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The young sons of Josh and Susan Powell began to "verbalize more" about their missing mother, suggesting that she was in the trunk of their father's car on the night she disappeared in 2009, an attorney for the woman's parents said.
Josh Powell had been named a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance and had lost custody of the boys, who were just 7 and 5 when they and their father died in an explosive fire authorities believe he set at a home in Graham, Wash. Susan Powell had vanished while the family lived in West Valley City, Utah, and is believed dead.
The boys, Charles and his younger brother Braden, were beginning to talk to their maternal grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox, about the night their mom disappeared, the Cox's attorney, Steve Downing, told the Associated Press.
"They were beginning to verbalize more," said 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."
Josh Powell had long claimed he took the boys camping in freezing weather and returned home the next day to find his wife gone.
Sgt. Mike Powell of the West Valley City Police Department in Utah said it was too soon to say how Josh Powell's death may impact the probe.
"Quite frankly, this has obviously quickly unfolded up in Washington and we're obviously just working through the details ourselves here," said Powell, who is not related to the family.
The investigator did not return a subsequent message regarding the children's assertion that their mother had been in the trunk of the family's car on the night she disappeared.
Meanwhile, Pierce County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Troyer says Josh Powell's father, Steve Powell, is on suicide watch at the jail where he faces charges of child porn and voyeurism.
An email Josh Powell sent to his attorney just minutes before he apparently set the fatal blaze was simple and short, a farewell to the world after two years of scrutiny by police, prosecutors and the media.
"I'm sorry, goodbye," Powell wrote in the email to Jeffrey Bassett, days after he was denied custody and ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation.
The Sunday blaze at Powell's home brought yet another tragic twist to the story that began with Susan Powell's disappearance more than two years ago. The case had since spiraled into a salacious saga of finger-pointing and accusations of sex and lies -- and now the unthinkable loss of two young lives caught in the crossfire.
A social worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home Sunday for what was to be a supervised visit. They rushed toward the home, leaving the social worker behind. By the time she got to the door, Powell had let his sons in but locked her out, Graham Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Franz told The Associated Press.
The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an explosion that neighbors said rattled their houses.
Troyer said it appeared an accelerant was used to make the house burn faster.
Susan Powell, a pretty 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's been the only "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 around Topaz Mountain, a popular spot for rock and gem hunters. That site is about 30 miles south of where Josh told police he went camping with the boys.
The search proved fruitless and Powell moved to Washington, where his father lives. Steven Powell, 61, was subsequently arrested there and accused of secretly videotaping young girls and women -- including Susan Powell -- taking baths and using the toilet in neighborhood homes.
The elder Powell has claimed in previous interviews that he and Susan Powell were falling in love and even implied a sexual relationship had occurred.
"Susan was very sexual with me," he said in one interview at the time. "We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that."
Chuck Cox denies his daughter had any interest in her father-in-law.
Custody of Charles and Braden was given to the Coxes as the parallel cases were investigated. The custody matter got so heated that at one point a court commissioner in Washington state ordered Chuck Cox and Josh Powell to keep 500 feet apart.
In what would be the final custody hearing last Wednesday, Josh Powell pleaded in vain with a judge to return his children.
"For over four months already, my interactions with my sons and many other aspects of my character have been investigated and documented by" social services, he wrote in an affidavit to the court. "I have proven myself as a fit and loving father who provides a stable home even in the face of great adversity. ... It is time for my sons to come home."
Other missing updates:
Body found in Buckhead, Ga confirmed to be of missing women Stacey English.
Tony English, the father of missing Buckhead resident Stacey English, told 11Alive News he received a 7:15 phone call Wednesday morning from the Fulton County Medical Examiner that a body found in southeast Atlanta Monday evening is that of his missing daughter.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner finished the initial phase of an autopsy on the body Tuesday night, but did not confirm that the remains belonged to English until Wednesday. According to family, English received updated dental X-rays two days before she went missing. There was a delay in obtaining those new dental records when her family could temporarily not locate her medical cards and her purse.
The Medical Examiner's office says the autopsy has not revealed the cause of death, and that more tests are needed. Cindy and Kevin Jamison, English's mother and stepfather, talked to 11Alive News from their Jonesboro home Tuesday evening.Cindy Jamison said the hardest part was watching the speculation on television. "You look at the news and you see the picture of our daughter and they're talking about this body that was found, but they're already making the association," she said. "It really tugs at us a lot harder.
A group of men searching for scrap metal found the body under a tree in southeast Atlanta. Police spokesman Carlos Campos said the body is in an "advanced stage of decomposition" and appeared to be wedged under the tree. The body was discovered about a mile from the spot where police found English's car abandoned but still running on December 27. The nephew of one of the men who found the body said his uncle saw some legs coming from under a tree.
Warren Blackmon said he thinks the body was put under the tree. "Because that tree has been down for some months," Blackmon said. "If you look at the base of the tree, the roots, you could tell it's been uprooted for a while." Campos said the family of English, 36, was notified immediately when they found the body. "We did reach out to the family to let them know that a body was found," he said. "That's only natural given the location of the body."
Campos said police have made no connections between the two cases. Some of English's family members went to the scene where the body was found on St. Johns Avenue. Her cousin said it has been rough trying to figure out what happened to her. "All we can do is hope and pray that it's not (her)," James English said. English's aunt said finding Stacey's body would be a relief in some ways. "The best thing that we could do right now is to find her regardless of what circumstances are, what conditions are, the best thing to do is to find her," said Bernice English Hurks. "And if this is not her, then I have to still be sad because it's somebody else's child."
Recent report: Body found believed to be that of Stacey English
A body was found Monday in Southeast Atlanta not far from where the car of Stacey Nicole English, a 36-year-old woman who went missing days after Christmas, was previously found abandoned, Atlanta police announced. Click here to view full article.
The young sons of Josh and Susan Powell began to "verbalize more" about their missing mother, suggesting that she was in the trunk of their father's car on the night she disappeared in 2009, an attorney for the woman's parents said.
Josh Powell had been named a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance and had lost custody of the boys, who were just 7 and 5 when they and their father died in an explosive fire authorities believe he set at a home in Graham, Wash. Susan Powell had vanished while the family lived in West Valley City, Utah, and is believed dead.
"They were beginning to verbalize more," said 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."
Josh Powell had long claimed he took the boys camping in freezing weather and returned home the next day to find his wife gone.
Sgt. Mike Powell of the West Valley City Police Department in Utah said it was too soon to say how Josh Powell's death may impact the probe.
"Quite frankly, this has obviously quickly unfolded up in Washington and we're obviously just working through the details ourselves here," said Powell, who is not related to the family.
The investigator did not return a subsequent message regarding the children's assertion that their mother had been in the trunk of the family's car on the night she disappeared.
Meanwhile, Pierce County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Troyer says Josh Powell's father, Steve Powell, is on suicide watch at the jail where he faces charges of child porn and voyeurism.
An email Josh Powell sent to his attorney just minutes before he apparently set the fatal blaze was simple and short, a farewell to the world after two years of scrutiny by police, prosecutors and the media.
"I'm sorry, goodbye," Powell wrote in the email to Jeffrey Bassett, days after he was denied custody and ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation.
The Sunday blaze at Powell's home brought yet another tragic twist to the story that began with Susan Powell's disappearance more than two years ago. The case had since spiraled into a salacious saga of finger-pointing and accusations of sex and lies -- and now the unthinkable loss of two young lives caught in the crossfire.
A social worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home Sunday for what was to be a supervised visit. They rushed toward the home, leaving the social worker behind. By the time she got to the door, Powell had let his sons in but locked her out, Graham Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Franz told The Associated Press.
The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an explosion that neighbors said rattled their houses.
Troyer said it appeared an accelerant was used to make the house burn faster.
Susan Powell, a pretty 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's been the only "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 around Topaz Mountain, a popular spot for rock and gem hunters. That site is about 30 miles south of where Josh told police he went camping with the boys.
The search proved fruitless and Powell moved to Washington, where his father lives. Steven Powell, 61, was subsequently arrested there and accused of secretly videotaping young girls and women -- including Susan Powell -- taking baths and using the toilet in neighborhood homes.
The elder Powell has claimed in previous interviews that he and Susan Powell were falling in love and even implied a sexual relationship had occurred.
"Susan was very sexual with me," he said in one interview at the time. "We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that."
Chuck Cox denies his daughter had any interest in her father-in-law.
Custody of Charles and Braden was given to the Coxes as the parallel cases were investigated. The custody matter got so heated that at one point a court commissioner in Washington state ordered Chuck Cox and Josh Powell to keep 500 feet apart.
In what would be the final custody hearing last Wednesday, Josh Powell pleaded in vain with a judge to return his children.
"For over four months already, my interactions with my sons and many other aspects of my character have been investigated and documented by" social services, he wrote in an affidavit to the court. "I have proven myself as a fit and loving father who provides a stable home even in the face of great adversity. ... It is time for my sons to come home."
Other missing updates:
Body found in Buckhead, Ga confirmed to be of missing women Stacey English.
 |
| Stacey Nicole English, Missing since 12/26/11, Body found 1/23/12 |
Tony English, the father of missing Buckhead resident Stacey English, told 11Alive News he received a 7:15 phone call Wednesday morning from the Fulton County Medical Examiner that a body found in southeast Atlanta Monday evening is that of his missing daughter.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner finished the initial phase of an autopsy on the body Tuesday night, but did not confirm that the remains belonged to English until Wednesday. According to family, English received updated dental X-rays two days before she went missing. There was a delay in obtaining those new dental records when her family could temporarily not locate her medical cards and her purse.
The Medical Examiner's office says the autopsy has not revealed the cause of death, and that more tests are needed. Cindy and Kevin Jamison, English's mother and stepfather, talked to 11Alive News from their Jonesboro home Tuesday evening.Cindy Jamison said the hardest part was watching the speculation on television. "You look at the news and you see the picture of our daughter and they're talking about this body that was found, but they're already making the association," she said. "It really tugs at us a lot harder.
A group of men searching for scrap metal found the body under a tree in southeast Atlanta. Police spokesman Carlos Campos said the body is in an "advanced stage of decomposition" and appeared to be wedged under the tree. The body was discovered about a mile from the spot where police found English's car abandoned but still running on December 27. The nephew of one of the men who found the body said his uncle saw some legs coming from under a tree.
Campos said police have made no connections between the two cases. Some of English's family members went to the scene where the body was found on St. Johns Avenue. Her cousin said it has been rough trying to figure out what happened to her. "All we can do is hope and pray that it's not (her)," James English said. English's aunt said finding Stacey's body would be a relief in some ways. "The best thing that we could do right now is to find her regardless of what circumstances are, what conditions are, the best thing to do is to find her," said Bernice English Hurks. "And if this is not her, then I have to still be sad because it's somebody else's child."
Recent report: Body found believed to be that of Stacey English
A body was found Monday in Southeast Atlanta not far from where the car of Stacey Nicole English, a 36-year-old woman who went missing days after Christmas, was previously found abandoned, Atlanta police announced. Click here to view full article.
