Kirk Graves, the brother-in-law of Josh Powell, said Powell, who killed himself and his own children in a home explosion, "used the boys as a tool" to hurt his family. Sgt. Ed Troyer talks about what law enforcement has done.
By msnbc.com news services
GRAHAM, Wash. -- The two boys of a Utah man suspected in his wife's disappearance and then of killing himself and his sons in an intentional fire were starting to talk about what happened the night their mother vanished, noting she was "in the trunk" of the car, an attorney said.Authorities say Josh Powell set his home ablaze Sunday, killing himself and his sons -- 5-year-old Braden and 7-year-old Charles -- shortly after the boys were brought to the home by a social worker for a supervised visit.
Powell was under investigation in the disappearance of his 28-year-old wife, Susan Powell, from their home in West Valley City, Utah, in December 2009.
"It's the most horrifying thing you can imagine happening," said lawyer Steve Downing, who represented Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, in a custody fight for the boys. "The Coxes are absolutely devastated. They were always very fearful of him doing something like this, and he did it."
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Downing also told The Associated Press that the children had started talking to their grandparents about things they remembered from the night their mother vanished.
"They were beginning to verbalize more," Downing 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."
Police say Josh Powell, the lone person of interest in the two-year-old disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, deliberately set his house on fire Sunday, killing himself and his two young sons. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports from Graham, Wash.
'Acting like little boys again'
Kirk Graves, 39, of West Jordan, Utah, Josh Powell's brother-in-law, said he and his wife, Jennifer (Josh Powell's sister), were stunned by the news.Appearing on Monday's TODAY, Kirk Graves confirmed that his nephews were opening up about their memories of the day their mother disappeared.
“We saw over the last six months or so was a transition in Charlie and Braden where they were becoming more fun, more vocal, they were acting like little boys again, which we hadn’t seen for a while," he said. "The specific story you’re talking about (the night Susan disappeared) is one that we were aware of and I imagine that part of Josh’s motivation was what could he do to hide that story to avoid dealing with the consequences of the things he had done.”
Graves said he believed Powell was determined to "hurt everybody around him, and used the boys as a tool to do that.”
"I’m convinced that Josh was going to do something like this and there’s absolutely nothing anybody could have done to stop him. … The only person at fault, the only person who is to blame, is Josh," he said.
Jeffrey Bassett, Josh Powell's attorney, said his client "never once admitted doing anything regarding Susan. In fact, he denied it."
Powell claimed he had taken the boys on a midnight excursion in freezing temperatures when Susan vanished. The inquiry into her death took an odd turn last year after Powell's father, Steven, was arrested for investigation of voyeurism and possessing child pornography. Josh Powell was living at his father's home at the time, and a judge gave the Coxes custody of the boys.
View images of the fire at NBC station King5.com
Last week, a judge ruled that the children must remain in the custody of the Coxes, and that they would remain with them unless their father agreed to undergo psycho-sexual evaluation.advertisement
'I'm sorry, goodbye'
When the boys came to Powell's home for their visit on Sunday, he let them in, but then blocked the social worker from entering, said Graham Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Franz.The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas, and the home erupted in flames.
Neighbors had reported hearing an explosion, but Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the home was destroyed by a blaze that blew out several windows and was aided by some sort of accelerant.
“He was lying in wait, he had this pre-planned. He had everything ready to go and this was going to happen no matter who dropped those boys off," Troyer told NBC's TODAY on Monday. "This is basically a double-murder suicide and he’s the one that’s solely responsible for it.”
Bassett told The AP that he got a three-word email from his client just minutes before the fire. It said, "I'm sorry, goodbye." The email arrived at 12:05 p.m. Sunday, but he didn't see it until two hours later, when others informed him of the fire.
'This has become a crime scene'
Authorities said they found three bodies in the home late Sunday afternoon as fire crews and police continued to search the rubble."Everything we know right now, this has become a crime scene," Franz said.
Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said the social worker who was with the children was not a Child Protective Services employee but a contract worker with a private agency that supervises visits for the state.
"The visit supervisor for this particular agency had taken the children to the home. When she does that, she sits through the visit and might take notes on her observations," Hill said. "She pulled up in the car, and the kids ran out ahead of her. He closed the door and locked it. She wasn't able to get in, and that's when she smelled gas."
More photos: Blaze at Josh Powell's home
Troyer said the elder Powell was put on suicide watch in custody after he was told of the deadly blast. "Steve Powell didn't seem very upset by the news, but was angry towards authorities who notified him," he said.
NBC station King5.com said a memorial had sprung up to the boys at the elementary school that Charlie attended in Puyallup, Wash. Dozens of people gathered to place candles, stuffed animals, balloons and messages out front.
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"They were fun loving, they had a great attitude," Graves said of his nephews. "We’d seen some of that disappear as they’d been living with Josh in Steve’s home and it was starting to come back."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Monday, February 6, 2012
U.S. News - Attorney: Missing mom was 'in the trunk' boys said before their deaths
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