Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Report: Father of man who killed sons in suicide house fire 'person of interest' in son's wife's disappearance

Fox News:

GRAHAM, Wash. – The father of a man who killed himself and his two young sons in a house fire Sunday has been named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his son's wife, KCPQ-TV reports.

Steven Powell is currently in jail and facing child porn and voyeurism charges. He claimed in previous television interviews that he and Susan Powell were falling in love and even implied a sexual relationship had occurred.

"Susan was very sexual with me," Steven Powell said in one interview at the time. "We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that."

Susan's father denied the allegations and said Steven Powell had been initiating unwanted sexual advances, and that his daughter had no interest in her father-in-law.

The elder Powell, 61, was arrested at his Washington state home and accused of secretly videotaping his daughter-in-law, other women, and young girls taking baths and sitting on the toilet in neighborhood homes last year.

The new report is another twist in the very public scandal that began when Susan Powell vanished in 2009. Josh Powell had been the only person of interest named in his wife's disappearance.

Steven Powell has been reportedly placed on suicide watch following his son's and grandson's deaths.

Authorities in Washington state said Monday evening that the Powell's sons suffered severe chopping injuries to their heads or necks as they died in a house fire set by their father Sunday.

Smoke inhalation was the primary cause of death for Josh Powell and his two young sons, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office said. But the boys also suffered "chop injuries" that contributed to their deaths.

A social worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home Sunday for what was to be a supervised visit, and Powell let his sons inside -- but then blocked the social worker from entering, authorities have said.

The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an inferno that neighbors said rattled their houses.

Investigators searched through the charred rubble of the home Monday and released new details about what they described as Powell's deliberation in killing himself and his children, who had been removed from his care -- a horrifying climax to a long, bizarre saga. They found the two 5-gallon gas cans inside.

"This was definitely a deliberate, planned-out event," Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said.

Jeffrey Bassett, who represented Powell in the custody case, said he received an ominous email from his client just minutes before the fire.

"I'm sorry, goodbye," it read.

Authorities said Powell sent longer emails to some people, including his cousin and pastor, with instructions such as where to find his money and how to shut off his utilities. But none of the emails said anything about what happened to his wife.

The maternal grandparents of Josh Powell's two sons say the boys were playing happily Sunday and didn't want to visit their father.

Charles and Judy Cox tell KIRO-TV that the grandmother talked them into a supervised child custody visit with their father.

When the boys arrived at Powell's Washington state home, their father barred a social worker from entering and then lit the house on fire.

Charlie and Braden Powell shared a bedroom in the Cox's Puyallup home since last fall, when they were removed from their father's custody.

The Coxes are parents of Susan Powell, who has been missing since 2009. Josh Powell was a person of interest in her disappearance in Utah.

Investigators tried to fill in holes Monday in the case with an arson investigation at the home and autopsies on Josh Powell and his sons, said Troyer. Local detectives also are meeting with police from West Valley City, Utah, who have been looking for Susan Powell.

Steve Richards, assistant chief of Graham Fire and Rescue, said crews were assessing the remnants of the home to determine how the fire began and what types of accelerants might have been used. He said responders arrived on scene about three minutes after getting the call and found flames already through the roof.

"It was just devastation," he said.

Fire investigators were slowly moving around the home Monday morning, measuring areas both inside and out. All the bodies were found Sunday in one room in the middle of the home, Troyer said.

A candle light vigil was held Sunday night for the boys outside the 7-year-old's school in Puyallup.

The investigation will include a closer looks at Josh Powell's last movements and messages.

Chaplains have been working with the family of Susan Powell.

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services said the social worker who brought the boys to Josh Powell's home for what was to be a supervised visit is "suffering from grave emotional trauma as a result of the horrific event." The department will conduct a formal child fatality review.

She did all she could, Troyer said.

The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an inferno that neighbors said rattled their houses. Some sort of accelerant was used to make the house burn faster, Troyer said.

Susan Powell, a 28-year-old mother of two, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, after she failed to show up for her stockbroker job in Utah.

Authorities in the couple's hometown of West Valley City, about 10 miles outside Salt Lake City, quickly turned their attention to Josh Powell. He was a "person of interest" in the case, but had repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance.

"I would never even hurt her," a tearful, red-eyed Josh Powell told CBS' Early Show in August. "People who know me know that I could never hurt Susan."

About a month later, police spent 12 days in the remote central Utah desert looking for clues, and Josh Powell and his father quickly disappeared from the limelight. The search area around Topaz Mountain, a popular spot for rock and gem hunters, was about 30 miles south of where Josh told police he went camping with his two children in the hours before his wife's disappearance -- his steadfast alibi.

On Sunday, the lawyer for Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, told the AP the children had started talking to their grandparents about things they remembered from the night their mother vanished.

"They were beginning to verbalize more," said attorney Steve Downing, whose clients had custody of the children. "The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that Mommy was in the trunk. Mom and Dad got out of the car and Mom disappeared."

Police turned up no clues in their desert search.

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