Jodi Arias Sketch Causes Maria De La Rosa To Be Banned From Maricopa County Jail

It's been a while since we've heard anything about the woman who sat quietly behind the Jodi Arias defense table for more than 5 months, Mitigation Specialist Maria De La Rosa. It is now being reported that De La Rosa was "banned" from visits at the Maricopa County Jail after deputies there confiscated what has been described as a "pencil drawing" from Jodi Arias. Apparently Arias gave De La Rosa a sealed manila envelope addressed to Jennifer Willmott during jailhouse visit on February 26th, which was eventually intercepted by one of the guards who found that it contained a drawing and a note to Willmott that it could be used for mitigation.

The drawing was confiscated, as visitors are prohibited from removing such articles from jail visits - and as a result Maria De La Rosa was banned from visiting the Maricopa County jail facilities for a period of time that just ended a few days ago.  This has given the Arias defense team another reason to cry "foul", citing this as another reason why Arias has been denied access to her counsel as she awaits the penalty phase retrial. On March 13, De La Rosa's neighbors reportedly observed detectives "snooping around" her house, peeking through garage windows and the windows of her car as it was parked in her driveway. The following day, the detectives knocked on her door and asked to speak to her about her work as Jodi Arias' mitigation specialist.  De La Rosa told them she'd be more comfortable answering their questions with her attorney present, to which they said "this isn't a criminal matter".  

Nonetheless, De La Rosa got attorney Dan Raynak on the phone, and he was on the line with her as the detectives read a letter aloud stating that she was no longer allowed to visit the jail, and her phone number was no longer considered a "legal number" - essentially cutting her off not only from Jodi Arias but all of her clients who are being held at the Maricopa County Jail! They told her that any attempts to visit would be considered trespassing. And the reason for the so-called ban? You guessed it, that non-legal document she received from Jodi Arias. This is all very bizarre to me, since Arias has been managing to get drawings out of the jail since she's been incarcerated there - in fact we have all been wondering why the Sheriff has been allowing this to continue for so long since it's no secret that Arias is selling them online!  Didn't a Maricopa County Sheriff spokesman say something like "we can't stop her from giving the drawings to people during visits" recently??  I think cracking down on the activity is the right thing to do - Arias should not be selling her artwork from behind bars, but the action they took against Maria De La Rosa seems harsh.  They are punishing ALL of her clients, not just Jodi Arias. Chances are that she didn't even know what was in the sealed envelope to begin with.

Maybe Sheriff Joe was feeling a bit humiliated himself by all of the postings from people like us who were wondering why his staff was allowing Arias so much freedom to run these money-making schemes while at "America's Toughest Jail"? The "ban" against Maria De La Rosa was recently lifted, so she's no longer prohibited from jail visits but this has given the Arias defense team a little something to run with. They are alleging that Maria De La Rosa was targeted for harrassment because of her infamous client. They are going to use this lack of access period against the State, citing that Arias was denied effective counsel because she couldn't see or talk to her mitigation specialist. I can see this coming a mile away....from the Maricopa County Superior Court website, under Jodi Arias' case history:

NOTE: MOTION TO DISMISS STATE'S NOTICE OF INTENT TO SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY DUE TO STATE'S PRECLUSION OF MITIGATION SPECIALIST

A few more interesting notations on her case page:

NOTE: MOTION TO CONTINUE DISCLOSURE DEADLINE; DEFENDANTS RESPONSE; OBJECTING TO CONDUCTING TRIAL (PENALTY PHASE) IN SECRET AND ALLOWING WITNESSES TO TESTIFY UNDER A PSEUDONYM; SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

NOTE: MOTION TO SEAL EXPERT WITNESS CHERYL KARPS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS MOTION TO PRECLUDE PENALTY PHASE REBUTTAL EVIDENCE; EXPERT WITNESS CHERYL KARPS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS MOTION TO PRECLUDE PENALTY PHASE REBUTTAL EVIDENCE

Hmmm. We are seeing Expert Witness Cheryl Karps' name appear again. Are they trying to sneak in some testimony that wasn't heard during their case in chief?

 Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott reportedly also have taken issue with the latest delay that caused the March retrial date to be pushed back to September.  Wait, aren't they the ones who asked for the re trial date to be pushed back last year to this March? Prosecutor Juan Martinez was ready to go in the weeks following the mistrial. The trial delays are mind boggling in this country.  I've been silently wondering what would happen if even half of the cold murder cases in this country were solved how many new prisons we would need to build to hold all of these people? That statistic they cite at the beginning of Cold Justice stands out in my mind - over 200,000 unsolved homicides, that's just staggering.  I'm not sure what period of time that covers, but you get the jest.  

The Jodi Arias penalty phase retrial is now projected to begin with jury selection on September 8, 2014.  Wow. Convicted on May 8, 2013 and still hasn't been sentenced.  What will Juan Martinez do differently this time? He had to be absolutely crushed by the non-verdict, as many people were.  Will he approach the jury differently this time around? This is his last shot at sending Jodi Arias to death row.  With more than a year's time having passed and cameras banned from the courtroom, how will things change for this trial? How long will this "mini-trial" take and how what exactly will be presented to the jury? This will be very interesting to watch unfold, unfortunately for all of us who really want to watch it live, we will have to get our news the old fashioned way.

Until then, we watch and wait.

What Jodi Arias Doesn't Want The Jury To Know......

As her re-trial of the penalty phase approaches, Jodi Arias has filed a slew of Motions aimed at ensuring the new jury doesn't know what she's been up to during her incarceration.  I'm sure there are MANY things she doesn't want the jury to know - and I suspect this is why Arias has proclaimed herself as going "radio-silent" in a recent tweet to supporters.

Two Motions filed recently asked Judge Sherry Stephens prevent her new jury from hearing about her many attempts to fire attorney Kirk Nurmi and she doesn't want them to hear about a statement from a former cellmate that she wanted to kill prosecutor Juan Martinez. One of the Motions states that one or both of her attorneys will need to withdraw from her case if the jury hears how she really feels about Kirk Nurmi's trial performance.  If you recall, shortly after her guilty verdict Arias delivered a 15 page hand written letter to Judge Stephens requesting Nurmi be fired as her attorney, citing his "utter poverty of people skills" and because she didn't feel he liked her.  The Motion claims this information would unfairly prejudice the jury against her.

In this Motion, "Ms. Arias draws the Court's attention to this rule because if she claims and/or assertions contained in Ms. Arias' Change of Counsel are somehow deemed relevant and in turn admissible, both of Ms. Arias' attorneys would then become witness as they would then have relevant perspective on the claims and/or assertions Ms. Arias' made in this Motion", the Motion states. "Thus, both of Ms. Arias' attorneys would be ethically bound to withdraw.  This withdrawal would then interfere with rights due to Ms. Arias"....The Motion then points out that Judge Stephens previously agreed to suppress information back in 2011 when Arias asked the Court to RETAIN Kirk Nurmi, and references a letter sent to the Court from Sandy Arias which supported her daughter's contentions.  Make up your mind would you?  It seems to me that Arias has argued both sides of this coin, keep Kirk Nurmi on my case or you are violating my rights to a fair trial - then, remove Kirk Nurmi from my case or you are violating my rights to a fair trial.  What's really going on here?

I personally feel that Nurmi, at some point became so disgusted with his client's outrageous diva-like behavior that he could barely contain himself.  Couple that with losing at trial, at times battling Juan Martinez as if it were personal - add that with a client who refused to keep her trap shut and stay off the 6 o'clock news, and I'd say he probably has just had it with Arias.  Does Nurmi really believe that Arias killed Travis Alexander in self defense? Does he really believe Travis did half of the things Jodi Arias said he did?  I get the sense that he didn't, but he did what defense attorneys do. He tried to defend someone who really had no legitimate defense. Someone who lied, and lied and lied. Someone who gave interviews against her attorneys advice and was communicating with the potential jury pool and the world through her outrageous tweets from jail.  Someone who didn't appear remorseful. How do defense attorneys deal with clients like Jodi Arias?

I can't say I liked Kirk Nurmi's trial strategy.  How do you defend a woman who stabbed a man 30 times, slit his throat and shot him in the face? Self defense was really a stretch to begin with, and given the fact that Arias seemed to have staged a burglary to obtain the handgun police believe was used to shoot Travis, and given the fact that Jodi Arias just kept on driving to Utah after committing such a heinous act and had no real injuries to her person, people who are forced to kill in self defense just don't behave in the way she behaved.  This would have been a near impossible case for anybody to defend, but the way they went after the victim was truly one of the most despicable defenses ever launched in a courtroom.  Just disgusting, desperate and outright despicable.

How will Judge Stephens rule on these newest Motions?  It will be interesting to see but I'd expect her to be ultra conservative at this point.  The new jury will likely never get to hear about the behind bars antics of this convicted murderer.  The things Arias wants them to hear, maybe.  I'd expect Judge Stephens to disallow the statements from Arias' former cellmate from ever being heard by this jury.  Maybe we'll be surprised and Arias' own tweets will be used against her.  That would be poetic justice.

**Update**

I was just reading that the re-trial has been delayed again! Apparently there is a scheduling conflict involving prosecutor Juan Martinez that is more aged that Jodi Arias' retrial! The Arizona Republic reported that Martinez is scheduled to begin another potential death penalty trial on May 12, 2014 - and that case will go first.  The trial is for a man charged with killing a police officer in 2007.  This is starting to feel like the Twilight Zone.  Will the Alexander family ever see Jodi Arias face justice for killing their brother? It's unbelievable how long it takes for a murder case to even GET to the trial stage, but in the case of Jodi Arias what really struck me is the delays AFTER the verdict.  Seems to me that Judge Stephens originally set a date in July of 2013 to begin the penalty phase re-trial. Had they even come close to staying on schedule, she'd be tucked away in prison already. 

Tragedy In Napa - 3 Year Old Kayleigh Slusher Beaten To Death By Mother & Boyfriend

Kayleigh Slusher (Facebook)

 Look at this angelic little girl, 3 year old Kayleigh Slusher. Police in Napa California are reporting that Kayleigh's 23 year old mother and her boyfriend confessed to killing the toddler.  According to reports, Sara Krueger and her 26 year old boyfriend Ryan Scott Warner beat the child to death, crammed her body into a suitcase and stuffed it in a freezer last Thursday - one day after Napa police went to the home to do a welfare check on Kayleigh.

Both Krueger and Warner were charged with first degree murder and assault on a child resulting in death. According to published reports, Kayleigh's body was discovered on Saturday - she had been sexually abused and beaten to death.  Neither Krueger or Warner has been charged with sexual abuse yet. Napa police were tipped off to the suspected abuse of Kayleigh by an anonymous caller who feared the little girl was being mistreated and not being fed. There was also a concern that drugs were being sold or consumed at the home and strangers were frequently seen staying at the second floor apartment.

Police had been there twice in the week before her body was found, and FOURTEEN times since 2012, according to KPIX-TV, yet Child Protective Services had never been called!  Kayleigh's grandfather John Krueger has spoken out publicly about how his daughter Sara's life changed for the worse after Warner came into the picture. He told a local reporter that Sara loved Kayleigh more than anything in the world. Neighbors reported that things at the apartment changed immediately after Warner moved in. Ryan Warner's Facebook page reportedly listed his occupation as "Trappin", which apparently suggests he was dealing meth. Police and neighbors believe this would account for all of the foot traffic in and out of the apartment.  Sara Krueger had received a letter from the apartment's management just weeks ago that warned she was in danger of losing her housing because of the frequent foot traffic. 

Neighbors also reported that once Warner moved in with Krueger, they were rarely seen outside and little Kayleigh was seen less frequently outside. The drapes were always drawn, and neighbors became more and more concerned about the safety and well being of 3 year old Kayleigh. It appears their fears were well founded. They appeared to have done everything right - they contacted the police numerous times about the suspicious activity at the apartment. They got involved - so how did this happen? How can the police go to the same apartment 14 times in less than 2 years time and not contact Child Protective Services since a young child was living there? Even if the police didn't find drugs during their visit, they had reason to suspect illegal activity was occurring there. Wasn't that enough to open a case with CPS?

How did Sara Krueger get to a point where she becomes a co-defendant instead of a mother - facing charges of murdering her precious little girl? Did drugs take over, or did Warner? What happened to get to this point? There are so many unanswered questions, but it would seem a mother would protect her child and definitely would not go on the run with the man who beat her to death.  Police believe Kayleigh was beaten to death on or around January 31, 2014.  Her body was put into a suitcase and then a freezer for 2 days! Police were at the apartment on January 29, just two days before Kayleigh was believed to be killed. This story is unsettling.  Sara's father says that she was a devoted and loving mother who loved her daughter with all of her heart.  Could Ryan Warner really have had that much of an effect on her motherly instinct to protect her daughter? Or did Sara simply choose a life of drugs with Ryan over the life of a single mother with Kayleigh? I'll never understand the choices people make.

Sara Krueger and Ryan Warner went on the run - neighbors reported seeing them leaving their apartment carrying suitcases on Saturday. They were eventually spotted in a (BART) commuter train station in El Cerrito and detained by police. According to investigators, Sara Krueger and Scott Warner had been living together for around a year before the murder and they had been in trouble with the law before.  Kayleigh's biological father is reportedly an inmate at San Quentin State Prison.  Did this beautiful little girl stand a chance?  The Napa community is outraged and deeply saddened by the fate of this little girl.

Sara Krueger & Scott Warner

Krueger and Warner are both being held without bail pending their formal arraignment. They are scheduled to go to court on February 25, 2014. Just look at the photos of this gorgeous little girl, killed at the hands of the adults who were supposed to be loving and protecting her.  What a very sad story.

Kayleigh Slusher - Facebook

Sara and Kayleigh

Jodi Arias Still Facing Death Penalty - Judge Stephens Rules on Motion

Judge Sherry Stephens handed down a ruling on a motion filed by Jodi Arias attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott regarding her eligibility for the death penalty at her sentencing retrial. In a minute entry dated February 5, 2014, Judge Stephens ruling stated:

...the fact that the first jury was unable to unanimously agree on the sentence to be imposed is inapposite to the Eight Amendment's narrowing requirement.  The class of first degree murderers eligible for the death penalty is not broadened by a jury's inability to determine the appropriate sentence at the penalty phase.  Defendant has not been "acquitted" of the death sentence by the jury's failure to reach a verdict, and thus there is no constitutional bar to retrying the penalty phase.  See Medina 232 Ariz at 17-28 (holding ARS 13-752K's) provision for retrial after a hung jury phase does not result in cruel or unusual punishment or violate the Double Jeopardy clause. 

IT IS ORDERED denying the defendants Motion to Dismiss Death: Cruel and Unusual Punishment filed January 17, 2014.

In Arias' Motion, she had argued that it was unconstitutional to allow a second jury to sentence her to death - citing it was cruel and unusual punishment and amounted to double jeopardy.  Want to know what we think was cruel and unusual punishment? Stabbing your ex boyfriend in excess of 25 times before slitting his throat and shooting him in the face. THAT was cruel and unusual punishment.  Judge Stephens also wrote in her ruling "Defendant misconstrues the Eight Amendment's narrowing requirement....the Eight Amendment requires that aggravating factors in capital cases must "genuinely narrow the classes of persons eligible for the death penalty and must reasonable justify the imposition of a more severe sentence on the defendant compared to others found guilty of murder".

There was also another minute entry dated February 4, 2014 that refers to an exhibit.  The entry says "Court has been advised by the Exhibits Department that exhibit #243 which is in a sealed plastic bag containing a handbag was not inventoried of the items contained inside".  The ruling was to unseal and inventory the contents of exhibit #243 and update the exhibit worksheet.  Wonder what's in the handbag?  Wouldn't it be something if there was a handgun in there? It appears by the Superior Court minute entries that arguments have been ongoing, motions have been ruled on and this re trial has been chugging along - albeit out of the eye of the media and the public. As for the Estrella Jail's most infamous inmate, has she really gone "radio-silent" as promised in a recent tweet? So far she's kept to her word, we'll see how long she can remain silent!

Take The MyCrimeTime Quiz!

Ready to test your MyCrimeTime knowledge?  Even if you don't regularly stop by this blog site, take the quiz and see how well you do! I'd rate these as beginner level questions, so give it a shot.  Answers are below. Good luck!

1. What was the name of the club where Casey Anthony participated in the "hot body" contest?
2. What is the name of Jodi Arias' first real boyfriend?
3. What was the name of Christopher Coleman's mistress?
4. How many times did Susan Wright stab husband Jeff Wright?
5. How many times has Drew Peterson been married?
6. What was the name of the Judge who presided over the OJ Simpson trial?
7. What was the name of the restaurant Nicole Brown Simpson had dinner with her family at the night she was murdered?
8. What actor played the role of prosecutor Jeff Ashton in Lifetime's movie based on the Casey Anthony trial?
9. What drug did Michelle Michael use to kill husband Jim with?
10. What was the name of Casey Anthony's boyfriend?
11. What was the name of the street the Anthony's lived on?
12. What are the names of Jodi Arias' parents and siblings?

I know, I know - that was too easy. We'll call that the beginner's quiz.  I'll think of some questions to stump you next time! How'd you do?

Answers:

1. Fusion
2. Bobby Juarez
3. Tara Linz
4. 193 times
5. 4
6. Lance Ito
7. Mezzaluna
8. Rob Lowe
9. Rocuronium
10. Anthony Lazzaro
11. Hopespring
12. Bill & Sandi (parents) Carl & Angela (siblings)

Hoping I got these correct!  

Can Cold Justice Get Indictment in 1997 Murders of Marisol & Andrew Gonzalez?

 Another great episode of TNT's Cold Justice played out last night, as this is rapidly becoming my favorite crime-themed show. In episode #4, the Cold Justice team of Kelly Siegler, Yolanda McClary, Alan Brown & Armando Perez headed to Cottonwood, Arizona to investigate the unsolved murder of 17 year old Marisol Gonzalez.  Siegler, a veteran former prosecutor with a ton of murder prosecutions under her belt was visibly touched by the cruelty of this unsolved murder.  Not only was Marisol a teenager, she was carrying a full term baby when she was shot in the face on March 25, 1997 in an alleyway just a block from her house.

According to Marisol's family and friends, she was scheduled to give birth to her first son who already had a name - Andrew.  She was 9 months and 1 week pregnant.  Who could kill a young woman who was carrying a full term baby? What kind of monster would be capable of that kind of cruelty?  Rumors around Cottonwood during the original investigation centered around the father of Marisol's unborn son, 17 year old Cecilio Cruz. It seems that Marisol wasn't the only woman in Cecilio's life at the time of her murder. Cruz had a new girlfriend who was also pregnant at the time of this murder.  In fact, during an appointment with her OB/GYN, Marisol had actually run into the other woman sitting in the waiting room.  Two pregnant teen aged girls, and one thing in common - Cecilio Cruz.

Cottonwood police and the Cold Justice team paired up and investigated over 90 leads around this case.  Where Marisol's body was found was seemingly one of the most telling leads police had.  Marisol's body was discovered in a dirt alley in a spot where she and Cecilio were known to have met during their relationship - sort of a halfway spot between their families houses.  Her body was discovered around 6AM by a man who lived across the street from the alley, who had a clear and unobstructed view of the area.  English was his second language, so he had his son call the police on that fateful morning to report the woman in the alley.  She was quickly identified as being 17 year old Marisol Gonzalez.  She was found wearing sweatpants, a shirt and her slippers. Ear witness accounts reported hearing gunshots at around midnight the night before.  What was Marisol doing in that alley in her slippers? Who was she meeting? It sounds as if she was lured to the spot.  

Police investigating the crime back in 1997 had difficulty getting statements from friends of Cecilio Cruz and other potential witnesses. There were rumors that Cecilio was a gang member and that he may be involved in illegal drug activity. Investigators felt that witnesses back in 1997 may have been or felt intimidated by Cruz or his tie to a gang, another rumor that was floating around during the initial investigation was that Marisol was killed by a rival gang as some kind of retribution to Cecilio.  This was a rumor that Cecilio reportedly perpetuated. If this were true and Marisol was killed to get back at Cruz, how did they get Marisol out of her house and to that exact spot wearing only her slippers? Had she been planning on going out for the night, surely she would have gotten dressed and put her shoes on.  It doesn't seem likely that the night before she was scheduled to go into the hospital to have her baby that she would leave the house and walk down that alley way for just anyone.  It seems she would throw on her slippers and walk there to meet Cecilio. There seems to be no other viable reason. Yet when questioned by the police, Cecilio repeatedly denied having spoken to Marisol the entire day.

Enter the Cold Justice team. They interviewed a witness who during the original investigation provided a timeline of sorts for when Marisol may have been killed. She also happened to live across the street from that alley way, with an unobstructed view of the spot where Marisol's body was found and she reportedly heard the gunshot at around midnight. She walked out to her balcony to take a look around, and she didn't see anything. She didn't see a car speeding off or driving away and she initially didn't see Marisol's body because it was so dark. The fact that she is certain there were no cars seen in the area after the shot seems to dispel the notion that Marisol was killed by a rival gang member seeking retribution. 

There was virtually no physical evidence connected to this case for police to work with. Marisol's sister reported that around 10PM on the night of March 25, 1997 she was on the telephone and Marisol told her she was expecting a phone call.  While talking on the phone, Marisol's sister saw an incoming call from Cecilio coming through, which she ignored since she was talking long distance. When she got off the phone, she gave it to Marisol.  Marisol was talking to a friend when another call was coming through - Marisol told her friend she'd talk to her later because Cecilio was calling and she needed to take the call.  That was the only first hand (non-hearsay) statement police had uncovered that proved Cecilio had lied about having talked to Marisol the day or evening she was killed. He HAD called her that night.  Marisol then put on her slippers and left her home, never to be seen alive again.

Police have always believed that Cecilio Cruz was involved in this murder.  At 17 years old and expecting two children with two different women, maybe the prospect of financially supporting two families was more than Cruz was ready or able to deal with and he decided to take the easy way out.  I can't think of many things that are more senseless or cruel than this - to lure her out to a spot that had been meaningful to them both in the past and either kill her or have someone else kill her.  There's a special place in hell for people like this, and if Cecilio is involved in this double homicide he'll surely be in that special place when his time on Earth is up.  When detectives showed up at Cecilio's place of employment to talk to him about facts they had uncovered during their new investigation, he refused to answer questions without an attorney present.  They approached him in a calculated manner; they told him they had new information in the investigation into the murder of his son Andrew.  They wanted to gauge his reaction - and it was telling.  If your baby was murdered and you had no culpability in the killing, you'd want answers not an attorney.

At the conclusion of the show, the Cottonwood police presented their findings to the District Attorney's office who decided to take this case to a grand jury to seek a murder indictment against Cecilio Cruz.  When the Cold Justice crew and the Cottonwood detectives went to the Gonzalez family's home to update them on the progress on the case, Kelly Siegler had to fight back tears as she pondered the murder of this 17 year old girl and her full term baby boy.  It clearly touched them all - and that's what makes this show so good. Sure, ratings are good in television, but that's not what it's all about for Siegler, McClary and their detectives and crew. It's truly about justice.  

Josh Powell Takes His Secrets & Sins To The Grave

Susan Powell

It's been several years since 28 year old Susan Powell vanished from her Valley City Utah home in the middle of the night.  Susan was the mother of 2 year old Braden and 4 year old Charlie, the sons that by all accounts she absolutely adored. It's tragic that she didn't know she was married to a monster named Josh Powell until it was too late.  The police have long assumed Susan Powell was dead, and the only real viable suspect was her husband.  From that first newscast when Josh Powell told the media about the late night camping trip he took his two young sons on in the middle of a snowstorm, suspicion was that he killed his wife and removed her body.  

The police were alerted to Susan's disappearance after she failed to show up work and attempts to reach her at home were unsuccessful.  When authorities entered the Powell's modest home, they discovered a large fan drying what appeared to be a still-damp area of carpeting in the living room. It appeared that someone was trying to wash away evidence, and that fact with Josh's impromptu Sunday night camping trip put him directly in investigator's cross hairs.  Where was Susan Powell?  Josh didn't seem overly concerned, suggesting she may have simply walked away from her life or ran off with another man, leaving her entire family behind.  That theory was never really plausible.  We all know how this heartbreaking story ended.  With a veil of suspicion cast over him, on February 15, 2012 Josh Powell attacked his two young sons with a hatchet before setting the house on fire - killing all three of them.  What you may not be aware of is that police had a theory that Josh may have had an accomplice in disposing of Susan Powell's body and other evidence.  It was his brother Michael. That theory gained steam after investigators discovered Michael had left his car at a junkyard in the weeks following Susan's disappearance.

There are also theories about the possibility of Josh and Michael's father Steven having a lot more knowledge about Susan's fate than he has previously disclosed. People close to both families have revealed that Steven Powell had an unnatural attraction to his daughter in law Susan. Susan and Josh stayed with Steven Powell for some period of time earlier in their marriage, and Steven made Susan feel so uncomfortable that they eventually had to move out of the house. Steven took countless photos of Susan, wrote and recorded love songs about her. Creepy stuff. Steven Powell was arrested in September of 2011 on charges of voyeurism and child pornography - it doesn't get much creepier than that.  Did Steven's obsession with Susan drive Josh to kill her? Did Steven and/or Michael Powell assist Josh in hiding Susan's remains? Steven isn't talking for now.  And Michael Powell isn't talking, ever. On February 11, 2013 he committed suicide by jumping to his death from a parking garage in Minnesota, taking any secrets he had to the grave.

This story couldn't get more tragic. How could Josh Powell kill the mother of his two children, and why?  And how could any father murder their own children, the most innocent of all victims? Police and Susan's parents have a theory.  Braden and Charlie, both very young at the time of their mother's disappearance were beginning to talk about what happened on the night their mother disappeared.  They drew pictures and began describing their mom as being in the trunk on the night of the infamous camping trip in the snow. They were the silent witnesses that weren't so silent anymore.  Until Josh Powell silenced them forever with his cowardly and cruel act of murdering them. The body count from the Susan Powell disappearance stands at five.  Susan, Josh, Charlie, Braden and Michael Powell are all dead because of the acts of one man - Josh Powell.  It's difficult to imagine how any father could attack his two young boys, who he claimed during a fierce custody battle with Susan's parents to have loved so much that he couldn't live without them.

He put a lot of thought into murdering those kids. In the days before his last 
c

Fire ravaged home of Powell

owardly act on this Earth, he methodically donated his son's toys and belongings to various charity drop off spots. He called and sent e-mail messages to family members saying he was sorry and goodbye. Then he waited for the social worker to bring Charlie and Braden over for a supervised visitation.  He rushed the children into the house and slammed the door in the face of the social worker. She banged on the door, she called 911 after noticing the distinct smell of gasoline - then she watched in horror as the house went up in flames.  Sounds like a scene straight out of hell.  So many lives were senselessly lost because of Josh Powell's demons.

Police have learned that Josh Powell seemed to have a secret life.  It was discovered that Powell had been having sex with a woman he met through a dating service and he had paid her approximately $800 for 5-6 encounters or dates. Sounds an awful lot like she was a prostitute, although her identity is unknown (to my knowledge it hasn't been made public).  The "dates" occurred 6-7 months BEFORE Susan went missing. The woman knew Powell as "John Staley" and claims she didn't know Josh was married until after she saw a newscast about the disappearance of Susan Powell. She called police within days of seeing the story, but at the time she declined to provide proof of the relationship with Josh.  Police have also confirmed they found a small amount of Susan Powell's blood on the floor near the recently cleaned sofa and carpet.
Josh was also found to be in possession of Susan's cellphone the night he went on the camping trip, but the SIM card had been removed. He never could explain why he had her phone.

My sense is that Josh Powell was a monster who knew the authorities were getting close to arresting him for the murder of his wife. He couldn't stand the thought of being exposed as the killer, nor could he ever give up custody of his two sons to Susan's parents or the Cox family. With his last cruel and heinous act, he ensured that would never happen by killing his own children.