Local News

Testimony begins in Steve Powell’s voyeurism trial in Tacoma

The Associated Press

The voyeurism trial of a missing Utah woman’s father-in-law took on the tenor of a creepy slideshow Wednesday, as jurors saw images of young neighbor girls he is accused of filming — and then heard testimony from the girls themselves.

Steve Powell, 62, is the father of the late Josh Powell and  father-in-law of Susan Powell, who disappeared from her home in West Valley City, Utah, in late 2009. In February, Josh Powell, who had moved to Washington state, attacked his two sons with a hatchet and ignited an explosive fire in which he and the boys died.

Steve Powell was arrested last September, after investigators searching his home for evidence in Susan Powell’s disappearance came across computer disks with what they described as thousands of images of women and girls who seemed unaware they were being photographed.

Those filmed, prosecutors say, included the neighbor girls, who were about 8 and 10 when the images were recorded.

Among the images recovered from Steve Powell’s home were many of Susan Powell that appeared to have been filmed without her knowledge, investigators said. There were also journals in which Steve Powell detailed his obsession with Susan Powell, they said.

Much of that evidence has been barred from the trial as unduly prejudicial against the defendant. Steve Powell is not charged with acts of voyeurism involving Susan Powell because authorities can’t prove she didn’t know about the filming.

Defense attorney Mark Quigley told jurors during his opening statement Wednesday that he did not expect Steve Powell to testify.

Steve Powell faces 14 counts of voyeurism.

The first witness in the case was Pierce County sheriff’s detective Gary Sanders, who described how detectives found the photos. The images were projected on a screen turned away from courtroom spectators.

In cross-examining the detective and the mother of the girls, Quigley elicited that other adult men lived in the home at the time — Josh Powell and one of his brothers — raising the specter that someone other than Steve Powell might have recorded the images.

The trial is expected to resume next Monday.

0 comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: Graham, Josh Powell, Puyallup

Detectives: Nobody lived in house Josh Powell blew up

The News Tribune

The home Josh Powell showed to authorities was nothing but a sham.

He did not live there. He did not keep his important things there.

And when he found he could not keep his children there he decided to blow it up.

Pierce County sheriff’s detectives told that to Graham and South Hill residents Monday evening at a public meeting at the Graham Fire & Rescue.

Read the complete story here.

0 comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: Graham, Josh Powell, Pierce County Sheriff's Office

Police: Powell had images of incest on home computer

Associated Press

A computer in Josh Powell’s home had animated images that depicted “incestuous” sex, authorities say.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Ed Troyer said Thursday night that the images collected by investigators from Powell’s home computer in Utah two years ago were realistic computer-generated depictions of “incestuous” parent-child relations. The images were disconcerting enough that they prompted a psychologist to recommend last week that Powell undergo an intensive psychosexual evaluation.

An attorney for Powell’s in-laws wasn’t invited to see the materials before a custody hearing last week. Lawyer Steve Downing says he might have asked the court to change the terms of Powell’s supervised visitation with the boys — if he had seen the images.

A few days after the hearing, Josh Powell torched his home, killing himself and the two young children.

See the full story from the Associated Press here.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Graham, Josh Powell, Pierce County Sheriff's

Josh Powell, two children believed dead in Graham home fire

The home of Josh Powell at 8119 189th St. Court East in Graham on fire on Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Josh Starkey, @starkeeey)

Click here to read the latest updates on this story

Pierce County sheriff’s deputies say they believe Josh Powell, the husband of a Utah woman who has been missing since 2009, and their two young boys were killed in a home explosion in Graham on Sunday afternoon.

A case worker dropped the boys off at Powell’s home for a visitation.

The case worker ”was forced out, and an explosion happened shortly thereafter,” said Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

Troyer said all three bodies had been recovered, but their identities have not yet been confirmed. Troyer said the sheriff’s office is treating the explosion as an intentional act.

The house, at 8119 189th St. Court East, is considered unstable, but the flames are out, and no other nearby properties are in danger.  Troyer said.

Powell has been a person of interest in the investigation into his wife’s disappearance but has not been arrested or charged in the case.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Graham, Josh Powell, missing woman