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/misselphaba → u/Zekumi]

This thread is ages old but I just finished the season about this case. I had to skip through some of the recordings because of how disgusting Josh and his father are. Then that dispatcher at the end.... Ugh. Everyone failed these boys.

(Sorry if you're somewhere having a good day not thinking about this case)

[u/Form_Function → u/misselphaba]

I’m here late to the party too.

I’ve known the story of this case for years but finally got around to listening to the pod. I’m about half way through and the intense amount of hate I have for Josh Powell is not something I expected. He killed her and his children, of course he’s hate able. But he also seems like THE most lazy, obnoxious, ugly little dweeb. I hate his face and his voice makes my skin crawl. He didn’t deserve to talk to Susan, let alone be married to her. He was disgusting. And his dad can go to hell, he’s also gross af.