Viswa Vanapalli
Towards the end of 2009, the sudden vanishing of 28-year-old Susan Powell forever changed the lives of everyone involved. While the authorities dug deeper, her husband, Joshua, became the focus of their investigation. ABC News’ ‘20/20: The Disappearance of Wife and Mother Susan Powell’ delves into a complex case that sadly didn’t have a resolution. However, the authorities had a fair idea of what happened to Susan. Jennifer Graves, Joshua’s sister, firmly believed that he was involved and even tried to help the authorities garner a confession. So, let’s find out more about her then, shall we?
Who is Jennifer Graves?
Jennifer Graves is one of five children born to Steve and Terrica Powell. In early December 2009, she went down to Joshua and Susan’s house in West Valley City, Utah, when Susan didn’t drop her two sons off at daycare. It marked the beginning of a lengthy investigation that ended with several other deaths. Susan had suddenly disappeared, and Joshua appeared many hours later with their two sons, Charlie and Braden. At the time, he claimed they went on a camping trip in the desert while the mother stayed home. The claim seemed suspicious since it was winter and undeniably cold out there.
In the time that followed, Jennifer felt Joshua’s behavior was suspicious, saying, “It was really odd to me because he was running around the house grabbing piles of towels and putting them in the washer. And finally, we’re like, you’ve got to go to your interview with the police.” Joshua took the kids a few weeks later and moved to Puyallup, Washington, into his father’s home. In January 2010, Jennifer decided to help out with the investigation by wearing a wire and confronting her brother.
So, Jennifer cornered Joshua during a family gathering and asked him about what happened. While he was reluctant to talk, she asked him to confess, adding, “Suddenly I just shoved Josh into the bathroom, and at that point, I was like, ‘Drop all pretense. Just tell me where her body is.'” However, Joshua never incriminated himself. By February 2012, Joshua had lost custody of the children, who were both under eight years old at the time. But he still got supervised visits, and things took a fatal turn during one such visit.
When Charlie and Braden were brought by for a visit, Joshua locked the caseworker outside, attacked the kids with a hatchet, doused them in gasoline, eventually leading to an explosion that killed all three. Jennifer was grief-stricken upon learning of her nephew’s fate, calling Joshua’s behavior “the ultimate act of selfishness.” She believed even her father knew of or was involved in whatever happened to Susan.
Where is Jennifer Graves Now?
In 2013, Jennifer co-authored a book titled ‘A Light in Dark Places,’ chronicling Susan’s disappearance and her children’s deaths. She also talks about her childhood, something she went into detail about during her testimony at Steve’s trial in 2012. Back then, Jennifer spoke about her father’s pornography addiction and infidelity. Today, she lives in West Jordan, Utah, with her family. Jennifer also seems to own a computer software company with her husband, Kirk. In the end, she hoped Susan’s story would serve as a warning to others to get out of abusive relationships.
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