Susan Powell, 28 yo, missing 12/6/09 West Valley City, UT 12/10/09 - 8/17/10#1

[da sparkenator]

   love you guys!!!!

[no rose colored glasses]

MEDIA RELEASE 12/16/09 11:30 AM PST from Shelby Gifford, Cox family spokesperson

The Cox family was informed this morning that Joshua Powell has been named a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell. We appreciate the thorough work of the WVCPD and have not changed our position on granting interviews today as a result of this announcement.

Additionally, Susan's friends in the Salt Lake City area and in Washington are also refraining from granting media interviews today, aside from interviews that were already scheduled as of yesterday.

Please respect the privacy of the family. We will be holding a press conference tomorrow, Thursday, December 17th, in the Seattle area at a time TBA to make a statement and address your questions.

On behalf of the Cox family, we thank you for yoru patience and understanding.

[mymonkey]

Thanks NRCG...this guy scares me, he does not look like he would make in the jailhouse hotel...hope he does not do something stupid...wish the children were not in his custody.

[no rose colored glasses]

Thanks NRCG...this guy scares me, he does not look like he would make in the jailhouse hotel...hope he does not do something stupid...wish the children were not in his custody.

He scares me also, and I also don't think he is as dumb as he appears 

[sunshine12]

wow, this guy definitely killed his wife and disposed of the body. and his story of camping and smores is just RIDICULOUS. i guess he didn't count on the daycare provider calling around and then contacting the police.  i do not feel comfortable with those kids being with him now, especially since hes a POI you would think there would be enough for CPS to step in and let the kids go with relatives...

i hope they are running heavy surveillance on him in case he tries to go back to where he put the body..im sure his lawyer has warned him about all this stuff tho.

wow. this is terrible 

[Northern Rose]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - It was "out of character" for a Utah mom to disappear and her husband refuses to tell investigators exactlywhere he went, so investigators on Wednesday said they are treating it as a criminal investigation. Susan Powell, 28, was reported missing Dec. 7. Her husband, Josh Powell, has not been named a suspect but authorities are highly interested in him, said West Valley City Asst. Police Chief Craig Black.

http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=11686480

[Northern Rose]

Police treating missing Utah mom as criminal case
December 16, 2009 16:21 EST


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Police in Utah say Josh Powell is showing an "unusual lack of cooperation for a husband looking for his wife."

They also say they're treating the search for Susan Powell as a criminal investigation.

The assistant police chief in West Valley says it was "out of character" for her to simply disappear -- and that's why investigators think "foul play is involved."

The woman was reported missing Dec. 7. Her husband hasn't been named as a suspect, but police say they're highly interested in him.

MORE...

http://www.weartv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/33d5dc6d-www.weartv.com.shtml

[Northern Rose]

In April 2007 Joshua Powell filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and listed more than $200,000 in credit card, furniture, student loan, and other debts, putting a strain on the couple’s relationship.
 
Before the bankruptcy friends had suggested Susan Powell leave her husband. Friend Rachel Marini said it was because he was very, very controlling.
 
Friends said it was best to end the marriage because it was not worth going through that kind of heartache.
 
Susan did not want to give up on her marriage.
 
The Marini’s, Tim and Rachel, were close friends with the couple until Rachel had a falling out with Joshua. They kept in contact with Susan via Facebook.
 
Over the past year Susan confided in Rachel, telling her the relationship between her and Joshua was still pretty bad, but that for the first time, she had started standing up for herself.
 
Despite the fact that Joshua only went to church sporadically Susan insisted on taking the children to church weekly. Susan also bought her children a few Christmas presents though they were experiencing financial hardship. Josh didn’t like it, according to Rachel, but he let her do it.
 
Susan openly discussed her marital issues with women in her church.
 
Charles Cox, Susan’s father, said they were working on their marital problems and were doing better.
 
Joshua and Susan moved to Utah for a fresh start about five years ago, and to be closer to Joshua’s mother and two sisters.
 
Best friend Kiirsi Hallewell said there was no physical violence of any kind in Joshua and Susan’s marriage and that Susan would never walk away from her kids.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20331267,00.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-22460-Seattle-Family-Examiner~y2009m12d16-NEWS-UPDATE-Susan--Joshua-Powell-had-financial-issues-other-marital-problems

[cw618]

the bold type is interesting, hubby or someone else

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705351936,00.html?pg=1

Susan Powell notebook seized by West Valley police, sources say
By Pat Reavy

Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 3:39 p.m. MST
WEST VALLEY CITY — A notebook that Susan Powell kept in her desk at work, possibly containing information
about her relationship with her husband, was among the items seized by investigators last week, several
sources have told the Deseret News.

The notebook, according to one source, detailed threats allegedly made against the missing West Valley
City woman about a year ago.
Powell has been missing since Dec. 6. Police have not ruled out the possibility of foul play but also do
 not have any evidence pointing them in any one direction. Her husband, Josh Powell, meanwhile, has
remained the focus of media and public scrutiny.

Police confirmed Wednesday that they now consider Powell a "person of interest" in the case.

"We don't have any solid evidence at this time that a crime has been committed, but there is circumstantial
 evidence that foul play cannot be ruled out," West Valley Assistant Police Chief Craig Black said.

Black said Josh Powell was not the only person of interest. Black declined to discuss who the others were
 in the case.

"We're not focused in on one person at this point," he said.

Black is quick to point out, however, that a person of interest is not the same as a suspect. As an example,
he said that a neighbor who might offer important information about the case would be considered a
"person of interest." Everyone else who has been labeled as person of interest, besides Powell, however,
has been forthcoming with information, he said.

Powell was interviewed by police late Tuesday and submitted to a search warrant to collect DNA.

Despite voluntarily showing up for an interview, police say he is still not being completely forthcoming,
 refusing to answer specific detailed questions such as exactly where he was camping the night of Dec. 6
and whether his wife had any close friends with whom she might have confided.

"He's not being cooperative," said Black. "He's answering very general descriptive-type questions.
 He would not submit to questioning about specific questions we think would be helpful to finding his wife."

Josh Powell said he went camping about midnight on Dec. 6 with the couple's two children, ages 2 and 4.
They drove to an area in Tooele, where they slept in their mini-van, Powell told police. The temperature
that night was well below freezing.

The next day, Josh Powell returned to his home in the afternoon. Susan Powell was nowhere to be found.

Josh Powell talked to police that night and the following day. He was scheduled for a follow-up interview
Monday but did not show up for that meeting, based on the advice of his newly hired attorney, Scott Williams.

When Powell did meet with police Tuesday, Black said, investigators did not get many of the answers they
were hoping for and have requested to speak to him again.

"We're interested in what he has to say," Black said. "We expressed to him we would like to have a chance
to ask him more specific and detailed questions. He said he'd like to think about it. Right now, he's giving
us general ID questions, such as he was camping along the Pony Express Trail. That's 2,000 miles long. We
haven't been able to find anything."

"We'd appreciate some more detailed cooperation from him," Black said. "There's a lot of questions concerning
his camping trip, what Susan's state of mind was on Sunday (Dec. 6), has she ever talked to him privately
about leaving. Those are areas Josh could help with. We're not marriage counselors. If she wants to be away,
that's her business. We just would like to have information that helps us find her."

A friend of Susan Powell, Rachel Marini, told KSL Radio Wednesday that after the Powells moved to Utah from
Washington state, Josh Powell became very controlling.

"She had a lot of friends and family members telling her, 'Why just you don't end it?' But she was committed
to her marriage," she said. "I don't think that Josh is capable of hurting her, but I don't think she would
leave her kids. She never would have left her kids."

Black acknowledged investigators have heard accusations being made on Internet blog sites, in the media and
other second- and third-hand reports from friends and neighbors about possible marital problems between Josh
and Susan Powell. But Black said he was not aware of any specific threats that might have been made.

As of Wednesday, Black said, police would simply like to work more in a partnership with Josh Powell to find
 his wife and clear up some of the unanswered questions.

"If we all have the same interest, to find Susan, if that's the case, we'd like to work in conjunction.
 He has his own reasons for acting the way he has. As a community, we can hypothesize all we want. But if
his interest is to find Susan, we hope he would come in and help us out and answer questions that can give
 us further leads and direction," Black said.

Detectives returned to the Susan Powell's neighborhood, near 6200 West and 3900 South, Wednesday to once
again go over the area, knock on doors, and look for any possible leads in the case.

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com

[mymonkey]

In April 2007 Joshua Powell filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and listed more than $200,000 in credit card, furniture, student loan, and other debts, putting a strain on the couple’s relationship.
 
Before the bankruptcy friends had suggested Susan Powell leave her husband. Friend Rachel Marini said it was because he was very, very controlling.
 
Friends said it was best to end the marriage because it was not worth going through that kind of heartache.
 
Susan did not want to give up on her marriage.
 
The Marini’s, Tim and Rachel, were close friends with the couple until Rachel had a falling out with Joshua. They kept in contact with Susan via Facebook.
 
Over the past year Susan confided in Rachel, telling her the relationship between her and Joshua was still pretty bad, but that for the first time, she had started standing up for herself.
 
Despite the fact that Joshua only went to church sporadically Susan insisted on taking the children to church weekly. Susan also bought her children a few Christmas presents though they were experiencing financial hardship. Josh didn’t like it, according to Rachel, but he let her do it.
 
Susan openly discussed her marital issues with women in her church.
 
Charles Cox, Susan’s father, said they were working on their marital problems and were doing better.
 
Joshua and Susan moved to Utah for a fresh start about five years ago, and to be closer to Joshua’s mother and two sisters.
 
Best friend Kiirsi Hallewell said there was no physical violence of any kind in Joshua and Susan’s marriage and that Susan would never walk away from her kids.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20331267,00.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-22460-Seattle-Family-Examiner~y2009m12d16-NEWS-UPDATE-Susan--Joshua-Powell-had-financial-issues-other-marital-problems

I do not know how to "bold" but the statement of no physical violence.....verbal abuse can be as bad as physical abuse...believe me  I have lived thru both and one was as bad as the other.

[Northern Rose]

Friend says missing woman had marriage trouble

WEST VALLEY CITY -- West Valley City police are now calling Josh Powell a person of interest in his wife's disappearance. A woman who is close friends with the couple says Josh's personality seemed to change over the last few years, and she encouraged Susan to divorce him.

For more than eight years, Rachel Marini and her husband were the best of friends with Josh and Susan Powell. Rachel Marini became friends with the Powells soon after the two were married in Washington State.

However, Marini said not long after the couple moved from Washington to Utah, Josh started becoming controlling of everything Susan did. She said the control problem reached a point that others started telling Susan to get out of the relationship.

"She had a lot of friends and family members telling her, ‘Why just you don't end it?' But she was committed to her marriage," said Marini. "I didn't like the way he treated her. I didn't think that she should stand for it."

Marini said after a road trip with the Powells she became so disgusted with the way Josh treated Susan that she didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, but she kept in contact with Susan through Facebook and e-mail.

"We would just ask her, ‘How are things going?' She would tell us things were getting better, mostly because she was demanding that he let her do stuff," said Marini.

Marini said Josh's actions toward Susan were manipulative and out of line.

"She would tell him, ‘Even though you are not going to church I'm going to take the kids to church,' or ‘Even though you say we don't have the money I'm going to buy the kids presents for Christmas.' So she just started putting her foot down and demanding stuff from him," Marini said.

Marini said she last had contact with Susan a couple of weeks ago, and there wasn't any sign of distress or additional problems. She doesn't know what to think now that Susan is missing.

"I don't think that Josh is capable of hurting her, but I don't think she would leave her kids. She never would have left her kids," Marini said.

She also said that even though Josh was controlling, in his own way, he did love her.

Marini says she and her husband have tried to reach out to Josh Powell and offer their support, but he will not return their phone calls.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9054100&autostart=y

[Tina Bee]

Police Suspect Foul Play in Disappearance of Utah Mom

SALT LAKE CITY  —  Police say they suspect foul play may be involved in the disappearance of a 28-year-old mother of two from Utah.

West Valley City Asst. Police Chief Craig Black said Wednesday Susan Powell's disappearance is so out of character for her that police are treating the case like a criminal investigation.

Joshua Powell, whose wife disappeared from their West Valley City, Utah, home more than a week ago, is considered a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, said Assistant Police Chief Craig Black.

"We've been interested in what Josh has had to say all along," said Black.

Black said that detectives have met twice with Josh Powell. "He submitted to a search warrant and provided a DNA sample."

"I wouldn't characterize him (Joshua) as being cooperative."

Susan Powell was reported missing Dec. 7 when she didn't show up to work and her children weren't dropped off at day care.

Josh Powell told police he took his two boys, ages 2 and 4, camping around 12:30 a.m. that day and returned in the evening.


Investigators said they haven't been able to verify the camping trip because snow had covered the site — Simpson Springs on the historic Pony Express Trail in Utah's west desert.

The Powell home was locked when police arrived and they broke in, fearing the family had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. They found no signs of forced entry.

Susan Powell's father, Charles Cox, has said police found a wet spot in the house being dried by two fans when they entered.

West Valley City Police Capt. Tom McLachlan declined to comment on that, but said earlier Tuesday that Josh Powell was costing the police valuable time because he failed to show up for an interview on Monday.

"We are very disappointed in that because he is not a suspect and this delays the investigation — it slows things down," McLachlan said early Tuesday. "His stated purpose is he wants to find Susan and that is also our stated purpose on this missing persons case, and this complicates the issue."


McLachlan said police initially interviewed Josh Powell when he returned home and then again the next day. Police have also interviewed the Powells' older son.

Williams said the Monday interview was canceled at his request.

"We have been in contact with West Valley City police multiple times daily," he said. "The Monday afternoon possible interview was canceled by me that morning because I was new and because I needed more information to provide effective consultation and advice."

Williams is a Salt Lake City defense attorney who often represents high-profile defendants in criminal cases. He declined to specify exactly when he was retained by Josh Powell.

McLachlan said late Tuesday that he wasn't aware if police had met with Josh Powell on Tuesday.

"I'm going to have to wait to the morning to get briefed until I can make any statement," he said.

Kiirsi Hellewell, Susan Powell's best friend, said she has been in contact with Josh Powell on a daily basis but hasn't asked him specific questions about Susan in an effort not to interfere with the investigation or to lose his trust as a friend.

"He doesn't do a lot of talking. He mostly looks upset and confused and is crying most of the time," Hellewell said.

She said she sat next to Josh Powell at church on Sunday and that he cried through most of the service.

It was at that same church on Dec. 5 that the last known pictures of Susan Powell were taken. The couple and their children attended a Christmas breakfast, where one picture shows a smiling Josh Powell with a camera hanging around his neck, talking with his children while his wife stands a few feet away reaching for food.

"Susan and her family were very normal and seemed all happy to be there. We actually talked to them quite a bit. Josh seemed really happy to be there and he asked me to take a picture of he and the family, and yes he has the picture," Mindy Kay Perry Guzman, who took the picture, wrote in a message to The Associated Press.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580337,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r2:c0.291357:b29390584:z10

[Tina Bee]

Sad to say it, but I believe  (this is just my opinion) Susan was murdered and by her husband no less. I feel horrible for their kids. I hope her family gets answers.

[Tina Bee]

I would have no idea, but the four year old will certainly be able to do some major talking, kids that age don't miss a trick.

That's so true! I have a four year old niece and she's a chatterbox. There's no turning that girl off. 

If the police interview the children the 4 year old will definitely be able to give info.

[klaasend]

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/Powell-family-friend-shares-inside-perspective/1B1tw3Lc2kqZi6DaWSpBVg.cspx


Powell family friend shares inside perspective

Last Update: 12/16 10:25 pm

New information tonight in the disappearance of Susan Powell.  The Deseret Morning News reports items confiscated by police last week include a notebook that might contain details about Susan's relationship with her husband, Joshua Powell.  According to the Salt Lake paper's sources, the notebook details threats allegedly made against the missing mother of two almost a year ago.

The investigation has moved from a missing persons to a criminal investigation.  We are for the first time today, hearing police say '’foul play’' is suspected.  Police say there's just no other way to explain what happened on the night of December 6th.  ABC4 asked a close friend of the Powells, the one who talked with Josh just days after Susan went missing, what he thought about Josh's alibi, recent silence and something now in the spotlight:  Josh and Susan's marriage.

Tim Peterson is a family friend of the Powells, who drove Josh to pick up his van from the police department three days after Susan went missing.  He says Powell seemed relatively calm.  Peterson then asked why he didn’t seem more distraught to which he says Powell replied, “The cops are taking care of that.”  Peterson says this response caught him off guard.  He says Josh also told him he frequently takes his boys out camping late at night.

Peterson told us that perhaps what's most startling to him now--the fact that Josh is staying so what he calls “uncharacteristically quiet.”  He says, “This much I do know about Josh.  Josh is extremely opinionated.”  Police, however, are saying they're having a hard time getting Josh to say much at all.  They say yesterday's interview with Powell was a bust with only brief general ID answers.

Peterson told us tonight that Susan would often confide in him about her marital woes.  He says, “She really did try in that relationship, she tried so hard…She had a very strict plan that come this Spring, if things weren't right between the two of them, that she was going to get a divorce.”

Police say they subpoenaed Powell to get a sample of DNA.  They say they wanted a clean sample from Josh on file in case they need it.

Police won’t talk about what kind of evidence they took out of Powell's house, but they do say they're waiting on the analysis from the state crime lab.

[Northern Rose]

Notebook collected as evidence in missing woman case

WEST VALLEY CITY -- A notebook belonging to a missing West Valley City woman has been collected for evidence.

The Deseret News reports investigators last week seized the notebook 28-year-old Susan Powell kept at her desk at work. A source tells the Deseret News the notebook details threats made against Powell about a year ago.

The mother of two has been missing for a week and a half, and now police are going door to door in her neighborhood looking for new information that may help in the case. Police now are saying foul play "isn't a solid conclusion" but a "likely possibility."

Susan Powell was last seen by a friend on Dec. 6 and was reported missing the next day. Police on Wednesday said her husband Josh Powell is one of several persons of interest in the case.

Much public speculation has focused on Josh Powell and his story that he took his children camping in a remote and isolated area the same day Susan disappeared.


Susan Powell's disappearance has frustrated police and been a terrible ordeal for her family.

Kirk Graves, the husband of Josh Powell's sister, told NBC's "Today" show Thursday that his brother-in-law could be controlling, and was an "interesting person" with a "different" personality.

Asked whether he thought his brother-in-law had something to do with Susan Powell's disappearance, Graves said he's avoided analyzing the question.

"Too many emotions, too many family members. I just pray no," he said.

Jennifer Graves, Josh Powell's sister, says her sister-in-law's disappearance has turned her family's world upside down. She says she believes something terrible has happened to Susan because she never would have left her two boys behind.

Graves says she hopes her brother is not involved in Susan's disappearance. She says she has nightmares about what may have happened.

"I see her face in my mind, in my dreams. I'm sure that he does, too," Graves said.

Susan Powell's family has expressed thanks to the West Valley City Police Department for all its hard work in trying to find Susan. They've also thanked the public for its support.

The family has planned a news conference in the Seattle area on Thursday, according to a posting on the Friends and Family of Susan Powell Facebook page.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=9062334

[Northern Rose]

Family Of Missing Utah Woman Expects The Husband To Be ...

(West Valley City, UT) -- The focus of a missing person investigation in Utah is turning to the victim's husband, Joshua Powell.

Kirk Graves, an extended family member, told ABC News he wouldn't be surprised if Powell gets arrested in the next week.

Police have said the husband has been uncooperative in answering questions about his wife, Susan Powell, who vanished on December 7th.

West Valley City police said the case is about to turn from a missing person case into a criminal investigation.

Joshua maintains he went camping with his two kids, only to find his wife missing when he returned home.

http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=123281

[Northern Rose]

Susan Powell Disappearance: Relatives Preparing for Husband's Arrest

Family members say they wouldn't be surprised if Joshua Powell gets arrested in the disappearance of his wife, missing Utah mom Susan Powell.

Relatives of Joshua Powell spoke out as police in West Valley City said they now believe foul play is a "likely possibility" in her disappearance. Police say they now consider Powell a person of interest in the case.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he gets arrested in the next seven days," Joshua Powell's brother-in-law Kirk Graves told ABC News. "Even if he's innocent, there's more than he's telling us."

West Valley City Assistant Chief Craig Black told "Good Morning America" today that it was a "likely possibility" that Susan Powell's disappearance involved foul play.

"Josh's reasons for not wanting to approach the police department or come and work with us in a little more forthcoming manner have kind of generated some controversy among the officers," Black said. '"And it's something that's been questioned by the community members who have been following the case."

CLICK HERE for more information on how you can help the search for Susan Powell and others that have gone missing.

Powell has refused to answer direct questions and, police said, he would not take investigators to the remote camp site where he told police he tooks his two young sons in the middle of the night of Dec. 7, the last day Susan Powell was seen alive.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/susan-powell-disappearance-relatives-expect-husband-arrested/story?id=9359781

[Northern Rose]

Videos from Friends and Family of Susan Powell: MISSING: Susan Powell Slide Show [HQ]

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=198478842187#/video/video.php?v=1279605026930&oid=198478842187

[no rose colored glasses]

Thank-you for all the updates, I guess it would be to much to ask if some family members could get Josh to speak, and tell the police what he has done to Susan