Josh Powell killed his sons. Oh, and himself.

[sunshinehighway]

Oh God, this is like a horror movie. Here's the latest. I don't even have the stomach to quote from the article.

http://news.yahoo.com/josh-powell-told-sons-had-surprise-them-social-200053788--abc-news.html

This reminds me of the case where the mom told her two daughters she had a big surprise for them -- she drove them to some abandoned house and stabbed them. One girl lived, the other didn't. She called 911 after she stabbed them and asked 911 to send an ambulance.

That case always really bothered me -- and this one will, too. I think of how kids react when you tell them they're getting a surprise. Their little faces just light up and they are so excited and happy.

I think of all of the surprise Disney trips on the DISboards. What a crazy twist of fate that some kids get a parent who plans a surprise Disney trip -- other kids get a parent who does something like this.

It's just the worst kind of cruelty.

I want to post something about this, but I can't even put the words together. Its a scary to think that there are people that sick and evil in this world.

 

[DisneyCruisin]

The social worker placed a call at 12:08 to 9-11. At 12:16, 9-11 began receiving calls from neighbors reporting an explosion.

While it does seem like the 9-11 operator handled the call improperly, the police would have never been able to arrive in the span of 8 minutes.

From what I have interpreted, the social worker was suppose to remain there during the visit. When Powell snatched the kids and locked the door, she called her supervisor and the police. She explained to the police that he won't let her in. She asks what she should do and explains that she is suppose to supervise the visit.

It seems to me like she reacted appropriately. He grabbed the kids and she pounded on the door while calling her supervisor. After that, she called 9-11. She had no clue what Powell was planning.

http://news.yahoo.com/911-log-shows-time-lapse-powell-emergency-call-090453532.html

This...

Foster care worker here. I supervise visits, though usually in our office or public location. I have thought about this situation and I think I would have done what this worker did. If a door got slammed in my face, my first reaction would be to knock and try to talk my way in, while calling my supervisor to run the situation by them, like : "WTH? This guy just slammed the door in my face". And then I would have called the police.

Unfortunately we cant call 911 every time a parent acts strangley, or something is off. We take our chances every day, and we never really know what we are walking into or what goes on behind that door once we leave.

 

[ElizabethB]

"I'm saying, 'Let me in, Josh, let me in,'" Hall said. "I realized I didn't have my phone in my hand and I could smell gas. Too much time had passed and I could smell gas."

Hall said she went to move her car and call 911, whom she said did not acknowledge that it was a true emergency. She called her supervisor, but it was too late.


Just curious --- why, when she knew this was an emergency, and that the boys were in mortal danger, did she take time to move her car?

 

[Jennasis]

"I'm saying, 'Let me in, Josh, let me in,'" Hall said. "I realized I didn't have my phone in my hand and I could smell gas. Too much time had passed and I could smell gas."

Hall said she went to move her car and call 911, whom she said did not acknowledge that it was a true emergency. She called her supervisor, but it was too late.


Just curious --- why, when she knew this was an emergency, and that the boys were in mortal danger, did she take time to move her car?

Doesn't matter if she moved her car first. Those boys were dead within moments of walking through the door. There was nothing she or the police could have done to save them.

 

[Magic Mom]

"I'm saying, 'Let me in, Josh, let me in,'" Hall said. "I realized I didn't have my phone in my hand and I could smell gas. Too much time had passed and I could smell gas."

Hall said she went to move her car and call 911, whom she said did not acknowledge that it was a true emergency. She called her supervisor, but it was too late.


Just curious --- why, when she knew this was an emergency, and that the boys were in mortal danger, did she take time to move her car?

It takes 15 seconds to move a car and I can call 911 and I can drive 20 feet at the same time.

 

[Wadecool]

Doesn't matter if she moved her car first. Those boys were dead within moments of walking through the door. There was nothing she or the police could have done to save them.

Agreed. That social worker did everything she could and to second guess her now is pointless.

 

[LisaR]

"I'm saying, 'Let me in, Josh, let me in,'" Hall said. "I realized I didn't have my phone in my hand and I could smell gas. Too much time had passed and I could smell gas."

Hall said she went to move her car and call 911, whom she said did not acknowledge that it was a true emergency. She called her supervisor, but it was too late.


Just curious --- why, when she knew this was an emergency, and that the boys were in mortal danger, did she take time to move her car?

I really have to wonder if all the pieces were clicking at the moment. While social workers have likely witnessed some pretty bad things, I doubt most think a parent is going to do what Josh did.

I envision her being more angry with him when he first grabbed the kids and slammed the door. I'm guessing she was thinking, "Ugh! Great! Another idiot that is going to make things complicated. Why do people act like such this?"

As she banged on the door and started smelling gas, did she immediately put 2 + 2 together? Who would have honestly thought that was going to happen. I'm guessing she was starting to worry but there was still a mix of anger, too. As the few minutes ticked off and the 9-11 worker wasn't cooperating, she escalated her panic and the realization clicked that there was a possibility that something horrible might happen.

She states in the interview that the boys loved visiting their dad and he seemed to love them. He hadn't given her any indication that he would do something like this.

All of this took place over the course of minutes, not hours. I'm guessing she didn't have a great deal of time to play out every possible scenario, especially since the reality is not something any of us see on a daily basis.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I really have to wonder if all the pieces were clicking at the moment. While social workers have likely witnessed some pretty bad things, I doubt most think a parent is going to do what Josh did.

I envision her being more angry with him when he first grabbed the kids and slammed the door. I'm guessing she was thinking, "Ugh! Great! Another idiot that is going to make things complicated. Why do people act like such this?"

As she banged on the door and started smelling gas, did she immediately put 2 + 2 together? Who would have honestly thought that was going to happen. I'm guessing she was starting to worry but there was still a mix of anger, too. As the few minutes ticked off and the 9-11 worker wasn't cooperating, she escalated her panic and the realization clicked that there was a possibility that something horrible might happen.

She states in the interview that the boys loved visiting their dad and he seemed to love them. He hadn't given her any indication that he would do something like this.

All of this took place over the course of minutes, not hours. I'm guessing she didn't have a great deal of time to play out every possible scenario, especially since the reality is not something any of us see on a daily basis.

I don't know. Her gut instinct kicked in when the situation presented itself. She smelled the gas. She knew the father was upset that he had to undergo psych testing. I think it all added up pretty quickly for her. She knew it wasn't going to end well. She told the 911 operator about her suspicions during her intake call.

I don't think there was anything she could have done to stop the monster. She is lucky she wasn't allowed in the house.

 

[OceanAnnie]

You know, the more I read about this case the more it seems to have been badly bungled from the start. The article I read this morning indicates there were images on Powell's computer that would have made a difference in the custody arrangement. With ALL that was going on in this case, how could this have not been found earlier?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ers-saying-threatened-butcher-knife-teen.html

 

[sunshinehighway]

You know, the more I read about this case the more it seems to have been badly bungled from the start. The article I read this morning indicates there were images on Powell's computer that would have made a difference in the custody arrangement. With ALL that was going on in this case, how could this have not been found earlier?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ers-saying-threatened-butcher-knife-teen.html

I believe the photos were found earlier. I think they were the reason the judge ordered the pyscho sexual evaluation. Unfortunately, it appears the pictures weren't illegal or they would have had a reason to put him in jail. From what I read last night, exactly what the picture were haven't been disclosed.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I believe the photos were found earlier. I think they were the reason the judge ordered the pyscho sexual evaluation. Unfortunately, it appears the pictures weren't illegal or they would have had a reason to put him in jail. From what I read last night, exactly what the picture were haven't been disclosed.

IIRC the way the article read, if it had been found earlier the custody would have been very different. He would have had to visit the boys in a public place. I don't know. Maybe I read it wrong. Why just have the psycho sexual evaluation and not protect the boys? Some things just don't add up.

 

[sunshinehighway]

IIRC the way the article read, if it had been found earlier the custody would have been very different. He would have had to visit the boys in a public place. I don't know. Maybe I read it wrong. Why just have the psycho sexual evaluation and not protect the boys? Some things just don't add up.

I think that's all speculation. I read an article that said some people that were on the list of people allowed to see it, hadn't seen it before the Feb. 1st hearing. If they had, they could have argued for a change in visitation. The judge knew about it, as far as I can tell.

It seems are like people are trying to find someone to blame for this. Maybe its because we (as people) want to believe things like this can be stopped and all monsters can be caught. Short of taking away people's rights first and finding out what they did later, there's just no way. This guy was sick in a way nobody wants to believe is real.

 

[OceanAnnie]

FWIW, here is a snippet from the article I posted earlier:

Images depicting ________ (I put the blank there) sex were discovered on a computer in Josh Powell's home two years before he this week killed himself and his two young sons in a house fire.

Police in Washington state last night revealed that Utah authorities found the material so unsettling that they prompted a psychologist to recommend Powell undergo an intensive psychosexual evaluation.

A lawyer for Powell's in-laws, who had custody of Charlie, seven, and Braden, five, said Sunday's tragedy might have been averted had he seen the computer-generated images before a custody hearing last week.

---------------------------------------------------

Two years?! I wonder why the in-law's lawyer didn't get to see them? Why wasn't he on the list? If it was so unsettling it should have been an issue in the custody arrangement. It seems like some people did drop the ball from the beginning, at least to me.

I'd like to see the case re-examined not to place blame, but to learn from what went wrong and reinforce the safe guards that are in place.

 

[LisaR]

FWIW, here is a snippet from the article I posted earlier:

Images depicting ________ (I put the blank there) sex were discovered on a computer in Josh Powell's home two years before he this week killed himself and his two young sons in a house fire.

Police in Washington state last night revealed that Utah authorities found the material so unsettling that they prompted a psychologist to recommend Powell undergo an intensive psychosexual evaluation.

A lawyer for Powell's in-laws, who had custody of Charlie, seven, and Braden, five, said Sunday's tragedy might have been averted had he seen the computer-generated images before a custody hearing last week.

---------------------------------------------------

Two years?! I wonder why the in-law's lawyer didn't get to see them? Why wasn't he on the list? If it was so unsettling it should have been an issue in the custody arrangement. It seems like some people did drop the ball from the beginning, at least to me.

I'd like to see the case re-examined not to place blame, but to learn from what went wrong and reinforce the safe guards that are in place.

2 years ago???? So this is another case of the system screwing over a couple kids. So much for having their best interests at heart. Why wasn't something done two years ago?

 

[OceanAnnie]

2 years ago???? So this is another case of the system screwing over a couple kids. So much for having their best interests at heart. Why wasn't something done two years ago?

That's what I mean. Something was broken.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Looks like this case is on Dr Phil today, fyi.

 

[sunshinehighway]

That's what I mean. Something was broken.

I think the two years thing is misleading. It seems like the images were on a computer taken by Utah police two years ago, after the wife's disappearance. I'm not sure how long ago the Utah police found them on the computer. It seems like they took many things from the house when the wife went missing.
The Washington police, I believe, were only given these images recently.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I think the two years thing is misleading. It seems like the images were on a computer taken by Utah police two years ago, after the wife's disappearance. I'm not sure how long ago the Utah police found them on the computer. It seems like they took many things from the house when the wife went missing.
The Washington police, I believe, were only given these images recently.

This was a very high profile, ongoing case. IMO, I don't think there is any excuse for those pictures to have been on a computer in the police's possession for two years and be undetected. The wife's disappearance was in direct correlation to the safety of those children. He was their person of interest in the wife's disappearance.

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[LisaR]

This was a very high profile, ongoing case. IMO, I don't think there is any excuse for those pictures to have been on a computer in the police's possession for two years and be undetected. The wife's disappearance was in direct correlation to the safety of those children. He was their person of interest in the wife's disappearance.

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

They either went through his computer two years ago, found the pictures, and did nothing about it, or they missed this piece of evidence altogether and finally discovered them recently. Either way, looks like this was preventable.

 

[sunshinehighway]

This was a very high profile, ongoing case. IMO, I don't think there is any excuse for those pictures to have been on a computer in the police's possession for two years and be undetected. The wife's disappearance was in direct correlation to the safety of those children. He was their person of interest in the wife's disappearance.

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

I guess we will. The Daily Mail is a tabloid. I was just trying to let you know their article might have been a little sensationalized.

Here's something I found which explains why he had visitation at his house. Its the only place I've seen it explained so I don't know how true it is.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/josh-powells-computer-parent-child-incest-images-police/story?id=15555337#.TzWLoflKVbo