The Powell family of Salt Lake City, Utah was the very definition of an All-American family. Susan and Joshua had two sons both of whom they loved with all their hearts. The only problem was that Susan and Joshua had very little love for each other.
In December of 2009, all of the growing animosity between the husband and wife came to an ugly head when Susan mysteriously vanished. Some said that she chose to leave rather than risk her life, but others believed that she had waited too long to avoid that dire result.
Building A Life
Susan Cox married Joshua Powell in April 2001. Susan was a trained cosmetologist who ended up getting a job at Wells Fargo to support their growing family and Joshua had a bachelor’s in business and had worked a number of different jobs over the years. Together, they were building a life, but even from the start there was blood in the mortar.
Stressful Existence
Right from the start, it seemed that Susan and Joshua were having marital issues. Stress infused every part of their relationship and many of their friends believed that this stemmed directly from the financial burden of Joshua’s extravagant spending habits. By 2007, they had over $200,000 in debts and had to file for bankruptcy.
Serious Allegations
This was accentuated by the fact that Joshua was apparently, very, very controlling towards Susan. She told her friends and even recorded a video of her surveying property damage attributed to Joshua stating: “I want it documented that there is extreme turmoil in our marriage … If I die, it may not be an accident, even if it looks like one.”
Church Days
It was on the morning of December 7, 2009, about a year after they had made that video, that Susan Powell disappeared. She and her two sons, Charles and Braden, had gone to church early in the day on December 6, and a neighbor had visited them at home till around 5:00 p.m. By the next day, Susan was gone…
No Shows
At the onset, it was the entire Powell family who was reported missing. Joshua’s mother Terrica and sister Jennifer Graves had come to the house looking for the family but found that no one was home. They’d come because the boys’ daycare had called to ask them why Charles and Braden hadn’t been dropped off in the morning. Susan hadn’t shown up to work either.
Something Amiss
The police were called, but no one seemed able to find Susan or Joshua. Worrying that the family might have been the victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, the police broke into the house. They found no one inside but did notice two running fans blowing on a wet spot of carpet. The officers also found Susan’s purse, cell phone, and car, but no Susan, Joshua, or the boys.
Impromptu Camping Trip
It wasn’t until 5 p.m. that day that Joshua Powell returned home with his sons. He was immediately taken to the police station and asked what had happened to Susan. He answered that he had taken the boys on an impromptu trip shortly after midnight on December 7th and that he’d left Susan sleeping at home. When the police investigated this alleged campsite, they found no evidence of the Powell’s having been there.
Mounting Evidence
They searched the Powell house and found traces of Susan’s blood on the floor. They also discovered that Joshua had a $1.5 million life insurance policy on his wife. When they discovered a slew of handwritten letters from Susan expressing fear for her life, they decided to look more closely into Joshua Powell’s suspicious actions of late.
Suspicions Grow
First and foremost was his demeanor when the police informed him that his wife was missing. He didn’t seem at all concerned. In fact, when he was released from custody, he liquidated her retirement accounts, canceled her chiropractic appointments, and withdrew his children from daycare. There were even reports that he had spoken to coworkers about how to hide a body in the desert.
Charlie’s Account
Police decided to interview the couple’s children – both of whom had some rather telling things to say about the events of that fateful night. Charlie confirmed that the trip had taken place. Only, as he remembered it, Susan came with them and then disappeared from the campsite. This was in direct contradiction to his father’s account that she had stayed home and there were more revelations to come.
Revelations
Police were informed that several weeks after Susan’s disappearance, one of Charlie’s teachers heard Charlie claim she was dead. Little Braden also seemed to know more than he knew. He drew a picture of a van with three people in daycare and told the workers that “mommy was in the trunk of the car.”
The Move
Before the police could find sufficient evidence to tie him to the disappearance and at this point, assumed murder, of Susan Powell, Joshua Powell took his sons and moved to Puyallup. He’d lost his job and was forced to move in with his father Steven, his brothers Michael and Jonathan, and his sister, Alina.
Harsh Words
Meanwhile, the Internet was abuzz with cross words against Joshua and Susan both. One website insinuated that Susan’s disappearance was connected to that of Steven Koecher, a Salt Lake Tribune journalist who vanished the same week. The theory was that she had abandoned her family due to mental illness and run off to Brazil with Koecher.
Paternal Obsession
Nevertheless, Joshua remained the prime suspect. What no one knew at the time was that there was indeed another potential suspect very close to Susan. Josh’s father, Steven Powell. Unbeknownst to anyone, Steven had been obsessively infatuated with his son’s wife for years. There were rumors that the family’s move to Utah was an attempt to get Susan away from Steven’s unwanted advances.
Loving Susan
These advances included love songs posted online under a pseudonym and a slew of photographs taken without her knowledge – 4,500 of them to be exact – and many of these close-ups of various body parts. The police had been warned about this obsession by an anonymous friend following Susan’s disappearance.
Red Herring
Despite his stalkerish behavior, there wasn’t enough evidence to tie Steven Powell to Susan’s disappearance either. Steven was officially arrested on charges of voyeurism and child pornography. It wasn’t just Susan he’d been taping, it was a number of women, some of them young girls. Steven went to jail and Joshua and the boys continued to live with the family.
Change In Custody
News of Steven’s predilections and subsequent arrest prompted Charles Cox, Susan’s father, to file for custody of her children. Charles already had his suspicions about Joshua’s part in his daughter’s disappearance, and this was the last straw. He was granted temporary custody until the court could figure out what to do next.
Visitation Rights
In 2011, Joshua was evaluated by the court to determine if he had adequate parenting skills to be permitted at least visitation rights. They determined that he had a steady job but that his criminal history and the ongoing investigation into Susan’s disappearance raised some concerns. They also found him to be overbearing, defensive, and paranoid. Regardless of all this, he was allowed some supervised visitation with the boys.
Like Father, Like Son
In January 2012, Utah police discovered 400 images of simulated, cartoonish child pornography, bestiality, and incest on Joshua’s computer. Though not illegal, they were of great concern to the court and it looked as though the Coxes were going to receive full custody. On the morning of February 5, a social worker bringing the boys over for a supervised visit called 911.
Explosive End
The woman said Joshua grabbed the boys and wouldn’t let her into the house. A few minutes later and the house exploded, killing Joshua and both boys. It was ruled a case of deliberate murder-suicide. In 2013, the police closed the active investigation into the disappearance of Susan Powell and it is widely assumed that Joshua killed her and disposed of the body.
