Alert to Readers • Be aware that this story contains graphic and violent depictions of a sexual nature, and hate speech.
—
 |
Join the Discussion |
 |
Post a Comment |
Among nearly a thousand pages of documents released Friday detailing the child welfare case involving Josh Powell and his sons, one observation stands out.
In a psychological evaluation he prepared for a Feb. 1 custody hearing, psychologist James Manley wrote that Powell had excellent parenting skills but needed to learn to "consistently place his children’s need for an emotionally safe and stable environment ahead of his own [needs]."
Powell was oblivious, Manley said, of his "intensity and his overbearing manner toward his sons" and "cannot or will not stay focused on his children’s needs enough to leave his apparent suspicions, vigilance, and perceived threats out of his communication." The boys, as shown in documents released by Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services, repeated their father’s skewed observations, including hatred of Mormons and Jews.
And after Manley viewed 400 images of cartoon and animated pornography involving incest found on a computer taken from Powell’s Utah home in 2009 after his wife Susan disappeared, the psychologist was even more adamant that Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, not be returned to their father’s custody until he received psychological help. Powell, he noted, had denied visiting any pornography sites that involved minors and said he did not have any knowledge of child pornography on his computer.
"If these are Mr. Powell’s images, it gives rise to great concern," wrote Manley, who diagnosed Powell as having adjustment disorder with anxiety and narcissistic personality disorder. "Coupled with his general level of defensiveness across the evaluation there seems to be important aspects of Mr. Powell’s life he is unwilling to discuss. . . . Until he can overcome his defensiveness and openly discuss himself in all areas of his life including sexuality, family, and healthy boundaries, any additional or change of visit structure is not recommended."
The disturbing nature of those images led Pierce County Superior Judge Kathryn Nelson to accept Manley’s recommendation that Powell to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and polygraph test, rejecting Powell’s request to have his sons returned to his custody.
Four days later, a caseworker brought the boys to Powell’s rental home in Graham, Wash., for a supervised visit. Powell let the boys in the home, but locked out the caseworker. He hit both boys in the head with a hatchet before setting fire to the home, which he had doused with gasoline. The fire killed all three.
The documents, released in response to records requests from The Salt Lake Tribune and other media organizations, detail troubling comments made by the boys and highlight why authorities were concerned about the home they shared with their father and other relatives until late September, when Powell’s father Steve was arrested on charges of voyeurism and possessing child pornography. At that time, the state removed the boys and temporarily placed them with Chuck and Judy Cox, their maternal grandparents.
The records state that after Steve Powell’s arrest, law enforcement began monitoring phone calls between him and his children, including Josh. The records also show the Coxes expected Josh Powell to be arrested some time between March and July.
Powell’s sister, Alina Powell, could not be reached for immediate comment Friday but has previously said her brother acted out of desperation after spending more than two years "being crushed alive by hate, harassment and abuse."
Many of the records detail concerns of day care providers, a school principal and law enforcement about inappropriate statements made by Charlie and Braden which, given their ages, a social worker wrote could not have been "generated of their own mind/opinion." The anti-religious comments, many documented before the boys were placed with the Coxes, included statements about the "Mormons trying to steal them" and about hating Jesus. Most were made by the older boy.
The principal at Carson Elementary in Puyallup, where Charlie was a first-grader, contacted a case worker after the boy began acting out in class. On one occasion, as students discussed siblings, Charlie claimed to not have a brother any more because "the Mormons killed my brother and my mom. Yeah, it’s just me and my dad."
A school counselor contacted Powell to discuss the remark, but Powell never returned the counselor’s call, the documents state.
Next Page >Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
