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Josh Powell was once a father of two and a member of the LDS Church before becoming a primary suspect in the 2009 disappearance of his wife Susan Powell. Investigators found incriminating evidence that suggested Susan had been murdered but an inquiry continued.
Following the disappearance, Josh also lost custody of their children to his wife's parents and was allowed supervised visits. It was during one of these visits in February 2012, more than two years later, that he killed himself along with his young sons, Charles, 7, and Braden, 5, in a house explosion in a murder-suicide.
Josh was declared a person of interest in Susan's disappearance and authorities also suspected the involvement of his brother Michael Powell, who ended his life by jumping off the roof of a parking garage in Minnesota, about a year after the explosion. Authorities believed the duo killed Susan and dumped her body off and that Michael ended his life when police started closing in on him.
An all-new episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will delve into the case surrounding Josh Powell, his family, and the occurrences that took place before and after his wife's mysterious disappearance.
The upcoming episode, titled A Family's Story, airs on Oxygen this Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 8:00 pm ET. The synopsis states:
"Two years after the disappearance of his wife, Josh Powell kills his two sons and himself."
Josh Powell killed himself and his two sons in a murder-suicide after being declared a person of interest in his wife's disappearance
On February 5, 2012, Josh Powell, 36, who had been a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his 28-year-old wife, Susan Powell, locked out a social worker during a court-ordered supervised visitation with his two sons. He then ended his life and killed the young boys, Charles, 7, and Braden, 5, in a deliberately caused house explosion at his Graham, Washington, home.
Authorities classified the incident as a murder-suicide, claiming that what occurred looked to be premeditated. Following a quick inquiry, the official cause of death for Joshua and the two boys was ruled to be carbon monoxide poisoning, while the coroner additionally noticed that both children had severe head and neck injuries consistent with chopping.
Reports by ABC News state that a hatchet was found near Josh's corpse, and police suspect he used it to assault the boys before being overpowered by smoke and fumes. The subsequent investigation into the explosion also revealed that two 10-gallon cans of gasoline were discovered on the property, along with indications that gas was spread throughout the crime scene.
Josh Powell also wrote lengthy emails to relatives, his pastor, and others explaining what to do with his finances, home utilities, and other valuables in his life only minutes before blowing up the house and killing himself and his kids. In those emails, the father-of-two also mentioned that he couldn't live without his sons.
According to Inside Edition, Josh was previously declared a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife and the mother of his sons, Susan Powell, who went missing from their Utah home. Susan has never been found and is presumed to be dead.
Authorities suspect Josh Powell murdered his wife Susan and concealed her body with his brother's help
According to the HISTORY Channel, Susan Powell was last seen alive in the late afternoon hours of December 6, 2009. Initially, the whole family was reported missing when the Powells failed to drop off their boys Braden and Charlie at daycare the next morning, and Susan and Josh failed to show up at their work or answer their phones.
Josh Powell and his two sons, who were two and four years old at the time, arrived home later that day, but his wife was still missing. He told authorities that he left for an overnight camping trip with their young boys at 12:30 am on December 7. He then headed back to Washington with his sons and publicly speculated that Susan ran off with a Utah man.
In late 2011, Susan Powell's parents were granted custody of both their young sons with Josh being allowed limited supervised visitations. The following February, he was ordered to undergo a psychos*xual evaluation, including a polygraph test, before he could regain custody of his boys. It was then that he decided to end his life and murder his sons in a murder-suicide.
After the incident, a lawyer for Susan's parents declared that the Powell boys had started telling their grandparents more about the night their mother disappeared. According to the Associated Press, the lawyer said:
"The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that Mommy was in the trunk. Mom and Dad got out of the car, and Mom disappeared."
On May 21, 2013, authorities officially concluded the investigation into Susan Powell's baffling disappearance, stating that they believed Josh Powell murdered her and that his brother, Michael assisted him in disposing of her body. Susan has been proclaimed legally dead. Moreover, Michael ended his life in February 2013 when authorities started closing in on him.
Learn more about the case surrounding Josh Powell's murder-suicide and his wife's mysterious disappearance on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered's upcoming episode.
