Autopsies: Powell boys suffered 'chop injuries'

GRAHAM, Wash. — Josh Powell's boys were coming for a visit, and he had preparations to make.

He boxed up their books and toys and took them to a charity. He carried heavy cans of gasoline inside his house and set aside a hatchet.

He thought about what to write in the final emails he'd send out: where people could find his financial accounts, how they could shut off his utilities. He didn't mention his wife, Susan Powell, missing for the past two years.

When the boys finally arrived in a car driven by a social worker Sunday, everything was ready to go. They ran inside to see him. He locked the door before the social worker could reach it.

She could smell the gas, which by now was splashed throughout the home. She called for help. The flames rose.

As authorities continued searching through the charred rubble of the home Monday, they released new details about what they described as Powell's deliberation in killing himself and his children, who had been removed from his care — a horrifying climax to a long, bizarre saga. They found the two 5-gallon gas cans and a hatchet inside.

"This was definitely a deliberate, planned-out event," said Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer.

Smoke inhalation was the primary cause of death for Josh Powell and his two young sons, Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office investigator Melissa Baker said Monday evening.

But the boys also suffered "chop injuries" that contributed to their deaths — 7-year-old Charles was struck on his neck and 5-year-old Braden had injuries to both his head and neck, Baker said.

Troyer said investigators found a hatchet that they believe was used on the boys.

"We recovered a hatchet — a small ax," he said. "It was right there with them (the bodies)."

The Utah police chief heading the investigation into Susan Powell's disappearance, Buzz Nielsen of the West Valley City Police Department, flew to Washington state Monday and vowed that the case will remain open.

Detectives hope to interview the father of Josh Powell, Steve Powell, who remains in jail on child pornography and voyeurism charges, Nielsen said. He identified Steve Powell as a "person of interest" in the disappearance but then said no arrest was imminent: "He's not in our sights."