Unsolved cases

Part 2 of Susan Powell

On February 5, 2012, social worker Elizabeth Griffin Hall called 9-1-1 after taking Charlie and Braden to a supervised visit at Joshua's house in South Hill. Hall, who was supposed to monitor the visit between Joshua and the boys, reported that he grabbed them and would not let her through the door.

Soon thereafter, the house exploded, killing Joshua and the two children. Local authorities treated the case as a double Murder-suicide, saying that the act appeared to have been deliberate.

When authorities notified Steven, who was in jail, he "didn't seem very upset by the news, but was angry towards authorities who notified him".Two weeks later, Steven invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions regarding Susan's disappearance. Cox and others have stated they believe that Steven knew what actually happened to Susan. Steven was convicted of voyeurism charges in May 2012 in a trial that largely skirted the issue of Susan's case

After a relatively brief investigation, officials confirmed that the explosion had been deliberately planned. The official cause of death for Joshua and the two boys was determined to be carbon monoxide poisoning, though the coroner also noted that both children had significant chopping injuries on the head and neck. A Hatchet was recovered near Joshua's body, and investigators believe that he attacked the boys with it before being overwhelmed by smoke and fumes. The fire investigation also found two five-gallon cans of gasoline on the premises, as well as evidence that gasoline had been spread throughout the house.

Friends and relatives of Joshua told authorities that he had contacted them by email minutes before the incident to say goodbye. Some of them, including his local bishop, received instructions for finding his money and shutting off his utilities. Records also showed that Joshua had withdrawn $7,000 from his bank account and had donated his children's toys and books to local charities the day before the incident. Joshua named his brother Michael as the main beneficiary of his life insurance policy

Charles and Braden are buried at Woodbine Cemetery, which also contains a memorial for their mother. Joshua's remains were Cremated.

On February 11, 2013, approximately one year after the death of Joshua and his sons, Michael killed himself in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he had moved for graduate school. He jumped from the roof of a parking garage. Police had questioned Michael several times in 2012 after discovering his abandoned Ford at the Oregon wrecking yard; Michael was "evasive" about why he left the car at that location. Utah authorities have since said they believe that Joshua and Michael were accomplices in the murder of Susan

On May 21, 2013, West Valley City police announced that they had closed the active investigation into Susan's disappearance.

Joshua's sister, Jennifer, wrote a memoir with co-author Emily Clawson about the Powell family's tumultuous history. The memoir was published in June 2013 as A Light In Dark Places. Jennifer was inspired to write the book, she says, "to help other people to recognize abuse in either their own relationships or relationships around them because it's not always completely apparent."

In March 2015, Chuck Cox won a protracted court battle with Terrica and Alina Powell over control of Susan's estate. Terrica and Alina had sought to have Susan declared Legally dead to collect life insurance, but Cox ultimately gained full control of the estate.

The Cox family also sued Washington's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and its social workers, claiming that the agency prioritized Joshua's parental rights over the safety of the boys and facilitated their deaths. In 2015, a federal court granted summary judgment to the defendants, ruling that the social workers had immunity and DSHS was not negligent.

In 2019, an appeals court partially overturned that decision, ruling that the social workers did have immunity but the question of DSHS's negligence could proceed to trial. At trial, a jury ruled that DSHS was negligent and awarded $98 million to the estates of Susan's two sons. Susan's family also pressured state lawmakers in Washington and Utah to pass bills that would restrict or block visitation rights  for parents being investigated for murder.

Steven Powell was released from prison on July 11, 2017, after serving a total of seven years following his voyeurism and child pornography convictions. He died of Natural causes in Tacoma, Washington, on July 23, 2018.

Susan remains a missing person, but given the fates of her sons, it is widely believed that she was murdered by her husband Joshua. There were calls as of March 2018 to have her declared dead, with the cause being homicide.

In early 2022, a cave exploration crew led by Diesel Brothers personality Dave Sparks took up the challenge of searching a mine shaft in the Utah desert in search of Susan's remains. The team discovered several rib bones, possible human vertebrae, scraps of clothing, and other possible evidence of human remains in the mine shaft. The remains were sent to a lab, with DNA tests concluding that none of the bones belonged to Powell, but were instead animal remains. The pants recovered with the bones tested positive for male DNA and the family is trying to identify the man.

Unfortunately, we still do not know what happened to Susan or her body.

For now, she will remain,

Unsolved