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Susan Powell's Parents: Josh Powell's Dad Knows What Happened To Missing Daughter

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 04/04/2012 4:23 pm Updated: 05/04/2012 2:30 pm

Charles And Judy Cox
Charles and Judy Cox, parents to missing woman Susan Powell, believe their daughter's father-in-law knows what happened to her.

The parents of missing Utah mom Susan Powell lashed out at her father-in-law in a TV interview, telling Fox, "I'm sure he knows where she is or where his son put her."

Charles and Judy Cox, whose daughter went missing in December 2009, appeared on Fox News on Tuesday to discuss new evidence linking Josh Powell to his wife's case. "I'm convinced that his dad knew everything that was going on, if not helping with it," Charles Cox told anchor Martha MacCallum.

Josh Powell, the primary "person of interest" in the missing person case, killed himself and his two sons by setting fire to his home earlier this year. Despite evidence suggesting Josh played a role in Susan's disappearance, he was never arrested by authorities in West Valley City, Utah. As a result, Susan Powell's family believe the authorities are at least partially responsible for the death of her two sons, Braden, 5, and Charles, 7.

"Look what it did -- it killed my nephews, by not putting [Josh Powell] behind bars when he should have been," Denise Cox, Susan's sister, told ABC News. "They didn't act on anything that they should've acted on."

Even if an arrest was made, though, that doesn't mean Josh Powell would have stayed in jail, Susan Powell's father pointed out.

"If they did arrest him and he was convicted, then our grandchildren would be alive," Charles Cox said on Fox News. "But that's a big 'if' because arresting a person and convicting them are two separate things, especially with no body."

It now appears authorities had other evidence, though. Court documents unsealed on Friday revealed that Susan Powell left a letter in a safety deposit box saying she did not trust her husband and that if she were to die, "it may not be an accident, even if it looks like one," the Associated Press reported.

Authorities also found Susan Powell's blood on a floor next to a sofa, which appeared to have been recently cleaned and had two fans set up to dry it.

Josh Powell, who is described in the documents as "unwilling to help" the investigation, said he took his two sons on a late-night camping trip the night Susan Powell disappeared. Investigators found Susan's cell phone in her husband's car, which he "did not have an answer" to explain, the Associated Press reported.

Susan's purse, keys and credit cards were among some of the other belongings found in the couple's bedroom.

The documents also show that Susan Powell had several life insurance policies, totaling $1.5 million in value.

"There is direct evidence. There is circumstantial evidence. There is motive," Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist told ABC News. "There is everything but the body."

The court documents also detail an apparent obsession Steven Powell had with his daughter-in-law. In a cabinet belonging to Steven Powell, authorities found several images of Susan, some of which showed her in her underwear, while others featured her face copied onto other women's naked bodies. Another image depicted Steven Powell masturbating to an image of his daughter-in-law.

According to Susan Powell's personal journals, she did not want anything to do with Steven Powell, whom she described as a pedophile.

With all of this evidence uncovered, Susan Powell's parents feel authorities had enough to arrest her husband.

"We depended on their professionalism and opinions and experience," Charles Cox told Fox News. "We don't know all the evidence they have. It appeared to us that he should have been arrested a long time ago."

FOLLOW CRIME

The parents of missing Utah mom Susan Powell lashed out at her father-in-law in a TV interview, telling Fox, "I'm sure he knows where she is or where his son put her." Charles and Judy Cox, whose d...
The parents of missing Utah mom Susan Powell lashed out at her father-in-law in a TV interview, telling Fox, "I'm sure he knows where she is or where his son put her." Charles and Judy Cox, whose d...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Dale McLerran
02:31 PM on 04/06/2012
Steve Powell is ultimately responsible for creating the monster of Josh Powell. I wonder if authorities will ever be able to detain him in relation to Susan's disappearance? Probably not.

But there is a mountain of evidence that is finally being revealed showing that Utah authorities probably had enough information to arrest Josh Powell in Susan's disappearance. Braden and Charles are both dead, largely because Utah authorities failed to make known to officials in Washington state all of the details of their investigation.

What did Utah officials know:

1) The fishy story of going camping with his two sons in the Utah mountains in the middle of winter, leaving at midnight. No one does that!
2) Susan's blood was found on their living room carpet
3) The couch had just been cleaned, and two fans were set up to help dry out the couch
4) Susan left a letter in a safe deposit box that said if she was ever killed in what appeared to be an accident, it should be viewed suspiciously
5) Powell had removed the sim card from his cell phone before giving it to police
6) Powell did not report Susan missing. That required daycare workers calling Powell's mother and sister who then alerted police.
7) Powell told a friend he knew how to kill someone and dispose of the body so that it would never be found
8) Powell had animated incestuous pornography on his computer
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Aitch5
Scintillating
09:44 PM on 04/05/2012
Wow, Looks like Steve Powell screwed up his son pretty bad.
Those poor parents. NO one should have to endure all that pain.
01:48 PM on 04/05/2012
If I had my way, we'd hang this pervert up by his toes and shake the truth out of him. Whatever survived of that process would be thrown in jail for the rest of his miserable life.
01:40 PM on 04/05/2012
i agree with the in-laws. they should have arrested him in the beginning. and whats up with steven powell? seems like he was just as twisted as his kid.
01:17 PM on 04/05/2012
Josh Powell's dad is EVIL INCARNATE...he's a pervert, a voyer, a socio-path, sexual deviant....a despicable excuse for a human being ! Check out his MO....OMG !!! ONCE AGAIN...our legal system FAILED...Not only a mother, but her TWO innocent children !! WHEN will there be JUSTICE for the VICTIM'S ??? Our legal/justice system, Children Services, Police....ALL FAILED Susan & her children.....MORONS !! I believe Susan's parents ! This Despicable man KNOWS where her body is ! I believe he's an accessory to her murder and helped dipose of Susan's body ! I hope he burns for eternity....in the hot place....where EVIL DWELLS !!!!
09:31 AM on 04/06/2012
What gets me pissed is Steven Powell would show up everytime when Susan Powell parents were handing out flyers. He would harass them and the cops never intervened I guess when your the devil you can do as you please.
11:12 AM on 04/06/2012
Our legal (so-called JUSTICE SYSTEM) is to blame !! That includes Child Protective Services, lawyers,Police, Jurors, Judges. They all should be tried for "Accessories to Murder"....they all did NOTHING to protect Susan's 2 boys ! A CPS worker actually HAND-DELIVERED those boys to Steven that day...took them right to his FRONT DOOR....to their DEATH....OMG!! Everyone involved in this heinous crime FAILED these 3 innocent murder VICTIMS ! Police didn't even question Steven's SICK dad...KNOWING his PERVERTED history !! I'm beyond 'pissed'....our legal system is being run by MORONS. They are ALL to blame...letting this psychotic sicko... thelikes of Casey Anthony...and the rest of these socio-pathic, narcissistic, cold-blooded murderer's WALK FREE !! Diobolical....SHAME on them ALL !!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
towerofpower11
01:09 PM on 04/05/2012
Part of the Powell family seems to be very twisted. Steven Powell has lost his son, his two Grand children and a daughter-in-law. As well as arrested for porn. And still will not cooperate with police over the disappearance of Susan Powell. I would say he is definitely involved with her disappearance. Like-father, like-son on this one. It definitely points to a pattern of abuse that is ruining lives. PLEASE ARREST THIS GUY BEFORE HE DOES MORE DAMAGE!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Dale McLerran
02:42 PM on 04/06/2012
Steve Powell is currently under arrest. He was arrested last year in September on child pornography charges.

I hope they can detain him as an accessory to the murder of Susan Cox Powell. But without his cooperation, it will probably be hard to bring charges against him related to Susan's disappearance. Pity! I can't think of anyone who is more deserving of a very long time behind bars.
01:06 PM on 04/05/2012
I've been very intently following this case but this is the first time I've heard that Steven Powell kept pictures of a scantily-clad Susan and masturbated in front of them. This really creeps me out and it sickens me to think that those poor boys were taken back to Washington state to such a grandfather who has also been convicted of pedophilia. No small wonder Susan wanted to be as far from her FIL as she could. I'm sure living with such a father made Josh the person he was too.
01:42 PM on 04/05/2012
the apple never falls far from the tree.
12:45 PM on 04/05/2012
I would be suing the Police Department for GROSS NEGLIGENCE.
12:27 PM on 04/05/2012
They should inject him with Sodium Pentothal, and relax his brain into possible tell the truth. At least that way they might be able to find her body and give the family some sort of closure after they have had to endure such terrible losses. I think they ought to try using it in many instances. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Try any means to get the truth out of the criminals.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Michael Leinbach
01:03 PM on 04/05/2012
No one can prove the father is a criminal.
01:54 PM on 04/05/2012
The father IS a criminal. How about being in jail for child pornography??
01:58 PM on 04/05/2012
He is already in jail on other charges, child pornography, I believe. So he is a criminal already.
01:45 PM on 04/05/2012
good idea, but its scary to think of what other kinda crap would fall out that head of his. if he could participate in this with his son against his own daughter in law, how great a stretch would it be for him and his son to be involved with other dissapearances. there could be others.
12:17 PM on 04/05/2012
"There is direct evidence. There is circumstantial evidence. There is motive," Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist told ABC News. "There is everything but the body."
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Shame on the authorities for not acting decisively. Those two young boys would still be with us, no doubt. As far as Steven Powell is concerned, why is this man still walking free? He's obviously a pervert/pedophile/sick son of a -----. The Cox family should sue the pants off the investigating authorities.
01:09 PM on 04/05/2012
Agree completely. They admitted "There is direct evidence" !!!!! Yet he wasn't even named a suspect ?? Had he at least been named a suspect those boys would be alive today. The controls on visitation would have been much tigher . He may not have received visitation at all. And he wouldn't have been allowed to leave the State of Utah. What a mess and what a tragic loss of life that could have been prevented.

I don't believe Steven Powell is walking free. I thought he was still in jail for child pornography charges? At least he had been.
01:53 PM on 04/05/2012
Any chance Steven is responsible for (as in, did it) the death of Susan? What do you think? The only thing that would cause me to doubt it is that son Josh was too much of a pure coward to take the fall for Pops.
01:49 PM on 04/05/2012
im not sure you can make an arrest in a murder invest. without a body. i mean obviously shes dead.....but there is no body. i dont even think they can get him for wrongful death since its still unproven she is dead.
03:05 PM on 04/05/2012
They need to put Steven in a vice and tighten until he coughs up what he knows. He either did it, or knows what happened.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ayesha Khan
12:16 PM on 04/05/2012
The authorities are to be blamed 100%, they had enough evidential proof if not to arrest, but at least to interrogate him strictly, but now since he is no more what about his father?The documented perverted evidence by Steve Powell enough proof for the authorities to arrest him for interrogation. If they failed to arrest Susan's husband now what is stopping them to arrest the father in law? The naked pictures found of his daughter in law, his own while masturbating, and who knows what much more filth aren't they enough for the authorities to even question him. This is simply beyond sanity, even a 10 tear old can tell you this without any efforts-----Negligence --pure negligence of the authorities--------
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Michael Leinbach
01:05 PM on 04/05/2012
I love how you all think a man having pictures of himself masturbating to his sons wife constitutes a criminal act here?

What a man does in the privacy of his own home, no matter how gross you or I think it is, is his business! Not a Criminal act!
01:55 PM on 04/05/2012
and you are correct. its not a criminal act. just a bit strange to obsess over your sons wife. i mean really.....
12:13 PM on 04/05/2012
He should have been detained when his wife went missing the police dropped the ball!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Mary Shaver
dallas
11:54 AM on 04/05/2012
I have an idea, get someone who knows torture, waterboard him, make him stay awake for days, anything that makes him tell. If you don't, this man is a sexual predator, he will never tell, and Susan's parents will never be able to say goodbye to her.
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spicebabieforlife
You WILL when you BeLiEve!!
11:51 AM on 04/05/2012
This is one messed-up situation, i'm so sorry for her family, this is rather difficult to handle, missing their daughter and grand children :( Please find comfort through prayers and existing family members, friends and well-wishers.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jgamble28
ya never know.
11:32 AM on 04/05/2012
What a sad sad story. To know that the grandchildren would have been spared if they had arrested the father. The grandfather sounds like a real nut case.