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Subscribe to RSSThousands of handwritten pages in Steven Powell's journal details an obsession with his missing daughter-in-law, Susan Cox Powell. KING's Elisa Hahn reports.
Updated at 6:18 a.m. ET: Nearly 3,000 pages from journals kept by Steven Powell have been released to the public, revealing in intimate detail his obsession with his daughter-in-law, who disappeared in Utah in 2009.
Steven Powell is the father of Josh Powell, who in February used a hatchet to chop at his two young sons before blowing up the house that contained the three of them. Josh Powell’s wife, Susan Cox-Powell, remains missing.
“The fact is, I can hardly control myself when it comes to her,” Steven Powell wrote in his journal.
In passages from 17 spiral notebooks, which spanned more than a decade, Powell allegedly wrote of sexual fantasies and expressions of love for his daughter-in-law as early as January 2003.
He admitted he secretly recorded Susan and watched the videos while masturbating. In some entries, he admitted to "looking at her naked body under the bathroom door (using a mirror)."
The journals also included photographs of Susan and parts of her body. Powell confessed to secretly stealing her private belongings, like her underwear and the discarded strips she used to wax her legs, and even wrote songs about her.
Josh Powell kills himself and their two little boys. What made Josh Powell snap? Dateline NBC's Keith Morrison reports.
"She is an amazing woman. I hope I am right, that she is in love with me, but of course there is the problem of her being married to my son," Powell wrote.
Read the original story at King 5 News
The journals reportedly indicated Powell believed Susan felt the same way, but when he told her about his feelings, she didn't speak to him for months.
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.
When Susan Powell disappeared in December 2009, Steven Powell called in sick to work for two days, according to police reports. Some suspect he was involved in her disappearance, but in his journal he claimed she ran off with another man and was certain he would see her again.
"I would be devastated were I to find out Susan was dead from any cause," he wrote.
Officials: Powell children had head and neck wounds
Ted S. Warren / AP file
Ken Landgrebe lights a candle next to photographs of Susan Cox Powell and her sons Braden and Charlie, during a candlelight vigil at McKinley Park in Tacoma, Wash., held the day after the boys' father, Josh Powell, set fire to the house they were in.
Powell talked about being in despair at one point when he thought Susan was dead. He wrote that he lost 20 pounds and said she was his reason for living.
Court documents released Tuesday also revealed that investigators in Utah almost immediately began classifying Susan Powell’s 2009 disappearance as a murder and kidnapping probe. It was largely focused on her husband, Josh Powell.
Last year, authorities got a warrant to search the Puyallup home of Steven Powell. Josh Powell and his sons were living there at the time. Investigators found explicit images of underage neighbor girls on Steven Powell’s computers during the search. He was convicted in May on 14 voyeurism counts and sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison.
Two young boys who died in a murder-suicide at the hands of their father, Josh Powell, are remembered at a memorial service. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
During the trial, prosecutors described a 2004 diary entry in which Powell wrote, "He is a voyeur and Susan's an exhibitionist and they're a perfect match."
Authorities said Steven Powell has been uncooperative in their investigation into the disappearance of his daughter-in-law, who he claims he had a flirtatious relationship with, something her family denies.
The two children were placed in the care of Susan’s parents, but Josh Powell was later allowed to see them. Police discovered hundreds of images of disturbing cartoon sex and graphic depictions of incest on Josh Powell's home computer something Utah authorities investigating his wife's disappearance kept private for about two years.
Cops: Josh Powell murder-suicide house was sham set up for social worker visits
In February, a Washington state psychologist altered her assessment after reviewing the images and ordered Josh Powell to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation. That conclusion came just six days before Josh attacked the boys with a hatchet, then lit his Washington rental home ablaze, killing himself and his sons.
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What a sick father and son! May Susan and her sons rest in peace.
I'm guessing that Susan flew the coop and started a new life away from her husband and father-in-law. Who could blame her?
She would not have voluntarily left her sons.
The entire Powell family was obviously bat @!$%# crazy. A small private tragedy viewed by the world. Sad. So sad.
This man is SICK, SICK, SICK!!!! Can't stand to see his face. I feel so bad for her parents. May Susan and her sons RIP.
Another case in support of the old saying: "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". I just have to wonder if any of this guy's neighbors or co-workers ever imagined what a sicko he was. No wonder the kid was a complete psycho, knowing what a bag of dirt the father is.
Hey Ginny, there are women out there that don't like their kids. Maybe she was one of them.
Give it: "I'm guessing that Susan flew the coop and started a new life away from her husband and father-in-law."
Guess again! If that were true--where is she today? Give it a rest. She's dead--just like her 2 sons.
Sick sick sick people--the worst part is sometimes you get into a relationship with these sorts of "people" and you cannot see it--until it's too late.
Give it a rest: "Hey Ginny, there are women out there that don't like their kids. Maybe she was one of them"
Please GIVE IT A REST! Her kids are dead now. So is her husband. So where is she? She'd have come forward by now. Or someone would have found her.
Didn't your mom love you?
You'll have to ask my mom that question. When I was a kid it wasn't hugs and kisses and "I love you" all day long that is for sure.
Give it a rest! made a valid point; it just doesn't apply to this case.
Women who don't like motherhood or don't bond with their children are easy to spot. They are either noticeably distant or they overcompensate with a feigned interest/involvement whenever they think anyone is looking.
Susan Powell was reported to be neither: she was an adoring mother to her two little guys. I wonder how they would have turned out if she had been able to raise them without the father-freak and grandfather-freak in the picture...I don't doubt her love and affection for those children, but would it have been enough?
This guy has to be one of the most perverted men I have ever heard about. it makes me wonder how many others are like him walking among us. Throw him in a hole and forget about him.
I suspect there are many.
Obviously you have never read a post from Mroglolblo on Reddit....
If every perverted loser was to turn purple for one day you would be surprised how many purple people were around you.
He's more than perverted, he's delusional.
Yep--perverted AND delusional. What a combo!
This guy gets out in 2 1/2yrs then what?
Ronton... I think Susans family should take him camping. Or surfing yea, surfing would be good. Accidents happen alllll the time.
You know, it keeps it in the family, so I guess it's not all that bad. Maybe she just should have hooked up with ole dad-in-law once in a while and keep him young. It would have made him a bit more happy. I don't think every day would be good, but a good service once every other month would not have been so bad. Kind of a treat. Then they could have all live together happily.
you are a sick puppy
Go away, little troll. Just....go away.
Troll, troll, troll your boat...
If you can't say anything good, don't say anything. Sick response.
One wonders what formative times in Powell's life led him to this level of depravity. Father and son certainly had some sick and depraved ideas of relationships. I shudder in disgust for Powell's sickness and it breaks my heart for Susan's family to have even more evidence of how their daughter and sister was repeatedly violated in life and in death.
Mormons. They try to hide the crazy as best they can. But nobody is buyin' it.
Your post shows just how STUPID you are!
Opiate, i agree, completely and utterly. Why was this investigation botched from the get-go? Mormons are the definition of nepotism.
Utah...nuf said.
People of the hills are crazy, whether they are mormon or not. There are plenty of decent people who are mormons (that doesn't include the most famous one in the news these days). I've met a lot of good people who are mormons and I've met some not so good people who are mormons; it's just like as with any other population group. What you think Catholics are less crazy? At least the mormons don't have pedophilia rampantly infesting their church which their church leaders then cover up. Shoot even among the secular sections of society you can still find plenty of crazy.
People of the hills are crazy, whether they are mormon or not. There are plenty of decent people who are mormons (that doesn't include the most famous one in the news these days). I've met a lot of good people who are mormons and I've met some not so good people who are mormons; it's just like as with any other population group. What you think Catholics are less crazy? At least the mormons don't have pedophilia rampantly infesting their church which their church leaders then cover up. Shoot even among the secular sections of society you can still find plenty of crazy.
you know that she was also "mormon," right? was she as sick as they are? simply because of her religious choice? every religion/culture has their nut-jobs. mormons are no different. neither are catholics. or muslims. or african americans. or gays. or what have you. quit singling out an entire religion just because a couple of psychos make it in the news.
"At least the mormons don't have pedophilia rampantly infesting their church which their church leaders then cover up"
If they covered it up (successfully), how would you know?
Does this mean you're not voting for Mittens?
hmmmm, didn't Susan disappear in Utah? The Mormon state.... Odd the police and DCFS didn't share their information with Washington Police isn't it? Were the Powell's Mormon? What SECRECTS DO THEY HAVE BESIDES SECRECT UNDERWEAR?
TY WWJD999 How would you know? Not caught is not the same as innocent.
Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
In this case, the turd didn't fall far from the horse's arse...
Weird!
That dude is one sick f**k.
What I don't get is why these nutjobs always keep journals/diaries to PROVE their perversion in court. Guess it's part of their narcissistic trip. They probably get off writing it down (Lord, keep me from borrowing that pen!)
And to think, I've never kept a diary because someone might find it and discover that I have a crush on Kevin in math class or ate half a package of Oreos!
Hang on...Daisy in St. Louis and you mentioned a Kevin...
Are you a fan of The Black Crowes????
A sick, sick family. My heart breaks when I think of what those innocent young boys went through. If there is a god, s/he certainly doesn't care one little bit about humans.
No god. There, fixed that for ya.
OH WAIT! We are responsible for our actions not God, not Jesus. US, WE, I . Jesus weeps everytime one of these monsters hurts a child. WE are the ones that don't care about humans. If you saw a child being abused would you step up and call the Police? CPS? Or would you just look away? Not my problem. Let someone else report it. A panhandler stands begging with a small crying child. Do you call the police? Why not. You see someone out of control screaming at their child ,do you look the other way? God gave us free will and Jesus taught us what it means to love unconditionaly. Now it's on YOU.
He knows where she is buried. Why? Because anyone that obsessed and perverted would HAVE to know so that he could visit and do the dirty deed over her body. So somewhere there is directions to the body.
I think you could be right. But surely the authorities have already thought of this. I remain hopeful that they will find her body and give some sort of closure to her poor family.
That is one MESSED UP family AND I wonder what a girl like Susan was doing with them, UNLESS, as the article states, and it's easy to kick someone already on the ground, she had issues too. No excuse for murder. Who did it? Who knows. Why did Josh blow up the house and kill his own kids? Lots of reasons. If he had child porn, then he knew he not only was going to lose the kids, but go to prison, and be an outcast for the rest of his life. Except for the kids, everyone else seems to be totally messed up. Strange to say the least.
LETS NOT BLAME THE VICTIM. Poor Susan probably thought she could "help" her husband break the cycle of abuse. Be a better person. Rarely works.
many secrets and unknowns. This father needs serious help. What was going on with Josh growing up and what did Josh want to hide to kill self and kids?
The only help this father-in-law needs is a blast into the next life.
"The two children were placed in the care of Susan’s parents, but Josh Powell was later allowed to see them. Police discovered hundreds of images of disturbing cartoon sex and graphic depictions of incest on Josh Powell's home computer something Utah authorities investigating his wife's disappearance kept private for about two years."
Why would authorities would keep this information private when they knew of the small children involved in this case even once they learned that he was given time with them??
Cath: "Why would authorities would keep this information private when they knew of the small children involved in this case even once they learned that he was given time with them??"
That is an EXCELLENT question! Why?
Josh was losing. Josh refused to lose. Josh wasn't hiding. Josh was not losing. Josh was in control and all that was going to end once he took the pervert tests and he knew it. He would have no further access to his boys. His son's were his property as much as his wife was and we know what happened when she wanted to leave.
A very sick and depraved person. It is a failure of our society that we cannot protect women from this kind of perversion. Things now being revealed indicate that she and her little boys were hostages to the warped activities of a father and son who were in no way normal. She probably felt she had no way out and she was unprepared, as most of us would be, for how to identify and deal with such monstrous illness. Evil exists and God needs the help of good people to offer a way out for women who need to protect themselves and their children from men like the Powells.
The way out is any door in the house and into any law enforcement door, then a ticket on a bus or train or plane to as far away as she and her children can get. Either she was clueless (and I don't think she was because she refused to speak to sicko father in law after he confessed his "love" to her), or she refused to acknowledge the serious depraved issues in this family.
The only other answer is she knew, was preparing to leave and the husband killed her to stop her. Son had to know what father professed to her because she would not speak to the man. I'm sure she knew, yet he took his sons to live with him anyway. Calculate that one in to the equation.
Spartan, women are not stupid. They can remove themselves from these situations.
Spartan: Thank you! Very inciteful, compassionate and real comments.
I have been there myself (not to this extreme) but it is awful to be trapped in an abusive relationship with no real friends, family, money and/or support system. Thank you for your comments.
(BTW I got out but it's a long, painful, difficult road--and I'm still climbing that hill)
Befuddled--it's not a matter of stupidity--but of opportunity, means and support. Cops don't give a @!$%#. And a bus, plane, train--moving--that all costs money. Where do you go? What do you do when (and if) you get there? No money--no job--no support system. I realize you're befuddled. But with respect, you need to be in that woman's shoes before commenting. Please?
"The only other answer is she knew, was preparing to leave and the husband killed her to stop her."
Befuddled, your second paragraph answered your first. This is why many women trapped in abusive marriages do not or cannot escape. The abuser erodes at her self esteem and self-worth over time, until she thinks she is worthless and helpless. He isolates her from everyone she loves, either by moving her away from them, or by making it so miserable for her if she does contact them that she eventually gives up and stays away. He controls the money, her mobility, how the household is run - everything. Every attempt at independent thought or action is met with physical and verbal abuse.
Now she is trapped in the marriage, knowing she has no help, no money, and no will of her own. Then the first child comes along. Now she really is trapped, for she cannot run away and leave the child behind, nor can she run with the child knowing he will come after them and beat or even kill them. Just look at how many incidences there have been of fathers killing their wives and children, then themselves, and you get a sense of just how widespread the problem is. Ask yourself; were all these women just too weak and stupid to think of escape?
WWJD, I'm glad you got out. Your post to Befuddled said pretty much everything I left out.
The Police? Their favorite phrase is 'this is a civil matter. " The only thing I can think to add is that women are raised to believe we can love things better. If we love a man who was abused or is abusive we can love him better even if it kills us. And sometimes it does.
Steven Powell is a degenerate who destroyed everyone with his actions starting with his own family Susan must have been out of her mind when she realized the type of family she had married and brought chrildren into. Also don't care what his journals say he was low enough to peek at his DIL's naked body with a mirror under a door he is low enough to write lies in his journal after he killed or helped his son who killed her get rid of her body.
I blame the Utah police for not arresting josh after he refused to cooperate with them! Why would a spouse not help the police unless he or she was involved! The Utah police are idiots! Because of their screwup,those little boys are dead!!
This is like an episode of CSI or Criminal Minds!!!! This one of the most sickening things I've ever read!!
Welcome to the real world.
The system failed again.....just like in the Dugard case. Bureaucracy gone bad.
You can't really expect sane people, or "bureaucrats", to suspect this kind of perversion! People like these men don't look any different from anybody else and are very good at seeming normal.
dpepp, you are kidding right? They all know. It's a civil matter.
What a sick SOB.
"....of course there is the problem of her being married to my son."
......
This guy is a weirdo. Actually, Father and Son are both a pair of weirdo's.. Its hard to tell who is guilty of what here. I think Dad and Son were a couple of pedophiles. Maybe not actually attacking any kids, but certainly collecting sexually explicit pictures of underage girls. They may have even worked together. Maybe the son was a victim of Dad himself, when he was kid? Its hard to know how much control Dad had over his Son.
Anyway, I think maybe his wife Susan found out, maybe found the stash of pictures? Maybe the pair were abusing their own kids and Grandkids too, and she found out about that? Anyway, I think she found out something bad, and either threatened to leave and take the kids, or go to the police. And maybe they killed her together. Or, she may have only caught Josh, and Dad just helped clean up the mess. After Josh killed her.
Like I said at the start, its hard to say who did what. But I think its possible they were both involved in some capacity. Its just hard to say how much. And then theres the possibility, Granddad could also have killed her by himself, considering the crap in his journal. He may have kidnapped and raped her, then got rid of her. Josh may have committed suicide simply out of fear of being blamed and losing his kids.
Unless Grand dad decides to talk, or more evidence shows up, I doubt we will even know the truth. The fact both Men involved, were a couple of complete weirdos, make it impossible to know who was responsible for her disappearance..
Maybe????????
One word why authorities were never cooperative in revealing evidence or being more aggressive in this investigation:
MORMONS.
The whole lot of 'em.
The Church of Latter Day Saints is nothing but a satanic cult. Could I tell you stories........
Without excusing the Powell men in any way, you have to wonder how many men worldwide have become twisted and perverted because of sexual abuse, anal rape and death threats in their own young lives.
We need to start connecting the men who feel these compulsions and act on them, with what abuse they may have been subjected to themselves.
If the stories about priests, and coaches, and uncles, and stepfathers, and mom's boyfriends, etc., tell us anything it's that this is and probably always has been almost commonplace worldwide.
We need to teach our children early (both boys and girls of course) that they must talk about any inappropriate touching or even uncomfortable feelings they have about people in their lives. Teach them without scaring them that they can find help from a parent or teacher or neighbor who will believe them and protect them.
It wasn't that long ago that women who were raped didn't even report it because they felt ashamed, or were threatened. That has changed because these women were finally convinced that they were not to blame and speaking up could and often did, save other women from being victimized.
Sunlight is always the best disinfectant.
dpepp: "Without excusing the Powell men in any way, you have to wonder how many men worldwide have become twisted and perverted because of sexual abuse, anal rape and death threats in their own young lives."
Although I agree with you to some extent--I can't help wondering about all the WOMEN worldwide who are also victims of sexual abuse, anal and vaginal rape, death threats, physical, verbal and emotional abuse--but you don't see as much homicide and acting out from them (some yes--and perhaps more as time goes by--but definitely not as much).
Women have to grin and bear it. Why should men be excused for their bad behavior? Aren't men supposed to be "superior" and "stronger?" Just asking...
none.
dpepp,Are you for real? None of this is news. 26 years as a Foster Parent 26 years of nothing changing except the faces. Same stories over and over. Boy's Girl's Babies to teens. This is and will be the human condition until Children have value. Children are not valued. Tax cuts? Programs for children get hit right before the Seniors. Childcare Subsidies CUT- Food stamps - CUT- Medicaide - CUT Education -CUT
We the People?
Apparently, the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.
Wow. I really love my family right now. They put the fun in dysFUNctional.
Bizarre things in this world can make you realize how great your life really is.
Mormons nuff said.
Daddy probably told son that his wife and he were in love and son would need to remove himself from the 'family'. Son confronts wife....
I'm speechless and have no comment..........