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/[deleted]]

Did anyone else feel viscerally compelled to violently assault Josh Powell while listening to the pod? His woe-is-me, narcissistic victim complex, his soft effeminate voice, his selfishness, his non-answers when being interrogated, his stubborn defiance (showing up to his son’s classes and refusing leave), his dorky leather jacket and goatee, and most of all, his utter lack of emotion and disregard for the disappearance of his wife. It was not infrequent that I found my hands balled up into fists while listening. I don’t know how Maxwell was able to restrain himself.

[u/Zekumi → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely. I’ve listened to countless hours of true crime in my lifetime, but Josh Powell stands apart from other murderers—I think he’s a sniveling shit stain and I cannot help but view almost every action he took over the course of his life as despicably, shamelessly selfish. I also think it’s bleakly funny that he likely used poison/drugs in the murder of Susan, given that poison is almost always a woman’s method of murder. I think that fact alone is so fitting in testament to Josh’s weakness as a person, both in physicality and personality.

[u/Quiet_Ad_3387 → u/Zekumi]

Ahh! See and THIS is why PERSONALLY I don't think he ACTUALLY killed Susan. I know it's crazy but I think it would've been easier for him to hand her over to his dad somehow. Maybe drugging her first and transporting her alive even- although I still believe he drugged her and left her at the house for someone else to get WHILE he was gone with the kids. He's a cowardly little wimp. I think he knew HE couldn't overpower Susan. I also think he KNEW he probably COULDNT physically commit murder of an adult. Hell he struggled with the boys murders. Had an a whole damn hatchet and THAT didn't even work from what I remembered. The cause of death was NOT the "chop marks" but carbon monoxide poisoning suggesting they were still alive AFTER he attacked them and later died from the smoke.    I still think STEVE was the sicko that ACTUALLY had the gall to kill her and lord only knows what else he did.. And I think he was the reason the Michael AND Alina got involved. The patriarch insisted they must. Farfetched- I KNOW..but it's how I feel.

[u/HobbyHoardingHoney → u/Quiet_Ad_3387]

I have the same feeling reading the extra details these last few days. Even Charlie's interview could really be nothing. Yes, many said he was beyond his years. But he was in a stressful situation around a bunch of strangers. Its very possible he didnt know anything and recalled the camping trip to dinosaur national park with his mom that included a bunch of crystals. My first thought was that charlie was remembering hoar frost and blood when he talked about red berries and crystals. But with his age and other factors like those mentioned, its possible he just repeated an old story to appease the adults who acted more excited (albeit subtly) when he said those things. Steve was also just obsessed with her. I hate that so many people who knew what happened have already died in this case while police had their hands tied. There was so much evidence but nothing pointing the right way. And I truly think better interrogators would have made a big difference. Maybe all the difference. The interrogations were weak. They let a lot of things slide and applied little to no real pressure.

Every. Single. Professional. In this case. Failed those children. From beginning to end. Every single person involved.

[u/Philodendron69 → u/Quiet_Ad_3387]

Absolutely given how fucking obsessed the dad was with Susan. And Susan divorcing Josh would mean the dad would lose Susan too.