No wonder he always looked like he was sucking on lemons. He was holding back a taste much more acerbic than lemon juice. First he killed their mother, his wife, and concocted a cockamamie alibi that carried him forth until he could commit the ultimate betrayal. Then the son of a bitch tried to chop off their heads before immolating them in a homemade inferno that also spat him back into the hell from which he came.
The disappearance of Susan Powell was never a real mystery. Josh murdered Susan on December 6, 2009. The weather was bitter cold. I can almost imagine Susan watching the 5:00 pm weatherman predict that a winter storm was projected to drop more than a foot of snow overnight. Of course she agreed when he closed his forecast with, “You do not need to travel tonight.”
Susan, her husband and sons, were reported missing by her parents the next morning. Josh and the boys showed up later that evening, but not Susan. She was never seen again!
Josh’s story was a poorly fabricated lie. But it seemed to fool the authorities, because, as we found out only after the fact, her disappearance was not reclassified as a murder until almost two years later. Josh was considered a “person of interest”, but apparently not enough interest to actually hinder his style.
About a month later Josh packed up the boys and moved out of state to live with his father, another lemon-sucking pervert, in Puyallup, Washington. Josh and his father Steven launched a campaign to assassinate Susan’s character and threatened to publish her childhood journals online. A judge issued a permanent injunction stopping that plan. Shortly thereafter Steven Powell was arrested on child pornography and voyeurism related charges. Steven’s daughter Jennifer Graves expressed relief after hearing that her father had been arrested, telling a reporter, “They’re getting him off the streets now and he won’t be able to take advantage of innocents in the future.” Steven remains in Jail, but somehow Josh was able to slither under the radar one more time.
He lost custody of the children to Susan’s parents, but not access. A judge gave him supervised visits. The boys began to blossom once they escaped Josh’s toxic influence. I’m using toxic as a synonym for evil here. They may have even begun to talk about the night Susan disappeared. I wonder if Josh was aware that his son Braden may have drawn a picture of a van with three people in it and told caregivers it showed his family going camping and that, “Mommy’s in the trunk.” We could ask him, but…oh no, we can’t because he’s in Hell and still not cooperating with the authorities.
Josh Powell carried more red flags than a Chinese New Year parade. He showed no remorse or regret that his wife was missing. His alibi was a pitiful fabrication. He wasn’t cooperating with the police. His own sister hated him. His father was a known pervert. He segregated the kids from Susan’s family as he allowed them to be exposed to perversion. He tried to assassinate Susan’s character. It was all there in plain sight. Why couldn’t the court see the facts that screamed from the headlines for more than two years?
I have cried so much over over this. May they be with Susan, God and His Angels
I read recently in an article that the teacher gave the drawing to Josh. Now this teacher has to live the rest of their life with such a horrible decision made. Why not give it to the police or grandparents?
The system failed these boys.It makes me so angry,the Judge knew the circumstances around their mothers disapperence,and he allowed visitation.And then at his home,really Judge,why didn't you ask the boys how they felt.Grandpa said they cried,they didn't want to go.He had to talk them into going.If anything visitation should of been in a public setting,since this man was so unstable.I'm just shaking my head over this,unbelievable how they were let down by a system thats supposed to protect them.I am just sick over this.
It's beyond my comprehension to even imagine that one boy watched his 'father' trying to cut his brothers head off. Absolute terror. There are no words for this monster.
Thanks for your insightful words. You are correct about everything you mentioned. How could these obvious signs be missed by the so called experts?
Excellent piece Marc. Thank you for saying it.
Mark, You never fail to call it like it is. Thank-you!
Terrific article, Mark! I also wonder how this freak was allowed to go free and have his kids when he obviously murdered his wife and his father was a known pedophile. I always thought he looked like a pervert himself. Nasty sack of shit is in hell now.
Mark you hit the nail on the head with this one for sure. I will never for the life of me understand how our system works it's much too lenient when it comes to criminal's and our children. I don't know how that judge feels today after learning of this tragedy, but one thing is for sure regret is an aweful thing to have to live with. I know These precious babies are now at peace with their mom, and my prayers are with Susans parents may God bless them and help them through this nightmare.