Washington police say Josh Powell hacked his young sons with a hatchet before the explosion that ultimately killed all three of them. The Pierce County medical examiner said both Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, suffered “chop wounds” to their necks and heads. The wounds were not the cause of death; carbon monoxide inhalation killed Charlie and Braden, as well as Powell. In the charred remains of Powell’s home, investigators found the hatchet he apparently used on his sons along with two five-gallon gas cans likely used to cause the explosion.
Just before setting his house ablaze Powell left a voicemail for family members and sent a brief e-mail to his lawyer. "I am not able to live without my sons, and I'm not able to go on anymore," he said in the voicemail. “I'm sorry to everyone I've hurt. Goodbye."
In the e-mail to his lawyer, Powell wrote, “I’m sorry, goodbye.”
Powell has long been suspected in the 2009 disappearance of his wife Susan Powell. Powell told police he was on an overnight camping trip with Charlie and Braden when Susan went missing from their Utah home on December 6. He lost custody of their sons last September after police discovered child pornography in the home he shared with his father Steve. Steve Powell was arrested and charged with 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing child pornography. Susan’s parents, Chuck and Judith Cox, gained custody of the boys.
Authorities believe a failed bid last week to regain custody of his Charlie and Braden is what led Powell to murder-suicide. He waited outside his home Sunday for a social worker to bring Charlie and Braden for a supervised visit. At the door, Powell shoved the social worker back, pulled his sons inside the house, and locked the door. Several minutes later an explosion occurred and engulfed the house in flames.
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