A man leaves his home at midnight in a snowstorm to take his very young sons camping. His wife goes missing. Really, I don't know much more than that, oh and his crazy father making crude accusations about his DIL's sexual attraction to him. I feel that there was a really good reason his visits with his sons were supposed to be supervised. Sorry, but someone dropped the ball in this particular investigation. Sad, just very, very sad.

This makes me sick to my stomach for several reasons. One, because I can't even imagine the heartache Susan Powell's family feels. First they lose Susan, then they have to deal with losing her sons, and in such a violent way. I hope to G-d that the boys didn't feel any pain. What a monster.
And second, because a friend of mine was just recently murdered by her husband, he later killed himself, only in this instance the 2 children were spared. The heartache my friend's family is feeling is felt through their daily FB posts. Their posts are filled with anguish. My friend's sister just posted how this story makes her ill, and what a coward Josh Powell was to murder his own two children, just as her brother in law murdered her sister.
So very sad.

I've been following this story from the beginning and was shocked to hear he did that. I never believed the camping in the snow alibi at ALL.

I feel so sad for Susan's family, and also his.

There are a lot of posts about Susan Powell here.

In this post they're saying the kids were starting to talk Josh Powell Was Calm, Relaxed, Optimistic Before Bombing

Attorney Steve Downing told the Associated Press that Braden and Charles Powell, who were 2 and 4 at the time of Susan Powell's disappearance, were beginning to tell their grandparents details about the night that their father took them on a late-night camping trip during a blizzard, including the fact that their mother disappeared after leaving in the car with their father.

"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."

This was the 1st I'd heard about what happened; I still am not caught up. I immediately went over to websleuths but there are so many posts going; hard to decide which to read 1st. He had to be pretty quick in order to shut the door on the case worker & blow the house up. I don't understand why supervision was even allowed at his house. As far as I knew; he was the only one they were looking at in her disappearance. So very tragic.

So horrible. I don't even know what to say.

Polly, my heart breaks for you, your friend, and her family. What a tragic loss. It is so hard to lose someone, but to lose them to violence? Unimaginable.

I really do not understand our world. My 6 y.o. asked why G** would make people who would do mean things . . .I wish I knew. I have wondered this myself. We can't fly, we can't become invisible, but we have the power to do this? I don't know how humans came to be, but why this?

Such a tragedy. But, then, as I've learned, our justice system doesn't always work in wise ways.

It is set up to allow for innocence before being proven guilty, so even though all indications pointed to him being guilty of murdering his wife, unless it could be proven to a point where a grand jury could indict, he's technically an innocent man. The family courts, however, did the best they could by limiting his contact with the boys to supervised visitation. They couldn't cut him off completely.

He was unbalanced and had planned this murder/suicide in advance, according to what I'd read. The children apparently ran up the walk to his house before the caseworker could get to the door. He slammed the door on the caseworker and did his evil deed. Were it not this way, it'd been another...he was determined to do this.

It's so heart breaking, but we can't blame the courts or the justice system...it's set up this way to protect the innocent (even if it makes no sense whatsoever.)

I hadn't read the part about the case worker not making it through the door, makes you wonder what would have happened if she had. Would he have taken her life as well? Regardless of how lucky she is she wasn't hurt, I'm sure she feels so horrible.

He was such a coward to kill those babies and their mom. I hope he's continuing to burn where ever he ends up.

lukkiirish - I believe he was so desperate that he may very well have. The boys were starting to draw pictures of "mommy" in the trunk of a van. It was going to come out at some point, and he knew his "demise" would be from his boys talking. Did anyone else think he looked a tiny bit "off" from the very beginning of this thing?

pesky - I do understand the way the law works. Probably more than most as I've worked in the field for a long time.

He was a coward. If he killed his wife, he killed her, but to kill your own children to cover up the fact that you killed their mom and they know it - beyond the pale.

So sorry polly about your friend, her family and friends. Just sickening

So the boys autopsy reports were released, and apparently he hacked them with an axe before igniting the explosion. Those poor boys.
I am going to be ill.

I still can not wrap my brain around the fact that a father would murder the mother of his own children, and yet here it is again, and this time he took the kids down with him.

As much as I try to have faith in our justice system, when this stuff happens, it's gone.

My friend was denied 3 orders of protection from her abusive husband, and the same judge granted him unsupervised visitation. She abided by the law, and when she picked her kids up from a visit, he stabbed her to death.
This lowlife monster (Josh Powell) was given supervised visits. A lot of good that did.

My sincerest condolences go to the Cox family. They will never be the same.

Polly; I'm so sorry about your friend. Was that the one last year in Burlington County? A friend of ours was friends with her.

I just read the newest post at Websleuths. Josh was a sick; sick man that I hope he will rot in eternal hell for that. I'm going to puke.

I'm not really sure I wish anyone to "rot in an eternal hell." What he did to those sweet, innocent baby boys is incomprehensible - the acts of a soul that is sick to the very core.

I believe in something beyond this life where (I hope and pray) we'll have answers to why such unimaginable suffering happens. I won't even pretend to understand the pain that the surviving family must be going through.

What ticks me off is there are more women that have been killed & the hub is the obvious choice BUT they can't prove it for some reason. I was helping with the case of 23-year-old Jody Rilee-Wilson from Oklahoma (originally from NJ) from May 8, 2009.

Here is a link that might be useful: 23-year-old Jody Rilee-Wilson

No Rose, it was in Middlesex county less than 2 months ago. It was all over the news. I was in work when I heard the amber alert, and oblivious to the fact that he had murdered her, I googled it. I knew they were going through an ugly divorce, but I didn't know the details. I shrieked at work, and lost it when I saw the words "slain mother." I never knew I was capable of such a reaction, and wish I never found out. It is surreal to see someone you've known more than half your life all over the news. We were not that close anymore and over the last few years were only really in touch through FB. It still shakes me to the core to think about it.

Back to the OP. I have had no appetite the entire day thinking of what those poor sweet innocent boys went through their final moments on earth.
I have no problem wishing Josh Powell an eternity in hell for what he did to them.

Polly, I'm so sorry about your friend. I've never known anyone who has been killed by the hands of another (although I came close myself) but can only imagine how horrific it must be.

I realize the news is saying he hacked these poor boys, but I suspect he used that tool to knock those poor boys out because the preliminary autopsy reflects cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. I am just at a loss as to how someone could do something like this.

I just don't understand the logic about hurting the children. A memory I wish I never had was the one of Andrea Yates when she drowned all her children. Most everynight I help wash my DS hair in the bathtub, and when he goes under water and I help him to get the shampoo out, I always think, how could a mother do that to anyone, much less her kids. I hate her for me not even being to give my little boy a bath without thinking of what she did. Makes me want to puke, and I do hope she's going through hell right now thinking about what she did.

I was just reading about this in the paper, and I had to stop because it made me sick. The article had a picture of her parents, looking like you would imagine - grief-stricken and in utter shock. I wonder how someone overcomes such tragedy - lots of therapy, prayer, and love I guess.

Olliesmom, how sad that's a thought that enters your mind when you're bathing your son. Have you thought about talking to someone (a therapist) about it?

I live in the area of that sick monster Powell. It's all over the news everywhere and everyone is talking about it. I'm making darn sure that my two little ones are kept away from the newspaper (6 y.o. is reading now) and that DH keeps the TV off until after they go to bed. I can't even bear to read any of it myself.

As frustrated as I can get with my munchkins sometimes, I can't begin to fathom how anyone could kill their own children. Truly disgusting.

Breezygirl, I think the press has made matters worse in our society.

We can thank Nancy Grace for the National and local news, along with magazines and newspapers, to harp and harp and HARP on these crimes on a daily basis.

In fact, during the Casey Anthony trial it was said that it was Nancy Grace who brought Casey's and other crimes to the forefront.

Before those kids died, we couldn't watch any news related show and not hear about Susan Powell.

I strongly believe if Susan Powell's murder was treated as a local crime instead of everyone in the world hearing about it day after day, those kids would be alive today.

Unless something happens in my own neighborhood/town, I don't want to hear about it.

We stopped watching the local news because it begins with 10 local crimes, then the weather, then sports.

No Natal, don't think it warrants therapy! Thanks though! Just makes me sad for her kids, which I think is normal.

I totally agree with you about the media Oak, I'm so sick of them exploiting every news story to their advantage all for the sake of a dime. Even though it's most likely true that he's guilty, what happened to innocent before proven guilty? Witch Grace may have had a lot to do with it but the news media in general has made sure that the idea of innocent before proven guilty no longer exists. That said, I believe this unfortunate thing would have happened regardless. He killed his children for selfish reasons, they had recently been removed from his care and this upset him.

They weren't removed because of the investigation either, I read that they were removed from his custody because his father has a problem with child pornography but for some reason there are charges pending against him as well and that's why they were placed with the maternal grandparent. That had nothing to do with the disappearance of his wife.

It hit me this morning how often, as I'm getting ready for work in the morning and the tv plays in the background on some morning "news" program, the announcer uses the word "shocking."

"This story will SHOCK you!"

"Coming up next, an absolutely shocking account ..."

Or something along the lines of "This shocking tale has taken a twisted turn ..."

It's all so HORRIBLY sensationalized! As if the violent acts aren't horrendous enough, the media exploits and titillates - and it just makes me sick.

Nancy Grace should not have a TV show. She's too biased and she pushes "guilt until proven innocent." Being an attorney, even though her fiance' was murdered, is not good. She is breaking every legal rule there is. I can't wait for the day she crucifies someone on her TV show and they're proven innocent (Casey? Hmmmm) and then they sue her a$$. LOL

Jen, what stumps me is people don't like to hear these stories on the news, but that's all they do!

Oh, and this being Sweeps month for local TV stations, now is the time for totally "Shocking!!!!" stories. :)

Have you all noticed this with your local news? One of our local anchors went all the way to Arizona just to tell us Oklahomans that ONE guy in the Mexican drug cartel was murdered in Ok. So now we need to be reeeally careful. LOL!!!!

If people would quit watching her show, maybe they'd pull it.

I haven't noticed anything up with our local news but we only have the early morning news on and to be honest, I'm often not listening that closely. I didn't know it was sweeps month.

tina

I don't watch the news. It makes me too stressed. According to a crime specialist (link below), if we are bombarded with fearful messages, we can't pick out the REAL dangers. He says our instinct of fear is our "gift," and so when we become paranoid, we lose the gift. He's written books for adults and one for parents/caregivers. I think he's been on Oprah, so you may have seen him there, too.

However, I still see the news online all the time! I need to use something other than Yahoo as my homepage!

Olliesmom, I know what you mean. I have had thoughts like that-- just worrisome thoughts about predators and such. Didn't help when I found out someone on our block was just arrested for child porn. YIKES. But, every time I get those thoughts in, I tell myself that I won't let that horribleness "live" in my house. By worrying/thinking/stressing we just invite it right in, if that makes sense. Do not let those people have power over you and ruin your special fun with your son! It is not easy for me-- it seems there is one awful story after another. Very hard to be free of worry for your beloved child.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gift of Fear

Why do you people watch shows like Nancy Grace if that's how you feel?

Anele, I wondered if other parents had similar thoughts. I can understand worrying about predators, but to have to endure thoughts like Olliesmom mentioned during special times with her child seems so sad.

Actually, I've had the same thought too in the past. My son hates getting his face wet and fights me when just getting his hair rinsed. He's only 2 and has incredible strength and I used to pull him out of the tub sopping wet just to hug him and reassure him it's ok. The look of fear he gets has made the thought cross my mind too. How anyone could intentionally hurt their child, is just beyond me.