Kriti Mehrotra
ABC’s ’20/20′ is a prime time newsmagazine that has distinguished itself from the rest as one of the most esteemed programs in investigative journalism. Chronicling one mysterious true-crime tale after another, giving us every little detail to reach the heart of it, it has managed to capture and hold the interest of many over the years, lasting for over 43 seasons. Its season 43 episode 4, ‘If Something Happens to Me,’ telling the story of Susan Powell’s disappearance, the subsequent investigations, and the tragedy in the family that followed, is no different.
Susan Powell Disappeared Without a Trace in 2009
Susan Marie Powell (née Cox), born October 16, 1981, was living blissfully with her husband and their two sons for anyone who was looking into her life from the outside. However, the reality of it, filled with turmoil, secrets, and possessiveness, as it unfolded later on, was much different. The family was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and so, on the morning of December 6, 2009, Susan, along with her two sons, attended church services.
A neighbor, JoVonna Owings, visited them at home that same afternoon for a catch-up, leaving at about 5 p.m., and that’s the last anyone from outside the Powell household ever saw of her. On December 7, the entire family was reported missing after Susan’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law were informed that her two young sons had not been dropped off at their daycare center as usual. They called the police after they couldn’t get in touch with Susan or her husband, Joshua.
The responding officers subsequently broke into the family home, fearing carbon monoxide poisoning taking all their lives. The house was empty, but two box fans were switched on and blowing at a wet spot on the couch. Susan’s purse, wallet, and ID were all inside too, and she hadn’t shown up at her place of work, Wells Fargo Investments, that day either. Later that evening, at around 5 p.m., Joshua returned with their two kids and was immediately taken to the police station for questioning.
Joshua claimed that he had left Susan sleeping at home shortly after midnight to go on a spontaneous camping trip with his sons at the Simpson Springs in western Utah, a short while away from their home in West Valley City. What was suspicious about this claim, though, was that Susan’s phone was later found in the family’s only vehicle, the one that he had been using. Then, when the police visited the site on December 10, they found no evidence of the camp that Joshua had described.
Susan Powell Has Long Been Feared Dead
Unfortunately, not only has Susan never been found, but she is also presumed dead, mainly because of everything the ensuing investigations revealed. Upon searching her home on December 9, the detectives found traces of her blood on the floor, life insurance policies under her name worth $1.5 million, and a handwritten journal entry where she expressed fear for her life. Along with this, they discovered that she had written a secret will, which included statements like “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.”
The detectives also found it weird that Joshua would take his kids camping after midnight when he had to go to work just hours later. He hadn’t informed his boss about taking the day off beforehand either, and when questioned about it, he claimed that it was because he thought it was Sunday rather than Monday. The fact he didn’t seem cooperative with detectives and didn’t participate in the search for his wife was weird too. In 2012, it came to light that he had even liquidated her retirement accounts, canceled her regular chiropractic sessions, and withdrew his children from daycare just shortly after her disappearance.
Apparently, Joshua had also spoken to his coworkers about how to hide a body in an abandoned mineshaft in a desert. When the detectives initially interviewed the couple’s eldest son, Charlie, he confirmed that the camping trip happened, but that Susan had gone with them and did not return. Weeks after her disappearance, Charlie allegedly also told a teacher that his mother was dead, and his younger brother, Braden, drew a picture of a van with three people in it and said that his “Mommy was in the trunk.”
Susan Powell’s Case Sadly Remains Unsolved
With all this, by December 24, 2009, Joshua was ascertained to be a person of interest in the investigation, especially as he grew increasingly uncooperative. He then took his sons and moved to Washington, where he underwent a series of court-ordered evaluations to be deemed fit to care for his kids. Joshua’s father, Steven, was also looked into as it was discovered that he was quite obsessed with his daughter-in-law, but there was no evidence that pointed towards him having a hand in her disappearance.
Susan remains a missing person to this date. But given the evidence and the fates of her sons, who were killed by their father in their murder-suicide after he lost their custody to the Cox family, the authorities are certain she was murdered by him too. Joshua’s brother, Michael – who also killed himself in February 2013, after suspicions around him grew – is said to have assisted him in concealing her body. There have since been several calls to have her declared dead, with the manner being homicide, but it hasn’t happened as of yet – Susan or her body has never been recovered.
Read More: Josh Powell: How Did He Die? What Happened to Susan Powell’s Kids?
