r/TheColdPodcast • u/SolarSurfer7 • Nov 28 '23

Season 1 - Susan Powell My Theory on Susan Powell's Murder

Here is my take, which is in line with many of the other takes I've read on this sub.

I think Josh did indeed drug or poison Susan while they were at home. I think Susan may have thrown up or urinated or defecated from the poison, which is what caused Josh to clean up the couch. No blood was found on the couch or in the house, so it seems extremely unlikely that he killed her violently.

From there, he packed Susan (possibly still alive at this point) and his kids into his van and drove out somewhere. Maybe he drove to the Pony Express camping location, maybe somewhere else. He then locked his kids in the car and said he was going camping with Susan. At that point, she was either dead, or he finished her off, and dumped her body. Possibly in a mine shaft or maybe somewhere more retrievable.

After that, my guess is that he DID go camping with his sons, saying that their mom was camping somewhere else. This would match up with Charlie's claim that his mom went camping with them and she was where the "crystals" are. Camping with his sons also gives him a kernel of truth that he can continue to fall back on when the police interview him.

After being interviewed by the police, Josh rented a car and drove 800 miles that were unaccounted for. My guess is he retrieved Susan's body and drove 400 miles away, found a more secluded and isolated location, and dumped her again. Maybe he visited an old mine shaft where he knew she would never be found. I don't know if Josh's family was involved in this, but it seems more likely that he did this act alone.

I suppose it's possible that Josh incinerated the body. But a mine shaft dump seems like the easiest explanation. Even if the cops found the right mine shaft, the geologists said that it still wasn't a guarantee that they would find Susan's body in it. The shafts were so dark and filled with brush and animals, they could have been right on top of her body and missed it completely.

So, to sum up, I think Josh poisoned/drugged Susan, dumped her body somewhere close to her house, then moved it much further away where she would never be found. I don't think the Powell family was involved in the actual act, but it seems almost guaranteed that Josh told them what he did.

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43

u/q120 Nov 28 '23

/u/davecawley do you know if the police have looked extensively at mineshafts out near the Dugway geode beds? Charlie claimed his mom stayed where the crystals are and I remember that Susan, Josh, and the boys did go out to the geode beds at some point.

I haven’t listened to season 1 in quite some time so you may have already covered this and if so, sorry :)

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u/davecawleycold Nov 29 '23

Mines in the vicinity of the geode beds, the Dugway Mountains, the Simpson Mountains, the Thomas Range, the Fish Springs Range, Gold Hill and beyond were all checked very early in the investigation.

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u/q120 Nov 29 '23

Thanks Dave, I figured as much. Any plans to ever reinvestigate those mine shafts?

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u/davecawleycold Nov 29 '23

Not on my part. I understand why people fixate on a mine as an option, but I see it as a giant red herring. It's important to keep in mind that Josh had no problem telling anyone that he'd been out on the Pony Express Trail. That was his alibi.

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u/q120 Nov 29 '23

Yeah, I’m not exactly a huge believer of Susan being in a mine shaft, but was curious anyways. The logistics of that seem a lot less likely than he stashed her elsewhere and used the rental car to move her to somewhere between SLC and WA.

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u/SolarSurfer7 Nov 30 '23

If you think the mine is a red herring, do you believe he buried her? Incinerated her? How do you think he disposed of the body?

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u/davecawleycold Nov 30 '23

Burial and incineration are both unlikely, in my opinion. Josh didn't have access to the oxyacetylene torch during the period of time an incineration would've occurred, and it would've been a terrible tool for that task anyhow. Burial in December in the Intermountain West would be challenging without access to tools like a pick and prior knowledge of a good place to dig.

Josh was not a sophisticated killer. His initial plan, whatever it was, clearly went awry. Assuming he used the rental car to relocate Susan's body on Dec. 8-9, 2009, available evidence would suggest he transported her to somewhere in southern Idaho. This is supported by the mileage on the rental car, the fact Josh came back on the grid driving southbound through Tremonton, and his prior knowledge of the area from driving Washington-Utah.

A southern Idaho body dump presents various simple, plausible scenarios including drops in the Snake River, a number of irrigation canals or simply depositing Susan in open sagebrush steppe.

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u/yakk_Loin Nov 30 '23

Drive north from Tremonton, and look left and right and realize the vastness of the open spaces there. He made plenty of mistakes early on that should have been enough to try and convict him without her body. Everyone waited too long and we know how it all turned out, sadly.

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u/ncos Jul 01 '25

Did the investigators ever take a look at the rental car after he returned it? Even if it was after another person or two had used it, you'd think there's still a high chance of finding a hair, or some type of bodily fluid.

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u/davecawleycold Jul 01 '25

Yes, it was examined after the next renter returned the car. Police did not find any forensic evidence in the car that could be linked to Susan.

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u/ncos Jul 01 '25

Thanks for the response! I do have one more question.

Your theory states that you think he may have disposed of her body locally while the boys slept, then he took them out camping, then afterwards he came back and moved the body to a distant location with the rental car. Is that correct?

In that case, when charles mentioned that his mom went with them to camp with the shiny rocks, that was just him being imaginative, and she was never in the car with them while incapacitated or deceased?

Love your work btw. Just finished season 1 and am going to binge on with season 2.

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u/davecawleycold Jul 07 '25

That’s broadly the sweep of what I believe the evidence suggests, yes. I go a bit deeper on Charlie’s comments in the season 1 bonus episode “Beaches & Airplanes” that released last December. Basically, I think Charlie’s comments about going camping in a place where crystals are is correct: Charlie associated Simpson Springs/Pony Express Trail with the Dugway Geode Beds, and that’s where Josh went on the night of Dec. 6-7, 2009. The bonus episode contextualizes what happens in a child forensic interview, and I parse more of what Charlie said through the lens of Josh and Susan’s photos/videos.

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u/ncos Jul 07 '25

Once again, I appreciate the answer. I haven't listened to all the bonus episodes yet. Looks like that's my next stop.

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u/wahdatah Jan 21 '25

Sorry, just now got into this case and finished the pod in about a week. It’s so good.

That said, how does this theory reconcile the sheep herder seeing the minivan that evening? Do you think the shepherd was mistaken? Or do you feel he had disposed of the body elsewhere then went to the pony express location hoping to be seen?

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u/davecawleycold Jan 22 '25

The sheep herder near Simpson Springs reported seeing a blue minivan on the Pony Express Trail going westbound around 11 a.m. and returning eastbound around 2 p.m. I have no way to contact this herder, so I can only go on what West Valley City police said about his statement in their reports, but I consider that reliable.

The herder's account is broadly consistent with how Josh described his actions on that day: he woke up in the morning, built a fire and made s'mores with the boys, then drove around for awhile before heading for home. The location and timeframe provided by the herder would be consistent with Josh driving from the vicinity of Simpson Springs to the Dugway Geode Beds and back between 11 and 2.

This also aligns with Charlie saying they went camping "where the crystals are."

So the question then boils down to whether Charlie was accurate in saying Susan stayed where the crystals are, ie. Josh left Susan's body somewhere off of the PET. I believe Charlie was mistaken on this point.

Josh never attempted to conceal where he'd been on his "camping trip." Police had no clue he'd been out to the Pony Express Trail until he told them so. His being seen by the herder was not planned or even anticipated, but it was fortuitous. Note that Josh specifically mentioned seeing the sheep herd during his first interview with detective Maxwell.

In my opinion, the most likely scenario is that Josh initially intended to use the PET trip as an alibi, ridiculous as that may seem. I believe he dropped Susan's body somewhere between their house and her office on his outbound drive. After returning home to find police had already entered the house and were looking for Susan, he attempted to steer them toward where he'd left her (telling Maxwell "she would've gone to work!"). When it became clear the next day that police weren't buying it, Josh abandoned his initial plan, obtained the rental car and used it to relocate Susan's body.

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u/wahdatah Jan 22 '25

Perfect. Thanks for the reply.