Mum mysteriously vanished before dad blew up kids in horrifying explosion

It is a case that baffled many, a father who killed himself and his children after the disappearance of his wife - whose body has never been found

The disappearance of Utah mother Susan Marie Powell in December 2009 was a bizarre story that seized the nation's interest. At the time she vanished from West Valley City, Powell was 28-years-old.

Susan Cox, who was born in Alamogordo, New Mexico met her future spouse, Joshua Powell, when he was living in Tacoma and studying at the University of Washington. The couple came together at a local dinner party while attending an LDS Church Institute of Religion course as classmates. They started dating and tied the knot in April 2001 at the Portland Oregon Temple.

After completing his business degree, Joshua cycled through various jobs, while Susan - with her skills as a trained cosmetologist, - worked with Wells Fargo Investments. This career move followed the family's shift to West Valley City, Utah — a suburb just outside of Salt Lake City.

The Powells welcomed two sons into their family, Charles on January 19, 2005, and Braden on January 2, 2007. The family dynamic was fraught with tensions, notably due to Joshua's father, Steven, declaring his unwavering affection for Susan — which extended to composing love songs for her.

Conflicts between the pair also surfaced over Joshua's aversion to attending church and his overly "extremely controlling" behaviour towards Susan. Financial irresponsibility was another issue, leading to Joshua's bankruptcy filing in 2007, after he accrued debts topping $200,000.

The situation was so alarming that Susan recorded a video in July 2008 documenting property damage she blamed on Joshua. She also penned a secret will containing the chilling words, "I want it documented that there is extreme turmoil in our marriage" and, "If I die, it may not be an accident, even if it looks like one."

Tragically, Susan's worst fears would come to pass after she vanished on the afternoon of December 6, 2009. Initially, no one could locate the entire family, prompting Joshua's relatives to search for them after realising the boys had missed daycare. Joshua's mother and his estranged sister contacted the police, who broke into the Powell home fearing a carbon monoxide incident.

The house was empty, yet oddly, officers noted two fans directed at a damp spot on the couch. When Susan didn't appear for work on December 7, her purse, wallet, and ID were discovered at home. Her cell phone turned up in the family's Chrysler Town & Country minivan, which Joshua had been driving.

Around 5pm, Joshua came back home with his two sons and was subsequently taken to the police station for questioning. He maintained that he had taken his boys on a camping trip, leaving Susan asleep at home just after midnight on December 7 and heading to the Pony Express Trail in Western Utah.

However, when the police scoured the area on December 10, they found no trace of the campsite Joshua had mentioned. The detectives were sceptical about Joshua's decision to take his young sons camping in the middle of a blizzard past midnight, especially when they were due at daycare in a few hours. Adding to the mystery — Joshua hadn't informed his employer that he wouldn't be coming in that day. His strange explanation to the police was that he had mistaken Monday for Sunday.

Joshua faced another round of questioning on the evening of December 8, right before he rented a car at Salt Lake City International Airport. His whereabouts after leaving the airport remain a mystery, but roughly 18 hours later - around 4pm on December 9 - he called his mother from a new phone while driving south on Interstate 84 in Tremonton, heading back towards the state capital. The police later discovered that Joshua had added an extra 807 miles to the rental car's odometer.

Traces of Susan's blood were found on the floor of the Powell house on December 9. Police also discovered life insurance policies on Susan for US$1.5m and a handwritten note from Susan expressing fear for her life.

Law enforcement considered Joshua's behaviors extremely suspect after his wife vanished. He quickly cashed out his wife's retirement funds, halted her upcoming chiropractic appointments, and removed his children from their daycare. Of particular concern was that he had supposedly mentioned to colleagues ways of concealing a body in an old mineshaft within Utah's arid desert.

When authorities interviewed Charlie - the Powells' older son - he verified the camping trip that Joshua had recounted took place. Although contrary to what his father claimed, Charlie said Susan did accompany them and never came back. Adding to the concern, weeks after Susan's disappearance — one of Charlie's teachers disturbingly disclosed that the child had said his mom was dead.

Additionally, Susan's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, reported that months after Susan went missing, Braden sketched a drawing at daycare showing a van with three individuals inside and declared to caretakers: "Mommy was in the trunk."

Investigators informed reporters of their intention to interrogate Joshua once again. Yet, unbeknownst to the public around Christmas 2009, he had been dubbed a person of interest by investigators and was becoming increasingly antagonistic toward police.

Friction intensified between and within the Powell and Cox families as the case progressed. Shortly after the disappearance, the website SusanPowell.org popped up. Touted as "the official website of Susan Powell," the site's anonymous posts painted Joshua as a victim of an unjust smear campaign by Susan's family and the LDS church. The site was linked to the Powell family, with many suspecting it was created to steer the narrative surrounding Susan's case.

The website also suggested that Susan's vanishing might be connected to the case of missing journalist Steven Koecher, who disappeared in Nevada the same week Susan was last seen. Joshua and his father both alleged that Susan had left her family due to mental health issues and claimed she ran away with another man, assertions that Susan's family vehemently rejected as "unsupported" by any evidence.

In late September 2011, Jennifer Graves publicly expressed her belief that her brother Joshua was "responsible for his wife Susan Powell's disappearance." Subsequently, a court injunction was issued preventing the Powells from distributing content from Susan's diaries and commanded them to return or destroy any published excerpts. On September 22, Steven was apprehended on charges related to voyeurism and child pornography.

Authorities discovered he had been covertly filming young girls and numerous women, including Susan. John Long, the assistant attorney general for Washington State, mentioned that Joshua was a "subject" in this investigation.

Susan's father, Chuck Cox, sought custody of her children the day following Steven's arrest. A court in Washington eventually awarded Cox temporary guardianship of the boys — stipulating that Joshua would need to vacate Steven's home if he wished to regain custody.

Joshua was subjected to court-ordered evaluations which led to the suggestion that he should have supervised visits with his sons several times a week — overseen by a social worker. On February 5, 2012, a tragic incident occurred when social worker Elizabeth Griffin Hall dialed emergency services after bringing Charlie and Braden for a supervised visit at Joshua's South Hill residence. The social worker, tasked with overseeing the visit between Joshua and his sons, reported that Joshua seized his sons and barred her entry through the door.

Shortly after this, the house erupted in an explosion, claiming the lives of Joshua and the two children inside. Local law enforcement treated the case as a double murder-suicide, stating that the act seemed to have been premeditated.

Following a brief investigation, officials confirmed that the explosion at Joshua's house 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.

“I don't know anything else I could have done and they're still dead. My daughter's still missing, and now the children are dead,” said a distraught Chuck Cox at the time — according to the ABC.

A hatchet was recovered near Joshua's body, and investigators believe he used the tool to attack the boys 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 informed 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 boy's toys and books to local charities the day before the incident. The two children are buried at Woodbine Cemetery in Puyallup, Washington, which also contains a memorial for their mother. Joshua's remains were cremated.

Susan remains a missing person since last being seen over 15-years-ago - but given the fates of her sons, it is widely believed that she was murdered by her husband Joshua. There were calls in March 2018 to have her declared legally dead, with the cause being homicide.