Puyallup, Wash. • If there are any clues to the terrible events that culminated in the disappearance of a Utah mom, a dead father and two murdered children, they may lie in documents filed two decades ago.
Long before Josh Powell killed himself and his 7 and 5-year-old sons in a fire on Sunday, the pages of his parents’ divorce file portrayed him as a seriously troubled teen who attempted suicide, killed pet gerbils, once threatened his mother with a butcher knife and early on adopted his father’s allegedly disparaging view of women.
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As an adult, Josh appears to have repeated in his own marriage to Susan Cox Powell some of the same emotionally abusive behavior he witnessed growing up — even as he sought to distance himself from his father’s control by moving from Washington to Utah with his new wife.
In the years following his parents’ divorce Josh repaired a frayed relationship with his mother. Last year, she defended him as a loving, caring father as he sought to regain custody of his sons from the state.
But Steve and Terrica Powell’s troubled relationship, acrimonious divorce and his father’s behavior may have left a lasting mark on their oldest son.
"A child living within the family dynamics described in the divorce filings often tries to appease a parent who terrifies them by, usually subconsciously, adopting their beliefs and thought patterns," said David Reiss, a California psychiatrist and expert in character and personality dynamics.
"On some level, the child is going to align himself with the person he sees as a threat," Reiss said.
A child learns safety depends on a parent’s moods rather than his or her own behavior.
"They get into a view of the world where emotions define reality instead of logic," Reiss said.
And while the violence that unfolded here nearly a week ago is hard to predict, the most reliable predictor is previous violence — and Josh’s childhood history placed him in that statistically higher risk group, Reiss said.
"The vast majority of people who have horrible childhoods don’t go on to do what he did, but you can surely point to vulnerabilities," Reiss said. "You can provide information about why someone develops a lack of morals or logic, but why someone acts in that way is unfathomable. That’s just the horror of it. It is absolutely senseless."
The Salt Lake Tribune attempted to speak with several of Josh’s siblings who supported him following his wife’s disappearance, but they declined interviews as has Josh’s mother in the past. His uncle and aunt also declined comment through their daughter.
The divorce of Steve and Terrica Powell involved allegations of mental unfitness, pornography, polygamy and even witchcraft. There were serious conflicts over religion and parenting, and a tug-of-war ensued over the children, who at the time ranged in age from 18 to 7. Josh, the second oldest child, was 16.
Steve eventually was given custody of the three boys, while Terrica had custody of Alina, their youngest daughter — though within a couple years she also went to live with her father.
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