Crime & Safety

Documents: Blood Found in Josh Powell's House After Susan's Disappearance

Documents released by the Pierce County Superior Court offer details into the disappearance of Susan Powell.

The Pierce County Superior Court unsealed the search warrant of Steven Powell's Puyallup residence in a court hearing Friday. Steve Powell was arrested in September 2011 and charged with voyeurism and possession of sexually explicit pictures of children. In the documents were also details of the Utah police investigation of Josh Powell, Susan's husband, after her disappearance in 2009.

Patch attached the search warrant, in its entirety, to this article.

, more than two years after Susan disappeared. The search warrants were served on the Puyallup home of Josh's father, Steven Powell, last fall.

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The documents detail the investigation of Josh Powell's home after Susan's disappearance, where Utah investigators found her blood on the tile floor near the family sofa. When they entered the home, police noticed that the couch had two fans blowing on it. Josh told officers that it was because he had just cleaned the sofa, after his wife asked him to.

Investigators also found a tarp, gas can and shovel in Josh's car. Susan's cell phone was in the vehicle's center console. Josh then made comments to investigators about how to kill and dispose of someone without getting caught.

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Recovered from the Powell home was a "Last Will and Testament," handwritten by Susan and found in a safe deposit box that only she had access to. In it, she wrote that Josh "threatened to destroy her if they get divorced." She also said that if she died unexpectedly, even if it seemed like an accident, it probably wasn't one.

Josh was the beneficiary of several life insurance policies for Susan, totaling over $1.5 million.

During this time period, West Valley Police also found hundreds of , many were cartoons depicting sex between parents and their children.

Susan kept journals since she was 8 years old, which investigators with her belongings. In them, she mused on her relationship with Josh, whom she married at 19. She wrote about marital discord and pondered divorce. She called Josh's father Steve a pedophile that she didn't want around her children or in her life at all.

"There is direct evidence. There is circumstantial evidence. There is motive," said Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist, as quoted by KING 5. "There is everything but the body."

The items confiscated from Steve Powell's home contained voyeuristic photos of Susan Powell, which he admitted to taking himself or removing from Josh's computer without his knowledge. Investigators also found child pornography.

Steven Powell is currently awaiting trial and attended Friday's hearing in handcuffs. He had no remarks when asked about his son's death.

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