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Gene Johnson

In this Aug. 23, 2011 Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System photo, Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, right, participates in an exercise at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. Five days after an attack on Afghan villagers killed 16 civilians, a senior U.S. official identified the shooter in that attack as Bales. The man at left is unidentified. (AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock)

Lawyer says Afghan killings suspect recalls little

Gene Johnson, John Milburn The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, March 20, 2012 - 10:29am

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales remembers little about the night he is accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians in a nighttime shooting rampage, his lawyer says.

He has a sketchy memory of events from before and after the killings but recalls very little or nothing of the time the military believes he went on a shooting spree through two Afghan villages, attorney John Henry Browne said Monday after meeting his client for the first time.

Afghanistan shooting, Lawyer, Military charges, Shooting spree, U.S. Army, National Read more Comments

Lawyer describes talk with Afghan killings suspect

Gene Johnson, John Milburn The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, March 19, 2012 - 4:31pm

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The lawyer for the Army sergeant accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians met with his client behind bars for the first time Monday to begin building a defense and said the soldier gave a powerfully moving account of what it is like to be on the ground in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan shooting, Lawyer, Shooting spree, U.S. Army, International, National Read more Comments

Should Josh Powell's siblings get life insurance money?

Gene Johnson The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 2:50pm

SEATTLE — A life insurance company has asked a judge to decide whether any of Josh Powell’s relatives are entitled to collect on a $1.5 million policy after he killed himself and his two sons in a Washington house fire last month.

Josh Powell, Murder-suicide, Powell boys, Susan Powell, Utah, National Read more Comments

Documents show Josh Powell took voyeur pictures of women in public

Gene Johnson, Manuel Valdes The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, March 2, 2012 - 6:18pm

SEATTLE — Washington authorities released the remainder of their files Friday pertaining to a child-custody case involving Josh Powell, including details that he admitted taking pictures of strangers’ legs in public and that he didn’t consider himself sad or depressed, even as police moved toward arresting him for his wife’s disappearance.

Josh Powell, Missing Person, Murder-suicide, Susan Powell, Utah, voyeurism, National Read more Comments

The gravesite of Charlie and Braden Powell is shown still covered by a cemetery canopy, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, in Woodbine Cemetery in Puyallup, Wash. Pierce County Sheriff's officials said Wednesday that the Crimestoppers anti-crime organization has purchased the plots on either side of the Powell boys, to make sure their father, Josh Powell, who killed the boys and himself when he set fire to his house on Feb. 5, 2012, isn't buried next to them. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Josh Powell's family backs off cemetery decision

Gene Johnson The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 10:28pm

SEATTLE — The man who killed his two sons in an explosive house fire in Washington state will not be buried in the same cemetery as the children, his family said Thursday.

Burial Plots, Josh Powell, Murder-suicide, Powell boys, Susan Powell, Utah, Featured, National Read more Comments

Family members escort the shared casket bearing the bodies of Charlie and Braden Powell, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, following a funeral service for the boys, in Tacoma, Wash. Charlie and Braden died Feb. 5, 2012, when their father, Josh Powell, set fire to the home he was living in while the boys visited. Powell had been a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his wife Susan. (AP Photo/Deseret News, Ravell Call)

Josh Powell's family wants him buried near slain boys

Gene Johnson The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 4:26pm

PUYALLUP, Wash — Josh Powell’s surviving relatives want him buried at the same cemetery as the two young sons he killed, the city manager in Puyallup said Wednesday.

Burial, Funeral, Josh Powell, Murder-suicide, Utah, National Read more Comments

Chuck Cox, center, hugs family and mourners after the casket bearing his grandchildren, Charlie and Braden Powell, was placed in a hearse outside Life Center Church Saturday, Feb.11, 2012 in Tacoma, Wash. The boys died February 5, 2012, when their father, Josh Powell, set fire to the home he was living in while they were visiting. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Alan Berner)

No quick answers in Powell case

Gene Johnson The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - 6:45pm

GRAHAM, Wash -- The deaths of Josh Powell and his two sons in a gas-fueled fire this month have left investigators with a flood of potential clues in the disappearance of his wife two years ago, but it's not clear whether they're any closer to finding her.

New tips have been pouring in. Detectives discovered a comforter -- apparently stained with blood -- he left at a storage locker. And on Sunday they found books, an unmarked map of Utah and a "testament" that Powell dumped at a landfill before he attacked his boys with a hatchet and ignited the home Feb. 5.

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Records show Josh Powell's father a 'person of interest'

Gene Johnson, Mike Baker The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, February 10, 2012 - 5:27pm

OLYMPIA, Wash. — In a folder on his work computer labeled "Personal Pics," Steve Powell maintained a peculiar collection of photos: 55 depicting his daughter-in-law Susan but few if any showing his son.

Thousands of images and emails on his Washington state government-issued laptop provide a small glimpse into his increasingly scrutinized world. Authorities said this week that he is a person of interest in her 2009 disappearance in Utah.

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FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2011 file photo, Josh Powell, husband of missing Utah woman Susan Cox Powell, pleads his case during a custody hearing at the Pierce County Superior Courthouse, in Tacoma, Wash. An explosion at a Washington state home has killed Josh Powell and the couple's two young sons, officials said Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Rick Egan, File)

Powell had 'incestuous sex' images on computer

Gene Johnson, Mike Baker The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, February 10, 2012 - 2:47pm

SEATTLE -- Before Josh Powell was going to try to win back custody of his children last week, Washington state authorities received materials from Utah police that had been discovered on a computer in Powell's home two years ago. Authorities say the images depicted "incestuous" sex and were disconcerting enough that they prompted a psychologist to recommend that Powell undergo an intensive psychosexual evaluation.

Child custody disputes, Computer, Josh Powell, Murder-suicide, Pornography, Powell boys, Psychosexual evaluation, Utah, National Read more Comments

Could sealed images from Powell's computer have changed his visitation rights?

Gene Johnson The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 8:18pm

Before Josh Powell was going to try to win back custody of his children last week, Washington state authorities received a set of materials from Utah police that had been discovered on a computer in Powell’s home. The images were disconcerting enough that they prompted a psychologist to recommend that Powell undergo an intensive psychosexual evaluation.

Child custody dispute, Computer, Josh Powell, Psychosexual evaluation, Utah, National Read more Comments

It took 22 minutes for cops to get to Powell home after 911 call

Gene Johnson, Mike Baker The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 9:43pm

TACOMA, Wash. — Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell’s children were in danger and when sheriff’s deputies were dispatched. It took another 14 minutes for a deputy to get to the home, but by then, the home was engulfed in flames with Powell and his two young sons inside.

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Photographs of Braden and Charlie Powell, the sons of Susan Cox Powell and Josh Powell, are displayed during a candlelight vigil at McKinley Park in Tacoma, Wash., Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, the day after Braden and Charlie were killed along with their father, Josh Powell, when police said Josh Powell set fire to the house they were in on Sunday. Susan Powell went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Agency to investigate dispatcher's handling of 911 call in Powell fire

Gene Johnson, Mike Baker The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 9:30pm

TACOMA, Wash. — A social worker pleaded with a 911 dispatcher throughout a nearly seven-minute call to quickly get police to Josh Powell’s house after he locked himself inside with his two sons.

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This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows them with their grandsons, Charlie (left) and Braden. Charlie and Braden were killed along with their father, Josh Powell, on Sunday in what police said was an intentional fire set by Powell. The Coxes are the parents of Powell's wife, Susan, who has been missing since 2009. (The Associated Press)

Autopsies: Powell boys suffered 'chop injuries'

Gene Johnson, Mike Baker The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 11:05am

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 brought them to a charity. He carried heavy cans of gasoline inside his house.

Child custody, Child safety, Double-murder, Explosion, Josh Powell, Missing Person, Murder-suicide, Steve Powell, Steven Powell, Susan Powell, Utah, Washington State, Featured, Fire Read more Comments

Fire investigators walk in front of charred rubble, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed Sunday, in Graham, Wash., in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire. Powell's wife Susan went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Police say Powell planned deadly fire for some time

Brian Skoloff, Gene Johnson, Mike Baker The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 6:30am

GRAHAM, Wash. — Josh Powell planned the house fire that killed him and his young sons for some time, dropping toys at a charity over the weekend and sending final emails to several acquaintances in the minutes before the blaze, authorities said Monday.

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A Pierce County fire investigator walks through debris, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed Sunday, in Graham, Wash., in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire. Powell's wife Susan went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Grandparents: Powell boys played happily before fatal visit

Brian Skoloff, Gene Johnson, Mike Barker The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 6, 2012 - 4:47pm

GRAHAM, Wash. — The maternal grandparents of Josh Powell’s two sons said Monday that the boys played happily and didn’t want to visit their father when the time came for their weekly Sunday visit.

Child custody, Explosion, Josh Powell, Missing Person, Murder-suicide, Susan Powell, Utah, Featured, National Read more Comments