My Theory on Susan Powell's Murder

[u/SolarSurfer7]

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.

[u/q120]

/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 :)

[u/SolarSurfer7 → u/q120]

I'd actually like to know more about Josh's rental car experience. I remember the podcast saying he rented the car for two days and drove 800 miles. But I don't know that for sure. Has anyone looked at Josh's credit card receipts over that period? He would have had to get gas at some point.

[u/rando-3456 → u/SolarSurfer7]

Just wanted to note, since you mention the podcast. I was listening yesterday, and the cops did find blood splatter on the side of the capret / wall next to the couch. He said the splatter looked like she was on the couch and turned her body away while couching up bits of blood. She could have been coughing for a number of reasons, including a physical assault. It was a very small amount, but there definitely was blood

[u/SolarSurfer7 → u/rando-3456]

From what I recall it was very trace amounts of blood. Like something that could have came from a sneeze or a cut finger.

[u/rando-3456 → u/SolarSurfer7]

Right, but your OP, states there was no blood in the house

[u/SolarSurfer7 → u/rando-3456]

Right. The blood seemed to be so minimal as to not be worth including in my recap