Missing Woman: Susan Powell--UT--12/06/2009

[LoriDavis]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865569607/Powell-family-tragedy-will-carry-into-2013.html

Powell family tragedy will carry into 2013

By Pat Reavy, Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Dec. 30 2012 1:00 p.m. MST

WEST VALLEY CITY — On Feb. 5, as most residents were returning home from church or making final preparations for their Super Bowl parties, two short tweets sent by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office marked the beginning of what would become the biggest — and among the most tragic — news story of the year in Utah, even though the events happened 850 miles away in Washington state.

"Rescue operation in progress. Head towards Powell residence. Stand by" and "All media please stand by. Will have more in a few" were the consecutive tweets sent by detective Ed Troyer.

The calm Sunday turned into a frantic rush as official reports of an explosion and fire at the home of Josh Powell started coming in. In the days and weeks that followed, horrific details about the deaths of 7-year-old Charlie Powell and his 5-year-old brother Braden were revealed as well as the disturbing dynamics within the Powell family.

By August, thousands of pages of police reports and child welfare documents detailing the negative influence Josh Powell was having on his children had been released. Just a few months earlier, his father, Steven Powell, had been sentenced to prison for surreptitiously taking photographs of young neighbor girls in their home. Graphic and highly troubling pictures, videos and personal diaries outlined his obsession with his missing daughter-in-law. A memorial for Charlie and Braden Powell was constructed in their honor.

Despite the tumultuous year, this tragic family story has not yet ended.

Susan Powell remains missing and presumed dead. Steven Powell, 62, is scheduled to be released from custody in May. Two young girls who were the victims of Powell's voyeuristic habits when they lived next door to his Puyallup, Wash., home have filed a civil lawsuit against him. Trial for that suit is scheduled for 2014.

In yet more legal action, a guardian ad litem for Susan Powell filed a lawsuit on her behalf against the Washington Department of Social and Health Services alleging negligence in the deaths of her sons. A trial is scheduled for June.

Anne Bremner, the Seattle-based attorney for Chuck and Judy Cox, Susan Powell's parents, has threatened to file a civil lawsuit against West Valley City for not releasing all police records connected to the missing person/murder case. The West Valley Police Department has cut back on the number of people working the Susan Powell missing persons investigation but still considers the Powell case to be active.

Meanwhile, the legal wrangling continues over who should get the money from Josh and Susan Powell's life insurance policies: Josh Powell's siblings or Susan Powell's parents.

Unimaginable tragedy

On Feb. 1, a bitter and long custody battle between Josh Powell and his missing wife's parents apparently reached a breaking point when a Tacoma, Wash., judge ruled that Powell would not regain full custody of his boys. In addition, the judge ordered Powell to undergo a psychosexual evaluation. He left the courtroom without speaking to reporters and with a look of frustration on his face.

Four days later, just as a social worker with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services was taking Charlie and Braden Powell to their father's new rental house, Powell took his boys inside and locked the social worker out. A few minutes later, the house erupted in an inferno.

The next day the grief deepened with the shocking revelation that Powell used a hatchet on this two sons before he ignited his gasoline-soaked home. Questions were immediately raised about whether the tragedy could have been prevented — either by arresting Powell earlier in the suspected death of his wife (he had been and remains the prime suspect) or by not allowing Josh Powell to have access to his sons.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865569790/Experts-say-everyone-needs-help-to-escape-domestic-violence-even-perpetrators.html

Experts say everyone needs help to escape domestic violence, even perpetrators

By Pat Reavy, Deseret News
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 2 2013 5:03 p.m. MST

ALT LAKE CITY — Tonya Lemus said the day she left her husband was when she came home and found her 2-year-old son with a black eye.

Though the decision to leave was easy, actually getting out of the house proved more difficult.

"I had my son in my arms and literally had to run down the street being chased by an ice pick saying he was going to kill both of us," she recalled.

That was 25 years ago. Although Lemus said she had problems with her ex-husband stalking her after she left, she encourages all women in abusive relationships to get out — quickly.

"Leave today, not tomorrow. Tomorrow is too late," she said.

Lemus was at the state Capitol Wednesday as the Utah Domestic Violence Council released its annual report on domestic violence-related deaths in Utah. The council counts both domestic-related homicides and suicides in its statistics.

According to the figures, 29 people died in Utah during 2012 because of a domestic violence incidents. Nine of those people were cohabitants; 11 of the victims were involved in five murder-suicide cases.

There were 28 domestic violence-related deaths between July 2010 and June 2011.

Domestic violence-related homicides are the most predictable types of homicides, and therefore the most preventable, said the council's executive director, Peg Coleman.

But statistics don't tell the entire story.

"The incomprehensible grief needs to be met with an abundance of compassion and concern," she said.

The reason the Utah Domestic Violence Council puts out its annual numbers, said chairwoman Brandy Farmer, is to make the public aware that domestic violence is everyone's problem.

"It's not just the victims and the perpetrators' lives that are at stake here — it's everyone's lives. We're all affected by it," she said. "We hope that we are sending a message to the community to educate them about the resources available to prevent the violence from happening in the first place."

The message for victims to get out of abusive relationships and take advantage of the resources available is always there, Farmer said. But for years the question has been, "Why do these deaths occur?" and the council would like the focus to be on the question of "How do we stop it?"

Part of that process includes giving attention to the abuser. Farmer also said perpetrators need to know there is help available for them, although in most cases they don't even realize that they need help.

"There is happiness beyond what they're feeling right now. But if they can't do it by themselves, which most of them can't because its become a habit by now, then it's time to get professional help," she said. "How can we stop the violence if we don't help the abuser?

"As a survivor, I know that we have to help the abusers. Because people kept asking me why I didn't leave. I kept asking them, 'Well, why didn't he just stop?'"

Most perpetrators of domestic violence believe they don't have a problem and what has happened to their victims is not their fault. That's where friends, family and educating the community can play a role, she said.

During Wednesday's ceremony, there was a special presentation for Susan, Charlie and Braden Powell. Though the Utah Domestic Violence Council no longer prints the names of victims in its annual report, they did take take a few moments to honor the missing West Valley City woman and her two children who were killed in a high profile incident of domestic violence last year in Graham, Wash.

"Susan's Song," written by Camilyn Morrison and Jessie Funk, was performed while a slideshow of Charlie, Braden and Susan was shown on a screen. Several in the audience were in tears by the time the song was over.

A moment of silence was held for all the victims of domestic violence before the ceremony finished.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_5013.shtml

WVPD To Hold Press Conference On Susan Cox Powell Missing Person Investigation

Friday, May 17 2013, 10:24 PM MDT

(KUTV) West Valley Police Department announced Friday that they will be holding a press conference Monday, May 20th, to give an update on the Susan Cox Powell missing person investigation.

The press conference will be held in the multipurpose room at West Valley City Hall at 3pm. WVPD will be giving details pertaining to the investigation.

Earlier this week a two-day search for Susan took place at a private property near Salem, Oregon, but police found no signs of Powell.

The Utah mom went missing in December 2009. Her husband, Josh Powell, was the only named person of interest in her disappearance.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Police-give-details-in-Powell-disappearance-case-4531676.php

Police give details in Powell disappearance case

By PAUL FOY, Associated Press | May 20, 2013 | Updated: May 20, 2013 8:45pm

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) — For the first time, Utah police said they believe Susan Powell's brother-in-law was "heavily involved" in getting rid of her body.

West Valley police said the focus shifted to Michael C. Powell after Josh Powell killed the couple's two boys and himself in a deliberately set house fire 15 months ago.

Police held a news conference Monday to say they are closing the active investigation of Susan Powell's disappearance, citing a lack of leads coupled with Michael C. Powell's own suicide only months ago.

Police released the case file, which includes details that have been kept under wraps since Powell vanished in 2009. Police have said they would reopen the Susan Powell case if they get new information.

Her father, Chuck Cox, believed Josh Powell poisoned his wife's pancakes before she was taken from the couple's house.

"The question is, where did he put her and will we find her before she does die?" Cox wrote in an email to Utah authorities, according to the police file. "One possibility is that she is still alive, but we need to find her before she does die, if the poison was not a fatal dose, she may ... be found."

Police based their suspicion of Michael C. Powell's involvement partly on a car he left at an Oregon junkyard only weeks after Susan Powell disappeared. The junkyard is about 200 miles from a forest outside Salem, Ore., where authorities searched last week, looking for a body. The search turned up nothing, and police said they ran out of clues.

Deputy West Valley Police Chief Mike Powell — no relation — said authorities believe Josh Powell killed his wife, and that his brother later got involved in a cover-up. Michael C. Powell denied any wrongdoing while under investigation.

It wasn't until last August that Utah police discovered Michael Powell's Ford Taurus at the junkyard outside Pendleton, Ore. DNA recovered from the upholstery inside the car's trunk proved inconclusive, they said.

The Powell brothers used sophisticated computer encryption to communicate, according to West Valley City Deputy Chief Phil Quinlan. Investigators have been unable to decipher that encrypted communication, he said.

Investigators said they focused on the brother last year, when Josh Powell changed his insurance policy to list Michael Powell as a primary beneficiary, rather than his wife or children.

Michael Powell, an ardent supporter of Josh Powell, killed himself Feb. 11 by leaping from a parking garage in Minneapolis. He was interviewed numerous times last year after investigators determined he had sold his car for salvage value — a discovery that came nearly two years after Susan Powell's disappearance. Officials said he offered evasive answers about why he got rid of the car and how he had used it in the weeks after her disappearance.

His suicide left investigators without any person of interest in the case. While authorities believe the brothers were responsible for Susan Powell's disappearance, they said repeatedly Monday that they never had enough evidence to bring charges.

"This is a circumstantial case, yes," Quinlan said. His fellow deputy chief, Mike Powell, added, "We didn't have a body. We don't have a crime scene."

Susan Powell was reported missing more than three years ago after failing to show up for work. Her husband, Josh, maintained his innocence and said he had taken the couple's young boys on a midnight camping trip in freezing temperatures the night she was last seen.

Josh Powell eventually returned to the couple's hometown of Puyallup, Wash., where he got caught up in a battle with Susan Powell's parents for custody of the boys, 7-year-old Charlie and 5-year-old Braden.

On Feb. 15, 2012, he locked a social worker out of a rental home at the start of a supervised visit, attacked the boys with a hatchet and set the house afire. All three were killed in the blaze.

Days earlier, a court had ordered Josh Powell to undergo an intensive psychosexual evaluation in the custody dispute.

Josh Powell was never charged in his wife's disappearance, but unsealed documents say authorities found drops of Susan Powell's blood on a floor next to a sofa that appeared to have been recently cleaned, with two fans set up to blow on it. Investigators also found life insurance policies on Susan Powell and determined that Josh Powell had filed paperwork to withdraw her retirement account money about 10 days after her disappearance.

Susan Powell, then 28, was last seen Dec. 6, 2009.

"We have searched high and low for what happened to Susan Cox Powell," West Valley Mayor Mike Winder said. "What happened to Susan that night?"