Susan Powell Disappearance: Her Parents Finally Turn on Husband Josh Powell

By Pete Kotz in homicide, missing persons, unsolved

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 4:56 pm

UPDATE: Susan Powell's parents are finally dropping the kid gloves. They say husband Josh Powell was a controlling dick who did his best to belittle her as a wife and undermine her as a mother. See update after the jump...

Most of our readers knew all along there was something wrong with Josh Powell's story. He supposedly took a midnight camping trip with their young children from their suburban Salt Lake City home -- in the middle of the winter.

Then he arrived home after missing a day of work -- only to find his wife Susan gone. There were no signs of forced entry. Her keys, credit cards and cell phone were all at home, as was her car. Friends say there's no way she'd leave without her kids.

It's pretty clear Josh Powell killed his wife. But Susan's family is only now beginning to realize it.

Then there was her husband Josh. He quickly lawyered up and refused to answer detailed questions from police. He also refused to show them where he went camping. In the middle of what was supposed to be a search for his wife, he moved with the kids to Washington state to live with his father.

All along, Susan's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, declined to cast aspersions at their son-in-law. They're devout Mormons inclined to believe the best about people. They wanted to buy Josh's pleas that he wasn't involved.

But two months after the December 7 disappearance, they finally seemed to have realized that Josh is the likely suspect.

They still believe their daughter is alive. But they now admit Josh has done nothing to help police find her. "He's the last person who saw my daughter -- his wife -- alive," Chuck Cox told ABC4-TV. "He's got to know something. He's got to help out. He's thrown a roadblock without his cooperation."

They also say Josh refuses to let them see their grandkids unless they visit them at his father's house in Puyallup, Washington. So far, that's been a no-go for the Coxes. No matter how polite they spin it, they won't visit the home of the man they must know killed their daughter.

Susan Powell disappeared two months ago. The best guess is that husband Josh killed her and hid her body while he was supposedly out camping.

UPDATE: As you likely surmised, Josh Powell was a controlling prick to his missing wife.

Friends and family of Susan Powell are getting more open about their criticism of the man who likely murdered her. At a news conference yesterday, they said he once physically abused her and that he was weird about control, a principal trait of wife beaters.

They used to believe she was an enthusiastic gardener until they learned she was growing food for survival, since Josh wouldn't give her enough money to feed the children. They also say he repeatedly changed access codes to their bank account so she couldn't touch their money, even though the 28-year-old stockbroker was the family breadwinner,.

They further say he tried to undermine her as a mom, doing such things as allowing the kids to get out of bed after bedtime because "Mommy is so mean."

In fact, Susan told people that she planned to end their marriage on their April 6 anniversary if things didn't improve. They don't know if Josh knew about the deadline.

Yet Powell was worried about the fate of her two young sons. Josh threatened to take their children if she left, and friends say the doting mom could never be without her kids. But they also say Susan never expressed fear that Josh would physically hurt her.

Also see Susan Powell Missing; Husband Josh Powell Shows No Interest in Finding His Wife

Stockbroker Susan Powell Missing in Utah; Husband's Actions Suspicious.

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Lds people the ones you call mormans are some of the best people I know. Jesus Christ is there foundation. And I don't think it's very Christian to judge others.
Here it is, nearly June and this woman has been gone for close to 6 months. I wonder what the little boys are being told. Incredibly sad situation. WHY do husbands feel the need to get rid of their wives, when they discover their going to divorce them? i mean, helllloooo....MURDER? To avoid being divorced? Good Lord......Heaven help us all!!!!
Somebody do us all a favor and just kill this guy, slowly, on videotape... to set an example of what happens to liars.
MC... your comment is perfect!
I think people need to quit making this about religion. Every one has their opinion about the mormons--KEEP IT TO YOURSELVES! The issue is....a woman is missing....her husband probably killed her. When you have someone you love very much that goes missing, you always want to hold on to the hope that they are still alive. I think the parents know she is dead...but please, leave them alone to deal with the loss the way they can only deal with it at this time...if they want to believe she is alive....let them. To the insensitive slime making the nasty and disgusting comments....you only demean yourself.I pity you and your loved ones.
My heart goes out to Susan's parents and children. I respect and understand why the "stood by" Josh. These are good people who'd like to believe the best in everyone. I read about her missing approx. 2 days after she went missing, and read an article in an "In Touch" magazine dated Jan 4,l0. Today she crossed my mind so I got on the internet interested in or hoping for good news. However, I find she is still missing and that her parents have now realized Josh is most likely involved. Additionally, read that Josh has taken the children and moved. It has become clear that Josh is involved and Susan is most likely not alive. This must be horrible for her parents to deal with, not to mention the kids. Noone talks about the impact on the two small children. They must be terribly confused, scared and fearful of mentioning anything about it to the media, family, and most especially their father. They probably live in fear of Josh. But to Susan's parents, PLEASE become more active in seeing the two boys---Susan (your daughter)children as well as your Grandchildren! Go to court if you have to in order to get visitation. Your daugher loved her sons very much, and i"m sure endured alot from Josh, but most likely had stayed for the boys. So out of respect for your daughter, please do whatever it takes to become involved in her sons--your grandsons. She would want you to do so, don't you think?
Famlies have been the most effective teaching centers for right and wrong since civvilization began. As a kid, you knew it was wrong to kick a puppy and if you saw someone do such a thing, you'd tell. And, if you couldn't tell right away, you would feel real bad until you did. I'm a middle kid from a family of six kids with one mom and one dad. Right now I am in my 50's. Although my family is far from perfect, we love each other deeply and as time has passed and each of us has had to face life's difficulties, hardships, and challenges we have grown to find comfort, courage, and compassion by sharing the bond of family love. Truth has been the foundation that has empowered our family's ability to love.Truth has allowed each of us to live without shame and accept who we are with a gentle pride and a sense of humor. In order to enjoy the comfort of such a powerful, life sustaining love, we have always understood that we could not lie to each other. If Josh was my brother, I'd get the truth out of him. His family must know the truth. And, just like the kid who can't tell right away about seeing some jerk kick a puppy, eventually, someone will tell. If it comes to pass that Josh is guilty of Susan's death and no one in Josh's family stepped forward, the family should face further criminal investigation.
New to the site victim of crime 6 years ago. This site needs a mod. Its a cool site, insightful but the comments are stray and thoughtless there has to be a way to remove a blogger or keep them from blogging at all by flagging them? As far as this Susan Powell story I have feared for so long that this man was as guilty as the day is long, hell it was blatant and obvious. Then I understand the grandparents (Susans parents) feeling the fear and uncertainty they did. But if Josh was this controling monster that he was where as Susan had to plant a garden to feed her children yet she was the soul money maker. I would have never stood beside him the day she went missing. If it was for fear of not being able to see the grandkids that could have been worked out later. I so hope that Susan's remains are found ( I say remains yes pressuming she is'nt alive). Because as things are they obviously feel they have no grounds to arrest and keep him arrested.
JC and God seem like the same person...someone with a sick mind.Go get your jollies off on some porn site instead of saying your sick comments here since you obviously have no respect for Susan or her family & friends, or the people in this comment section. You're nothing but trash! Wish there was a way to delete your disrespectful comments.
God and Jesus Christ are clearly the same person as Bill Mancock. Go elsewhere, fuck face.
My son Jesus Christ, where are you going to put your Jesus juice, in her rotting pooper?
To JC, are you David Marmolejo???You are as sick as he is.
i want to fuck susans dead rotting pussy!
Soobs... I think you're right. I just hope things turn out where there's an end to this case. It would be awful if it never gets solved.
I think that the grandparents reluctance to say anything negative about their son-in-law had less to do with religion than it did with the fact that HE has control over the grandchildren. Obviously, he's utilizing that control, and not letting the grandparents see the kids. Now, it is no longer in their interest to placate him. And as someone else wrote, grandparents do not have "rights" when it comes to grandchildren. They were at the mercy of him, and now that he's being an ass, they no longer have to put on a happy face.
Oh my gosh these updates from Susan's parents are surprising! Why did they defend Josh to begin with? Since they feel he was such a dick and a prick to Susan they should have said it from the very beginning of her disappearance. It sounds like Susan had a difficult sad marriage for sure. Never being able to get the money and to grow a garden to survive because Josh never gave enough money for food for her & the kids. This is such a strange case! I don't understand how Susan's family and friends could be so naive. I hope and pray the criminal investigators find the evidence to pin Josh. I also think it would be a miracle for Susan to still be alive like her family has thought, but miracles have happened! It would be fantastic, but my heart is heavy thinking about it. I wish she would appear so we can know where she went and have closure on this. I can't stand it dragging on.I don't usually get caught-up in this sort of stuff, but this one I have!
What ever happened to the DNA on the carpet? It should be interesting come this spring when the snow melts. Even if the animals eat her remains there will still be bones. If Josh and I hate calling him by his first name. If he put her in a lake or pond and weighted her down, sooner or later there will be some evidence. Look at Scott Peterson.
What relatives of a victim do or do not believe as members of some church is a mostly irrelevant tangent at this point to the investigation of a crime if one was committed. It is often the case that a small town police department had little experience in dealing with a murder investigation and sometimes are reluctant to ask for outside help and expertise from the state police or FBI due to the egos of those involved. Colorado Springs is a larger town than this small Utah town and they did not do a good job in the murder investigaton of JonBenet Ramsey. One TV report to be aired Feb. 16 on the Dr. Phil Show has a picture of a sing-in log at the camping ground for Dec. 16 that shows no signature for the husband but many other signatures. So he was not the only crazoid taking his kids camping in freezing weather. I don't believe it but I live near a city and we rarely go camping with kids even in warm weather. Who knows what is popular in Utah? Until a body is found, there seems tobe little ground to arrest the husband unless police can prove he lied to them during their investigation. She will likely eventually be found and in this cold and snow, the bocy might be preserved enough to the point where clues on the body can still help.
rae Stacy, Sorry that people like you feel that way, you must be Mormons. I understand your view. This information is not rumors. It is taken from a university's study on many religions not just Mormon's. I did not care for what was said about the Catholic's but I have an open mind and my education tells me different.
Oh, and the Mormon websites tell the truth and are NOT biased in favor of Mormonism while the non-Mormon websites lie and spread rumors. Got it! Brainwashing 101.
C.C. Why didn't you actually look at the official Mormon webpage to get your information before bashing mormons. Interesting that you automatically look at all the rumors and lies about the church from obvious anti-mormon sites.
@Darby ok truce, and yes I understand being realistic and that especially in cases involving minors missing they are dead in the first hours. This is a sad reality. But knowing the odds and praying or hoping against them is another thing. It is up to an individual when they want to let go of denial and hand in the towel. Some people handle greif and exceptence diffrently, often denial.Where as you or I might to start the healing process quicker in our minds by accepting harsh unimaginable realities. But it is not anyone's place to say when another person should do this. As far as the mistakes susans parents are making these situations dont come with a manual. So I cant imagine what they are or aren't thinkning. But as soon as this s.o.b. came up with this off the wall camping story I would have been in the process of finding out what he did with my daughter and not standing to close behind him. I can see ur point :)
Eastern Shore Girlie - okay, truce. I see what you are saying. I wasn't being uncaring - quite the opposite. I am fairly sarcastic and a realist...so when I hear that her parents believe that she is still alive, of course I am going to have to ask what on earth they think she has been doing for the past 2 months, then. And, I really can't believe these people. I did mean that exactly how it sounded...because all of their hoping and wishing and praying and saying that she is alive didn't do anything as far as making Josh let them see their grandkids. If they had immediately, and realistically, pushed the police into taking a harder stand at the beginning, then the kids might have been able to be removed from Josh's custody and they wouldn't be in this position. I have kids, too, and if one had gone missing under these circumstances, I wouldn't bury my head in the sand and think, well, maybe she's out there...somewhere...I'd eventually have to accept the reality.
ponder the facts, I appreciated your comments on the statement that I copied on religion. There is good and bad in everything. But I must correct you I had said in one of my post that these statements were not my opinions or views. I never commented on the Topic. You are right you did not have a question, my mistake. I did however get the information as to Mormons and how they believe Other religions are up in arms with with Mormons, those statements that I copied are some of the reasons. That's all. As to the Topic have said all along that Josh killed his wife. Maybe she was going to leave him for the last time. Maybe they had a heated fight??????????
@Darby, well let me start by saying I never really claimed to disagree. I have always thought this guy was guilty and uncredible no disagreement there and I did'nt purposefully mis quote you. U just took on this uncaring tone like people can't greive there own way or hope there child is alive. Also as another comment said perhaps the grandparents are also being careful how they deal with the husband. If he never confesses and somehow gets off for what he did they may never see there grandchildren that are in the hands of this uncinvicted but no doubt killer. I just disagree with bashing or "disregaurding' the feelings of the victims family. I am a mother if my child (who is only 9) disappeared no one better tell me to give it up call it in or anything until there is a body confession or something concrete for me to hang on to!!!! Thats all I ment. You say you 'can't believe these people but yet I have to sympathize with them.
Well, Eastern Shore Girlie, I can assure you that I am not Gail (though I agree with her, obviously!) Quite frankly, *nothing* gives me the *right* to comment as I do - but on the other hand, you might want to actually *read* what I wrote so that you know that I certainly wasn't telling the parents to "get over it." Where did I say that? My point was that had they, from the beginning, saw what everyone else sees, which is that Josh obviously did something nefarious with their daughter, then they might have been in a better position as it stands, today. For them to say that they still believe that she is alive isn't helping anything. It has nothing to do with hope, it has everything to do with reality. Oh, and I didn't say "It's time to call it in." I said "It's time to call it." As in...time of death. Time to call it. Like what the doctor's say when they have to quit doing CPR and they look at the clock and "call it." What is the point of your second post? You actually agree with me and you don't even know it.
Jadensmokes, from my experience (and this may vary by state), grandparents have no rights to the children unless both biological parents are deceased. My in-laws were trying to get visitation rights to my daughter and a lawyer advised them that it would be a waste of time and money because it would never make it through the court system. That being said, I have never denied them access to my daughter unless we had previous plans. She stays with them at least one weekend out of the month and they are constantly invited to her extracurricular activities. IMHO, Josh should be ashamed of himself for keeping his kids away from their grandparents. At this time, the kids need all of the normalcy they can get and being around grandparents they know, even if for a few hours, can help that. He obviously isn't concerned about the mental state of his children or he never would have done these things.
Yep, this has nothing to do with Mormanism, Christianity or anything remotely religious! Can't the Cox famly petition in family court for visitation of their grandkids? They've done nothing wrong. Joshy boy will only let them see the kids if they come to Josh's dad's house. That is crap. They are the bio grandparents and their daughter has gone missing. They should be able to see those kids any friggin time they want or need to. And, maybe the grandparents, if left alone, can get enough info from the grandkids to narrow the search field down some. Why are they not doing this?
C.C. Where do you see that I had a question? I said it was hilarious how the comments of Mormons are and how Moongrim said all Mormon men think their never wrong. You have your beliefs and Mormons have theirs, let it be. Dee Dee is correct and hey, there's good and bad in every religion and in every race. People should not assume that every Mormon is weird, every Mormon male thinks he's perfect and never wrong,every Mormon wife is controlled,etc... there are always going to be stories. You heard Joseph Smith was intoxicated...others heard he was on magic mushrooms. Believe what YOU want. Mormon people believe good things and the majority of the religion have compassionate, loving, peaceful people who are family oriented. That's what Susan Powell wanted her family to be, she had goals and set them to where she expected Josh to go to church/be active and she wanted the Mormon church to be a part of their family life. Does that sound like she thought Josh was right and never wrong? She just married a guy who wasn't who she thought he was. He is not the typical Mormon man. There are some men in every religion,some men who don't have religion and some men in every race who think their never wrong...it's not that way for every Mormon. This is suppose to be a focus on Susan's disappearance...not bashing of Mormons just because Susan's beliefs are through the Mormon religion. I hope Susan would show up alive, but it doesn't seem likely. I hope there can be peace and comfort to all her family members and close friends. Scott Petersen wasn't Mormon...and he seemed to have an air about him that he was never wrong and he was a control freak. There are many good Mormon people and the bashing of them is sad.
Correction (WAY) Not WAS.........
Dee,Dee, Am I missing something? I never was able to address the Topic at ALL. I certainly never said anything about the Police? You totally lost me on the "sorely mistaken" and Evidence????Why don't you re-read what I posted? I don't know why I am even wasting my time with explaining to you. I answered "ponder the facts" question. Not you! Mormons do not believe in the Trinity the was Christens do? They believe that they are 3 completely different beings. Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that God the Father is a separate being from our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost, being another separate being, is a spirit in nature in the form of a man. Three separate and distinctive beings, each with the same goals and purposes. I hope this is Good- Bye Dee, Dee!
DeeDee, Sorry that you take offense to the comments. The comments are not mine. Nor are they my opinion. I researched some of the Mormon religion as to why people in general my not care for them, so that I could better try and answer, "ponder the facts question." This is what I found. I copied it and pasted it. A theologian professor that was a Mormon for 30 years, he has research, studied, interviewed, case studies, information on accounts for businesses for the Mormon church, the 10% of the members contributions, the total amount taken in annually for the mormon church= something like 20 billion dollars in just assests? He also says that 1830 by Joseph Smith at age 15 had a visit for God,( Joseph Smith was intoxicated) I have no idea about Mormons, I am a Catholic. Example of one of his case studies. I have been in every presidency afforded a woman in the LDS Church and I also left the church just 6 months ago because I no longer felt I could teach my children that God has a body of flesh and bones, that Jesus was conceived physically by Mary and God, (adam/god theory) and that when we die we will inherit a kingdom and be kings and queens, priests and priestesses and rule our own planets and have eternal increase (I would be pregnant spiritually forever!)
CC just about every word of your comment is untrue. Mormon's do not and never have believed that "every man who dies becomes a God." Mormons believe that Jesus was the son of God just like it says in the Bible. They also believe in the virgin birth. The Trinity is not a doctrine of the bible but a interpretation by man. Mormons do believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit make up the God Head. They very much believe in the authority of the Holy Scriptures. As for your last paragraph that can describe just about every organized church or Evangelical group in this country. As to the true topic of conversation. Very few people here in the state of Utah believe that Susan is alive. Her family are reaching out to Josh and begging him to tell the truth. At the same time they are doing all they can to keep from alienating him completely. This man took their daughter and he has the power to keep their grandchildren from them permanently. If you think that the police have stopped looking for evidence against this man you are sorely mistaken. Believing a man is guilty and being able to prove it are two different things. Those prayer vigils are for Susan, the families, the children and most of all for Josh not because he is innocent but because the hope and prayer is that he will do the right thing.
CC just about every word of your comment is untrue. Mormon's do not and never have believed that "every man who dies becomes a God." Mormons believe that Jesus was the son of God just like it says in the Bible. They also believe in the virgin birth. The Trinity is not a doctrine of the bible but a interpretation by man. Mormons do believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit make up the God Head. They very much believe in the authority of the Holy Scriptures. As for your last paragraph that can describe just about every organized church or Evangelical group in this country. As to the true topic of conversation. Very few people here in the state of Utah believe that Susan is alive. Her family are reaching out to Josh and begging him to tell the truth. At the same time they are doing all they can to keep from alienating him completely. This man took their daughter and he has the power to keep their grandchildren from them permanently. If you think that the police have stopped looking for evidence against this man you are sorely mistaken. Believing a man is guilty and being able to prove it are two different things. Those prayer vigils are for Susan, the families, the children and most of all for Josh not because he is innocent but because the hope and prayer is that he will do the right thing.
ponder the facts, This is the answer to your question about putting mormon's down. Not to mention that when every man dies he become a God! Mormons either deny of pervert every essential doctrine of historic Christianity, including the uniqueness of God, the virgin birth, the Trinity, the authority of Scripture A cult of Christianity is a group of people, which claiming to be Christian, embraces a particular doctrinal system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith.
oh by the way...in reference to "Moongrim"...Mormonism the men are never wrong. That's hilarious!! I think all the thoughts about mormons that I've read in comments which concern Susan's disappearance are so funny on how people try to put mormon people down.
Ok, when Susan first came up missing and Josh was at his car when a news reporter came up to him asking Josh questions. Josh said, Susan would go during the day but never at night. How does he know it would be the night, it could have been she got ready for work and started walking that morning to hitchhike (oh, wait...she left her purse at home)well, she could have put some cash in her pocket & taken off for work... how does Josh KNOW she left that night? She would have also called the daycare asking if Josh got their kids dropped off. She would have been worried about Josh & the kids not being back in time & worried that they were caught in the extreme freezing weather where they went camping. Did the cops find smores ingredients as evidence in that van? If she had her own checking/savings account has any money been withdrawn since her disappearance?There are so many questions... Why isn't Josh pleading for her safe return? Why isn't he out searching for her? Why did he move away? What if she returned home and found it empty...oh wait, it's because he knows she's NOT returning home.
I got so sidetracked I wanted to add, I have always thought this man killed her, his icy camping stories never held any water and all the other shit that came out of his lying mouth. I have always thought she could be found in the location he claimed to be camping in though, Cause he puts me in mind of old scott peterson who was fishing remarkable close to where his wife and unborn child washed up. I think he this guy to, was dumb enouph to lead cops there I hope they find her so this family can have closure.
@Darby and Gail(who at this point seem one and the same) Who are you to say the family of a missing person and potential victim should just "get over it" well let me qoute you both more accuratley. Darby said "I cannot believe these people"and " I think its time to call it in myself." Well who the hell are you to say what this families minimum of hope can be? Who are you to judge how they grieve and deal with this whole process? they are parents and that gives them a right to hope against hope there child may still be alive. (Even ifin their hearts they might know diffrent or fear worse) They have a right to hope and pray for their childs safe return I mean shit! and to Gail so her freinds post messages on her facebook because they love and miss her??? ANd that makes them looney? wtf ya'll have a twisted theory but as with u that is just MY PERSONAL OPINION!
Absolutely the most bizarre case and cast of characters EVER! The parents think he might have had something to do with her disappearance but she's still alive. What would hat be- ie: he sent her off on a space ship? Her friends send her personal notes on facebook - "We miss you Susan" and have purple ribbon and knitting parties and fast and pray. Yeah- that ought to do it!. The police are slient and the family and friends are totally supportive? If you're evere around West Valley , Utah- take an alternate route and avoid the looney bin. And the kids are locked up with daddy and grandpa? Next chapter- ya think?
Huh? The parents still think that their daughter is still alive? Why? I mean, what on earth do they think she's been DOING for the past 2 months? Geez. I cannot believe these people. They finally decide that, der, Josh *probably* had something to do with their daughter's disappearance, but, they still believe that she's alive. I think it's time to call it, myself.
It gets worse: The van Josh Powell took to go camping was the families' only vehicle. Not only was he to be to work nine hours after he left at 12:30 AM Monday morning, December 7, 2009, Susan Powell never telephoned anyone to ask for a ride to work!
In Mormonism, the male/husband is never wrong. You'd be hard pressed to find a more unjust attitude outside of Utah or Saudi Arabia.

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Susan Powell Disappearance: Her Parents Finally Turn on Husband Josh Powell

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