe.
"They did have the warning signs and supposedly they're the professionals. It's their job to figure this stuff out,” said Susan’s father, Chuck Cox. "The children, we miss them, but we know they're with their mother.”
Chuck and Judy Cox worked with the West Valley Police Department and social workers in Washington, yet their two grandchildren were murdered by the hands of their own father, Josh Powell.
"There were errors made this should not have happened,” Chuck said.
“They did everything right and everything went wrong,” said the Cox family attorney, Anne Bremner.
A 13 page report compiled by a panel of experts suggests mistakes made by social workers in Washington. The first was on day one, when the boys were checked into Washington’s system.
According to the report, Washington social workers wrote an answer to this question about the Powell family, "Has anyone used or threatened to use physical force against an adult in the home?”
"...the intake workers answered "no"...", the report reveals.
The panel of experts investigating the system responsible for Charlie and Braden responded, "...social workers could have answered "yes”.
“This is a good start in this report in saying they should have put this in a domestic violence category like we were talking about off camera the best prediction of future violence is previous violence,” said Bremner. “If there's probable cause someone was involve in the disappearances of a spouse, killed them, they can't have the kids that easy. It's common sense,” she continued.
Chuck and Judy Cox want this apparent mistake fixed in Washington’s system. In fact Bremner says they’re pushing for an entire overhaul of the system responsible for children in Washington state custody.
West Valley Police are responding to this report with a news release. Part of it reads, "Josh is solely responsible for his horrific actions back in February of this year and individually responsible for the murders of Charlie and Braden."
Chuck Cox said, "They did have the warning signs and supposedly they're the professionals. It's their job to figure this stuff out, and be, take care of the children and I say it failed."
Washington required a waiting period of 60 days before filing a law suit against the state. Bremner says she’ll file this case as soon as possible.
Shannon:
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/56273d11985e449b89f58f43940fd315/UT--Missing-Mom-Utah
Utah supporters release new song in advance of Susan Powell's birthday
October 14, 2012 - 8:13 pm EDT
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — Supporters of Susan Powell have released a new song in advance of what would have been her 31st birthday on Tuesday.
The West Valley City woman was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009. Authorities had been probing her husband, Josh, who maintained his innocence, then earlier this year killed himself and the couple's two young sons at a Washington state home.
Jennifer Graves, Josh Powell's estranged sister, stressed the importance of building healthy relationships through appropriate boundaries during a talk Saturday at the Ivy Girl Academy in Cottonwood Heights.
It ended with a performance of "Susan's Song, 'A Dream Away,'" written by a friend after the boys were killed in Graham, Wash.
Profits from the song's sale will go toward memorials for Susan Powell in West Valley City and Puyallup, Wash
LoriDavis:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55417721-78/powell-susan-josh-police.html.csp
West Valley City police scale back search for Susan Powell
Investigation » Three years later, case is “active but has been scaled down,” police say.
By Brooke Adams | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Dec 06 2012 04:03 pm
On Thursday, the third anniversary of the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell from her West Valley City home, police said the investigation "continues to be active but has been scaled down."
West Valley City police Sgt. Mike Powell said in a news release that the number of full-time investigators assigned to the case has been reduced.
"Some investigative tasks remain to be completed as follow-ups are coordinated," said Powell, who is not related to the missing woman.
"The department remains committed to this investigation," Powell added, noting there is still a $10,000 reward for information leading to Susan Powell’s whereabouts.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the West Valley City Police Department at 801-840-4000.
In recent months, a spokesman for the city has said ongoing work on the case justifies their refusal to release records related to the investigation.
In Washington state, the Associated Press reported Wednesday it received a folder containing nearly 4,500 images of Susan Powell in response to a records request for evidence used at the voyeurism trial of Steve Powell, her father-in-law. Many of the images of Susan were taken without her knowledge and focused on her crotch and backside.
They were among other evidence seized from Steve Powell’s Puyallup home in August 2011. Among that cache were images of young girls who lived next door, which were used to convict Steven Powell of voyeurism charges earlier this year.
Susan Powell was last seen at her home Dec. 6, 2009, a Sunday, when a friend stopped by to help the young mom untangle some yarn and then stayed through a later-afternoon pancake brunch.
A day-care provider raised an alarm early the next morning when the boys were not dropped off as scheduled and she could not reach either parent. Josh Powell, accompanied by the boys, finally arrived back at the couple’s home in the early evening of Dec. 7, 2009. Josh Powell told police they had left around midnight to go camping in Utah’s West Desert, while Susan stayed behind. He initially insisted he assumed she had gone to work.
But the story was full of holes from the moment Josh Powell offered it. Investigators found Susan Powell’s cellphone in her husband’s minivan, and Josh Powell could not explain why he called it after being informed his wife was missing. They identified her blood on a couch and nearby floor in the couple’s home. They also retrieved a statement Susan Powell, 28, prepared detailing the couple’s ongoing marital problems and her concerns that Josh Powell might harm her if she attempted to proceed with a divorce and sought custody of their sons.
The most innocent — and telling — observation of all came from Powell’s son Charlie, who was 4 at the time his mom disappeared. Charlie told a police investigator his mom had gone camping with them but did not come back with them and he did not know why.
The story shifted to Washington when, less than a month after his wife’s disappearance, Josh Powell, with his sons, moved into his father Steven’s home in Puyallup.
The case simmered until August 2011 when police searched the Puyallup home looking for clues. A month later, they arrested Steven Powell and charged him with voyeurism after finding sexually explicit photos he had taken surreptitiously of neighborhood children.
Washington authorities removed the boys — Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5 — from the home and placed them with their grandparents. The Coxes were engaged in a custody battle with Josh Powell, 36, when he carried out the murder/suicide on Feb. 5, 2012.
Moments after the two boys arrived for a supervised visit at Josh Powell’s rented home, the father started a fire that killed the boys and also claimed his life.
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