Josh Powell killed his sons. Oh, and himself.

[themilesfamily]

The latest from ABC News:

"Josh Powell, the husband of a missing Utah woman who killed himself and his two young sons last week, was a disturbed adolescent who threatened and hit his mother, according to 1992 court documents obtained by ABC News.

The documents, filed during the divorce of Josh Powell's parents in Washington state, Steven and Terrica Powell, include several statements by Terrica Powell describing her son's disturbing behavior.

Terrica Powell wrote that her son once tried to commit suicide and also threatened her with a butcher knife. On other occasions, he and one of his brothers pushed and hit her, she wrote.

The butcher knife incident, Terrica Powell wrote, was the result of her asking her son to do the dishes.

"I felt extreme fear when Josh made a veiled threat at me with a butcher knife in his hand. His demeanor was menacing for a moment as he said, 'Don't push it, mom,'" Powell wrote. "… I was terrified and left the room to go downstairs…" "

http://abcnews.go.com/US/josh-powell-threatened-mother-knife-90s-era-court/story?id=15544558
___________________________

ETA: I also came across this about Josh Powell's upbringing:

"Newly obtained court documents show that Josh Powell grew up in a home filled with turmoil. Divorce documents between Steve Powell and his ex-wife, Terrica Powell, depict what they describe as a sexually and emotionally abusive childhood for Josh and his four siblings.

In those divorce papers, Terrica alleged that Steve's influence was damaging to her children. In one instance she wrote, "I felt extreme fear when Josh made a veiled threat at me with a butcher knife in his hand ... His demeanor was menacing for a moment as he said don't push it mom."

She went on to say that Steve has "systematically taught them to scorn and belittle everything to do with church, Christianity in general, authority of all kinds and many common values held by society..." "

http://www.katu.com/news/local/AP-Susan-Powell-case-called-a-murder-138892464.html

 

[OceanAnnie]

The latest from ABC News:

"Josh Powell, the husband of a missing Utah woman who killed himself and his two young sons last week, was a disturbed adolescent who threatened and hit his mother, according to 1992 court documents obtained by ABC News.

The documents, filed during the divorce of Josh Powell's parents in Washington state, Steven and Terrica Powell, include several statements by Terrica Powell describing her son's disturbing behavior.

Terrica Powell wrote that her son once tried to commit suicide and also threatened her with a butcher knife. On other occasions, he and one of his brothers pushed and hit her, she wrote.

The butcher knife incident, Terrica Powell wrote, was the result of her asking her son to do the dishes.

"I felt extreme fear when Josh made a veiled threat at me with a butcher knife in his hand. His demeanor was menacing for a moment as he said, 'Don't push it, mom,'" Powell wrote. "… I was terrified and left the room to go downstairs…" "

http://abcnews.go.com/US/josh-powell-threatened-mother-knife-90s-era-court/story?id=15544558
___________________________

ETA: I also came across this about Josh Powell's upbringing:

"Newly obtained court documents show that Josh Powell grew up in a home filled with turmoil. Divorce documents between Steve Powell and his ex-wife, Terrica Powell, depict what they describe as a sexually and emotionally abusive childhood for Josh and his four siblings.

In those divorce papers, Terrica alleged that Steve's influence was damaging to her children. In one instance she wrote, "I felt extreme fear when Josh made a veiled threat at me with a butcher knife in his hand ... His demeanor was menacing for a moment as he said don't push it mom."

She went on to say that Steve has "systematically taught them to scorn and belittle everything to do with church, Christianity in general, authority of all kinds and many common values held by society..." "

http://www.katu.com/news/local/AP-Susan-Powell-case-called-a-murder-138892464.html

She was terrified of him and knew what he was capable of doing (threatening someone with a butcher knife is not normal). Where was she when the custody of the boys became an issue?

 

[gwynne]

I honestly think that the social worker did all that she could in this case.
I think that it is safe to say that those boys were doomed the moment the father got his hands on them. But I do have an issue with how the 911 operator handled it. I have heard one part where the worker is saying that the house has blown up and the operator just seems like it's no big deal and she'll send someone over when she can. I don't get that...what the heck else is going on in this town that is bigger or worse? A house has blewn up and is actively on fire with 2 young children confirmed to be inside...that's a pretty big deal in my book and deserves immediate attention from everyone available.

You're right. As I continued to read the transcript, though, I think it was worse than the 911 worker acting like it's no big deal. In several instances the worker is just plain snarky. There was absolutely no call for attitude like that toward someone who was asking for help.

 

[themilesfamily]

She was terrified of him and knew what he was capable of doing (threatening someone with a butcher knife is not normal). Where was she when the custody of the boys became an issue?

Unbelievably, she was writing affidavits saying Powell should retain custody of the boys...

I found this:

"In October, Terrica Powell, 56, broke a long-standing silence in the case of her missing daughter-in-law and her son, by writing a court affidavit in support of Josh Powell retaining custody of his boys.

In the declaration filed in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Terrica Powell called her grandsons "happy, well-adjusted and vibrant children ... even though they miss their mother."

The court document contains the first comments Terrica Powell, 56, has made about her son in a public venue since the December 2009 disappearance of Susan Powell.

"Josh has long maintained a tradition of frequent activities with the kids, such as going to the zoo, or to the park to feed the ducks, or to the museum, or to Lowe’s for the little building projects they offer for kids," Terrica Powell wrote. "In addition, I have been impressed with the extra level of care Josh takes in teaching his little boys about how things work, such as when he built a new deck for their home: He delightedly let the boys be involved in a way and at a level that was interesting and safe for them. Other examples include studying animals or learning about science together.

"I have been relieved and pleased to note how very well Charlie and Braden are doing, despite the trauma and sadness of missing their beloved mother. They seem to be continuing to thrive."

Jennifer Graves (estranged sister of Powell) said she has spoken with her mother, who isn’t coping well."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile/53456478-90/powell-graves-josh-terrica.html.csp

The article also said that Terrica Powell will be speaking publicly on the matter at a later date.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Unbelievably, she was writing affidavits saying Powell should retain custody of the boys...

I found this:

"In October, Terrica Powell, 56, broke a long-standing silence in the case of her missing daughter-in-law and her son, by writing a court affidavit in support of Josh Powell retaining custody of his boys.

In the declaration filed in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Terrica Powell called her grandsons "happy, well-adjusted and vibrant children ... even though they miss their mother."

The court document contains the first comments Terrica Powell, 56, has made about her son in a public venue since the December 2009 disappearance of Susan Powell.

"Josh has long maintained a tradition of frequent activities with the kids, such as going to the zoo, or to the park to feed the ducks, or to the museum, or to Lowe’s for the little building projects they offer for kids," Terrica Powell wrote. "In addition, I have been impressed with the extra level of care Josh takes in teaching his little boys about how things work, such as when he built a new deck for their home: He delightedly let the boys be involved in a way and at a level that was interesting and safe for them. Other examples include studying animals or learning about science together.

"I have been relieved and pleased to note how very well Charlie and Braden are doing, despite the trauma and sadness of missing their beloved mother. They seem to be continuing to thrive."

Jennifer Graves (estranged sister of Powell) said she has spoken with her mother, who isn’t coping well."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile/53456478-90/powell-graves-josh-terrica.html.csp

The article also said that Terrica Powell will be speaking publicly on the matter at a later date.

Well, that is something unbelievable alright. Some things you don't forget.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

I didn't think I could dislike a family more than the Anthonys.

 

[Skip2MyLou]

As a former 911 dispatcher, I just have to speak up. It seems people are looking for someone to blame who should have done better. First it was the social worker, now the dispatcher. When really, no one is to blame but the father. Most people have no idea how the 911 system works.

It can be an extremely difficult job, with lots of restrictions. More often than not, it is a thankless job. In 5 years, I can count the number of times on one hand that I ever heard THANK YOU from a caller.

From the tapes that I heard there were 2 calls placed. I don't know how their system was set up, but our system had "call-takers" and "dispatchers". The call-taker took the social workers information. They were, more than likely, not the person dispatching the police. So they have no idea what is going on that specific radio traffic. Most of the time, we have a specific dialog for different kinds of calls...and not allowed to go off it. There is not a lot of common sense "allowed" in this job. We were not allowed to give out ETAs.

Here is an example if we did. The operator says they will be there in 10 minutes. An officer happens to be available & starts to drive there. On the way, he sees a accident happen right in front of him. He HAS to stop. The caller calls back & makes a complaint against the operator because the police aren't there in 10 minutes. The operator then gets in trouble for setting up unreliable expectations.


This type of call would have been coded a priority "2" in my department.

1 - Non-emergency reports. Example, I just woke up & found my car broken into last night.
2. Something "could" happen type calls. Or it could just be an argument. Example, domestic arguments, disorderly people at a business, even a fight at a school.
3. Personal injury - Car accidents (confirmed injury), shooting, stabbing, robbery, etc. These are the ONLY calls that received lights & sirens response.

As far as the calltaker knew, no one had been hurt so this was a priority 2 call. Sorry folks, thats the way it works. The police don't work off what MIGHT happen, they work off what HAS happened.

As for the attitude on the 2nd calltaker. We don't know what was happening on their side. Some times you just feel like you have heard it all & nothing surprises you. Sometimes there is background noise (on both sides) and its hard to understand the caller. My point is we just don't know what was going on. Unles you have done this job... it is extremely hard for the general public to understand how difficult it is.

FWIW, I have been out of that job for almost 3 years now...and would NEVER go back to it.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

As a former 911 dispatcher, I just have to speak up. It seems people are looking for someone to blame who should have done better. First it was the social worker, now the dispatcher. When really, no one is to blame but the father. Most people have no idea how the 911 system works.

It can be an extremely difficult job, with lots of restrictions. More often than not, it is a thankless job. In 5 years, I can count the number of times on one hand that I ever heard THANK YOU from a caller.

From the tapes that I heard there were 2 calls placed. I don't know how their system was set up, but our system had "call-takers" and "dispatchers". The call-taker took the social workers information. They were, more than likely, not the person dispatching the police. So they have no idea what is going on that specific radio traffic. Most of the time, we have a specific dialog for different kinds of calls...and not allowed to go off it. There is not a lot of common sense "allowed" in this job. We were not allowed to give out ETAs.

Here is an example if we did. The operator says they will be there in 10 minutes. An officer happens to be available & starts to drive there. On the way, he sees a accident happen right in front of him. He HAS to stop. The caller calls back & makes a complaint against the operator because the police aren't there in 10 minutes. The operator then gets in trouble for setting up unreliable expectations.


This type of call would have been coded a priority "2" in my department.

1 - Non-emergency reports. Example, I just woke up & found my car broken into last night.
2. Something "could" happen type calls. Or it could just be an argument. Example, domestic arguments, disorderly people at a business, even a fight at a school.
3. Personal injury - Car accidents (confirmed injury), shooting, stabbing, robbery, etc. These are the ONLY calls that received lights & sirens response.

As far as the calltaker knew, no one had been hurt so this was a priority 2 call. Sorry folks, thats the way it works. The police don't work off what MIGHT happen, they work off what HAS happened.

As for the attitude on the 2nd calltaker. We don't know what was happening on their side. Some times you just feel like you have heard it all & nothing surprises you. Sometimes there is background noise (on both sides) and its hard to understand the caller. My point is we just don't know what was going on. Unles you have done this job... it is extremely hard for the general public to understand how difficult it is.

FWIW, I have been out of that job for almost 3 years now...and would NEVER go back to it.

Great post!

Thank you for expalining some of that.

You are 100% correct...The SICKO of a sperm donor(can't even call him a father anymore, personally) is the one who did this.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

As a former 911 dispatcher, I just have to speak up. It seems people are looking for someone to blame who should have done better. First it was the social worker, now the dispatcher. When really, no one is to blame but the father. Most people have no idea how the 911 system works.

It can be an extremely difficult job, with lots of restrictions. More often than not, it is a thankless job. In 5 years, I can count the number of times on one hand that I ever heard THANK YOU from a caller.

From the tapes that I heard there were 2 calls placed. I don't know how their system was set up, but our system had "call-takers" and "dispatchers". The call-taker took the social workers information. They were, more than likely, not the person dispatching the police. So they have no idea what is going on that specific radio traffic. Most of the time, we have a specific dialog for different kinds of calls...and not allowed to go off it. There is not a lot of common sense "allowed" in this job. We were not allowed to give out ETAs.

Here is an example if we did. The operator says they will be there in 10 minutes. An officer happens to be available & starts to drive there. On the way, he sees a accident happen right in front of him. He HAS to stop. The caller calls back & makes a complaint against the operator because the police aren't there in 10 minutes. The operator then gets in trouble for setting up unreliable expectations.


This type of call would have been coded a priority "2" in my department.

1 - Non-emergency reports. Example, I just woke up & found my car broken into last night.
2. Something "could" happen type calls. Or it could just be an argument. Example, domestic arguments, disorderly people at a business, even a fight at a school.
3. Personal injury - Car accidents (confirmed injury), shooting, stabbing, robbery, etc. These are the ONLY calls that received lights & sirens response.

As far as the calltaker knew, no one had been hurt so this was a priority 2 call. Sorry folks, thats the way it works. The police don't work off what MIGHT happen, they work off what HAS happened.

As for the attitude on the 2nd calltaker. We don't know what was happening on their side. Some times you just feel like you have heard it all & nothing surprises you. Sometimes there is background noise (on both sides) and its hard to understand the caller. My point is we just don't know what was going on. Unles you have done this job... it is extremely hard for the general public to understand how difficult it is.

FWIW, I have been out of that job for almost 3 years now...and would NEVER go back to it.

I disagree and I work in the field.

There was a risk of harm or death to the kids. A parent, one that is a POI in a missing person/murder investigation has supervised visitation. This person slams the door in the social workers face and won't open it despite her pounding on the door. The worker could hear a kid crying. She mentions she can smell gas. To me there were enough indicators there that this was a high priority child endangerment call. No reason to think the crazy father was going to blow up the house with him and the kids in it but there was that smell of gas that the dispatcher did not think to question.

The dispatcher could have gotten help rolling while he stayed on the phone with the social worker.

 

[gwynne]

I disagree and I work in the field.

There was a risk of harm or death to the kids. A parent, one that is a POI in a missing person/murder investigation has supervised visitation. This person slams the door in the social workers face and won't open it despite her pounding on the door. The worker could hear a kid crying. She mentions she can smell gas. To me there were enough indicators there that this was a high priority child endangerment call. No reason to think the crazy father was going to blow up the house with him and the kids in it but there was that smell of gas that the dispatcher did not think to question.

The dispatcher could have gotten help rolling while he stayed on the phone with the social worker.

I agree. That social worker was there for court ordered supervised visitation. She outlined multiple reasons for fearing for the children's safety. She had been separated from the children, she smelled gas. Instead of offering immediate help, the transcript sadly shows the 911 operator bantering back and forth about whether the social worker supervises herself or not.

And certainly, the vast majority of 911 operators, I am sure, are professional. This particular call might indicate the need for some additional training.

 

[eliza61]

I agree. That social worker was there for court ordered supervised visitation. She outlined multiple reasons for fearing for the children's safety. She had been separated from the children, she smelled gas. Instead of offering immediate help, the transcript sadly shows the 911 operator bantering back and forth about whether the social worker supervises herself or not.

And certainly, the vast majority of 911 operators, I am sure, are professional. This particular call might indicate the need for some additional training.

Really? How do you train for the possibility that some one is going to blow up their house? there are 50 kabillion possible scenerios, please how do you train anyone for every single one. smelled gas? You know how many times in philly neighborhoods you get gas smells? Who would ever think some one is going to blow their house up. most would call 911 to see if the city was doing some street work.

Bottom line is we are all "monday" morning quaterbacking.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

Really? How do you train for the possibility that some one is going to blow up their house? there are 50 kabillion possible scenerios, please how do you train anyone for every single one.

Bottom line is we are all "monday" morning quaterbacking.

You don't know that the crazy guy is going to blow up the house.

However, 911 dispatchers should possess critical thinking skills so that they ask the right questions. There is no doubt this was a child endangerment call and the dispatcher did not treat it as such. I can't wait to find out how this call was dspatched.
People that work in these jobs shold know enouh enouh to recognize when certain calls require an immediate response. This was NOT a routine get-there-when-you-get-there call.

 

[MSLRAC]

I agree. That social worker was there for court ordered supervised visitation. She outlined multiple reasons for fearing for the children's safety. She had been separated from the children, she smelled gas. Instead of offering immediate help, the transcript sadly shows the 911 operator bantering back and forth about whether the social worker supervises herself or not.

And certainly, the vast majority of 911 operators, I am sure, are professional. This particular call might indicate the need for some additional training.

I agree! The part of the call I have heard, is after the house has blown. The worker is yelling that he blew up the house and that there are two kids inside. The dispatcher/call taker acts like it is no big deal. At that point, harm has been done to two children. No one knew if they were dead or alive and getting help to that scene needed to be a priority.

I totally understand 911 having to prioritize calls and that it's a rough job but this 911 worker needs an attitude adjustment in my book.

And I am not looking to blame anyone but the father. He is the sick SOB that killed his wife and kids and he deserves all of the blame. But things like this need to be learned from so they never, ever happen again.

 

[Jennasis]

As a former 911 dispatcher, I just have to speak up. It seems people are looking for someone to blame who should have done better. First it was the social worker, now the dispatcher. When really, no one is to blame but the father. Most people have no idea how the 911 system works.

It can be an extremely difficult job, with lots of restrictions. More often than not, it is a thankless job. In 5 years, I can count the number of times on one hand that I ever heard THANK YOU from a caller.

From the tapes that I heard there were 2 calls placed. I don't know how their system was set up, but our system had "call-takers" and "dispatchers". The call-taker took the social workers information. They were, more than likely, not the person dispatching the police. So they have no idea what is going on that specific radio traffic. Most of the time, we have a specific dialog for different kinds of calls...and not allowed to go off it. There is not a lot of common sense "allowed" in this job. We were not allowed to give out ETAs.

Here is an example if we did. The operator says they will be there in 10 minutes. An officer happens to be available & starts to drive there. On the way, he sees a accident happen right in front of him. He HAS to stop. The caller calls back & makes a complaint against the operator because the police aren't there in 10 minutes. The operator then gets in trouble for setting up unreliable expectations.


This type of call would have been coded a priority "2" in my department.

1 - Non-emergency reports. Example, I just woke up & found my car broken into last night.
2. Something "could" happen type calls. Or it could just be an argument. Example, domestic arguments, disorderly people at a business, even a fight at a school.
3. Personal injury - Car accidents (confirmed injury), shooting, stabbing, robbery, etc. These are the ONLY calls that received lights & sirens response.

As far as the calltaker knew, no one had been hurt so this was a priority 2 call. Sorry folks, thats the way it works. The police don't work off what MIGHT happen, they work off what HAS happened.

As for the attitude on the 2nd calltaker. We don't know what was happening on their side. Some times you just feel like you have heard it all & nothing surprises you. Sometimes there is background noise (on both sides) and its hard to understand the caller. My point is we just don't know what was going on. Unles you have done this job... it is extremely hard for the general public to understand how difficult it is.

FWIW, I have been out of that job for almost 3 years now...and would NEVER go back to it.

OT, but thank you for your years of service! My cousin is a 911 dispatcher and a few years ago he helped talk a little boy (maybe 4 years old) through a situation when the kid's mom passed out and stopped breathing. The kid knew to call 911 and my cousin kept him calm and helped him through while police and medics were dispatched. A few days later the Today Show flew him and the kid to NY to interview him about the incident. The mom was very grateful to my cousin and my cuz took the kid to FAO Schwartz to buy him a gift for being so brave.

There are lots of great stories like this out there.

 

[sunshinehighway]

But things like this need to be learned from so they never, ever happen again.

Although something like this should never happen, the truth is nobody can really stop it if someone is determined to make it happen.

 

[gwynne]

Really? How do you train for the possibility that some one is going to blow up their house? there are 50 kabillion possible scenerios, please how do you train anyone for every single one.

Oh, dear, I fear you totally misunderstand me. 911 operators don't need to train for kabillions of scenarios. What they do need to do is stay on topic and process the basic information. I think the social worker gave them good, sold reasons to assist immediately, but that's just my opinion.
The Pierce County Sheriff's department has said they are unhappy with the "etiquette and manner" with how this call was handled, and they are investigating.

I also don't think the police could have changed the outcome. But, I feel for the social worker. She desperately needed immediate help, and she was drawn into all sorts of often totally irrelevant back and forth discussion. When the call ends, she still doesn't know when help might be dispatched.

And I think the vast majority of 911 operators are hard working, diligent folks. This one call might show a need for more individual training. That doesn't reflect on operators as a whole.

 

[MSLRAC]

Although something like this should never happen, the truth is nobody can really stop it if someone is determined to make it happen.

I can't fully agree with this given the information that has been coming to light. Powell was the only POI in his wife's disappearance and there was apparently a long history of mental issues and violence with him so I don't think that he should have had visitation in his home...whether is was supervised or not. All a judge had to do was say sure you can have visitation but it has be at a secured office at DSS and you will be searched by the officers there before you enter the office and your sons are allowed to see you. DH has a former co-worker that has visitation like that due to his drug past so it just blows my mind that Powell was allowed to see those boys at his home.

That said, another part of me totally understands what you are saying. If he hadn't of done it this way then he might have blown up the house where the boys were living or their school or shot them on the playground...I'm sure he would have gotten to them somehow. So I get it but I also have to wonder if there is any way that anyone could have saved those poor boys.

 

[eliza61]

Oh, dear, I fear you totally misunderstand me. 911 operators don't need to train for kabillions of scenarios. What they do need to do is stay on topic and process the basic information. I think the social worker gave them good, sold reasons to assist immediately, but that's just my opinion.
The Pierce County Sheriff's department has said they are unhappy with the "etiquette and manner" with how this call was handled, and they are investigating.

When the call ends, she still doesn't know when help might be dispatched.

And I think the vast majority of 911 operators are hard working, diligent folks. This one call might show a need for more individual training. That doesn't reflect on operators as a whole.

Thanks Gwynne, I totally misunderstood the first time. I kept thinking how would the dispatcher know he was going to blow up the house. Gotcha

I can't fully agree with this given the information that has been coming to light. Powell was the only POI in his wife's disappearance and there was apparently a long history of mental issues and violence with him so I don't think that he should have had visitation in his home...whether is was supervised or not. All a judge had to do was say sure you can have visitation but it has be at a secured office at DSS and you will be searched by the officers there before you enter the office and your sons are allowed to see you. DH has a former co-worker that has visitation like that due to his drug past so it just blows my mind that Powell was allowed to see those boys at his home.

That said, another part of me totally understands what you are saying. If he hadn't of done it this way then he might have blown up the house where the boys were living or their school or shot them on the playground...I'm sure he would have gotten to them somehow. So I get it but I also have to wonder if there is any way that anyone could have saved those poor boys.

Here's the rub, even Judges are bound by the law. Now was this long history of mental problems admissable in court, was it even pertinent to his parental rights. I have clients in my churchs organizations who are drug kingpins and committed murder but in the state of NJ that does not end their parental rights and they do get rights as far as their children.

Remember also according to the social worker he had been having visitation with his sons for about 3 months without incident and she says the boys loved their daddy and often said they wanted to return to him. So if she was reporting back to the judge it probably was with a decent report. (this is just me doing some assumptions here, my crystal ball is just as fuzzy as anyone elses)

Police officers can't simply search you because you have a mental illness. Constitution doesn't make exceptions, it says all citizens. So as crazy as it seems even some one who is certifiably mentally disturbed still has protection against search and seizure. From what I understood, the reports of violence came to light after the fact and a "person of interest" is a far cry from a suspect.

I know this is a horrific crime and just like Casey anthonys crime I absolutely hate these wackadoodles who hurt their children but we have to be very careful in the aftermath not to take on this zealot like fevor giving law officials all kinds of crazy powers to do what ever we think is best.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I can't fully agree with this given the information that has been coming to light. Powell was the only POI in his wife's disappearance and there was apparently a long history of mental issues and violence with him so I don't think that he should have had visitation in his home...whether is was supervised or not. All a judge had to do was say sure you can have visitation but it has be at a secured office at DSS and you will be searched by the officers there before you enter the office and your sons are allowed to see you. DH has a former co-worker that has visitation like that due to his drug past so it just blows my mind that Powell was allowed to see those boys at his home.

That said, another part of me totally understands what you are saying. If he hadn't of done it this way then he might have blown up the house where the boys were living or their school or shot them on the playground...I'm sure he would have gotten to them somehow. So I get it but I also have to wonder if there is any way that anyone could have saved those poor boys.

In the case of your Dh's coworker, they have a drug history. I don't think they really had anything on Powell. The children were taken from him because he was living with his father the perv. Him being a POI in his wife's disappearance didn't seem to factor into it because there wasn't evidence to charge him or even name him as an official suspect. It seems a judge recently ordered a pyschosexual evaluation on him before custody would be considered.

I think its a case of trying to balance what is best for the kids based on the facts the can use.

I think once the evaluation was completed, he knew he wouldn't get the boys back and the visitation would become more strict. They'd finally have a documented reason to keep him from the boys. Once that happened there probably wouldn't have been anyone who could save them anyways. Any one of the ways you describe he could have gotten to them are possible.

 

[themilesfamily]

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.