Circumstantial case against Josh Powell wasn't ready for charges, investigators say

SALT LAKE CITY — Just days after Susan Cox Powell first went missing in 2009, neighbors began pointing fingers at her husband.

"When I heard the whole family was missing, I thought it was a murder-suicide," neighbor Stephanie Olson said on that clear day Dec. 10.

She echoed what many others have since recounted: that Josh Powell was "bizarre," "emotionally abusive" and that Susan Powell had been fairly vocal about her plans to leave the marriage if things didn't improve.

While Olson said Josh Powell was "never really nice to Susan," he treated their sons, Charlie and Braden, differently. "He seems to love his kids," she said at the time.

In brief emails sent minutes before he set his house ablaze Sunday, killing himself and murdering his two young sons, Josh Powell apologized and said he couldn't live without his boys.

The devastating homicides have left many questioning how this man, under suspicion month after month, year after year, never faced charges related to his wife's disappearance.

"When you charge on criminal (homicide) cases … without a body, it's just more difficult. So you have to develop a stronger case," West Valley Police Chief Buzz Nielsen said Monday.

"I would have liked to have arrested and charged the suspect two days after it happened," he said as he faced reporters standing outside the burned-out remains of the house Josh Powell called home.

"A tough case requires making sure that you do a thorough investigation — that you have all the materials," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. "A case is filed when it's ready to be filed."

"Based on everything we had, we didn't, at this point, feel comfortable with all the information we had. That's why we continued to pursue those leads with (police) and put together this case," Gill said.

In September, Nielsen said the investigation into Susan Powell's disappearance was in the "fourth quarter" and said most of the evidence points to Josh Powell.

Gill said his office was working with West Valley police and has spent "untold hours" pursuing the investigation. Nielsen said Monday he still has eight detectives assigned to the case and at times has had many more.

Unlike other missing persons cases where police don't get involved for 72 hours, West Valley police began an investigation into Susan's disappearance quickly.