Disappearance Of Susan Powell

[sintax]

I am also thrilled that Jason Young was found guilty. I'm certain he killed his wife and child. What a cold bastard!

[DamagedGoods]

Care to hazard a guess as to which vultu... I mean... siblings are hankering after the insurance money?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

A battle is underway for the insurance payouts for killer dad Josh Powell and his two young sons - and now the insurer has asked the courts who, if anyone, should get the money.
It comes after the killer's sister and brother filed claims on insurance policies worth $1.5 million just nine days after he blew up his Washington home, killing himself and Braden, seven, and Charlie, five.
[...]

A battle is underway for the insurance payouts for killer dad Josh Powell and his two young sons - and now the insurer has asked the courts who, if anyone, should get the money.
It comes after the killer's sister and brother filed claims on insurance policies worth $1.5 million just nine days after he blew up his Washington home, killing himself and Braden, seven, and Charlie, five.

I was under the impression that suicide negates most life insurance policies...

[Whisper]

I was under the impression that suicide negates most life insurance policies...

yeah me too

[sintax]

I would certainly hope a murder/suicide would not pay. I would hate for someone to become a millionaire because of this disaster.

On another note....there was talk of jury misconduct during deliberations of the Jason Young trial today while I was watching InSession. Apparently there may have been some texting done about the voting process. We may have a third trial in this case!

[cubby]

I think there is a suicide rider on most if not all policies, but in some cases after you have the policy a certain amount of time, the suicide clause is dropped off of it. Like 2 years or something like that.

I hope that any money goes to the Grandparents, they deserve it and would do the most good with it, I could certainly see them donating to some domestic Violence Shelters or Children's charities or even setting something up themselves. It won't replace their babies but it tells the Powell's to STFU and go away.

[Rockin Ma]

It's probably the kids' policies. In that case, depending on the state and what order they use (like a family tree) it would go to family. Most likely though grandparents in the absence of parents and siblings...which would include steve powell.

[princessgrandma]

I don't know all about insurance, but it would make sense that if policies have limited to no payout in the first two years, there would be some kind of limitation on suicide. I really REALLY hope that the family of the murderer of those two precious little boys does not benefit from his death or theirs. That would be a sick irony.

Even sicker..... if Steven Powell benefits. I know that his being in jail has really nothing to do with Susan's being missing (face it, her DEATH) or the deaths of his son and grandsons, but if I were the insurance people, I would delay and delay and delay, if I could, at least until the asshole is dead. If anyone thinks that Steven Powell had nothing to do with or any knowledge of what happened to his daughter-in-law/ "fantasy woman," it's obvious they have no clue what the man is like. He raised Josh Powell. He made Josh Powell what he was and what he became. Josh Powell's family are truly like a bunch of vultures, applying for benefits they know they should not have, but probably will b/c all the people who SHOULD benefit are either dead or missing.... or both.

[sintax]

Steve Powell trial on porn, voyeurism charges will be postponed

The voyeurism and pornography trial for the father-in-law of missing West Valley City mother Susan Powell will not take place on March 20.

Sara Fleck, a criminal case manager for the Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., on Monday said the eight-day trial for 61-year-old Steve Powell will be continued to a later date because Powell’s attorneys are handling a homicide case that conflicts with Powell’s scheduled trial.


A formal motion to continue has not yet been filed in court, but Fleck said the motion is expected in coming days. A judge will then reset the trial date.

Powell is charged with 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing an image of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Trial continuances are not uncommon in the court system. Powell had previously been scheduled to start trial on Nov. 16, but that date was continued to March 20 to give attorneys in the case more time to prepare.

The Washington attorneys representing Powell earlier this month filed a motion to suppress evidence at the trial, arguing some evidence obtained by law enforcement — including a CD containing photos from a locked compartment in Powell’s bedroom — was gathered through an "overly broad" search warrant that violated his constitutional rights.

Powell’s attorneys, Mark T. Quigley and Travis Currie, who both work for the Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel, wrote that the images at issue were found in Powell’s bedroom during an Aug. 25 search of his Puyallup, Wash., home. The search was conducted after Pierce County Detective Gary Sanders obtained a search warrant allowing him to seize journals belonging to missing woman Susan Powell, digital media that contained copies of Susan Powell’s journals, as well as "any other fruits or instrumentalities determined to be evidence of kidnapping, homicide and obstruction of justice."

While Sanders sought Susan Powell’s journals, he seized several CDs in Steve Powell’s bedroom in a locked compartment, Quigley and Currie wrote. They argue that taking the CDs violated Steve Powell’s Fourth Amendment rights.

"Nowhere in Detective Sanders’ affidavit are facts articulated why these journals would have any evidence of criminal conduct," Quigley and Currie wrote. "The affidavit does not describe what type of information may be in the journals, or how that information may be evidence of a crime. The affidavit provides no facts explaining how the journals could provide further intelligence of investigative leads. The affidavit fails to state facts which explain how the journals would preserve or safeguard the investigation."

Quigley and Currie argued law enforcement had already obtained Susan Powell’s journal written from January 2002 to October 2009, which included entries during the time she was married to Josh Powell — the only publicly named person of interest in the case before he killed himself and his two sons last month in a blaze set at his Graham, Wash., rental home.

The two attorneys also dispute Sanders’ allegation that Josh Powell and his father were uncooperative with police investigating Susan Powell’s December 2007 disappearance from the couple’s West Valley City home.

Steve Powell consented to two searches of his home, which he had been sharing with his sons and grandsons, before the August search warrant was issued, Quigley and Currie argued. He also was interviewed "multiple times" by the West Valley City Police Department, FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Office. Powell himself informed West Valley police about Susan Powell’s journals in a November 16, 2010 e-mail, Quigley and Currie argued.

Steve Powell also went on national television and posted contents of the journals on a website, www.susanpowell.org, to share the information, the defense attorneys state. Those actions "do not constitute criminally obstructive behavior," Quigley and Currie argued.

The two attorneys want the judge in Powell’s case to suppress the evidence on the CDs. Prosecutor Grant Blinn, who will file his response to the motion in the coming days, has said he believes the search was not illegal.

"The detectives were meticulous in their investigation, and I’m confident that the warrant will be upheld," Blinn said.

During an initial court hearing for Steve Powell last fall, Blinn said Powell took images over a 10-year span, although the court case focuses on voyeurism episodes from 2006 and 2007. Powell, who has pleaded not guilty, is being held in the Pierce County jail on a $200,000 bail.

Sheriff’s deputies from Tacoma, Wash., arrested Powell on Sept. 22 after detectives from West Valley City returned to search the home Powell shared with his son, Josh; his grandsons; and his adult children Alina Powell and John Powell. Detectives were looking for potential evidence in the case of Susan Powell who disappeared from her West Valley City home on Dec. 6, 2009, and found images of the woman taken surreptitiously by Steve Powell, prosecutors have alleged.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53...susan.html.csp

[princessgrandma]

I just took a new look at the SusanPowell.org site, and in light of all that has happened in the past 8 months to a year, the site comes off as another part of the Powell Family Joke, in my opinion.

All the talk about how Susan CAN'T come home b/c people like the "Family & Friends of Susan Cox Powell" will turn on her, is stupid. The idea that Susan Powell is sitting somewhere watching all of this going on is outrageous. I mean, there is no way that she would have allowed Josh to just walk away with those boys. They were her life. Now that Josh has murdered her children, if Susan were alive, wouldn't that just bring her running out of hiding if that were the case? It's rediculous, the ideas that the Powells (basically Steven and Josh) put out on that site. Susan is dead, and has been since that "camping" trip in December 2009.

Steven Powell needs to step up and take his punishment, and tell what happened to Susan. A whole young family has been wiped off the face of the earth basically b/c of the evil of two men, the perv Steven and his lowlife murdering son, Josh. You can't blame the media. You can't blame the public. I'll tell you the honest truth, as I see it. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of a man whose guilty conscience, combined with the threat of a mental evaluation and those pesky images on his computer, decided to take the freaking coward's way out. Now, THAT I don't have a problem with. As a matter of fact, I think it was about 3 or 4 years too late. The problem I have is when an asshole decides to commit suicide and takes two innocent little boys with him b/c he has that "if I can't have them, nobody will" attitude that made him kill their mom in the first place.

Steven Powell needs to make an attempt at being a man, do the right thing. He and his son have taken away three members of the Cox family. He is the only one who can give them some peace and closure now. There really is no worse damage he can do at this point. He should tell them what happened to Susan.

[Mutxo]

Susan Powell's blood found at her home after disappearance

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...band-Josh.html

Poor Coxes, I don't understand, really it blows my mind they never arrested him with all that evidence, even if circumstantial

I edit my post to add this link, more I read the more I'm getting mad at the West Valley police, the death of those little boys could and should have been avoided with a bit of common sense!

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Susa...145287855.html

[Whisper]

Susan Powell's blood found at her home after disappearance

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...band-Josh.html

Poor Coxes, I don't understand, really it blows my mind they never arrested him with all that evidence, even if circumstantial

I edit my post to add this link, more I read the more I'm getting mad at the West Valley police, the death of those little boys could and should have been avoided with a bit of common sense!

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Susa...145287855.html

Yeah I saw this lastnight but was falling asleep and forgot to post it

Prosecutor: I would have charged Josh Powell with murder in wife's case
Susan's blood found in Utah home day after she was reported missing
http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-pier...,5738888.story

[Dakota Valkyrie]

With so much evidence, why was Josh Powell never arrested?

That is just one of the questions emerging after court documents were released Friday showing that Utah authorities had compiled a mountain of evidence against Powell after his wife's 2009 disappearance - but still refused to act on that evidence.

The evidence included Susan's blood on the floor of the family home, an eerie hand-written "will" and a young son who bluntly said that mom was dead.

Despite all of the information, investigators with West Valley City, Utah, police continued to say Friday that they are treating the case as a missing-persons matter. They have never named a suspect or filed charges in Powell's disappearance, even though her husband was linked with much of the evidence and scrutiny.

Josh Powell killed himself and the couple's two young sons in a gas-fueled inferno two months ago.

A prosecutor in Washington state, examining the unsealed files for the first time Friday, said he thought there was enough evidence to charge Josh Powell with murder.

"There is direct evidence. There is circumstantial evidence. There is motive," said Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist. "There is everything but the body."
[...]

West Valley City police on Friday refused to expand on any details revealed in the search warrant because the investigation is still ongoing, said Sgt. Mike Powell, who is not related to the Powell family.

"This case began as a missing person case and remains as such," he said. "But due to the suspicious nature ... murder and kidnapping have not been excluded."

Although police have only identified Josh Powell as a "person of interest," Sgt. Powell didn't rule out eventual charges against his father, Steven Powell.
[...]

Susan Powell's father, Chuck Cox, told reporters Friday night in Puyallup that he was very disappointed in the West Valley City police.

"If Josh had been in jail, the children would be safe," he said of his grandsons.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said his detectives would have arrested Powell "a long time ago" if this had been their case. He said a detective in Washington state was aware of the details gathered and local authorities had been anticipating that Utah investigators would pursue an arrest.

"Obviously, it's frustrating," Troyer said. "We were always waiting for the phone call to go arrest him."
[...]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/W...145404685.html

[Whisper]

Steven Powell called in sick the day after Susan disappeared
really could mean anything,maybe really was sick

Steven Powell called in sick the day after Susan disappeared

WEST VALLEY CITY — Steven Powell did not show up for work the day after his daughter-in-law Susan Cox Powell was reported missing, taking two sick leave days.

As questions continue to swirl about what Steven Powell knew about the disappearance of Susan Powell, the Washington Department of Corrections has confirmed that Powell submitted a "leave slip" for Dec. 8 and 9, 2009, calling the time off "sick leave."
It was not known exactly when that time off was submitted. The leave slip could have been submitted to the Department of Corrections via Powell's computer, according to department spokeswoman Judi Feliciano.

She did not know Wednesday if a reason was given on Powell's slip about why he was taking sick time.
[...]
At 12:14 p.m. that Sunday, Josh Powell made a call to his father, Steven Powell, on his cellphone, according to court documents. The next activity on Josh Powell's cellphone wasn't until that Monday at 3:02 p.m. when he received a call from the son of the friend who had last seen Susan.
[...]
On the day Steven Powell took time off work, Tuesday, Dec. 8, Josh Powell surrendered his cellphone — minus the SIM card — and his minivan to West Valley police for examination. He then rented a Ford Focus at the Salt Lake City International Airport at 10:30 p.m., according to a recently unsealed search warrant.

On Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, Josh Powell activated a new cellphone in Tremonton near the Utah-Idaho border. The phone was activated at 4:20 p.m. On Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., Josh Powell returned the rental car after having put more than 800 miles on it in a little less than 48 hours.

In 2011, West Valley police conducted high-profile searches in mountains outside of Ely, Nev. — where there are many abandoned mine shafts — and in the Topaz Mountain region in Utah's Juab County. In the warrant, investigators referred to a witness who told them Josh Powell once commented about how to kill someone, dispose of the body and not get caught. A woman at a company party with the Powells told police Josh Powell told them he liked to camp in Utah's western desert, an area full of mine shafts, with "tunnels that are very unstable so you could dispose of someone and no one would ever search for the body."

A one-way drive to Ely from Salt Lake City is 242 miles, and about 150 miles to Topaz, according to Mapquest. The distance from the Powells' hometown of Puyallup, Wash., to Salt Lake City is about 852 miles.
[..]
"I'm certain that he knows what happened at this point," Graves said Wednesday. "I would not be surprised at all to learn he had planned it."
Jennifer's husband, Kirk Graves, said Wednesday that Steven Powell was apparently in his Puyallup home on Dec. 6, the day when Susan Powell was reported missing. That information is based on a phone call his wife placed to the Puyallup home that day and Steven Powell was reportedly present at the time. Steven Powell took the sick time during the next two days.

During the last several years before Susan Powell went missing, Josh Powell would talk to his father on the phone "multiple times a week for multiple hours at a time," said Jennifer Graves, adding that it was something that was "very destructive" to Susan and Josh's relationship.
Steven Powell also had an obsession with Susan. Pictures of Susan Powell in her underwear taken without her knowledge were found during a search of Steven Powell's room at his Puyallup, Wash., home, according to court records.

Powell, who has been jailed since his arrest in September on charges of voyeurism and child pornography, told law enforcers after Josh Powell murdered his sons and killed himself that he has no interest in talking to them.
West Valley police have said they are interested in talking to Powell about what he knows about his daughter-in-law's disappearance. But Steven Powell isn't interested in talking to investigators.

[....]
Steven Powell worked for the Washington Department of Corrections from March 1, 2006, until his arrest on Sept. 22, 2011. He was not a law enforcer. Rather, he sold furniture made by inmates to school districts and nonprofit agencies in Washington.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=960&sid=1986...icle-popular-1

[sintax]

Susan's parents are going to talk to Anderson Cooper on Thursday, April 19th.

http://www.andersoncooper.com/episod...he-experience/

[Whisper]

TACOMA, Wash. — Jennifer Graves wanted answers.

It had been six weeks since Susan Cox Powell had gone missing from her West Valley home and speculation was growing that her brother Josh Powell was responsible.

Now Graves was headed to Washington state to confront him herself at the home of her father and get a confession. But Josh remained silent.

Her father Steven Powell did not.

“Oh, it wasn't good. At one point he let out this string of swear words. And my husband was there with me, and holding it together pretty well. And we knew going in that it was probably going to be tense because I went in there for that reason,” Graves said.

It was Jan. 22, 2010, the last time she would speak to her father, who today sits in a Washington jail cell facing voyeurism and child pornography charges. Monday, the tragic family story centers on the family patriarch and enters its final chapter as the trial of Steven Powell begins.

A review of thousands of pages of public records, including divorce documents, social services reports and personal emails, and dozens of interviews with family members and friends reveals the startling impact Steven Powell has had on his ex-wife and five children. It is a legacy of harm that Graves believes would have continued to a third generation if left unchecked.

"There's a whole lot of parallels between my dad and Josh," Graves said. "I mean, it's really actually kind of scary how many lines are drawn between the two of them. And it's very possible if Josh (had been) allowed to keep the kids that the boys would have ended up following in his footsteps.

"I mean, how could you not when you're surrounded by two men who have these twisted, nasty beliefs? So you're going to end up like them, likely."

It wasn't always so.

Steven Powell, born in Portland, Ore., at one time was described by his wife as a loving husband and devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served an LDS mission to Argentina. He married Terrica Martin in the early 1970s and had five children: Jennifer, John, Josh, Michael and Alina.

At times they struggled financially, but Steven was able to maintain a steady job with a California-based furniture company as a delivery driver. But over the course of four decades, there was change.
[...]
10 more pages at link

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...y-of-harm.html

[spinst]

That article sure sounds like they're trying awful hard to blame pornography for Steven Powell's craziness.

I don't think so.

[Abroad]

That article sure sounds like they're trying awful hard to blame pornography for Steven Powell's craziness.

I don't think so.

They seem to be confusing one of the symptoms with the cause.......

[DamagedGoods]

The Skeevy Steve trial is on:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...in-Tacoma.html

ETA Among the more disturbing tweets:

#StevePowell allegedly manipulated pics and videos of #SusanCoxPowell depicting sex acts, masturbation.

#StevePowell "videos of himself" to be shown to jurors. Some sexually explicit. Prosecution says to show jurors Powell owned, made CD

The defense is now trying to get journal entries from '03, '04, '10 written by #StevePowell tossed.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The Pierce County judge presiding over the trial of Steven Powell, father-in-law of missing Utah woman Susan Cox Powell, on Monday dismissed one of 15 counts filed by prosecutors.

Powell will not go to trial on one count of possessing an image of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Defense attorneys had argued the charge required proof that Powell “initiated, contributed to, or in any way influenced the victim’s conduct” – something prosecutors couldn’t prove about images Powell allegedly filmed of two former neighbor girls bathing and using the toilet.

Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Culpepper agreed.
[...]

Powell, 62, remains charged with 14 counts of voyeurism. Prosecutors have said he took images of girls as young as 8 during a 10-year span.

Attorneys on Monday also argued over just how much of Powell’s sexual obsession with his daughter-in-law jurors might hear about. Defense attorneys Mark Quigley and Travis Currie asked Culpepper to prevent journal entries written by Steve Powell that focus on Susan Powell from being used at trial.

Prosecutors said that in March 2004, Steve Powell wrote he and his daughter-in-law were a perfect match because he was a voyeur and she an exhibitionist.

In December 2003, he wrote he had been stalking her and making secret videos of her. In April 2003, he wrote that Susan Powell liked to be admired and that he was a voyeur. In September 2010, he wrote he was going nuts and had been nearly out of control sexually almost his entire life, prosecutors said.

Those entries, argued prosecutors Grant Blinn and Bryce Nelson, were relevant because they show Powell’s history of voyeurism.

Culpepper is expected to issue his ruling on the journals this morning.

Quigley and Currie also have requested limiting juror access to all of the images on a disc containing the images at issue in the case. Images not at issue on the disc that could prejudice the jury include legal pornography, other images of women Powell filmed without their knowledge and images of him “doing some things sexually,” according to Currie.
[...]

Outside of court, the Coxes said they hope the trial might yet reveal what happened to their daughter. The couple maintain Powell and his son, Josh, were involved in their daughter’s disappearance.

The Coxes said they believe Powell enjoys the attention of the trial and is trying to hurt them by dragging out the case and not cooperating with investigators. Judy Cox said this is Powell’s way to “stick it” to them and the world.
[...]

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012...ter-judge.html

[DamagedGoods]

Good lord does he make my skin absolutely crawl. One of those guys that takes innocuous acts from people who are just being polite and twists them about in his mind to fit his irrational desires.

[Whisper]

Steven Powell guilty on all 14 voyeurism counts

Steven Powell, father-in-law of missing Susan Cox Powell of Utah, was convicted Wednesday of all 14 counts of voyeurism charges filed against him.

Sentencing has been set for June 15. The normal maximum sentence would be about five years in prison, but prosecutors said they will ask for an 'exceptional sentence' to try to get a longer term.
[...]

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-witn...,3793408.story

[sintax]

Susan Powell's parents take control of her Utah home

Susan Powell’s parents now have control of the home where the missing Utah mother was last seen more than two years ago.

Property records list Chuck and Judy Cox as "owners" of the 2,238-square-foot home on Sarah Circle in West Valley City after a Washington probate judge named them special administrators for their daughter’s estate under a provision for missing persons cases.

"Technically, Susan has never been declared dead," said Stephan Downing, one of the Washington attorneys representing the Coxes. "Everyone assumes she might not be alive, but even West Valley continues to assert that this is nothing more than a missing person’s investigation."

Using the order, the Coxes were able to get a Utah judge to change the home’s title about two weeks ago, Downing said.

Susan Powell was last seen at the home on Dec. 6, 2009. Josh Powell, her husband, moved with their two young sons to Washington about a month later and subsequently rented out the home.

Josh Powell killed himself and his sons Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, on Feb. 5 by setting fire to a rented home in Graham, Wash.

At the time of Powell’s death, the Utah home was still listed in both Josh and Susan Powell’s names.

Downing said a Washington judge also named the Coxes personal administrators for their grandsons’ estates. Josh Powell had insurance policies in his sons’ names worth $500,000, as well as $1 million policies in both his and his missing wife’s names. Those policies are now the subject of a court action between Josh Powell’s siblings and mother and the Coxes.

He said Josh Powell’s family received notice of the Coxes’ appointment as administrators for their daughter’s estate.

In that role, the Coxes have a duty to marshal "any and all" properties to which Susan Powell would be entitled and manage and protect it "until she’s found" or officially declared dead. Downing said the Coxes now are responsible for ensuring the mortgage is being paid and rent collected on the 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom Utah home.

Josh Powell had set up a "rent-to-own" contract with the current occupants of the home, valued at $138,000, but "he’d made promises about things he was going to do in the home that he had not done," Downing said. The Coxes plan to make those repairs and upgrades as their finances allow and proceed with the home’s sale.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54...susan.html.csp

[OMalley]

Josh Powell's siblings & mother are trying to get a piece of the insurance money? 3 million at stake, seems like. I bet they're trying to get 1.5 of it - Josh's 1 mil payout and half of the kids'.
No class!! Hmph. Maybe (MAYBE) they're entitled to Josh's insurance policy money - but certainly NOT any of the money from the wife & kids he murdered. Ethically, anyhow. Doesn't seem right.




edit - didn't see the previous posts about the insurance policies. New news to me.

[sintax]

Prosecutors seek 10-year sentence for Steven Powell


Prosecutors are seeking a 10-year sentence in the voyeurism conviction of Steven Powell, the father-in-law of missing West Valley City mom Susan Cox Powell.
In a sentencing memorandum filed in Pierce County Court, prosecutors noted that Powell had no prior criminal history. However, prosecutors said the victims “deserve to see justice from this court, and deserve to see the defendant held accountable for his repeated violations of their privacy.”
Prosecutors also asked that Powell be given no credit for time served in jail awaiting trial.
Steven Powell was convicted of 14 counts of voyeurism for taking illicit pictures of two neighbor girls. Police said they seized thousands of images from his Puyallup, Wash., home during a search last year while looking for evidence in Susan Cox Powell’s 2009 disappearance. Prosecutors claimed she was also a voyeurism victim.
The judge at Steven Powell’s trial forbade mention of Susan, saying it was not relevant to the charges against him.


http://fox13now.com/2012/06/07/prose...-steven-powel/

[sintax]

Steven Powell's attorneys ask for short sentence

Steven Craig Powell’s attorneys will ask a Pierce County judge to sentence their client to no more than a year in jail on his multiple voyeurism convictions, which is 90 percent less time than that sought by prosecutors.

A jury last month convicted Powell of 14 counts of voyeurism.

Defense attorneys Mark Quigley and Travis Currie argue in pleadings filed Friday their client should be sentenced under guidelines in place before June 7, 2006, which classified voyeurism as an unranked felony with a standard range of zero to 12 months in jail.

Each conviction was to run concurrently (at the same time) under those guidelines.

In charging documents, prosecutors alleged Powell, 62, photographed two neighbor girls – then ages 8 and 10 – while they bathed and used the toilet during a period from June 1, 2006, to Aug. 31, 2007.

The Legislature toughened sentencing guidelines for voyeurism in 2006, but the law did not take effect until June 7 of that year.

Because prosecutors could not pinpoint when Powell photographed the girls, he should be sentenced under the guidelines in place from June 1 to June 6, 2006, Quigley and Currie argue, adding that appellate courts consistently have upheld that view.

“When evidence does not clearly prove the commission date, and the charging period encompasses a change in the penalty for commission, the defendant is entitled to be sentenced under the more lenient penalty,” they wrote in their pleading.

What’s more, the defense attorneys argued, the 10 years being sought by prosecutors is grossly out of proportion for the crimes committed. Powell did not touch the victims or break into their homes, they argued; he simply took photos of them without their knowledge. The victims did not find out they’d been photographed until five years later.

People convicted of second-degree murder qualify for a low-end sentenced of 10 years, three months, Quigley and Currie pointed out.

“Without diminishing the gravity of the convictions herein, and with all proper respect for the two minor victims and their family, 10 years in prison for the conduct proven is unreasonable, untenable and would be an abuse of discretion,” Quigley and Currie wrote.

Prosecutors contend Powell deserves 10 years in prison for repeatedly violating the girls’ privacy. They also say sentencing him to concurrent sentences would allow him to escape punishment on many of his convictions. They concede two of the 14 counts should merge for sentencing purposes.

“We believe he should be sentenced on 12 counts,” deputy prosecutor Grant Blinn said.

Quigley and Currie also intend to argue at Powell’s sentencing hearing Friday before Superior Court Judge Ronald Culpepper that all but two of the convictions against their client should be dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.

“The crimes here, with respect to each individual victim, were committed in the same place,” they said. “There is no evidence to prove that all of these acts took place at different times. Therefore, the court should find that all of the acts could have been taken on the same day during the same period of recording and that they amount to the same criminal conduct. ...”

Grant said he and colleague Bryce Nelson would fight that motion.

“Obviously, we disagree,” he said.

Powell’s trial last month attracted national media attention because of his connections to Susan Cox Powell, the Utah mother and former Puyallup resident who went missing in 2009 and is presumed dead.

Steven Powell is the woman’s father-in-law. His son, Josh Powell, was being investigated in Susan Powell’s disappearance until earlier this year when he killed their two young sons and himself in Pierce County.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/0...#storylink=cpy

[sintax]

Steve Powell sentencing: He could be free Friday or in a decade

What does Steve Powell have riding on Friday’s sentencing hearing?

If things go well — very well — Powell could leave the courthouse in Tacoma, Wash., and be free in time for a seafood dinner that night at one of the restaurants overlooking Puget Sound.


If the prosecutor and the mother of the girls Powell filmed have their way, Powell will be eating in a prison cafeteria until about 2021.

That’s the range of possibilities for Powell, who last month was convicted in Pierce County Superior Court of 14 felony counts of voyeurism. His sentence could land somewhere in the middle. Washington sentencing guidelines could put Powell’s sentence at 43-57 months in prison......

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54...riday.html.csp

[Dakota Valkyrie]

he father-in-law of missing Utah woman Susan Powell was sentenced Friday in Washington state court to 2 1/2 years in prison for recording images of two young neighbor girls in their bathroom.
[...]

The mother of Powell's victims addressed him at sentencing, trembling and tearful as she stood with her back to him. She said she's still waiting for an apology.

"You've sat there smugly and acted as though it's perfectly normal to have committed your crimes," she said. "I'm so angry. I'm angry for the hurt you caused my children. You caused them embarrassment and heartache."

Powell, wearing a gray jail uniform, declined to speak in court.
[...]

Before sentencing Powell, Culpepper threw out two of the 14 voyeurism convictions, saying they appeared to be redundant — that is, Powell had faced multiple counts based on the same recording sessions.

Powell's lawyers sought to have all but two of the counts dismissed — one count for each victim — on the grounds that the state couldn't prove the images weren't all recorded in one long recording session on a single day.

The judge declined, saying he didn't have enough evidence to overrule the jury's decision to convict him on those counts.

http://news.yahoo.com/steven-powell-...223026831.html

[Icy]

Mom Files Civil Suit Against Voyeur Steven Powell

Steven Craig Powell faces more legal action stemming from his surreptitious videotaping of two neighbor girls while they bathed or used the toilet.

The girls’ mother filed a civil lawsuit against Powell, 62, last week in Pierce County Superior Court. The woman seeks undisclosed damages on behalf of her daughters for invasion of privacy and “severe emotional distress.”

“Defendant Steven Powell’s offensive and unlawful conduct of watching and filming plaintiff’s most intimate private affairs was extreme and outrageous in that it went beyond all possible bounds of decency and is utterly intolerable in a civilized society,” the woman’s attorney, Anne Bremner, wrote in the lawsuit.

The News Tribune is not publishing the mother’s name to protect the identity of her daughters.

Bremner told The Associated Press when she was preparing the lawsuit earlier this year that the family does not expect to get any substantial money from Powell. The hope is the suit continues to pressure him to discuss his daughter-in-law Susan Cox Powell’s disappearance, the attorney said.

The Utah woman went missing in 2009, and authorities considered Steven Powell’s son and the woman’s husband, Josh Powell, a person of interest in the case. Authorities and the missing woman’s relatives believe Steven Powell might have information about his daughter-in-law’s disappearance.

Detectives searched Steven Powell’s Pierce County home in August 2011 seeking evidence of Susan Powell’s disappearance. Josh Powell was living with his father at the time. It was during that search that authorities uncovered evidence Steven Powell had been videotaping the neighbor girls.

A Pierce County jury in May convicted Steven Powell of 14 counts of voyeurism for filming the girls, then 9 and 8, during 2006 and 2007. Powell lived in an adjacent house at the time and used a zoom lens to peer inside his neighbors’ second-story window. He was sentenced to two years, six months in prison in June.

Josh Powell killed his two sons and himself in February.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/0...vs-voyeur.html

[sintax]

I cannot understand why Josh was never arrested for this crime. When the cops walked into that house and found blood all over the sofa, why wasn't he arrested? Obviously, someone lost blood in that living room. And, obviously Josh and the two boys were not injured. What more did these cops need?

Josh Powell's odd behavior on police radar from the beginning, documents show

West Valley police focused in on Josh Powell's odd behavior almost immediately following the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, in 2009.

Powell's evasive nature with investigators combined with statements made by Charlie Powell, Josh's son, and forensic evidence collected inside the Powell home prompted an official criminal investigation into Susan Powell's disappearance within two days of her being reported missing.

In just under a week, detectives were referring in search warrants to their case as an investigation into "unlawful detention, kidnapping and/or homicide."

Tuesday, 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton released 84 documents — including numerous search warrants — filed in court by West Valley police over the past two years. All the documents had been sealed at the request of police and prosecutors. The court papers give insight into the West Valley City Police Department's investigation when Susan Powell was reported missing on Dec. 7, 2009.

Many pages of the documents are heavily redacted, including all of the returns on the search warrants that indicate what items were seized. Of the 853 total pages in the documents, 615 pages — or 72 percent — contain redactions. Some pages have minor redactions such as email addresses or fax numbers, some have major redactions and some of the pages released are completely blacked out.

The majority of documents that were not redacted contain information that has already been released. Much of that information was previously released in search warrants unsealed in March in Tacoma, Wash.

The documents may provide more fuel for critics who have wondered why police and prosecutors in Utah never arrested Josh Powell nor labeled him as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, despite circumstantial evidence against him. Prosecutors and police in Washington have said they believe enough evidence had been gathered.

"When you put all that together, I don't know how they couldn't arrest him," Cox said Tuesday after reviewing the newly released documents. "From this, it's clear to me they had plenty to arrest him."

What the West Valley documents show

From the earliest stages of their investigation, West Valley police focused on "blood stain patterns" found on the sofa, carpet and floor of the Powell's West Valley home. In a search warrant affidavit from Dec. 14, 2009, detectives believed "that someone was injured and lost blood while on the sofa inside the residence." Forensics testing later confirmed the blood was Susan Powell's.

Detectives also noted in court documents: "There was nothing missing from the residence, there was no signs of forced entry and it didn't appear there was a robbery, home invasion, burglary or signs of a struggle."

Also compelling for police were the statements of Josh and Susan Powell's son Charlie Powell, who was 4 at the time. He told detectives that "his mother had gone with them camping on Sunday and that for some reason she stayed at the campsite and did not return home with them," according to a search warrant affidavit filed the day after Susan Powell was reported missing.

In a Dec. 13, 2009, affidavit, police quoted Charlie as similarly saying that his mother "had gone with them but decided to stay there."

Susan Powell was last seen by another person alive at 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2009, when a neighbor left their home after eating a pancake dinner with the family. The friend said Susan Powell got tired after eating the meal that her husband had prepared. Josh Powell claims he took his sons sledding at 5:30 p.m., then arrived back home at 8 p.m. At 11:45 p.m., several neighbors reported hearing the car alarm to the Powells' vehicle, according to court records.

According to statements made by Josh Powell, he left between midnight and 12:30 a.m. that night to take his sons — who were 2 and 4 years old at the time — camping in Tooele County, about a two-hour drive from his house. It means he wouldn't have arrived until about 2:30 a.m. Temperatures were below freezing and a snowstorm was in the forecast. He told police he wanted to try out his new generator.

Susan was reported missing the next morning when she failed to show up for work and her sons were not dropped off at daycare.

The next cellphone contact anyone had with Josh Powell was about 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 7, 2009.

In the latest affidavits signed on Feb. 3, 2012 — two days before Josh Powell murdered his two young sons and killed himself after setting fire to his rental Graham, Wash. — West Valley police touched on much of the evidence collected in the case. That evidence included Susan Powell's blood found in her home, the note Susan Powell left in a safety deposit box for authorities to find, and a paper trail documenting Josh Powell's handling of his family's multiple insurance policies.

In his initial search warrant, West Valley police detective David Greco noted that Josh Powell "did not know where his wife was and did not appear to be concerned about her welfare" when he first talked to him.

When Susan Powell's cellphone was spotted in the vehicle Josh Powell was driving the day he returned home, the detective noted: "Mr. Powell appeared nervous and could not account for the phone being in the vehicle."

Investigators also learned quickly from co-workers the Josh and Susan Powell had been having marital problems. Three different co-workers told police that Susan had told them "that if anything were to happen to her, that they were to give police a file that she had hidden from her husband."

Three different co-workers told police that Susan had told them "that if anything were to happen to her, that they were to give police a file that she had hidden from her husband."
Detectives would later find a folded letter, stapled around the edges, addressed to Susan Powell's family and friends with the title, "Last Will and Testament for Susan Powell," dated June 28, 2008. The note was found in a safety deposit box. The key for that box was found by police in Powell's purse.

Co-workers also told investigators they "heard comments from Joshua Powell about how to kill someone, dispose of the body and not get caught," according to a warrant.

In a later warrant filed in 2010, police documented that Josh Powell had told co-workers at a company Christmas party, "that in order to get away with murder, he would hide a body in a mineshaft in the west desert of Utah. He believed he could hide this from law enforcement as they would never search an unstable mine."

Search warrants were served on the Powell home and family vehicle on Dec. 8, 2009.

On Dec. 9, 2009, then-Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller authorized a criminal investigation into the disappearance of Susan Powell, which was approved by Atherton.

After a search warrant was first served on Josh Powell's vehicle, he went to the Salt Lake City International Airport to rent a Ford Focus which he put 807 miles on before returning, according to court documents.

On Dec. 13, 2009, a heavily redacted warrant states that police went back to the Powell house to get a gas can, generator and blanket that Josh Powell allegedly had with him when he took his two young songs camping.

Detectives pressed Powell about his decision to take his two young sons camping at that hour, court documents show.

Josh Powell also told detectives he was confused and mistakenly believed it was Sunday instead of Monday when he went camping, and didn't bother contacting work because he assumed he would be fired.

On Dec. 14, 2009, Josh Powell contacted Charlie and Braden's daycare provider and indicated that "the children would not be coming back and she probably will not ever see them again," according to court documents. The next day, Powell cancelled all of his wife's chiropractor appointments. Two days later, he drained his wife's IRA account.

On Dec. 15, 2009, detectives served search warrants "for documents indicating abuse" including any journals they could find. They also looked for anything that indicated travel, such as "family vacations taken in the western desert of Utah."

On Dec. 16, 2009, a search warrant was served on Josh Powell's laptop which had already been seized by investigators and was sitting in evidence.

By Dec. 31, 2009, West Valley police were seeking the Powells' bank records and insurance policies. On June 28, 2009, a few months before Susan Powell went missing, Josh Powell took out a New York Life Insurance policy on his wife worth an estimated $1 million and $250,000 each for his two sons, Charlie and Braden.

By April of 2010, West Valley detectives were documenting the odd and very strong obsession Susan Powell's father-in-law, Steven Powell, had with her — writing, among other things, that Steven Powell "had offered to accept the Joshua and Susan Powell family into his home, and Susan would become a type of additional wife, with their family, to be cared for by him."

It wasn't until more than a year later, however, in September of 2011, that Steven Powell was arrested for multiple counts of voyeurism. He was convicted of surreptitiously taking photographs of young neighbor girls in their bathroom earlier this year.

Police apparently also questioned Steven Powell about what he knew about his daughter-in-law's disappearance, noting that Powell told police "he did not assist or orchestrate any activity with his son, Joshua Powell, related to the disappearance for Susan Marie Powell."

Why the documents were released

The release of court documents Tuesday was part of an ongoing legal battle between Utah media and West Valley police and Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. Despite documents being released in recent months by the Pierce County, Wash., Sheriff's Office and the Washington Department of Health Services, West Valley police had been reluctant to release any court filings concerning their investigation, keeping their documents sealed despite continued efforts by the parents of Susan Powell and their attorney to have them released.

West Valley Police Sgt. Mike Powell said Tuesday his department did not oppose the release of search warrants, as long as it wasn't a "haphazard" release and done at the appropriate time.

It is a part of the process, information does get released. We're not opposed when it's an appropriate time and place.
–Sgt. Mike Powell, West Valley Police
"We don't have anything against police documents being released," he said. "It is a part of the process, information does get released. We're not opposed when it's an appropriate time and place."

Powell also noted that his department still has an "active investigation" into Susan Powell's disappearance. That's why certain information was redacted, he said.

"(The information is) pertinent to a current and ongoing investigation. It contains information that now is not an appropriate time or place for it to be released. Anything that may create a conflict or interfere in that investigation is something we're not willing to do."

Asked what's left in the investigation to do, the sergeant noted that Susan Powell is still missing.

"That's a big piece of the puzzle that's not resolved," said Mike Powell, who is not related to Susan Powell.

Cox family attorney not satisfied with document release

Attorney Anne Bremner, who represents Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, said the release of documents Tuesday was a good start, but still not enough.

We want it all. Until we have it all, we won't quit our efforts.
–Anne Bremner, Cox family attorney
"We want it all," she said. "Until we have it all, we won't quit our efforts."

West Valley had originally rejected Bremner's request for the city's police records regarding the Powell investigation. She appealed and was rejected again, and subsequently filed another appeal.

Bremner is now scheduled to appear before the West Valley City Council on Aug. 21 to argue in person why she and the Cox family believe the rest of the court papers that were redacted should also be released.

Chuck Cox said he believes arresting Josh Powell was the best chance police had to get him to come clean about what happened to his wife.

"I really felt the only way he was going to say anything, to reveal anything, was once he was under arrest and facing the consequences of whatever he did to my daughter," he said. "I thought it was a mistake to let him go, and let him go, and let him go, thinking his conscience was going to bother him sometime."

Cox also said he believes arresting his son-in-law in the weeks following Susan's disappearance would have saved the lives of his grandsons.

"If they had arrested him, we would have the children much earlier — within the first week or two weeks," he said. "There were so many things they knew. To us, they should have arrested him. Certainly, if he had been in jail, he wouldn't have been able to kill our grandchildren."

With each search warrant affidavit filed, West Valley police added more details about their case. The most recent search warrants contain the most redactions.

Also Tuesday, Bremner and the recently appointed litigation guardian ad litem for Susan Powell, William Dussault, put the Washington Department of Social and Health Services on notice that they intend to file a $20 million civil lawsuit against them.

Bremner said there were plenty of red flags DSHS should have noted and they should not, as an organization, try to reunite children with their parents at any cost. The suit, she said, would claim acts of negligence on the part of DSHS in the deaths of Charlie and Braden Powell.

Washington state now has 60 days to respond.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21601776&nid=148

[Icy]

Claim Against State Filed For Susan Powell

Lawyers acting on behalf of missing Utah mother Susan Cox Powell filed a $20 million claim for damages Tuesday against the state Department of Social and Health Services, accusing the agency of negligence in the deaths of Powell’s two young sons.

Seattle attorneys Anne Bremner and James S. Rogers said they plan to investigate how DSHS handled its supervision the Powell children, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, especially their visitations with their father, Josh.
Josh Powell, who was being investigated in his wife’s disappearance, killed the boys and himself Feb. 5 in a Pierce County home.

“We will be conducting extensive discovery to follow up on the facts we’ve learned about the actions of DSHS,” Rogers said. “It is clear that DSHS knew, or should have known, about the danger Josh Powell presented to the safety of his children and failed to take actions that could have prevented this tragedy.”

DSHS officials were monitoring Josh Powell as he worked to regain custody of his sons, who were taken by the state in September 2011 after detectives raided the home of their grandfather, Steven Craig Powell. Investigators were seeking evidence of Susan Powell’s disappearance but found pornography and other lewd material on Steven Powell’s computers and digital storage devices.

Susan Powell went missing in December 2009 and is presumed dead. A guardian ad litem has been appointed to represent her interests in the claim.

The state has 60 days to respond to the claim before a lawsuit can be filed. The agency generally does not comment on pending litigation.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/0...filed-for.html