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Subscribe to RSSSteve Powell, the father of Josh Powell, who remains a person of interest in his wife Susan’s disappearance, says his daughter-in-law has “two sides” and claims she left her family to be with another man. Dateline’s Keith Morrison reports.
Ted S. Warren / AP file
Josh Powell, husband of missing Utah woman Susan Powell, speaks during a court hearing on Sept. 28, 2011, in Tacoma, Wash. Powell killed his sons and himself on Feb. 5 in Graham, Wash.
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A panel reviewing the deaths of Josh Powell's two young children says state social workers did not consult with law enforcement before allowing Powell to host visits at his home.
A report released Thursday says the Department of Social and Health Services should "make concerted efforts" to check with detectives prior to making changes in parent-child contacts when there is an active investigation. Authorities had been investigating the 2009 disappearance of Powell's wife, Susan.
During a supervised visit at his home in Graham on Feb. 5 this year, Powell set fire to the house, killing himself and his sons Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5.
Powell had been locked in a custody dispute at the time of the killings. A few days before the fire, a judge ordered him to undergo an intensive psycho-sexual evaluation.
The child fatality review committee also says social workers should immediately reassess visitation policies when someone is ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation.
The DSHS responded Thursday with a press release, saying the review committee also “concluded that nobody could have anticipated that Joshua Powell would murder his two sons. According to the committee, the work of all agencies and individuals involved demonstrated the highest concern for the children’s health, safety and welfare."
King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Richard Anderson, a review panel member, told the Seattle Times that nobody “had dropped the ball” or made a mistake or skipped an oversight.
"There are some people who do terrible things in life,” Anderson said. “The 'Batman' incident (the theater shootings in Aurora, Colo.) is a perfect example. You can't explain things like this. I think Mr. Powell had this in his mind and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it."
Denise Revels Robinson, assistant secretary for DSHS Children's Administration, told The Associated Pres that the recommendations provided by the committee "will be of great help in our ongoing efforts to improve our practice in keeping children safe."
"The violent death of any child, especially at the hands of a parent, is always a tragedy," Robinson said. "But few of us who have served in child welfare have had to deal with such a horrific experience as the loss of Charlie and Braden."
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DSHS says state law requires the Department to conduct a fatality review when a child death or near-death injury is suspected to be caused by abuse or neglect and the child has received services from Children’s Administration in the previous 12 months.
The committee interviewed seven people and reviewed more than 2,700 pages of documents, the DSHS said.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press and NBC station KING5 in Seattle.
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Newly unsealed documents tied to the disappearance of Utah mother Susan Powell have many people questioning why charges were never filed against the woman's husband, Josh Powell, who later killed himself and the couple's young sons. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
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I could never understand why they were letting these children meet with a suspected murder in his own home. I feel so bad for the Cox family. At least the little boys are with their Mom again. Perhaps the only good that will come of this tragedy will be future social workers and state officials will be extra careful in situations like this.
I'm sick of hearing the "nobody could have predicted it" cop-out.
Most everyone familiar with Josh Powell's history could have predicted it.
The people responsible should be held accountable, but it sounds like the agency is just repeating the "we had no idea" defense.
Josh Powell and his father were both twisted pukes. Anyone and everyone knew it. Oh wait... This is a state run agency... Sorry my bad.
The responsibility for the children's deaths is squarely on Josh Powell. So please tell me how someone is supposed to predict that a man is going to hit his kids with a hatchet and set the house on fire? If you knew that you should have warned them since you seem to be able to predict behavior before it happens.
@Spokane Powell was under investigation in the disappearence of his wife. That should have been enough to warrant precaution with contact with his kids. That much is so very obvious.
This agency, like pretty much every other child welfare agency in the country would do, denies any responsibility in this horrific crime. The first thing I said after hearing about this is how could they allow the visits at his house, with a single social worker and no police presence during the visits, considering what he was suspected of doing to the boys' mother? That and the fact he had lost in court that week and he had been ordered to undergo this very specific psychiatric exam should have been enough to alter the place of the visits, or a discussion of whether they should even continue after the previous Wednesday's court order. This was predictable and I don't know why it has taken two little boys dying for these idiots to wake up. The social worker had fallen into complacency during the previous months with regard to these visits. She wasn't even bright enough to think about whether or not he might be planning to do something. When he pushed her out the door and she did call the police they didn't take her seriously about the fact that something was very wrong. They kept saying, more or less, so what he has the kids in the house, what did he do? She kept saying she could smell the gasoline but they just took a really long time to get the cops going to the location. If I had been the social worker I would have found a rock and broken the window to get in that house, even if my own life was at risk. She didn't seem to have any insight into this psycho's personality and behaviour. Although Powell is the ultimate person responsible, they too have a level of responsibility in the murders of children under their supervision and they can deny it till the cows come home but deep down they know that they should have known it was a very bad idea to continue the visits as usual.
The social workers may have not killed these children. But if they had followed the procedures correctly, contacted the detectives, this POSSIBLY could have been avoided.
Are those the same people who argue that the State should never interfere with citizens lives?
Well, we should also feel sorry for the Powell family, as all of them have suffered as well. Such a pity.
Almost a complete string of idiots. The headline is misleading.
King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Richard Anderson, a review panel member, told the Seattle Times that nobody “had dropped the ball” or made a mistake or skipped an oversight.
JP was never suspected of abusing the kids. As a suspect, he has rights too. This was a supervised visit. I don't think anyone would have predicted his actions. Get off your high horses.
a little too late...
Yes it is for those young boys and Grandparents but hopefully this will kick all social work departments accross the nation in the behind.
cath - It won't change a thing. These agencies are understaffed and overwhelmed. In this case a judge even found the father needed to undergo a 'psycho-sexual' eval. If that isn't a warning flag I don't know what is. Maybe the law needs to change that such evals, when ordered, are executed immediately and in a locked institution, just in case. Other than that there is too much need and misery and that is not improving with the economic pressures and budget cuts. I don't see how things could change for the better.
What this will do is cause all the child welfare departments to have their usual knee-jerk reactions. They won't allow anyone to see their kids without a military escort.
Too many of these agencies have workers with lots of book-learnin but no common sense.
One of my cousins is a social worker in Hennepin County, MN (Minneapolis). From what she's told me her agency has approximately 200 to 400 cases per case worker to handle. The vast majority of the cases are minor or misunderstandings. Many, many of the child endangerment reports are either disgruntled neighbors, estranged couples, or their families using CPS as a weapon against the other party, either out of malice, revenge or positioning themselves for upcoming custody or divorce battles. It seems that the cases in the most need of intervention are buried in the enormous load of frivilous reportings. The county this happened in is probably not much different.
That being said, when the father of the children is under investigation for the disappearance and/or murder of his wife and possible sexual misconduct, the case should have automatically drawn increased scrutiny and extra precautions being taken. Supervised visits in the CPS office or in a police station seems like a logical step to have been taken instead of letting a suspected murderer take these kids to his home for several days unsupervised. In this case, the extra precautions could well have saved the lives of the two most important people involved in this tragedy, those two little boys.
Marty, I agree. I work in a social services office. The worker's have 500-800 cases in my county because it is large. As workers retire and are moved to other offices, they are not replaced because of budget cuts at the state and county level. It's just not possible to keep up with that many families. But hey....keep the government out of our lives...right?
I am so sick of the first words out of social services mouths is,"we dont have the money or staff" crap. The child protection agency in Wi has bent over backwords to protect the abusive parent. Gone out of their way and came as close to lying as possible with out lying.
THEY will NOt LIFT A FINGER TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN. They dont want to hear that your child says he was slapped accrossed the mouth, or that your child is hungary because his mom sold her food stamps. They allowed the mother of my grandchildren to postpone her drug test 3 times even though it was quite obvious to the police etc she was on herion with her boyfriend. the same boyfriend that sat on a bed next to my 6 yr loaded a handgun and threatened him. the ad litem just mimics what social services says. So no I hope they sue every agency and the social workers personally for all the bad judgements they make. I know from experience soc. serv. will not allow you to help those kids. they will do all in their power to protect the abuser. that is my true experience. it is like beating your head against a brick wall. I really feel for the families, but I know social services allowed it. We have the same stuff in Wi
it hasnt changed anything in our state, they found a little girl crying and barefoot in the winter. She had been locked in her basement. sexually abused by her step brother and made to eat here own feces to live. she was 14 ys old and weighed 68 lbs. Social services was called to the house 7 times. But they call the abuser and tell them who made the complaint and when next wk they will come for a visit. we need to change the laws and only us people can do it. Social services could care less. Any one allowed to have their kids in an unsupervised visit when under suspicion of murder is beyone ridiculous. Social services I am sure went out of their way to let him know when they would come for visits etc. US the people have to put up such a stink our government will have to listen or this will keep repeating over and over
Social Services, and the people who work around them, for the most part care, but they are hampered by laws, judges and, frankly, do gooders. For example, people who believe the best place for 'kids' is their parents, however horrible they are.
I'm not going to pretend I have an answer, I don't, but lets be real any good solutions to the problem will come at the expense of the tax paying citizens, counties, cities and state, all of which would rather see our money spent elsewhere...
I think they should be reprimanded at the very least. This kind of thing happens far to often and no one gets punished except the dead children.
I believe people who file false and/or frivilous charges of abuse should be arrested.
Way too many times, DHS people are underpaid and overworked - so the ones who can, find work in the private area, leaving those who are either not at the top of the pile, or who are fresh out of college. And those are overworked and don't have the laws memorized from experience. Result, you get people making snap decisions which often are not in line with the official rule book/laws. Seen this in way too many cases, workers doing something which was totally opposite of law or policy - and even being supported by a supervisor who also did not know the law. That's when you get cases like this one.
You know, if they just dropped the wole issue over the wife, and let Josh keep the kids in the first place, none of this would have happened. Law enforcement should have done nothing until a body was found. And the judge should have left custody of the children with Josh unitl a body was found. Other than that, just drop it, and move on.
What? You think that they guy killed his kids because of the fact that there was an investigation and the fact that there was an issue with custody? Seems to me the guy was a loose cannon. One way or another, he was going to do something horrific.
I also live in Washington and very few people here believe Josh Powell did not kill his wife and that his scum bag father knew about it. Those boys were starting to remember what happened to their mother so his days were numbered. No one is responsible for this except that POS who murdered his own children.
Are you touched? He had no business being allowed these semi-supervised visits in his house in the first place. If they had to take place then they should have taken place at a center that most agencies have for supervised visits. The courts had fantastic evidence to deny him physical custody of the boys. He was a psychopath, a possible murderer before he killed his children, and maybe even had tendencies to be a pedophile, like his father, all of which was known before this happened. Why do you think he was ordered to undergo this psycho-sexual exam? Yeah, let's all drop it and move on, the kids are dead, c'est la vie, right? You are complete twerp and that's the mildest term I can come up with to express my contempt for what you wrote and not have my post 86'd.
Here is another term, you ^%&$. Of course the court and judge were also responsible but this state has a well deserved reputation of liberal judges who bury their heads in the sand. Powell would have found a way to do exactly what he did and the location would not have mattered.
I see a few people disagree with me, and that's okay. I just think if the state had stayed out of this until there was better evidence of a murder, it would have turned out a lot better. I understand the grandparents were not much help, going to court winning custody, when they too should have stayed out of it... There are a lot of people that just needed to butt out.
Chirs150- You are an idiot of the worst kind. Please do not reproduce.
I'm confused. The judge granted visitation and then an evaluation? Why didn't he do it in reverse? I don't think that the social workers should be blamed for this. What could they have possiblity done to prevent this tragedy?
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The father really did not do this.
It was the social agency / workers who are at fault because they provided the father with the opportunity.
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Really??? Don't agree at all...
Me either. You people are blaming the Social Workers for not knowing the guy was a nut? Anyone who does what he did has SERIOUS issues and shouldn't have had the opportunity. WOW
The court were the ones who ok'd the visits. The social agency/worker was doing what was court ordered.
You hit the nail on the head! Judges keep social workers hands tied. Social workers are often EXHAUSTED trying to battle poor judgements in court because some bonehead judge makes a bad ruling for the sake of protecting the state from lawsuits.
Do social workers do ANYONE any good? How many kids die because of their negligence? Too many are left in homes for more abuse or death.
You are forgetting that laws in general are biased towards the birth parent(s) as the best guardian of children. The amount of children in dysfunctional homes are much bigger than people realize. In many cases the state has no choice but to keep them there because the foster care/ state care system is overloaded already. Adoptions have remained static since the 70s yet the number of children you need better, permanent homes has steadily increased.
It's only when life endangerment comes into play that the state will take kids out immediately. They also need a thorough investigation because if kids are taken away for no real reason (which has happened) it becomes a media firestorm and lawsuits happen.
Social Workers do the very best they can within the parameters set before them by government/society. Most often they could do more but are limited by state statutes/codes that lay out what they can and cannot do.
Working for child protective services is a quick-burn-out job that is thankless. They do it because they want to protect kids. It doesn't always turn out how you want it but SOMEONE is standing in the gap.
Thank you Inadaze for pointing that out...many just dont get it
There is no comfortable position for a social worker to take. If they come down hard, they get questioned all the way up their supervisory chain, second guessed, and labeled within their own agencies and in the courts, and if they don't come down hard enough, they lie awake at night worried over their concerns. There are easier ways to make a living.
You are correct. Sadly, it is easy for people to point the finger. Walk in those shoes before making such a generalization.
I live in WA state. It's not the first time the DSHS has caused children's deaths by stupid placement and visitation practices, and it won't be the last.
The last one I remember, was about 2 years ago in Spokane. A two year old was put back in a house where abuse had occurred from some woman's boyfriend, and within a few days, the toddler was beaten to death by the same idiot BF. Gee, who could have guessed THAT could happen? The DSHS got mass flack about that, yet, here we are yet AGAIN.
The Powel thing was pretty stupid alright. You'd think with all that was going on, (especially with his pervert dad too) that visitations would have been put on hold. When figuring in that the boys said their mother was in the car's trunk when they went camping, you'd think the warnings would amount to whooping sirens, flapping red flags, and marquee lights to any judge with a modicum of common sense, but yet the social workers just hands them over regardless. And, then stands there confused and calls the agency instead of 911 when Powel slams the door in her face. Of course, once he pulled the kids inside, it was already too late, but the DSHS worker should NOT have been there in the first place!!
A lot of times the social workers are blamed for what the courts decide. There is usually a guardian ad litem (attorney for child's interests) involved on behalf of the child(ren) and sometimes also a court appointed special advocate (CASA). If the parent is successful in completing their "plan" then they get their kids back. Sometimes they go back into questionable situations. BUT, if a parent harms their child, that rests squarely on their shoulders. Society, through government agencies, can try their best to protect children but there are a lot of mentally ill parents out there who know how to work the system to get their kids back. It's sad...
What happen was horrible to those two little boys, but the father should never had visition with in the first place, that is the on the judge who granted those visits. The minute they ordered him to see a doctor is the minute that all visits should have been cancelled then and there.
Thank you! There is your precursor for this horrible crime. My hind end they couldn't know he might do something bad. I saw the footage of that day in court and his behaviour and the look on his face was enough to cause alarm to those who's job it was to pay attention to this psycho. You could see he was already thinking about what he was going to do. From Wednesday to Sunday he planned and set this up. It was foreseeable.
Amen!
Social Workers need to make Child's Safety the only goal, not reunification with parent!
If only that were the case. It is in theory but too often it's the parent's rights that are paramount. And we know why. It's because removing children from abusive or neglectful parents costs the counties and states money. They have to find placement if there are no relatives, they have to pay the foster family, they have to assign the case to a social worker, many of whom are completely overwhelmed with cases. They have to go to court on a regular basis. It just isn't in their game plan to take kids permanently.
And the courts folks, they should have never allowed visits away from the grandparents home or the courthousel. Screw the parent do what is best for the kids, I am tired of courts and social workers trying to reform these terrible parents. My neice is a foster parent to a 2 year old little boy whose birth mother locked him in a closet from the time he was a baby to go out and buy drugs. He was malnourished and hid food when he first came to my neice's home. After nine months he has made great progress but the will not leave my neice's side when they are in public or visiting. He has supervised visits with his birth mother and a social worker twice a week and most end early since the mother gets tired of him yet they keep trying to reunite them. He is a mess when he returns to my neice. It is so sad and it makes me so MAD that they don't just terminate her parental rights and let him have a stable loving home away from that druggie bitch. But she is looking forward to the welfare she will get when she gets him back. The courts and children's welfare (what a misnomer) keep giving these kids back to these terrible parents.
The state statutes favor reunification because it's what's best for the children IF the parent is willing to change and learn. Some just can't be good parents though. You're right in that there are so many children who would be better off in another family. But it's amazing how many of these kids will age out of the system and then go back to their family of origin.
The father in law still blaming the mother. Claims she ran off. He will say anything to point the finger of director away from himself. He knows where she is buried.
He is a pedophile and more than likely so was his son and when his wife found out that is why they killed her. He is as guilty as his son is for killing her. The boys knew he killed her and like the coward he was, better to kill them too, and punish the mothers family.
After all it is always someone else's fault when they kill the kids.
I guess no one remembers that she had to ARGUE with 911 to get anyone to bother to go there?
Exactly correct Albert. The social worker is a hero, despite all the lame postings to the contrary.
There is blame to go all around in this tragedy. From the police not being more diligent to the judge letting him have custody of his children. Why didn't the police search his storage center before he killed himself and his children? Apparently they found a blood stained blanket in his storage shed. If I was the Powell's, I would file a "wrongful death" suit against the county including the police and Judge. The social worker who visited the kids the last day they were alive called 911 and they dropped the ball. How many more senseless tragedies have to happen due to incompetance by public officials? How many more? The panel should stop passing the buck and fault all state agencies involved not just the social workers.
Josh's father should swing from the highest tree. Every moment he is alive, he is taking up space on this earth. A worthless p.o.s. that needs to be found guilty of murder along with his late son and be put to death.
I meant to say Susan's parents should file a wrongful death suit against the county.
Well, first you need to have a jury trial and see where that leads. THEN society can decide how to deal with the scumbag. Death might be too easy on him, since prison for a pervert is a special kind of hell. Unfortunately, his son was not found guilty of murder. If he had been put on trial, the grandchildren would still be alive.
Unfortunate the children had to die. However, most are calling for social workers to be kicked in the behind for 'dropping the ball'. First and foremost, I do not believe Social Workers should be in any Families Lives, much less a divorced man and his children. It's a racket system designed specifically to separate Fathers from the children. I agree with an earlier poster who stated that his wife previously disappeared. That alone should have been grounds that something was amiss and this man should have been investigated thoroughly.
In a majority of divorce and custody cases, a good-loving father is stripped of everything including his children. Whereas he may have been a loving, caring father beforehand without a tendency to be violent. A wicked woman can and will make up false allegations during the custody dispute ( in accordance to her counsel ) just to 'win' the battle for custody. These false allegations can include Sexual abuse. Once this offense is alleged, the Now 'wrecked' Father must undergo yet more 'tests' and evaluations in order to have some 'relevance' in his children's lives. Much less continue to pay for the tests and the child support Plus make a living. All of this is done for the sole purpose of keeping him out of the picture completely.
I personally don't know much of this story AND don't care to. But keep in mind that the number of children being murdered everyday in this and other countries continues to rise simply because Family Courts and Judges refuse to change the system. Social workers, Pediatricians, Case workers, law enforcement, Judges, Attorneys', Mediators, child support workers, etc. They all benefit from the separation of a father and his kids. And least but not forgotten, the wicked women who refuse to allow Dad in his kids' lives.
You sound really bitter and I'm sorry for what you've gone through. I disagree that everyone is out to separate fathers from their kids though.
First, the children did not "have to die". There were many opportunities to stop Josh Powell.
Second, the social workers did not drop the ball, the Utah & WA police dropped the ball.
Third, the mother was already murdered by the father, so there is no "wicked woman" to blame, only a "wicked man". Actually, two wicked men, since Steven Powell is definitely wicked.
In conclusion, your post says a lot about your experience, but little about this case.
I'm not defending what these social workers could have, should have, did or didn't do, because it was the court's decision to allow the in-home visits in the first place. When the kids were taken to their father's house, he rushed them in, did not allow the social worker in the house, and then the social worker contacted authorities. Unfortunately, it was too late - once Powell pushed the social worker away from entering, the fate of those poor children was sealed.
Josh Powell had this planned, and whether it had happened at his house, or in a park, he was intent on getting these two boys away from authorities and ending this case tragically. I think his goal was to get even with his missing wife's family, and on that count he surely succeeded.
Right now, I would just like the authorities to find Susan Powell's body so her family can rest in peace. Susan Powell already has her sons with her. Josh Powell is rotting in hell. I just want to see that Susan Powell gets buried next to her boys.
There is a lot of misinformation in this story, starting with the headline. Furthermore, many of the people posting comments don't understand the complexity of this case and are casting aspersions in really LIBELOUS ways. In this case, the Social Workers are the HEROS and the LAST people who should be blamed. After Josh Powell himself & his scumbag father, it was INCOMPETENT POLICE WORK, primarily by the Utah police but also the WA police, that must be faulted. The UT police had a shocking amount of evidence to arrest Josh Powell but wouldn't pull the trigger on him. Add a horrible lack of communication between the two police departments and you have a train wreck. The other HEROS are Chuck & Judy Cox, Susan Powell's parents, who made superhuman efforts seeking justice for their daughter & protection for their grandchildren. My heart goes out to them.
Just another flacid and ineffectual government agency, paid for by your taxes, put in place for your "Protection" that does not work.....
You don't know what you're talking about, dip doo. Put on your pants & go feed the chikns.
I say "BS!". The only person responsible for this tragedy is JOSH POWELL. He murdered his children [and wife]. Period. JOSH POWELL I can only hope is another in a long line of gate keepers of death.
DSHS placed those children in harms way(their dad) and had a choice(but no brains). Plain and simple. That is how the judge will see it too, no doubt. So live and learn ALL Govt. workers.
"The child fatality review committee also says social workers should immediately reassess visitation policies when someone is ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation."
Uh, wasn't that the judge's responsibility? He was the one who ordered the supervised parent visits to begin with, the location and manner, etc.... He would have known all the facts of this case when he made that ruling. HE ordered Powell to undergo the psycho-sexual evaluation therefore HE should have not allowed parent visitations to occur until a determination of their safety was made. Social services were simply complying with his orders because they are required to.
These two boys were tragically failed FIRST by our inept judicial system. Very sad....
Really ? Blame the Social Worker the Court ordered the visit and talking to the Police active investigation or not would not have made a difference Josh Powell was going to murder his children just as he had their Mom. The person who needs to be charged now is Josh Powell's father I believe he knew about Susan's murder and helped Josh get rid of the body.