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NANCY GRACE
Susan Powell`s Parents Break Their Silence
Aired February 8, 2012 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Utah, the mystery, surrounding the disappearance of a gorgeous young stockbroker, mother of two, 28-year-old Susan Cox Powell. Susan last seen when Daddy announced midnight on a Sunday he`s taking his boys, ages 4 and 2, camping in the snow. When they get back home, Daddy says Mommy`s gone.
And now more tragedy for Susan`s family, husband Josh Powell exploding his own home in a towering burst of flames. Inside, Powell, and in a bitter twist, the little boys.
Bombshell tonight. With us live in an exclusive primetime interview, Susan`s parents break their silence. And in the last hours, we obtain the chilling 911 calls.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m on a supervised visitation for a court- ordered visit, and something really weird has happened. The kids went into the house, and the parent, the biological parent, whose name is Josh Powell, will not let me in the door. What should I do?
911 OPERATOR: What`s the address?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing like this has ever happened before. It`s visitation, so I`m really shocked. And I could hear one of the kids crying, but he still wouldn`t let me in. He looked right at me and closed the door. Are you there?
911 OPERATOR: Yes, ma`am. I`m just waiting to know where you are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, It`s 8119 189th Street Court East, Puyallup, 98375. And I`d like to pull out of the driveway because I smell gasoline and he won`t let me in.
911 OPERATOR: You want to pull out of the driveway because you smell gasoline but he won`t let you...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He won`t let me in.
911 OPERATOR: OK, so you`re supposed to be there to supervise Josh Powell`s visit with the children?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that`s correct.
911 OPERATOR: And how did...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he`s the husband of missing Susan Powell.
911 OPERATOR: How did...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the high-profile case.
911 OPERATOR: How did he -- how did he gain access to the children before you got there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was one step in back of them.
911 OPERATOR: OK. So they went in the house, and then he locked you out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He shut the door right in my face.
911 OPERATOR: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the kids have been in there, by now, approximately 10 minutes. And he knows this is a supervised visit.
911 OPERATOR: How many children?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two. Braden is 5 and Charlie is 7.
911 OPERATOR: Is he alone?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know. I couldn`t get in the house. I rang the doorbell and everything, begged him to let me in.
911 OPERATOR: All right. We`ll have somebody look for you there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. How long will it be?
911 OPERATOR: I don`t know, ma`am. They have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first. The first available deputy...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, this is -- this could be life-threatening. He went to court on Wednesday, and he didn`t get hits kids back. And this is really -- I`m afraid for their lives.
911 OPERATOR: OK, has he threatened...
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. What are you reporting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just had a house explode.
911 OPERATOR: Anybody home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know. The house is totally engulfed in fire from front to back. No, (INAUDIBLE) home or not, but if it`s their home (INAUDIBLE)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The house blew up and it`s on fire!
911 OPERATOR: Do you see smoke and fire?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And a loud, huge boom. And there`s crap flying all over the place, dark smoke!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. What are you reporting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Josh Powell works for me. Works for me. And I just saw on the news that there was a problem today, and I did receive a strange e-mail from him that he sent at 12:05.
911 OPERATOR: What did the e-mail say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "I`m sorry. Good-bye." That`s all it said.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m Josh Powell`s attorney, and I understand he had an explosion, and I may have some information.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Let me see here. What kind of information do you have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got an e-mail from my client, and that e-mail gives me every indication this was intentional. Basically says, "I`m sorry," and "Good-bye."
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) house!
911 OPERATOR: And do you know if anyone`s in the house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes! There was a man and two children. I just dropped off the children, and he wouldn`t let me in the door.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Stay on line for the fire department, OK? I`m going to get them on the line. Do not hang up. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are saying there`s not somebody here, but I was just there, and there is somebody here! There`s two little boys in the house. And they`re 5 and 7, and there`s an adult man. He has supervised visitation. And he blew up the house and the kids!
911 OPERATOR: The kids and the father were in the house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes! Yes! He slammed the door in my face! So I kept knocking. I thought it was a mistake. I kept knocking, and then I called 911.
911 OPERATOR: You saw him go back into the house right before the flames?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn`t ever leave the house. He just opened the door. The kids were one step ahead of me. They`re 5 and 7. They were one step ahead of me, and he slammed the door in my face.
911 OPERATOR: And you think he might have done this intentionally?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ALINA POWELL, JOSH POWELL`S SISTER: I think my brother might be in trouble or something.
911 OPERATOR: What`s going on with your brother?
ALINA POWELL: I don`t know. He`s sending weird e-mails. He`s saying good-bye and stuff.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s been a lot of abuse against him and he`s (INAUDIBLE) and...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and e-mails and stuff. And he left me a -- there`s voicemail thing that got forwarded to my phone...
911 OPERATOR: What did he say?
ALINA POWELL: He said -- he said something about he can`t live without his sons and he`s too hurt by all this or something, and good-bye. I mean, he just...
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOSH POWELL, HUSBAND OF MISSING SUSAN POWELL: Hello. This is Josh. And I`m calling to say good-bye. I am not able to live without my sons. And I`m not able to go on anymore. I`m sorry to everyone I`ve hurt. Good- bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. With us live in an exclusive primetime interview tonight, Susan Cox Powell`s parents, breaking their silence. And as you heard, in the last hours, we obtain the chilling 911 calls. Did it have to happen this way? I say no.
As we go to Susan`s parents joining us tonight, we are taking your calls. Chuck and Judy Cox with us. Mr. and Ms. Cox, thank you for being with us.
CHUCK COX, SUSAN POWELL`S FATHER: Thank you, Nancy.
JUDY COX, SUSAN POWELL`S MOTHER: Thank you.
GRACE: You know, Chuck and Judy, you have no idea how many prayers are being lifted up for you, that have been lifted for Susan and the boys. And I want to thank you for being with us tonight and giving us some insight about what happened. And we are so sorry for what you`re going through. I`m just so sorry.
We just heard the 911 calls. I asked that you not have them playing in your ear. I didn`t want you to have to hear that.
When did you first learn of what had happened? And is it true, the boys did not want to go that day to their father`s?
JUDY COX: Yes. Yes, it`s true, they didn`t want to go. They were having fun playing with their cousin, who`s been staying here and soon will be leaving. He`s 2 years old, little Patrick, and they were just having a fun time playing together and they just didn`t want to leave. And I reminded them that they would be able to play with him once they got back, which is a three-hour visit and -- but that didn`t happen.
CHUCK COX: They didn`t want to leave. I found out about this -- I got a call -- I was at church doing some work, and I got a call from a friend of ours, and he told me about it, that he had heard it on FaceBook. And I said, Well, that`s FaceBook. We don`t know, because the police had not contacted me about anything. And so I said, Well, I don`t think that`s true.
And then about 5 minutes later, called me back and said, Hey, Associated Press is now reporting this. And I said, Uh-oh. I got the feeling, Well, maybe it is, but it`s just so outlandish and hard to believe that somebody would actually set their house on fire, cause an explosion and kill two innocent children. No, that just can`t be true.
So we went there. My bishop and I got in the car, and he drove. And we went to the place where the visitation was and saw police cars and fire trucks and smoke coming from the house. And I still couldn`t believe they could possibly be gone! How could you do that to your children? I don`t know.
GRACE: So you first heard about this through reports on FaceBook?
CHUCK COX: Right, third-hand through some -- well, yes, I was at church and -- with my phone on, obviously, cell phone on, and -- but a friend of ours -- actually, the person -- our builder, he -- his wife was following this. I mean, we -- the number of people that follow this, as you know, is just tremendous, and the support we have.
But the -- he was -- saw this on FaceBook that he came across that it had happened, and so he -- she told her husband. The husband called me. And I said, Well, you know, it`s FaceBook. Who knows what`s -- what people put on the Internet. But evidently, it was true.
GRACE: You know, you were talking about how you didn`t believe it, you couldn`t take it in. I recall when I first learned of my fiance`s murder, I didn`t believe it. I just -- I didn`t believe it. And it wasn`t until I actually saw the name of a funeral home that I realized it was true.
When you drove up to that scene, Mr. Cox, and you saw those flames, what did you think?
CHUCK COX: Well, there was just -- I saw the police line, and I -- and saw that and the smoke coming from the house. And I thought, Well, OK, maybe there was a fire, but they can`t be -- they can`t be gone. So -- I mean, because nobody would do that. They can`t -- you can`t -- couldn`t happen. So I just couldn`t fathom that.
I asked the sheriff that was, you know, holding the police line, you know, I`m Chuck Cox, I`m the grandfather. I`ve heard something went on, that the boys are gone. Can you tell me? And he went down and talked to somebody else, and came up and said, Yes, they`re gone.
But -- and I went home and I said -- I looked around there. It was all so hopeless and bleak and -- so -- I went home and I still couldn`t believe -- believe it. I didn`t want to believe it until such time as the sheriff actually came over later that afternoon, probably an hour or so later, and said -- he came to the house and told us officially, yes, the boys had died in the fire.
GRACE: I notice that you use the same phraseology that I used way back then. I remember saying, Is Keith gone? And you asked the guy, Are the boys gone? And I`m interpreting that because you could not believe the boys were dead. Is that true?
CHUCK COX: Yes. That`s true. Absolutely true. Yes.
GRACE: Ms. Cox, were you there when your husband came home?
JUDY COX: Yes. We had called -- I had arrived at church with my daughter, and one of the counselors came and he looked surprised to see me there because he had -- he knew the bishop was with him, and what had happened. And he came up and told me and said, You should go home.
I went home, and Chuck and the bishop walked in to confirm it, that it was true. But I actually -- the leader in the church that told me, he did tell me all that was -- what had happened completely instead of just tell me to go home.
CHUCK COX: Told her that the house had blown up.
JUDY COX: Yes.
CHUCK COX: And they say blown up, so...
JUDY COX: Yes, they told me the house...
CHUCK COX: The boys were gone.
JUDY COX: ... had blown up and that the boys were gone.
GRACE: Mr. and Ms. Cox, again, thank you so much for being with us. I just want to remind you that so many of us are praying for you and for the boys.
CHUCK COX: Thank you very much.
JUDY COX: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He won`t let me in the house.
911 OPERATOR: Whose house is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s got the kids in the house, and he won`t let me in. It`s a supervised visit.
911 OPERATOR: I understand. Whose house is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Josh Powell.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOSH POWELL: Hello. This is Josh, and I`m calling to say good-bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ALINA POWELL: I think my brother might be in trouble or something.
911 OPERATOR: What`s going on with your brother?
ALINA POWELL: I don`t know. He`s sending weird e-mails. He`s saying good-bye and stuff.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any idea what happened to her?
JOSH POWELL: No. I just have to go get my boys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Hi, ma`am. Were you calling about the fire in the 8200 block...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes! He exploded the house! There was a man and two children. I just dropped off the children and...
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOSH POWELL: I am not able to live without my sons, and I`m not able to go on anymore.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is somebody here. There`s two little boys in the house, and they`re 5 and 7. And there`s an adult man that has supervised visitation, and he blew up the house and his kids!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOSH POWELL: I`m sorry to everyone I`ve hurt. Good-bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: With us tonight, breaking their silence in a primetime exclusive interview are the boys` grandparents, Susan`s parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, still struggling, struggling, trying to accept what has happened.
Mr. and Ms. Cox, I just keep looking back at all the giant road signs saying, No, no, no, stop, don`t let him have visitation, don`t let him have the boys alone, don`t let them go to his home. I mean, it`s just -- it`s so many things.
I mean, all along, I don`t know if Susan shared this with you, there was -- where he attempted suicide when he was younger, where he killed a pet when he was younger, just constant threats of suicide, threats that we have learned he made against Susan herself.
I just don`t understand. It seems like Wednesday`s hearing would have been the tipping point for him, and yet he still had visitation with the boys. I don`t understand, Mr. Cox!
CHUCK COX: It is just hard to believe. We made every effort. We found -- we found -- went over ourselves to Spokane County and looked at the -- at the divorce documents and pulled up the pages that -- on there, and we saw it. That explained so much and showed us more of his true character of him. And we warned -- we had been warning the police and DSHS and everybody that he was capable of hurting those children. And we were very concerned. And we -- but still a visitation was allowed, and I believe the laws required it. So I don`t know what we could -- I don`t think we could have done anything more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have three bodies, two kids and an adult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bodies of Joshua Powell and his two sons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I apparently got an e-mail from my client, and that e-mail gives me every indication this was intentional.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Starting to offer clues about where their mother might be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Desperation, selfish, a coward. What father would kill?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was an act of evil.
911 OPERATOR: We may have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, this could be life-threatening. I`m afraid for their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: With us tonight, taking your calls, Susan Cox`s parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, still struggling with the death of their little grandsons, Charles and Braden. They were just 7 and 5 years old.
Chuck, you were saying that you saw information in documents and tried to tell the judge. You tried to. You know, a judge doesn`t have to do anything. A judge can make the appropriate ruling, and then if one of the parties disagrees, they can appeal it. This could have been stopped.
And even when I hear the 911 calls, where you hear the 911 guy kind of condescending to the case worker -- she`s going, This is life and death! Send somebody! I mean, the boys were in the home a good 10 minutes before the explosion occurred.
Tell me this. All the way back at the beginning, when Susan first started with Josh, what was he like then?-year-old
CHUCK COX: He`s -- he was still the same. He was a person that people talked to. And you get a feeling that he was strange, different, a problem, but you didn`t think he was dangerous. It`s the type of thing, OK, yes, that`s not right, but you know, he`s harmless.
And most people would after 20 minutes want to get away from him and basically not associate with him anymore. But still, that was him. I mean, it was just Josh. He was kind of an overbearing type of person and...
GRACE: What is all this business...
CHUCK COX: ... there was no hint of how evil...
GRACE: ... about making Susan wear long sleeves, forcing her to garden and grow food, rather than give her money for groceries? I mean, she was working full-time and taking care of the boys, and she had to garden and grow her own food, as well?
CHUCK COX: Yes. And we learned about that afterwards, you know, after she was missing, that the reason she gardened is she was not allowed to have any food or buy anything in the store and -- because Joshua`s controlling all their money. He took everything she was making to support the family. And she was not allowed to have anything or provide for the children.
GRACE: Chuck, do you have any doubt that he murdered Susan?
CHUCK COX: No. I -- my only doubt, I -- and before this, I wasn`t sure how he would have done it. But I know he`s responsible.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSHUA POWELL, HUSBAND OF MISSING MOM SUSAN POWELL: Hello, this is Josh. And I`m calling to say good-bye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Josh Powell works for me, works for me, and I just saw on the news that there was a problem today, and I did receive a strange e-mail from him.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: What did the e-mail say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "I`m sorry, goodbye."
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: New video coming from the home, gutted by a huge fireball.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exploded the house.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: Ma`am, do you know the --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He exploded the house.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. Do you know the exact address of the house or are you able to --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It`s -- it`s 8119 189th Street, Court East in Puyallup.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. OK. Stay on the line. Do you know if anyone is in the house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, there was a man and two children. I just dropped off the children and he wouldn`t let me in the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he saw an opportunity to hurt a whole lot of people.
POWELL: I am not able to go on anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he took the boys with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Welcome back. With us tonight, in a prime time exclusive, breaking their silence, Susan Powell`s -- Susan Cox Powell`s parents are with us, Chuck and Judy Cox, who have endured so much and have really set an example for so many about how to love and how to take action.
You begged the court not to give Powell, Josh Powell, visitation. All the warning signs were there. Were you there in court on Wednesday when he was denied custody and ordered a -- a mental psycho sexual evaluation?
CHUCK COX, PARENT OF MISSING MOM, SUSAN COX POWELL: Yes, we were, definitely, and that was with a polygraph, and I think that`s the thing. With the polygraph, I think he knew he could not beat it, he could not bluff his way through this one.
GRACE: Yes. I mean, the gig was up because a psycho sexual evaluation can and often does include a polygraph. It can even include a physical exam of -- it would have been of Josh Powell. A physical psycho sexual exam. And I know he didn`t want to do that, be hooked up to a polygraph for hours on end.
What was his reaction when this was ordered?
C. COX: Yes. He didn`t show any emotion that I saw. And I was looking past him at the judge, we were directed not to look at him during - - by our attorney, but he didn`t seem to -- he didn`t have any outburst or anything, but that was -- wow, we were finally going to get to the bottom of some of this, and I knew that with the polygraph hooked up, there`s no way he was going to get past that test.
GRACE: You`re seeing video of Powell with his sons on the "Today" show.
But you know what I`d like to see, Liz? I would like to see Susan Cox with her boys. That`s who I want to see.
Back to Chuck and Judy Cox, who are taking your calls. Again, we`ve heard so much about the boys beginning to verbalize. Talking about him knowing the gig was up and the walls were closing in around him. Not only was he going to be strapped up to a polygraph as part of this psycho sexual evaluation the judge ordered, but also the boys were beginning to verbalize. The teacher talks of a picture they drew of mommy in the trunk. I mean, they were supposed to draw what they did over their vacation, and this is what the boy draws.
The teacher knew about it. What I don`t understand, I mean in my mind, and I put child witnesses on the stand before, why didn`t that equal an arrest warrant for Susan`s murder? Why?
C. COX: I don`t know.
GRACE: But did they explain it to you, Judy?
JUDY COX, PARENTS OF MISSING MOM, SUSAN COX POWELL: You know, I had just put -- taking Braden to start preschool. And --
C. COX: That was early October.
J. COX: Early October once we got the kids, and three of the workers or staff told me of this, and I started to get upset and then I realized I was probably scaring them, but I said did you report this to the police at the time or your supervisor or anyone, and they said no, we didn`t think it was important. And I said this is very important. And then we reported it to the West Valley Police.
GRACE: Well, can I ask you why at that time since the boys clearly saw mommy in the car trunk why didn`t a murder warrant issue right then?
C. COX: Yes, I can`t -- I can`t explain that. Only thing that occurs to me is this happened in the summer of 2010 is when they drew the picture. The police didn`t learn about it until we told them about it in October of this year and -- of 2011, but then it`s something we were trying to find Susan. And I think the focus was on trying to find her, and this wasn`t going to help us find her, but I don`t know what else.
And I was thinking that -- I understand why they didn`t necessarily jump on this, but I do -- I don`t understand if they needed something, if that -- you consider that, you know, not a witness, then you make a very good point I think.
GRACE: Let me ask you, did the boys ever verbalize to you two when you would ask what happened that night?
C. COX: Well, they would say, and they only would say was that the last time they saw mommy was on a camping trip. And when they said the last time, and we said, I asked them well, daddy said mommy was home, and then they would go back to, I don`t know, I don`t remember, I don`t remember. What was mommy wearing, I don`t remember. So they went back to a trained, taught response, a coached response.
GRACE: Why do you believe, Chuck --
C. COX: And so it was very difficult.
GRACE: -- that it was a trained and coached response?
C. COX: Because Josh didn`t want them saying anything about it.
GRACE: Did they talk about their mom? Did they have memories of their mother?
C. COX: At first they did not. At first it wasn`t anything. And they did not talk about her. They would talk about anything else. As a matter of fact, if you asked Charlie about her, he would -- he would get up and move, he would go away.
J. COX: He`d run away.
C. COX: So when the counselor was trying to talk to him that came to our house, he would -- he would avoid her.
GRACE: You mean he would get up and run away? Braden, the younger one would get up and physically run away?
C. COX: No, Charlie.
GRACE: The older.
C. COX: The older one. The older one. Yes, Braden wasn`t -- he didn`t verbalize much of anything, but Charlie, when they were talking to him and they were talking, they were clearly that we were evil is what they were told. When they first came to us, we were told that they asked -- they were told they were going to see their grandma and grandpa, and they - - the boys said, are we going to be abused?
GRACE: Well, you know what?
C. COX: That came from the children.
GRACE: Let me tell you something, Chuck and Judy, I am right -- I hear what you`re saying because my children had never even said the word abuse. Somebody told those children that word.
C. COX: Of course. Of course.
GRACE: They have never heard that word before. Their father told them that. And speaking of their father, what about that father-in-law, Steve Powell?
Now I guess you`ve heard that police are stating he is a person of interest in Susan`s disappearance. CNN is not saying it, HLN is not saying it, police are saying it.
C. COX: He`s always been on the radar. He has been on our radar, especially after our daughter moved to Utah to get away from him, and so he`s always been on our radar, but for them to say that, you know, that`s admission of something that we`ve known for a long time, is he has -- I`m sure Josh told him what he did or they discussed what they were going to do. I don`t know how deep his involvement is, but I know he`s been on the radar for a long time.
GRACE: Well, if Steve Powell was involved in Susan`s disappearance, would you be open to some sort of a guilty plea from him in exchange for knowledge as to where her remains are?
C. COX: Absolutely. I would. I want to know where my daughter is, and I think he would know.
J. COX: I go back and forth on it because I don`t want him to walk free just because he gives some information, but it tugs at my heart, here is a chance to know where Susan is, and you know, I don`t know if he would really tell the truth.
GRACE: I don`t know if he would either.
C. COX: And I don`t think he would walk free because of the other charges.
GRACE: Well, I don`t know if he would tell the truth.
C. COX: No, I don`t think that`s what happened but --
GRACE: Or if he would play everybody like a fiddle like he has for the last two years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is Steven Powell a person of interest?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steven will always be part of the investigation. Right now, of course, he has criminal charges with Pierce County, so I don`t want to interfere with their case, but because they lived together, we still have some questions and stuff we`d like to talk to him about, yes.
People of interest are people that we`re going to want to interview and just talk to, and we want to talk to him. We`ll probably want to talk to him again because of this, and so because they lived together in the house, there should be things that he would probably like to talk to us about, we hope. And that`s why he`s a person of interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: I will protect my sons.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: How did he gain access to the children before you got there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was one step in back of them.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. So they went into the house and then he locked you out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He shut the door right to my face.
POWELL: I will protect my sons.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I could hear one of the kids crying, but he still wouldn`t let me in. I`m afraid for their lives.
POWELL: I`m calling to say goodbye. I am not able to live without my sons.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think my brother might be in trouble or something. He sent several e-mails saying stuff about how to handle his property or something, how to cancel utilities. I don`t know. It was different e-mails. I`m not afraid of him, he`s never hurt me. I`m afraid of seeing something I don`t want to see.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are two little boys in the house, and there is -- they`re 5 and 7 and there`s an adult man.
POWELL: I will protect my sons.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he has supervised visitation and he blew up the house and the kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there`s crap flying all over the place, dark smoke.
POWELL: I`m sorry to everyone I hurt, goodbye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: How could we have known when we first started the disappearance, covering the disappearance of Susan Powell, a gorgeous 28- year-old mother of two, a stock broker, devoted mother, wild horses literally could not have dragged her away from her sons. How could we have known it would end in flames with Josh Powell taking not only his own life but the lives of his two little boys.
With me, Chuck and Judy Cox, taking your calls.
You know, I`ve listened over and over and over, Mr. And Mrs. Cox, to the 911 calls. I don`t blame the social worker. If anyone, I think the judge was wrong in allowing the visitation. But, and maybe the cops were wrong, no, the cops are wrong for not making a murder arrest, but do you in any way blame the social worker?
C. COX: Not at all.
J. COX: No.
C. COX: No.
J. COX: No.
C. COX: She did everything she could. But she shouldn`t have been on this case by herself. If -- during the visitation, she should not have been by herself with this man. And it should not have been at his house.
GRACE: You know what, I agree. Why did they send an unarmed female out there to deal with Josh Powell when she is the only thing between him and the boys? I don`t understand it.
C. COX: And I`m glad she`s safe because she could have very well been in that house.
GRACE: And she did everything right.
C. COX: He could have just closed the door behind her.
GRACE: Yes, I know.
C. COX: Yes.
GRACE: And when I find out that it was all coming out in little trickles, I read that the boys had had a karate chop to the neck, and then I found out it had been with a hatchet? What was Josh Powell trying to do, Judy?
J. COX: I think he was trying to knock them out so they wouldn`t feel, because he was planning to blow up the house.
C. COX: There`s lots of ways to knock them out, though. He didn`t have to use a hatchet. He didn`t -- and besides that, he is going to light the place on fire and kill them. Just how barbaric and innocent children. I -- it just goes beyond anything a normal person can comprehend. It`s just wrong.
GRACE: Do you believe that the boys were beginning to fear their father?
J. COX: I don`t -- I don`t know. I think they felt something was wrong and I think at one time Charlie thought that they were going to take their daddy away, and I just changed the subject. We wanted to try to find out more, but we`re not supposed to question that, according to the state. We`re not supposed to inquire.
C. COX: I think they were definitely afraid of Josh. I think that they were -- they knew what he -- they didn`t want to cross their dad. I think -- I think there was some fear there definitely.
GRACE: Well, I know that you two are way too kind to say this, but I think the whole kit and caboodle, the judge that ordered visitation, the cops that didn`t pursue a murder warrant against him, should all just retire and leave their jobs, because clearly they`re not thinking critically about the case.
And what about the Powells? Everything they have had to say is defending Josh Powell as if he had been under attack. They`re talking about cyberbullies, about hate. That`s ridiculous, Chuck, that somehow he is now the victim? Josh Powell, the victim?
C. COX: Even now that goes on. Even -- and I can`t believe that they can`t see that -- what kind of a person he was. And -- why can`t they say what did he do to his wife? What did -- why would he kill those children? Well, it`s about him. I just -- it`s unbelievable.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Brenda in California, what`s your question quickly, Brenda?
BRENDA, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi, Nancy. You just kind of answered part of my question. I`ve only seen one sister that they had speaking out against him, and I guess there`s other siblings involved. What do they think about the whole father sexual thing?
GRACE: You mean the whole father having the big crush on Susan Powell and the child pornography? I guess Chuck and Judy had no idea that the father-in-law was involved in that, or they -- I`m sure the court would not have allowed them to be in the home. What about it, Chuck?
C. COX: We -- we knew that Steve had made advances towards Susan. We had no idea he was -- was child pornography or voyeurism about that or that depth of depravity that he was at.
GRACE: Teresa in Maryland, what`s your question, dear?
C. COX: But Susan didn`t want those children in that house.
TERESA, CALLER FROM MARYLAND: Hi, Nancy, you pretty much answered this, but I`m going to ask it anyway. Do you think that Josh planned to kill the social worker when she brought those boys to see him?
GRACE: What do you think, Chuck, do you think he planned to kill her as well?
J. COX: No.
C. COX: No, I don`t think so. And I`m glad he didn`t. I`m glad that he shut the door in her face so --
J. COX: He pushed her and --
C. COX: He could have very easily let her in and locked the door.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: All right, we`ll have somebody look for you there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, how long will it be?
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: I don`t know, ma`am, they have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first. The first available deputy --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, this -- this could be life threatening. He went to court on Wednesday and he didn`t get his kids back. And this is really -- I`m afraid for their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK, has he threatened the lives of the children previously?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: All right. We`ll have the first available deputy contact you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: With me tonight taking your calls, Susan`s parents Chuck and Judy Cox.
Chuck and Judy, do you really believe that he did this because he did not want to share the boys, or because he felt the walls closing in on him, he knew the boys would soon verbalize what happened to their mom? Or was it just hatred for you two because the boys loved you so much?
C. COX: I think the hatred thing played into it a lot because he was visually disturbed with -- we were told -- by the cameras on the front of his face, when the guardian ad litem was describing how Charlie and Braden would jump up in my lap and our laps and were very affectionate to us and how well they had bonded back with us, and were feeling loved and cared for.
GRACE: I understand that the funeral is now going to be moved to an even larger venue. I know that you can`t --
C. COX: Yes.
GRACE: -- comprehend how many people are praying for you, Susan, the boys, and loving them. And above all else, you can never underestimate the power of a mother`s love. She has them right now. You know that, right?
C. COX: We do.
J. COX: Yes.
C. COX: COX: We do.
GRACE: Thank you, Chuck, and thank you, Judy, so much for being with us and showing the rest of us a lesson in strength and bravery and faith.
Let`s stop and remember, Marine Lance Corporal, Adam Peak, 25, Florence, Kentucky, killed Afghanistan. Purple Heart, Afghanistan Service Medal, Combat Action Medal, served Iraq as well. A Thomas Moore grad with a degree in business administration, loved children, reading, remembered as a second father to fellow Marine`s children. Leaves behind parents, Diana and Bruce, sisters Sarah and Angela, brother Shaun.
Adam Peak, American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you, and a special good night from dear friend Whitley. Isn`t she beautiful?
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, please keep the Coxs, including the boys, in your prayers.
Until tomorrow night, good night, friend.
END
