New documents released Friday reveal much more about Josh Powell, what he had on his computer, and shed light on the disturbing and negative influences he was having on his young children.
They also reveal for the first time Powell's own detailed description of the camping trip he said he took on the night his wife, Susan, disappeared in December 2009.
The Department of Social and Health Services in Washington released nearly 1,000 pages of documents of child welfare records related to the Powell family. The records include court documents, case notes, visitation reports, examinations and intake referrals concerning young Charlie and Braden Powell.
The documents reveal details about
400 computer-generated images of incest found on Powell's computer that were turned over to Washington child welfare officials during the custody battle between Powell and his missing wife's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox. Because of the way a Utah judge had released the images, only a limited number of people were on an approved list to view them, according to the records.
Many depicted well-known cartoon characters such as the Simpsons, the Flintstones, Jungle Book, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants and others engaging in sexual activity, including incest, group sex, sodomy and more.
"While drawings may not be illegal, per se, they were very suggestive of a global approval of sex between and adult and a minor," Dr. James Manley wrote.
The psychologist said the number of images suggested Powell likely had a high degree of interest in such activities and said Powell may not be "a stable and appropriate resource for his children." He recommended Josh Powell undergo a psychosexual evaluation to obtain more information about him.
[...]
During his custody battle with his in-laws,
Josh Powell forbade any Mormon influence on his sons, details strongly supported in the newly released documents. After the Coxes were awarded temporary custody of Charlie and Braden, Josh Powell's supervised visits with the children were scheduled for Wednesday evenings and on Sundays during the time when the Coxes attended LDS services.
[...]
In February 2011, then 6-year-old Charlie Powell told a group of students at Carson Elementary School that he did not have a younger brother.
"The Mormons killed my brother and my mom," he told them, according to the welfare report.
In June, Charlie told a student who wanted to sit next to him and be his friend that
he was "going to come to your house at night and kill you." He also said, "I hate Mormons."
Charlie was taken to a counselor's office where he said his mom lives a mile away. But he said he couldn't see her because her parents "are Mormon and they abuse her."
He also told the counselor that he "wanted to kill the boy because he is Mormon and they kill people; they are ordered to kill people and all scientists who believe in Jesus," according to welfare documents.
[...]
"Do you know what I hate? I hate Jesus. He is made up and fake," Charlie Powell, the older boy, said at one point. The boys explained to the social worker that
these were sentiments shared by their father.
The next day, Charlie told the social worker that the
"Mormons are trying to steal me" and that they moved to Washington from Utah because a Mormon in Utah was trying to take him to the desert.
[...]
During another hearing, the boy told the social worker that
his missing mother, Susan Cox Powell , was "hiding from everyone so that his grandparents don't abuse her."
In one report, the social worker noted that Chuck Cox was having trouble getting the boys to bed because "they like to sleep without any PJs or underwear on" and that
they "insist their dad lets them sleep without any clothes and walk around their house without clothes and they want to go by their dad's rules."
The Coxes also noted that the boys were making sexualized comments.
[...]
In the same report, a social worker said the Cox family expressed concern that
Josh Powell "didn't seem to make the most" of his supervised visitation with his two boys. The Coxes said that information came from Powell's pastor, Timothy Atkins, who until recently had been allowing Josh Powell to have some supervised visits with the children at his home.
"They stated (the) Atkins had said Josh doesn't seem to interact with them as much as he would have expected and let them play with the Atkins' kids more than anything," a report states.
[...]
Atkins had just days earlier told social workers his family no longer wanted to help with supervised visits. "As more information has been made available to us through this process, we have realized how much we did not know and have still to learn about the status of the Susan Powell case and its relationship with the custody case for Josh Powell," Atkins said in an email dated Feb. 2.
Other reports indicated that Josh Powell no longer wanted to have visits at Atkins' home.
[...]
In early November, when the boys visited Josh Powell's new home in Graham, Wash., for the first time, they walked around with their dad, who had placed throughout the home photos of their mother, photos from the couple's wedding and photos of them with the boys as babies. An accompanying social worker said the boys and Josh Powell kept referring to it as being "just like Mommy's house."
The social worker noted
the home seemed very "staged," as if for his approval. Police later confirmed
they believe Josh Powell did not live in that home and had staged it for visitation purposes.
[...]
Other new details from the documents include:
• From Sept. 23, 2011: Josh Powell told a child protective services worker that
he takes pictures of other peoples' legs in public places, "but is careful that they are not too close or show any faces," a report states. "He stated that he is only an amateur but he likes to take pictures of legs when he sees something that is nice."
[...]
• From Nov. 11, 2011:
A counselor said Charlie has been "programmed to hate" the Cox family, and that "he has been completely brainwashed" about Mormons and other things.
[...]
• From Nov. 29, 2011: It was mentioned in messages between various social workers that
Braden had told his father (out of the blue) that "they found Mommy's body in the desert."
In the same correspondence, Chuck Cox told social workers that
Charlie was talking on the phone to a friend in Utah and had said they would only be coming back to Utah "if Mommy came back," but said that "Mommy might be dead."
[...]
• From Dec. 9, 2011: A counselor asked Charlie to talk about a picture he had drawn of children playing in a circle. There was a big "X" drawn over it. Charlie said he doesn't have any friends or want any friends and he likes to "do stuff alone when he is at school."
He said kids at school don't like him or can't be friends with him because of the situation at home and things going on with his mom.
• Sometime between Dec. 29, 2011, and Jan. 5, 2012: While staying at the Cox home, the boys shoved mud into an electrical socket. Several outlets were covered before the Coxes realized what was happening and when Josh Powell found out about it, he was very upset. He sent an email to the department saying the kids shouldn't be in the Cox home.
He said that as their father, he would have noticed them doing something so dangerous.
• From Feb. 3, 2012: Chuck Cox said Braden had recently told his great aunt that
he wanted to live with the Coxes "and all the people he sees there."
More documents from Washington in the Powell case are expected to be released early next month.
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