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Susan Powell Emails Described Family Problems Before Josh Powell's Murder-Suicide (SLIDESHOW)

04/29/12 10:57 PM ET AP

Powell Family
Susan Powell sent emails to her co-workers worried about her husband who eventually killed his sons and himself.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Before she disappeared, Susan Powell told friends and co-workers her husband had become moody and controlling, and she feared he could harm her.

Nine emails were provided to the newspaper after Susan Powell disappeared in December 2009. But at the request of the provider, the newspaper held back on publishing them until now.

The newspaper reports that Susan emailed several co-workers, friends and members of her ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pour out frustration with her husband, Josh Powell, and to seek advice on how to proceed with the relationship.

The emails were sent between June 30, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2008, and show Susan Powell's disappointment with her husband's lack of affection, saying the couple's marriage had changed since its early stages.

"I want him in counseling, on meds, I want my husband, friend, lover BACK no more crazy, outrageous, outlandish beliefs/opinions," she wrote in an email to friends dated July 11, 2008, as she described stress and depression related to her crumbling marriage.

Josh Powell killed himself and their two young children in a gas-fueled inferno in February in Washington state. His father, Steve Powell, is in jail, facing several voyeurism charges and one count of possession of child pornography. His trial is scheduled to start May 7.

Susan Powell's father, Chuck Cox, told The Associated Press on Sunday that he had been aware of the struggles in his daughter's marriage and that she had sent several emails to friends before her disappearance.

An email requesting comment from West Valley City police spokesman Sgt. Mike Powell in Utah was not immediately returned.

"I know everyone else will support me in whatever decisions, even if that means I crash anyone's house in the middle of the night with my boys in tow. (Hope that never happens) or stay with him. But believe me, my bottom line is he WILL DO COUNSELING," she added in another email, dated July 28, 2008.

"I'm sure if he fixes himself, everyone else will see a much closer version of the guy I married. And it will be easy enough to forget the hell and turmoil he's put me through."

She wrote of a trip to Washington state for her sister's wedding where she described Josh as "being his usually `rude, yelling and barking commands at me' -self" as the couple spent time with family.

She wrote of being uncomfortable with a song that her father-in-law, Steven Powell, wrote about her. She also wrote that Steve Powell once tried to console her about her problems with Josh.

"His dad told me the entire family KNOWS how much I put up with," Susan wrote on June 30, 2008.

In another email, Susan wrote about an argument the couple had where she made a list of things that Josh wanted her to change. She wrote that Josh accused her of having "utter contempt" for him because he wasn't working a regular job at the time. She also wrote that her husband had criticized her for spending too much money on groceries.

He told her not to spend money on counseling or other items, including make-up or yarn, according to an email Susan Powell sent on July 5, 2008.

She also wrote about leaving a makeshift will in her desk at work because she worried her husband might hurt her or kidnap her children if she tried to leave him. But she also expressed hope that the two could somehow reconcile.

"Every moment I step back and take stock of what I'm dealing with, it feels like a never ending cycle but I'm too afraid of the consequences (sic) losing my kids, him kidnapping, divorce or actions worse on his part, if I take a stand on one of his ultimatums like spending $20 on the counseling co-pay or cutting off access to my pay check," she wrote.

MORE PHOTOS OF JOSH AND SUSAN POWELL:

Loading Slideshow...
  • Father Kills Sons And Self

    Pierce County sheriff's deputies and Graham firefighters work through the wreckage of a home in Graham, Wash. where the bodies of Josh Powell and his two sons were found on Feb. 5, 2012 in a double-homicide suicide. The boys had just been brought by a Child Protective Services worker to Powell's home for a supervised visit when police say the dad deliberately blew up the house. A judge had denied the previous week a request by Powell to regain custody of his sons, who had been living with the parents of his missing wife, Susan.

  • Pierce County sheriff's officials said it appears Josh Powell used an accelerant to increase the power of a gas fire that he intentionally set to kill himself and his two sons inside his Graham, Wash., home on Feb. 5, 2012. The saga of the Powell family began in 2009 when Josh Powell reported that his wife, Susan, had gone missing. That night he claimed he took his sons on an overnight camping trip in freezing temperatures.

  • Aerial View Of Josh Powell's Home

    The explosion at Josh Powell's home left smoldering remains in Graham, Wash. Police say Powell deliberately detonated the home moments after a Child Protective Services worker brought his sons Braden, 5, and Charles, 7, for a supervised visit.

  • Braden And Charlie Powell

    This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows their grandsons Braden, left, and Charlie Powell. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Chuck Cox, Braden Powell, Charlie Powell

    This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows them with their grandsons, Charlie, left, and Braden, right. Charlie and Braden were killed along with their father, Josh Powell, on Sunday in what police said was an intentional fire set by Powell. The Coxes are the parents of Powell's wife, Susan, who has been missing since 2009. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Braden And Charlie Powell

    This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows Braden, left, and Charlie Powell. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Police and other officials from Washington state and Utah view charred rubble, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at of the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed in the fire Powell set Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

  • In this pool photo provided by the Pierce County Sheriff's Dept., a melted gas can is marked with an evidence flag, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in the rubble of the home in Graham, Wash., where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed. (AP Photo/Pierce County Sheriff's Dept., Ed Troyer, Pool)

  • Susan Cox Powell

    This image from<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-and-Family-of-Susan-Cox-Powell/158207040909324" target="_hplink"> Friends and Family of Susan Cox Powell</a> Facebook page shows missing Utah mother Susan Cox Powell. Powell has been missing since December 6, 2009. Her husband Josh Powell was a person of interest in her disappearance before he killed himself and their two sons on Feb. 5, 2012.

  • Chuck And Judy Cox

    Chuck and Judy Cox, the parents of missing Utah mother Susan Cox, talk to reporters at their home in Puyallup, Wash., Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. They had custody of their grandchildren, Charlie and Braden Powell, who were killed by their father Josh Powell during a supervised visit to his house on Sunday. Their daughter Susan Cox Powell went missing in December 2009 from the West Valley City, Utah home where she lived with her husband and sons. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

  • Candlelight Vigil

    Supporters held an impromptu candlelight vigil for Braden and Charlie Powell, who were killed by their father Josh when he deliberately torched his Graham, Wash. home on Feb. 5, 2012. The brothers had been living with their maternal grandparents in a simmering custody dispute stemming from their mother's disappearance in Utah in 2009.

  • Flowers and two stuffed animals are left near crime-scene tape, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, near the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed Sunday, in Graham, Wash., in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire. Powell's wife Susan went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

  • Mourners posted signs and lit candles at Carson Elementary School in Puyallup, Wash. where Braden and Charles Powell attended school. The brothers were killed in an explosion caused by their father Josh Powell at his home on Feb. 5, 2012 -- days after a judge denied his request to regain custody of them.

  • A Pierce County fire investigator works his way through charred rubble, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed Sunday, in Graham, Wash., in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire. Powell's wife Susan went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

  • Josh And Braden Powell

    In this Aug. 19, 2011 photo, Josh Powell plays with his son Braden in a park near his home, in Puyallup, Wash. Powell had long been a person of interest in his wife. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Friday, August 19, 2011)

  • This photo from Facebook shows Susan Cox Powell in December of 2008.

  • A flier seeking information on the whereabouts of Susan Powell, who was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, in Utah, is shown, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, at a press conference in Puyallup, Wash. Powell's family said Thursday they are saddened but not surprised that her husband Josh Powell has been named a person of interest in the investigation.

  • Josh Powell

    Josh Powell, the husband of Susan Powell, stands with supporters after a candle light vigil for his wife at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Puyallup, Wash., Sunday Dec. 20, 2009.

  • Judy Cox, the mother of Susan Powell, who was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, in Utah, becomes emotional during a press conference, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, in Puyallup, Wash. Powell's family said Thursday they are saddened but not surprised that her husband Josh Powell has been named a person of interest in the investigation.

  • Charlie Powell

    This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows Charlie Powell, who was killed along with his brother Braden by their father Josh Powell in a double-murder suicide. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Braden Powell With HIs Grandmother Judy Cox

    In this undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox, Judy Cox, right, sits at a table with her grandson Braden. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Braden Powell

    This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows Braden Powell. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Chuck Cox With Grandsons Charlie And Braden Powell

    In this undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox, Chuck Cox sits with his grandsons, Charlie, left, and Braden, right, at the Coxes home in Pullayup, Wash. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)

  • Chuck Cox With Braden And Charlie Powell

    In this undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox, Chuck Cox plays with his grandsons, Charlie, right, and Braden, left. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)


FOLLOW CRIME

SALT LAKE CITY -- Before she disappeared, Susan Powell told friends and co-workers her husband had become moody and controlling, and she feared he could harm her. Nine emails were provided to the new...
SALT LAKE CITY -- Before she disappeared, Susan Powell told friends and co-workers her husband had become moody and controlling, and she feared he could harm her. Nine emails were provided to the new...
Filed by Andy Campbell  | 
 
 
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05:52 AM on 05/11/2012
My abuser tried to shoot my mom, my little brother, and I. He hit us all every day , and threw a lot of furniture at us. He made a bargain at court to get probation. He went to jail 3 more times for stalking and threatening us. After he got out he stalked us again. We begged our mom to move, so we did. We lived safely, in peace for 2 years then he came with a court order to see us. He lied in court, said that we just left with no reason, and that my mom was concealing us.The police had told us we could just walk away and never see him again. He went to court in the town we used to live in behind our backs. He has not changed, and we know we are going to be more of those people in the paper, He lies and people feel sorry for him, and they help him ruin our life, it's bad. That is why people don't tell on their abusers, or leave because they hunt you down and get you anyway.
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yukidongo1
03:19 AM on 05/12/2012
Sounds like you really need help... And, I don't mean a restraining order, as abusers walk right through those to kill you. Has your mother filed for divorce? She has to do something like that, and list him as abusive, and YOU and your little brother have to tell someone... Tell a social worker! Tell them the whole story and how he came and found you after she left, and how afraid you are of ending up dead, or your mother dead. They will help you... My first and foremost suggestion is this... FIND a battered women's and children's shelter. Call Social Services, or some other volunteer organizations. They can put a roof over your head, and find financial assistance if it means no income. And, no one can give out your whereabouts.
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yukidongo1
03:24 AM on 05/12/2012
Then, make plans to leave the state, and petition the court to change your names... legally. It doesn't cost that much, and often for low income families, there is minimal to no charge through an organization that works through the county. The name change is the only way to keep from being found! It takes minutes, and you guys can see a magistrate, or clerk of court for information or the paperwork to do it. It isn't the hard deal that it was many years ago. All three of you can petition at the same time under one fee, probably, and at one hearing. Please look into it. Go on as if nothing is going on, then with names changed, make your plans to get out of there. Battered shelter first...
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sanfran55
12:31 PM on 05/02/2012
I can't stand seeing photos of Josh Powell's face. Sandusky is another. Lower than dirt.
03:57 PM on 05/01/2012
This is so sad. May Susan and her babies RIP.
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EuroRant1
ExPat - Living outside, Looking in
09:46 AM on 05/02/2012
and her tormented husband.
Let's not blame another victim of "delusional church/cult teachings".

I live on a continent where church history is recorded on every corner with memorials to their victims. Has world history not taught us anything but to continue blaming it's victims. She tried reaching out to friends using "emails sent... showing Susan Powell's disappointment with her husband's lack of affection, saying the couple's marriage had changed since its early stages."

"I want him in counseling, on meds, I want my husband, friend, lover BACK no more crazy, outrageous, outlandish beliefs/opinions,..." Josh Powell was as much as any tormented soul and victim to his church's strange teachings.

As a person who once stood behind a pulpit, I can assure you, it doesn't take much to teach hate, bigotry, or twisted teachings as long as you have god and a bible to back you up. There are always a few that take that to heart and twist the truth to fit "crazy, outrageous, outlandish beliefs/opinions".

"If one were to take the bible seriously one would go mad. But to take the bible seriously, one must be already mad." -- Aleister Crowley
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04:05 PM on 05/06/2012
that is your opinion and yes, some churches can make people crazy; however, that being said, some people just choose to go down the wrong roads in life, and when that happens personal accountability comes into play. If his father made a pass at his wife then they should have had it out and he should have walked away; however, with the child porn, it sounds as if there were greater issues in this marriage that a church would not sanction and if that's the case then HE not the church chose to go down that path, as happens quite frequently. The catholic church does not sanction the mafia but mafia people belong to the church; and there are innocents who have belonged to the church that have made the decision to join the mafia. The church is not guilty because the mafia members choose to make the wrong choices in life and go down the wrong path, hence my disagreeing with you.
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yukidongo1
03:44 AM on 05/12/2012
Josh Powell was who he was when she met and married him... At the time, though, he better hid himself... his true self. He didn't change in a few years, to become what his father already was...he was already that person! Blame Josh Powell. Blame his father for his insane upbringing. But make no mistake...this man was who he was long before he showed her that side...the honeymoon period just wore off. His entire family seems to have been perverts. I'm sure it was all fun and games when they met, young, and he may have just seemed a little more dare devil, or dangerous--women love those bad boys--but as he gradually emerged from that fictitious character, she found she couldn't live with the real Josh Powell. Her mistake was trying to leave with him there, or even telling him her plans...Too many people knew. She should have waited til he was out of the house and started driving til she got the miles between them, and notified her family she was fine, and why she left.
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elanna068
truth, justice and the American way..
02:42 PM on 05/01/2012
When Oh when will they start to remove children from the care of MURDER SUSPECTS! I don't know how many men murder their wives yet retain custody of the children. They even give custody of the children to the parents who many times raised the psychopath in the first place, while the murderer serves time for the crime. Ridiculous.
06:12 PM on 05/02/2012
Actually custody is probably retained by far more women who murdered the father than vice versa. Mary Winkler comes to mind. She got custody and successfully sued her murdered husband's parents for upwards of $200,000.
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yukidongo1
03:29 AM on 05/12/2012
You can think of ONE...and base tat as far more women getting custody of their kids after murdering their husbands? Oh well... that is nonsense, because not as many women murder their husbands as the other way around. And, as evidence, just read back through the HP articles of the last five years or so... Disappearing wives, and girlfriends. Dead wives, drowning in dry bath tubs. Dead wives floating up on beaches after supposedly going for a walk, a jog, driving off after an argument, etc. And, they had a child that drew a picture of "mommy in the trunk" when they went camping. More women get custody, but more men are not great parents, and that is why.
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weebles48
i don't need no stinkin badges.
11:11 AM on 05/01/2012
why bury him? don't they have a town dump?
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yukidongo1
03:48 AM on 05/12/2012
I am sure that would be so much cheaper than a funeral. I think they should put some lime on the corpse, or Lye to help it break down (or both), and stir it in with the rest of the refuse. Good idea...works for me.
all im sayin is
STOP organized crime...re-elect NO ONE!!!
10:49 AM on 05/01/2012
Just so sad that much more was not done to prevent this tragedy. Guess Susan Powell didn't need enemies...what with all the help she got from her friends.
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Lorraine PA
Just Juanderful
10:36 AM on 05/01/2012
What a sad sad demise for a mother and her two sons by such a MONSTER! Yes, he is burning in he l l, however, I believe the authorities dropped the ball in not pressing charges sooner. If I were her parents, I would sue the authorities for not doing enough to safeguard those precious babies. I can't imagine being the caseworker and hearing those babies cry. Why wasnt the storage locker checked sooner than later?? ..just WOW!!!
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Maureen Mower
Humanist, realist, open-minded, logical
10:19 AM on 05/01/2012
What I would like to know is how the people Susan wrote to about these issues responded to her. Did they tell her to leave him? Did they tell her that the behavior she was describing was abusive and dangerous and that she should trust her instincts?

Did they do ANYTHING to ensure the safety of her and her sons?
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hayleebugsmith
01:41 PM on 05/01/2012
Now that's a million dollar question. She should have followed her own instincts and found a way to just leave him. The boys are with their mother now-but it should not have happened.
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EuroRant1
ExPat - Living outside, Looking in
09:59 AM on 05/02/2012
If you read the post you would have understood that they were Mormons.

The cult teaches against divorce; are not allowed to remarry even when widowed. Here's the clincher - the marriage is eternal. So if we understand the Mormon teachings correctly then we can assume that the boys are not necessarily with their mother, but she is back with Josh for eternity... and they lived happily ever-after.

Isn't believing in fairy-tales wonderful?
They always have such happy endings.

"This would be the best of all possible worlds... if there were no religion in it." -- John Adams
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yukidongo1
03:55 AM on 05/12/2012
She made the mistake of trying to confront him...probably that night, and of talking to too many people. When you are going to leave and take an abuser's children, you leave, quietly, while he isn't there, telling no one where you are going, but letting them know (your family) that you are safe. Women who confront people like this get dead... happens all the time.
09:28 AM on 05/01/2012
Governments and the Police force are supposed to protect us from a clear and present danger.
When a person, whether male or female, continues over a period of time, to warn officials, freinds, relatives, their church their concern about that danger, an invesetigation and confontation of the accused should be quick and the person should be made aware of the consequences of their acts before anything serious happens.
Sad to say, Susan should have acted on her gut feeling regarding her husband and she and her children should have left him.
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ugotabkidnme
11:04 AM on 05/01/2012
The paradigm you offer that police serve and protect; and law enforcement is suppose to protect individuals from a clear and present danger is comforting but untrue and creates a dangerous false sense of security. It has been upheld through federal courts that police presence diverts criminal conduct and can intervene but cannot prevent it nor protect against it. Law enforcement is generally reactive not proactive.No law enforcement can protect any individual from a planned, purposeful, intentional act of violence. Settled federal law requires the person who is in harms way is ultimately responsible for their own protection and law enforcement is not liable for victims' injuries or death as a result of criminal activity. If someone is breaking into your home, the criminal conduct is in progress and you are already in harm's way. Get out of harms way. If possible, call the police, but your primary responsibility is to get our of harm's way to a safe place.
09:05 AM on 05/01/2012
When are the women going to stand up and start fighting the COURTS who insist on this co-parenting crap. We know when things are not right in our family and yet the courts insist on making kids go from one house to another. We tell them the outlandish things the husbands do and they will not listen. It puts the wife and kids in danger and eventually someone gets killed. Look at the statistics on how many women are killed in this country every year and we worry about the women in other parts of the world....better clean up our own country
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kittenblu
09:03 AM on 05/01/2012
Well atleast he ended that messed up line of genes
10:35 AM on 05/01/2012
That is a HORRIBLE thing to say about those two little boys!!! Shame on you! They should not have had to pay for the sins of the father!
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flamealchroy
I want freedom FROM religion.
12:44 PM on 05/01/2012
What a horrible thing to say. This guy was a monster but his kids were innocents. They did NOT deserve to be murdered..especially the way they were.

You disgust me.
08:54 AM on 05/01/2012
Too bad the cops were dunkin donuts while all this was going on. So very sad.
egs1217
D for Progressive, R for Regressive. I'm D.
12:31 AM on 05/02/2012
unfair. The cops weren't sent out by the dispatcher for a good ten minutes. He wasn't hearing her.
08:29 AM on 05/01/2012
Emails sent between June and October 2008. Wife goes missing a year later. Father kills his sons and himself in February of 2012. Boy, this sure stinks of people turning the other way and not lifting a finger to help.
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weebles48
i don't need no stinkin badges.
11:16 AM on 05/01/2012
i can't help but think that it would have all been done differently some other place than utah.
12:57 PM on 05/01/2012
i agree!! Utah has a terrible track record when it comes to protecting women & children...flds being a case showing Utah beleives a man is king and the women & children are his chattle, he can do with them as he pleases...you couldnt pay me to live there!
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12:58 PM on 05/01/2012
LOL That did not take long!
frankc354
it's only rock and roll but I like it
08:20 AM on 05/01/2012
josh is where he should be DEAD!! as for 2 children and wife R I P while the creep still burns !!