Susan Powel - Missing mother

[Shahla]

I stumbled upon this on youtube by accident. When I searched the news on google for more on this missing or if she maybe was back, again,alive, I saw this newsarticle:
Neighbor to Joshua Powell: 'I want my swing set back'
Crime » Neighbor storms to West Valley City home upon hearing of impending move

By Melinda Rogers

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 01/07/2010 11:30:08 AM MST


West Valley City Emotions over a lack of resolution in the disappearance of Susan Powell led the missing mother's friend Tim Peterson to a boiling point Wednesday.

Peterson, a member of the same LDS church ward that the Powells attend, had tried to be supportive of Joshua Powell, who is the only person of interest named by police since Susan was reported missing a month ago.

But when Peterson heard news that Joshua Powell planned to sell his West Valley City house and pack his belongings for a permanent move to his hometown of Puyallup, Wash., Peterson grew angry and drove to the Powells' home Wednesday to retrieve a playground set he had given the family.

He arrived at the house around 4 p.m., parking his truck at the end of the driveway before pounding on the door to search for Joshua Powell.

Instead, Joshua's brother, Michael Powell, answered the door. Peterson told Michael Powell he wanted to load up the playground set in his truck before Joshua Powell split town.

Michael Powell told Peterson to call Joshua Powell - who is in Utah but apparently wasn't home at the time of Peterson's visit - to get permission to remove the playground set. Peterson told Michael Powell that his brother won't take his phone calls.

"I said, this playground was for Susan and the kids and for their enjoyment. I said, she's not here anymore and you guys don't appear to be looking for her. So just in case you haven't noticed, Susan's gone," Peterson said of his conversation with Michael Powell.

"He just sat there and stared at me. He's acting just as quiet as his brother."

Peterson backed his truck into Joshua Powell's backyard to load up the playground set, but the vehicle became stuck in ice and snow.

Michael Powell then called 911 and two West Valley City police officers responded to a complaint placed by Powell of trespassing by Peterson.

Michael Powell, who is visiting from Puyallup, declined to comment about the incident, but came out to tell a throng of reporters gathered at the scene that he intended for Peterson to be arrested for trespassing.

When police arrived, Peterson spoke with them briefly and left at the officers' request. An NBC camera man and freelance reporter volunteered to help tow Peterson's truck from the property.

Peterson said he's frustrated that Joshua Powell is going to live with his father to "hide" in a gated community in South Hill, an area near Puyallup.

He said he tried to be supportive of Joshua Powell initially, but thought the man's story of taking his children camping in winter weather at midnight the night Susan Powell disappeared didn't add up.

Joshua Powell dropped by the Peterson home two days after Susan Powell was reported missing. Peterson observed severe "wind burn" on the back of Joshua Powell's hands and watched as Joshua Powell kept applying lotion to them as they talked in Peterson's front room.

Peterson said his wife asked Joshua Powell about Susan's whereabouts and Powell replied "Well, it's not like I stabbed her."

"I couldn't believe he would make a comment like that," Peterson said.

Peterson previously told The Tribune he'd been involved in helping provide marriage counseling to Susan and Joshua Powell. He'd encouraged the woman to leave Joshua Powell, calling him "an energy suck." Susan Powell stopped seeing Peterson for counseling
when he suggested divorce.

A clearly distraught Peterson said after Wednesday's playground set incident that he's frustrated Powell isn't stepping up to assist in the search for his wife.

"If he is supposed to be the head of the home and he is supposed to be taking care of his wife Susan, where is he?" Peterson questioned.

"He's one of my neighbors. He is somebody I went to church with. If he is the leader of his home, where is he? Why isn't he taking care of his family?

"He doesn't want to talk about his wife and the whole world wants to know where his wife is."
====
:eek3:
Uhm, I understand his suspicions but to ask a playground back because Susan is missing??
He says it was meant for Susan and her boys and now Susan is gone and Joshua apparently packing to move away he wants it back?
The boys are not missing, they can still use it if joshua was planning to take it with him.
And what about once given, stays given.
And then his argument he could make someone else happy with it. Well, if someone else with kids buys the house with that playground that part is also accompliced.
I find it very weird that someone is making himself angry over a playground, and the comments he made about that part, while his friend is missing! To me it seems the missing is important and the hell with that playground.

And for the husband? I think he either killed Susan or otherwise at least knows more than he is telling.

[Pitooey]

To me I find that Mr. husband Powell is too quiet for his own good. I believe he did something to her or sent someone to do her in. I hope Susan is found soon. As for the neighbor.... I think he's exasperated not knowing what happened to the poor woman and seeing her husband act all shady.

[Shahla]

Susan Powell Update: The Levi Page Show: Experts weigh in and ask, ‘What was Josh thinking?”
January 27, 2010 12:53 AM EST (Updated: January 27, 2010 01:44 AM EST)
views: 66

The Levi Page Show: Experts weigh in and ask, ‘What was Josh thinking?”

Blog Talk Radio – 1-17-2010

(Click here for coverage of this case.)

Host: Levi Page

Levi Page hosts the Levi Page Show on Blog Talk Radio. Every Sunday night at 10 PM EST Levi Page covers the most explosive true crime stories making headlines and the crimes the mainstream media ignore. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/levipage

Panel of experts:

· Sheryl McCollum, Crime Analyst with Pine Lake Police Department in Georgia and Criminal Justice Professor at Bauder University; head of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute where her students try to solve cold cases

· Raymond Giudice from Georgia , Criminal Defense Attorney and former prosecutor, regular guest on the Nancy Grace Show

· Tricia Griffith, Websleuths and Forums for Justice, crime forums where people follow true crime cases; has followed and covered true crime stories since the JonBenét Ramsey murder case

Levi Page, Host

Levi introduced his callers to the case of Susan Powell, a woman who was reported missing Dec. 7. He began by sharing some background information about the case and focused much of the show on Susan’s husband, Joshua (Josh) Powell.

Josh has done something that has left people scratching their heads. Something most people say they’d never do. Just over a month after Susan disappeared Josh, with the help of friends and family, packed up his family’s belongings – including Susan’s things – and moved his two young children 800 miles from their West Valley City home in Utah back to his hometown in Puyallup, Washington.

Levi commented Josh is a suspect in the case. He is currently not a suspect but rather a person of interest in a case police say is a missing person’s case with “suspicious overtones.”

Tricia Griffith, Websleuths

Tricia said the very latest is that Josh moved in with his father in Washington State. His father, Steven, is a very interesting character. A lot of people have speculated he knows something, that he is protecting his son, and that he is a very controlling man.

An inside source told Websleuth that when neighbors helped Josh move there was no sign of generator, ice fishing equipment, nothing to keep warm, no winterizing camping gear whatsoever. If he had anything like that he bought it and returned it. Of course we know he probably didn’t do that.

Unfortunately, it’s very sad. Almost everyone think she’s dead.

But there are a few people who believe she’s still alive and that Josh had something to do with it. These are people most close to Susan, so it’s a possibility. We don’t know why they are thinking that. They won’t let us in on the information. But people close to her think she could be alive.

Josh is keeping his head down and trying to stay away from the press. Susan’s father is asking everyone to pray for his daughter’s safe return. He is a man that is obviously broken by this sick and twisted son-in-law that he took into his arms and loved as his own child. So it makes everybody very angry.

Josh knows something, my guess is his dad probably knows something too, we’ll just have to wait to see what happens. Let’s hope beyond hope that those few people who believe she’s alive are right, that they are correct.

Levi Page, Host

Trisha, you mentioned the father and you said that he was controlling. Could you elaborate on that a little bit?

Trisha Griffith, Websleuths

“Again, I want to stress, and this is just from what I have read. I don’t know the man and if I’m way off-base, I apologize, but supposedly he is a very controlling person like his son. He controls everything, the decisions are his in the household, nobody makes a move without him OK’ing it.

Levi Page, Host

Could this be the male version of the Cindy Anthony?

Tricia Griffith, Websleuth

Absolutely, that would not surprise me at all. I think he’s going to be key in this case. Josh’s dad, I don’t know how or what, it’s just a feeling. That Josh’s dad, there’s something there that’s gonna pop, that’s gonna break and he is going to be key in this.

You know what they say, “The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree”, and we know Josh is the same way as well. Like I said, I want to stress again I don’t know this man, I’m just going by what others have said. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if all of that were true.

Levi Page, Host

Levi said Tricia was dead-on with her assessment of the situation. He said that a neighbor said prior to Susan’s disappearance he went into the Powell home and took his shoes off.

Josh became angry and enraged saying he and his family were spreading germs all over their house. We’re hearing this is a very controlling man and that Susan at one point wanted a divorce from him.

“I find it stunning that Josh would pack up and leave. This is the husband of Susan Powell and she has been missing since Dec. 7, vanished. Josh’s alibi is that he went camping in a desolate area with his two young children and made s’mores in sub-zero temperature, snowing outside, there in Utah.”

His alibi has come under fire, his behavior is under fire. He hired a criminal defense attorney and we have a criminal defense attorney joining us tonight, Raymond Guidice. He is from Atlanta and his practice is in criminal defense law.

Raymond, what do you make of Josh Powell’s behavior, specifically him not cooperating with the police and hiring a defense attorney. Is that a good move strategically speaking for him.

Raymond Giudice, Criminal Defense Attorney

Attorney Giudice agreed that Josh made a good decision when he hired an attorney. His original story and his alibi in lay-person’s language stinks.

“It’s not the kind of story I’d want to spin to a jury. It doesn’t make sense and any twelve people that you pick are going to be shaking their heads from the beginning of the trial to the end of the trial.”

The attorney has to clamp down on him. “It’s good to see a client actually listen to their attorney and not start giving statements and interviews and going on their own Internet Facebook page giving their own story. So I’m all in favor of that. If I were his counsel that’s what I would have him do.

Now about the move out of state. He is not under arrest, not under a warrant, nothing that says he has to stay. He can move, it’s his right as a citizen. He has lost his job, he’s not getting another job in that community, so he’s moving back in with his family.

The house will probably go into foreclosure. I don’t know what these folks’ financial situation was. But that actually makes some logical sense so he’s being well counseled by his attorney at this time.

Levi Page, Host

If he’s ever charged can the prosecution use it against him that he refused to cooperate with the police? He didn’t make any sort of plea. Isn’t it sort of a double-edged sword to do what this man is doing.

Raymond Giudice, Criminal Defense Attorney

I agree with you, Levi. You have to run that risk as the defense counsel in taking a hit on the “non-cooperation” argument. But the bottom line is unless he’s got a really good story, better than the one he’s given so far, it’s not going to get any better. There’s no way to clean that up and put that genie back in the bottle.

Most folks that are untrained, they think they’re smarter than the interrogators.

But trained interrogators are going to break down his story, they’re going to compare it, as all these folks do, they go on Good Morning America , the Nancy Grace Show, etc., etc., and try to explain the situation.

And all you keep doing is giving law enforcement one inconsistent statement after the other for a good prosecutor to pick apart.

So yes, I agree with your premise that he’s going to have to deal with the non-cooperation issue but his story was so bad out of the box that there’s no way to clean it up. I think what his defense lawyer is doing is exactly the right thing.

Levi Page, Host

This is a mysterious case. Joshi s under fire, he’s a person of interest.

Susan was an all-around good person. She would make pumpkin pie from her garden and would hand it around to people. She helped a handicap friend, gave her a pedicure. She volunteered in church and in her community.

Introduced Sheryl and asked what she makes of Josh’s behavior. Specifically his moving, how does that affect the investigation now? Does it hurt or does it actually help him. Is it adding circumstantial evidence against him, his strange behavior?

Sheryl McCollum, Crime Analyst

Sheryl said his behavior is strange and in a way will hurt the case because local police won’t have access to him. But in another way it helps. Because now you have two police departments that can actually be keeping an eye on him.

To me this case wreaks of Scott Peterson. Some people believe this woman is alive. So when he’s moving and when she comes home he and the children won’t be there.

And I understand the financial situation but I know an awful lot of people that there’s no way that they would leave. They would still be searching.

He doesn’t seem desperate, to be desperately searching trying to find her. He seems to be running.

Levi Page, Host

According to the family, people close to Josh Powell, he tells them that when confronted with why he’s not cooperating, why he’s not searching for her, he said, “that’s the police’s job, it’s not mine.” And everybody, this is a man who has come under fire after he moved to a different state.

He’s relocated from Utah to a city called Puyallup, Washington. A gated community. But in all fairness his parents and Susan’s parents live there and he’s having financial problems.

But I want to talk about this stain with Tricia Griffith with Websleuths.com and Justice forum. These are two crime forums for people to discuss these crime cases. Can you tell us about this stain that was in the carpet? Apparently he had a fan directly pointing at the stain that he had drying. What are some of the possibilities of what this stain is?

Tricia Griffith, Websleuths

The first possibility is that everybody thinks it was blood. From what we’ve heard it was a rather large wet spot with fans aimed on it. The fact that he had a fan on it and that he wanted it to go away is very suspicious. Tricia did not think it was blood because if it was, she thinks we’d know about it.

Another possibility is vomit. There’s been speculation that perhaps Susan was given drugs to knock her out so he could handle her and rather than kill her at home.

And perhaps that was vomit from her that he cleaned up. That, Tricia said, is more likely than blood because we would have heard it by now and he would have probably been arrested by now.

Tricia wanted to point out a couple of things that were touched on. Yes, he moved because of financial problems. But why wasn’t he in front of the cameras and why didn’t he say, “I can’t stand to leave but I have to for the sake of my sons.

I have no money. But I’ll be down here every week, I’ll be talking to the police.” Anything, but he didn’t. It was almost like he was under mind control, just left the state. Didn’t hardly say a word to anybody.

It is a good thing, like one guest pointed out, that we have two police departments working on it. “My sources tell me that he and his father are both being watched very closely up in Washington. So maybe the pressure will be a little bit too much and one of them might crack and talk. Let’s hope so.

Levi Page, Host

Tricia, why don’t you tell us about his behavior – for our listeners just tuning in – he was very lax, a common theme from the people who know Josh. That’s how they describe him, he’s very lax, nonchalant, not worried. In fact, when his wife went missing he was more worried that they took his cell phone.

Remembering the Scott Peterson case one of the police officers opened the door and bumped Scott’s truck and he went ballistic and he never showed that kind of emotion regarding his wife. Tell us about more of his behavior, Tricia.

Tricia Griffith, Websleuths

Tricia said Levi was absolutely right, Josh was more upset about his van and cell phone than anything else and that right there is very, very disturbing.

He was nonchalant, when he was moving and people were helping him, it was like it was no big deal. It was like, yeah, I’m moving, it was nice to have known you.

There wasn’t any sort of stress in his behavior like, “Oh, my God, where is my wife?”

I can’t believe this, it was absolutely amazing. If you could have watched or walked by, though you couldn’t really see him because he was hiding from the press, he would duck behind a door or something.

But from what I’m told, Tricia said, you would never have guessed there was anything bad, anything scary going on. He was just another guy packing up his stuff to move out of state without a care in the world is how he acted.

And that right there I think says it all. And if he ever does go to trial he’s going to be hard-pressed to overcome that kind of image.

Levi Page, Host

I want to go to Sheryl McCollum, Sheryl, weigh in on the stain on the carpet.

Sheryl McCollum, Crime Analyst

Sheryl said she doesn’t think it was blood either. She thinks if it were there would have been a trail from the house to the driveway or to the car.

Sheryl thinks we have an idea of what more than likely occurred here. Maybe she was sick in the car, maybe it was something else. But obviously there was something he was trying to clean up, no doubt.

Levi Page, Host

And Sheryl, weigh in on his alibi he gave about going camping in sub-zero temperatures in a desolate area, going with the children making S’mores.

Sheryl McCollum, Crime Analyst

That’s just stupid. Anyone who has children, anyone that knows anyone who has children, anyone who was ever a child, knows that’s completely asinine. That he didn’t do that.

First of all, he’s out in the west desert, and I think that’s where they need to start looking for her, and two, where are the diapers, the receipts, where’s the food?

And then my favorite part, he’s got a brand new job. He keeps telling everybody he lost his job. He didn’t have a job, this was a brand new job. But he forgot that it was Sunday.

That’s my favorite part. So here again is what he wants us to believe, because he’s calling us stupid, that at midnight he says to his wife, “Hey, I’m taking the kids camping.”

And she at no times says, “Hey, don’t you have a brand new job tomorrow and haven’t I already gotten kids clothes ready, their lunch ready, the diaper bag ready. I mean it’s complete crap and everybody’s that’s ever heard it knows that dear Lord, like Ray said, there’s no way he could spin it.

You’re never going to convince a woman who has children that this in any way makes any sense. You want to test a generator, go out in your driveway and test it. You don’t have to go out in the desert with a one-year old (Braden was actually 2-years-old at the time). It’s ridiculous.

Levi Page, Host

Sheryl, do you think the police have interviewed the children? Do they need Josh’s permission to do that?

Sheryl McCollum, Crime Analyst

I know they talked to the four year old. But again let’s take the scenario it’s midnight, the kids have probably been asleep since about 8 p.m. If he strangled her, he’s going to pick them up, and put them in the car after he’s already put her in the car.

They’re groggy, they’ll go back to sleep with the warm car driving. They won’t know where mommy is. They never saw her.

So they won’t be a good witness. They’re in car seats in the back seat, say he’s got the body in the trunk, he drives two, three, or four hours, dumps her in the west desert. Does whatever he’s got to do.

The neighbors call him and say, “Hey, your wife’s missing,” and still it takes him two hours to get back home from where he said he was an hour away.

There’s problem, after problem, after problem with the story. But it’s not something the four-year old is necessarily going to be able to fill in.

Levi Page, Host

I want to go to Criminal Attorney Ray Giudice, Ray, give us a defense for his alibi.

Raymond Giudice, Criminal Attorney

Giudice said Josh should not add to it, not alter his story in any way, he should stay away from that with a 20-foot pole. If there had been blood stains on the floor that would have been eliminated quickly.

There’s lumina, any police department has the ability to test for that. And as Tricia pointed out, if there was blood we would have a warrant and would be further along in solving this crime.

I would walk away from this if I were his counsel. I would not repeat this story. I don’t believe the two year old and the four year old, as Sheryl pointed out, are going to be contributory to his story one way or the other.

So if I’m his lawyer, we’re not responding, we’re not doing anything. And I know that’s a really hard pill for a lot of people to swallow, for listeners that want to find the wife.

I don’t disagree with them but they have to understand when I have my defense attorney hat on I have a responsibility to the client not to make the situation worse.

Our job is not to find the wife, or to find the body, it’s to defend the client. Again, it’s tough medicine for some people to swallow. I would just leave it alone. It is what it is and it doesn’t make any sense.

In 25 years of doing trial work the one thing I’ve come to learn is that twelve jurors, and I know that a lot of people are critical of the jury system, but twelve honest jurors. When they hear nonsense they know it’s nonsense and that story’s no good so walk away from it.

Levi Page, Host

What about OJ? They still acquitted him.

Raymond Giudice, Criminal Attorney

That’s right.

Levi Page, Host

We’re going to Sheryl, Crime Analyst. Sheryl, what do you think about the deep snow where Josh went camping at? It was covered with snow, how does that affect the situation? It could be months before we find a body, months before there’s an arrest.

I was talking to someone about this case and they were outraged that Josh hasn’t been called in yet. But this stuff takes time.

I think it was April whenever Scott Peterson was ever finally arrested for the murder of Lacey. That was months after she went missing in December.

So things don’t happen at the snap of a finger. It’s not like CSI when everything is solved in an hour.

Sheryl McCollum, Crime Analyst

It’s called short-lived evidence. Let’s say he’s got footprints or tire tracks. It’s short-lived so if they don’t find it when they were visible, they’re gone. They’re gone forever. All you need is a brand new layer of snow.

So a lot of the evidence that might have been there for law enforcement went away. Another thing is exactly what you said.

If she was just thrown out and not even put in a shallow grave they’re not going to find her until the snow disappears. Again, when you’ve got a missing person’s case, presumed to be dead, you’ve got time on your side.

There’s no statute of limitations, you’re good. So they can be patient and wait. They can watch him, they can watch the house, they can wait and see what transpires.

It doesn’t make it any easier when you’re working with elements like major snow and sub-degree temperatures.

Levi Page, Host

Now you know Sheryl, everybody wants her to be found. Do you think they’re looking for a dead Susan? What do you think about his alibi? Do you think they’ll be able to find the body, Tricia?

Tricia Griffith, Websleuth

I think it will be found in the snow when the snow melts. Also, one thing that hasn’t been brought up, Levi, is remember he rented a car when they took his van and he drove 200-300 miles.

Now, in Salt Lake City from where he lived north, south, east, or west, everywhere you go you will find desolate areas that you could put a body so obviously the idea is he went back to check, that’s the theory.

When he came back his hands were really wind-burned. I think that’s a big clue to what, I don’t know, but I just think that he was doing something. Maybe he was moving her. That’s the other thing.

Of course they took the rental car and they detailed it and we don’t know if they found anything off of that. Unfortunately it didn’t have a GPS system which is extremely frustrating because I can guarantee you if we could have followed him that day we would have known what happened to Susan.

So his alibi is ridiculous, it’s stupid, and the fact that he thinks anybody would believe the story is the height of arrogance which goes along with his controlling behavior.