PUYALLUP, Washington (Isabelle Zehnder reporting) -- [Updated August 29] Sandy Crain-Anderson has shed light as to why missing West Valley City, Utah mom Susan Cox Powell feared and was hesitant to be around her father-in-law, Steve Powell, and why she didn't want her children around him.
The source said, "It's time for the truth to be told. It's time to protect Susan's innocent children."
Susan went missing in December 2009. Her husband, Josh Powell, moved their two young children from their home in Utah to his father's home in Puyallup, Washington just weeks afters Susan vanished. Susan's friends have long-said Susan would not have wanted her children anywhere near Steve Powell, and certainly not living in his home.
Josh remains the only person of interest in Susan's missing person's case. Police continue to say he's not cooperated with them in their investigation.
Months ago Steve posted several pages of Susan's private teenage journals online which enraged the public, her friends, and family. Read: Outrage over threats to publish missing Utah mom's private teenage journals.
When Sandy learned Steve was still in possession of Susan's journals, and that he threatened to release entries from some 2,000 pages, she was prompted to break her silence and tell what the public has only assumed for the past year-and-a-half - that Steve was and still is obsessed with his daughter-in-law, Susan.
“What he’s [Steve] done, threatening to release Susan’s private thoughts and feelings as a kid, was the nail in the coffin for me,” Sandy said. “It’s time, the police need to do something, they need to act now and protect those children.
“It’s been long enough,” she said. “I originally called the police in January 2010, right after Susan disappeared, because I felt like I had vital information about the Powell family. They were contacted again in April 2010 and October 2010, and yet they never called me back until late July 2011.”
For about a decade Steve Powell told Sandy that he had been in love with and obsessed with Susan.
“Susan was the focal point of the songs he wrote and that are posted on the Steve Chantrey website. Those are but a few of the many more songs written about Susan,” Sandy said.
“He is pining for a love he never could have,” she said.
“Steve was very proud of his stash of porn magazines he kept in a locked cabinet in his bedroom. He showed them to me when he lived at his previous Puyallup home,” Sandy said.
Last fall Sandy said Steve boasted that he still had the pair of Susan’s very sacred Mormon Temple Garment underwear that he stole from the dirty laundry when she and Josh lived at his house at the beginning of their marriage.
“Not only did he stash her underwear in his locked bedroom cabinet, he said he stashed her pictures, journals, and porn in there too,” Sandy said.
“In fact,” she said, “when police went to search his house last fall they missed it – Steve told me they never even looked in his locked cabinet so he still has her private belongings, including her underwear.
“From the beginning of Josh and Susan’s marriage Steve expressed very explicit fantasies about her,” she said.
Sandy said Steve was “madly obsessed” with Susan through the time of her disappearance. Now, he’s obsessed with his theory that Susan ran off with a missing Utah man, Steven Koecher.
Police from Utah where Susan disappeared and Nevada where Koecher disappeared said their investigations into whether the cases were in any way connected revealed there is no connection. Read: Would Susan Cox Powell run off with a man, emotionally torment friends, family?
Sometime around 2005 to 2006 Sandy said she stopped most contact with Steve, saw him again in 2007, and said it was shocking to hear that he was still obsessed with Susan.
She said she spoke with him again in August of 2009 before Susan went missing and he was still obsessed with Susan. He was still talking about her and how his life had never moved forward. He'd hardly ever dated another woman because of his love and infatuation with Susan, she said.
“The only time Steve talked about dating another woman was for a very brief period in 2002,” Sandy said Wednesday. "So, in the very year that Susan disappeared, Steve was still obsessed with her and had not moved on or found anyone else."
“And even after Susan went missing, he still talked about her and revealed he still had her underwear, photos, and personal teenage journals locked in his bedroom cabinet alongside his porn stash,” she said.
Why would a man in his 50s or 60s feel a need to have these things locked away in a cabinet in his bedroom? That's a question only he can answer.
Susan's friends and sister-in-law support Sandy's claims
Some of Susan's friends, and her sister-in-law, say Susan told them of her discomfort with Steve.
Susan's husband, Josh Powell, is the only person of interest in Susan's disappearance. His story that he took their young children camping in the middle of the night, returning to find his wife missing has been largely criticized. Police have said all along that Josh has not cooperated with them. His dad says that's because they didn't handle their interview with him properly, and that as a result Josh will likely never speak with them again.
Josh has remained quiet since the beginning of Susan's disappearance. But over the past few days he broke his silence and joined his dad, Steve, in media interviews saying he believed a recent police search in Ely, Nevada was going to reveal that Susan had run off with another man, Steven Koecher, and that he would be vindicated.
Steven Koecher went missing just days after Susan vanished. Police both in Utah and Nevada have said there is no connection between the two cases. Family and friends of Susan's and Steve Koecher's also say there's no possible connection. Yet Steve and Josh believe they ran off together and that Susan is alive.
Josh's sister, Jennifer Graves
Jennifer is not only Susan's sister-in-law, she was her very close friend. Jennifer said Sunday, "While in WA early in their marriage, Susan had a disturbing encounter that she related to me later. She was in the car with my dad. Josh was not in the car. While they were alone, my dad proposed to Susan that he and Josh ‘share’ her. Susan was very upset and called and told me about it. It was soon after that that they moved to Utah."
Susan's best friend, Kiirsi Hellewell
Susan told close friends of her concerns about her father-in-law. “Susan talked to me on many occasions about her father-in-law, Steve Powell,” her best friend, Kiirsi Hellewell said Sunday. “She confided in me that she could not stand Steve.
“She told me that when she and Josh were newlyweds and living in Steve Powell’s home to save some money, she caught Steve trying to watch her get dressed one day. She also said that other things happened but one day Steve Powell tried to kiss her.
“She told me that one big reason she and Josh moved to Utah was to put as many miles between her and Steve Powell as possible," Kiirsi said.
Michele Oreno
Another close friend of Susan’s, Michele Oreno, said Sunday, “One evening while Josh and Susan were visiting with us, they got into an argument over Josh’s dad, Steve Powell. She talked about how he was like more in love with her than Josh was and had made sexual comments around her.
“He had tried to give her a kiss and at one time while supposedly giving her a hug he tried to put his hand up her shirt. She was very uncomfortable around him and never wanted to be alone with him at all. Josh tried to argue that that is just the way his dad was and when they visited Washington that they needed to visit both sides of the family.”
Michele went on, “I know that Susan often expressed disgust about the actions and things that he sent to them in the mail and at times when Josh would talk to his dad on the phone more often than normal, Josh was a different kind of man. His dad had a great influence on Josh and Susan did not like it.”
Susan's friend Natalie Butler
Natalie Butler, another friend of Susan’s said Sunday, “I don't remember specific conversations since it was years ago but I do remember her [Susan's] extreme hatred and fear of Steve Powell.
"She had mentioned a strange sort of obsession that he had for her, how he had once put his hand up her dress. She described him as the devil here on earth. How he was very upset that Josh had gotten a temple marriage and really tried to do what he could to ruin that and every attempt was made by Steve Powell to get them to stay in Washington when Josh and Susan decided to move to Utah. All in his attempt to keep her close because he really just wanted her for himself," Natalie said.
Susan's friend JoVonna Owings
Susan’s good friend, and the last known person other than Josh to see Susan before she vanished, JoVonna Owings said, “I only was told a few things by Susan about Steve. One time we were looking at pictures she was planning to send to him for Christmas and she was not in any of them.
“Susan said she did not want him to have any pictures of her because he was obsessed with her. She said they had lived with Steve for a short time when they were first married and he seemed to be too interested in her and did not want to let her have any privacy to change her clothes or even shave her legs.
“She said that one time Steve told her he ‘had feelings for her and what were they going to tell Josh?’ I asked her if she had any feelings for Steve and she said no he made her sick.
“She said one time they went to Washington to go on vacation and the plan was to visit with Steve for a day or two. Steve decided to go along on a short two-day trip that was originally planned for just Josh and Susan.
“So there they were one hotel room, two beds, and no privacy. She said she could not sleep for fear that Steve would try to get in bed with her so the rest of the trip she slept in the car.
“She was really upset that Josh didn't insist on them having that special time alone. She also said that Steve has a website with his songs on it and he told her they were all written for her and about her and their ‘love.’ She never wanted to be anywhere near him and definitely not alone,” JoVonna said.
Susan's friend Jen
Another friend of Susan’s, Jen, said, "Susan told me that Steve Powell made inappropriate moves on her. She also told me that he told her that he loved her not as a daughter in law but in other ways. She felt very uncomfortable around him."
Susan's good friend and daycare provider
Debbie Caldwell, a very good friend of Susan’s who cared for Susan’s children when she worked, said, “Susan told me that she was changing her cloths and found Steve spying or peeking in on her. She was changing behind a blanket. At that time I believe Susan was just newly married to Josh. They were staying with Steve at the time and shortly after that Susan and Josh moved because Susan insisted they get their own place.
“Susan also told me that one time Steve had ran his hand up Susan's leg and she told Josh about it and he accused her of making it up," Debbie said.
Susan’s been missing for over twenty months and the hope is that police are doing all they can to find her. The sad truth of the matter is that so far, they obviously haven’t had enough to make an arrest.
More recent articles:
Josh Powell says he's looking forward to vindication in missing wife's case
Susan Cox Powell: Possible break in case lead police to Nevada, media invited
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