Friday, September 30, 2011

Children placed with parents of missing Utah mom





>>> we begin this half-hour with new details on the arrest of the father-in-law in the case of a missing utah mom, susan powell . he's now facing serious charges, including child pornography after a raid on his home tied to his daughter-in-law's disappearance. in a moment we'll talk to susan powell 's parents. but first, nbc's miguel almaguer is in tacoma, washington with the latest.

>> reporter: good morning. steven powell spent the weekend in jail unable to make bail. detectives say they've just begun their investigation and say more charges could follow. in his first court appearance, steven powell pled not guilty to 14 counts of voyeurism and possession of child pornography . behind bars on $200,000 bails, the father-in-law of susan powell is accused of secretly videotaping the missing mother & and an unknown number of other females, including two sisters from his neighborhood just 8 and 10 years old. police say some of the unsuspecting victims including the children were nude.

>> we don't know how many victims there are because we've only looked at 5% to 10% of the photographs and videos. what's most disturbing to us is the weird creepy factor with this is already high.

>> reporter: police raided powell 's home last month. detectives then saying only the search warrant was connected to susan 's disappearance. police now say they've recovered over 1,000 images, some ten years of secret videotapes and pictures. the raid conducted the same day steven powell told nbc news his daughter-in-law had likely run off with another man and often flirted with him.

>> susan and i -- it just happened. i don't know -- i think it was more her than me at the beginning but as it progressed, it was both of us.

>> reporter: susan 's family has always denied steven powell 's allegations, calling them victim blaming .

>> clearly, blatantly, attempt to assassinate my daughter's character.

>> reporter: police say the arrest is not connected to susan 's disappearance but susan 's sister says steven powell may know something more.

>> just knowing that -- what he's capable of, i thought i heard it all, seen it all from that family.

>> reporter: susan 's husband, josh powell , told police his wife disappeared nearly two years ago after he had taken their young boys camping overnight in a snowstorm in the utah desert. shortly after susan vanished, police named josh a person of interest. but he's always denied any involvement in her disappearance.

>> i could never hurt susan or my sons.

>> reporter: shortly after susan vanished, josh and his children moved back home here to washington state with steven powell . but after steven 's arrest, the boys were removed from the home and placed in protective custody .

>> i want them to be with a stable family where they can learn good values and grow up normally.

>> reporter: susan 's family is now ready for a custody hearing set for wednesday. a legal battle playing out in the same courthouse where steven powell 's been charged with multiple felonies and faces five years in prison. since the arrest, the powell family has denied all of our interview requests and late last week they suffered another setback in court -- a judge said they could not publish susan 's private journals. ann?

>> miguel almaguer, thank you so much.

>>> chuck and judy cox are susan powell 's parents. good morning to both of you.

>> good morning.

>> morning.

>> possession of child pornography , voyeurism. chuck, let me start with you. what's your reaction to hearing these kinds of charges against your daughter, susan 's, father-in-law?

>> very disturbing. i had no idea that this was going on.

>> do you think, given that the police are now treating his case as a separate case -- you know, i guess i'm asking what is your thinking about this? are you more concerned that steven powell could have been involved in your daughter's disappearance? judy , want to weigh in on that?

>> i feel, being his father, i think it is very possible that he knows something. but that's the investigation with the police .

>> chuck, you want to add to that?

>> well, it increases my concern but we let the police do their police work. we are very comfortable that they investigated all aspects of our daughter's disappearance and they're continuing to work hard on it.

>> have they asked you about what susan may have told you regarding steven powell 's behavior toward her, whether she reported any instance in which she caught him videotaping her?

>> we discussed all aspects with the police and we have told them that she was uncomfortable with steven .

>> you know, i am just trying to get a sense about how you two are wrapping your minds around all the sort of facts of this case. i mean would you say that you are shock by these charges against steven powell ?

>> oh, definitely. definitely shocked by the charges. we had no idea that there would be this -- that this type of situation was going on.

>> does it change the way you look at josh, judy ?

>> it's hard to look at possibly even the whole family. we just are amazed of -- and shocked and outraged at steven powell .

>> i know that at the end of miguel almaguer's report we heard that your grandsons have been removed now from the home. have you been able to see these children, your grandchildren? do you know that they're okay?

>> we haven't been able to see them. we heard they were in protective custody and we're glad that they're being taken care of.

>> so what is your best hope now as you wait for word about your still-missing daughter, still missing after two years, and your two grandsons now in someone else's care? judy , what is your best hope now?

>> well, we're very pleased that the children are staf aafe and out of the home. we still want to focus on finding our daughter and we feel with all the energy and actions that have been going on with the police that they are doing their job and i think they're doing an excellent job.

>> we hope they're getting close to resolution. they're going to arrest the persons responsible and we're going to find out where our daughter is.

>> well, that's what we all wish you the best on that, chuck and judy cox, thank you so much this morning for joining us. our best to you.

>> thank you.

>> thank you.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44690664/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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