Editing Josh Powell

{{Villain_Infobox
|Image = Josh_Powell.jpg
|fullname = Joshua Powell
|alias = 
|origin = Puyallup, Washington, United States
|occupation = 
|type of villain = Family Murderer
|goals = Prevent anyone from finding out what happened to his wife (successful)
|crimes = [[Murder]]<br>[[Domestic Abuse|Domestic abuse]]<br>[[Child Abuse|Child abuse]]<br>[[Arson]]<br>[[Cruelty to animals]]
|hobby = }}
'''Joshua Powell''' (January 20<sup>th</sup>, 1976 - February 5<sup>th</sup>, 2012) was responsible for the disappearance and (presumed) death of his wife Susan Powell. He was described as being very controlling and abusive towards both Susan and their two boys, Charles and Braden. He was also a victim of abuse himself as a child at the hands of his own father [[Steven Powell]].
==Biography==
Joshua Powell was born on January 20, 1976, to Steven and Terrica Powell in Puyallup, Washington. Joshua's parents had a dysfunctional marriage, caused in large part by Steven's disaffection with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church). According to divorce filings by Terrica in 1992, Steven shared pornography with Joshua and his two male siblings, and refused to teach or enforce limits on certain behaviors. As a teenager, Joshua allegedly killed gerbils belonging to one of his sisters and threatened his mother with a butcher knife. He also attempted suicide on at least one occasion.

By 1998, Joshua was living in Seattle as a student at the University of Washington. It was here that Powell began his first relationship with a young woman named Catherine Terry Everett, who he met at a local LDS ward. After the two moved into an apartment together, Joshua became possessive towards Catherine. "He would have restrictions and limitations on what I could and couldn't do when it came to my family," she later recalled. "If I was going to go visit them, he had to come too. I couldn't go by myself." When Catherine visited a friend in Utah without Joshua, she decided not to return to Seattle and broke up with him over the phone.

Joshua met Susan Cox, a classmate at his LDS Institute of Religion course, during a dinner party at his Tacoma apartment in November 2000. The two began a relationship and eventually married at the Portland Oregon Temple in April 2001. Joshua had a bachelor's degree in business and worked for a number of different companies over the years, while Susan, a trained cosmetologist, took up a job with Wells Fargo Investments after the family's relocation to West Valley City, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The Powells went on to have two sons: Charles, born in 2005, and Braden, born in 2007.

For a brief period following their wedding, Joshua and Susan lived at Steven Powell's home in South Hill, Washington. Initially unbeknownst to Susan, her father-in-law Steven had developed an obsessive infatuation with her, which was only inflamed by their close proximity. Steven followed Susan around the house with a camcorder, used a small mirror to spy on her while she used the bathroom, stole her underwear from her laundry, read her adult journals, and even posted love songs online under a pseudonym. In 2003, Steven confessed his amorous feelings to a stunned Susan, who rejected him; the encounter was inadvertently captured by Steven's camcorder microphone. The Powells moved out-of-state soon after, partly so Susan could distance herself from Steven.

Susan's journal entries and email correspondence indicated the presence of marital discord. There was tension with Joshua over his refusal to attend church services with Susan and their children, and over his continued contact with Steven despite his father's ongoing advances towards Susan. Susan's friends also pointed to Joshua's extravagant spending habits and to his "extremely controlling" behavior towards his wife. Joshua filed for bankruptcy in 2007, declaring over $200,000 in debts. Susan recorded a video in July 2008 surveying property damage she attributed to Joshua, and wrote a secret will that included the statements, "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."

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 which 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 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 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.

[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Murderer]]
[[Category:Family of Victim]]
[[Category:Suicidal]]
[[Category:Remorseful]]
[[Category:Mentally Ill]]
[[Category:Abusers]]
[[Category:Deceased]]
[[Category:Tragic]]
[[Category:Control Freaks]]
[[Category:Emotionless Villains]]
[[Category:Liars]]
[[Category:Hypocrites]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]
[[Category:Destroyer of Innocence]]
[[Category:Misopedists]]
[[Category:Cowards]]
[[Category:Arsonist]]
[[Category:Animal Cruelty]]
[[Category:Wrathful]]
[[Category:Delusional]]
[[Category:Anti-Religious]]
[[Category:On & Off Villains]]
[[Category:Greedy]]
[[Category:Perverts]]
[[Category:Adulterers]]