Last week, the Josh Powell story exploded in the media. Powell, of Graham, Washington, was supposed to have a supervised visit with his two young sons. Instead, he slammed the door in the face of the social worker, hacked the boys with a hatchet, and then blew up his house. Powell and the two sons died.
I watched three news shows about the tragedy—Dateline on MSNBC, 20/20 on ABC, and Dr. Drew on HLN (Headline News). All of the programs reflected shock, horror and outrage. Dr. Drew Pinsky did actually call Josh Powell a psychopath. But what struck me about the coverage was that this tragedy was almost predictable. All the warning signs were there, if anyone had a complete picture of what was going on, and if appropriate people had known what they were looking at.
The lessons boil down to three: Knowing how to recognize a sociopath, knowing what sociopaths are capable of doing, and acting on intuition.
Josh Powell, the sociopath
Josh Powell clearly exhibited sociopathic behavior. He first came into public view with the disappearance of his wife, Susan, on December 7, 2009. Josh Powell’s ludicrous story was that he left the family home at midnight to take his two sons, aged 2 and 4 at the time, camping in the freezing desert, and when he returned, Susan was gone. He assumed that she went off with another man.
Before then, however, Susan had confided in several friends and family members that Josh was controlling. He was psychologically and emotionally abusive. Susan was asked why she didn’t take the boys and leave. She was afraid to—Josh had threatened that she would have the boys “over my dead body.”
So where did Josh’s sociopathy come from? It appears to be the classic volatile mix of heredity and upbringing.
Last September, Steve Powell, Josh’s father, was arrested and charged with child pornography and voyeurism. Josh and his sons were living with Steve Powell at the time, which prompted the court to take the boys away from Josh and put them in the custody of Susan’s parents, Chuck and Judy Cox.
But that was just the latest, most apparent display of Steven Powell’s personality disorder. Court documents from the 1992 divorce case of Steven and Terrica Powell indicate that Steven Powell had always been a sexual pervert, and taught his sons to disrespect women.
The documents also reveal that at 16, Josh Powell was already heading down the same path. He threatened his mother with a butcher knife. He killed his sister’s pet gerbil. He attempted suicide. And as Josh grew bigger and stronger, even Steven Powell admitted that he didn’t know how to handle his son.
Read: Divorce documents shed light on Josh Powell’s troubles, on SLTrib.com.
Here’s the point: Based on both documentary evidence of the past, and the abusive behavior Susan Powell disclosed to friends and relatives, Josh Powell was clearly a sociopath. It doesn’t matter how he became a sociopath. All that matters is that he was one.
Sociopaths and custody battles
So what does it mean when one party in a child custody battle is a sociopath? Here’s what courts and child protective agencies should know:
• Despite their proclamations to the contrary, sociopaths do not love their children. They view children as possessions, and they feel entitled to do what they want with their possessions.
• Sociopaths are accomplished actors. They are capable of keeping up a charade of appropriate, even loving, behavior, as long as it suits their purpose.
• In child custody disputes, sociopaths are not interested in the welfare of the children. They are only interested in winning.
• If sociopaths have been violent in the past, chances are good that they will be violent in the future.
• Sociopaths do not want to submit to authority. Some sociopaths would rather lash out violently than submit. Therefore, it seems to me that one of the most dangerous times in a child custody case is when a sociopath loses in court.
Losing a round
I don’t know everything that went on in the custody dispute between Josh Powell and Chuck and Judy Cox, the parents of his missing wife. But from the media reports, I see two glaring problems.
First of all, Josh Powell had just lost a round in the custody battle for his sons.
In a status hearing on February 1, 2012, the court was told that a psychologist who completed an evaluation of Josh believed he had made improvements in his life, because he no longer lived in his father’s home and had been cooperative with visitation requirements. Still, the psychologist had become aware of disturbing information about Josh, and had recommended a psychosexual evaluation. The judge ruled that Josh’s sons would remain with the Coxes, and he was ordered to undergo the evaluation, which would include a polygraph test.
Read Josh Powell to undergo psychosexual evaluation; 2 boys will remain with grandparents, on DeseretNews.com.
Yet the court made no changes to the visitation arrangements. Initially, when the Coxes were first awarded custody, Josh had to see his children at a secure childcare facility. But apparently, because of the notoriety of the Powell case, his visits became disruptive to other families, so Josh was allowed to have supervised visits in his home.
And who was the supervisor? She appeared on 20/20. Although she may have been nice, dependable and competent, she was also a middle-aged, out-of shape woman who would have been no match for a young man if things got ugly. Even Chuck Cox worried about her, and stated on TV that perhaps she should have had extra security with her.
Reunification
The second glaring problem in this case: The court’s goal was to reunite the boys with their father.
The judge reaffirmed this goal in the last custody hearing. The case plan developed by Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) was geared towards reunification of Josh Powell and his sons.
The question is: Why?
Josh Powell was the only “person of interest” in the disappearance of Susan Powell. Rumors were flying that he would soon be arrested for her murder. Josh was known to be abusive. Police in Utah had found disturbing information about him that caused them concern about the welfare of the children. The man was likely dangerous.
DSHS representatives were interviewed by Dori Monson of KIRO-FM radio in Seattle, Washington. They defended their actions and procedures. The bottom line? They were following court orders. Listen to the interview:
[mp3j track=”http://icestream.bonnint.net/seattle/kiro/2012/02/02092012141232_1.mp3″]The main problem, at least in this case, appears to be that judges don’t comprehend how dangerous sociopaths can be, and how court decisions can turn deadly.
Intuition
Many warnings were available in this case, but were not recognized and acted upon. Perhaps the biggest warnings were the gut feelings, the sense of dread, the intuitive fear, experienced by many, many people.
In the TV interviews, several friends and relatives of Susan Powell described being creeped out about Josh Powell. And both Judy and Chuck Cox, the grandparents, said that they had “bad feelings” before that last fateful visitation. Chuck wondered that perhaps the visit should be skipped. Judy felt the same way, but was worried that they’d “get in trouble” if they didn’t send the boys to their father.
Even the two boys didn’t want to see their father on February 5, 2012. But the grandparents did what they thought they should do. The boys went to see their father, and we all know what happened next.
I am not blaming the grandparents at all. They are heartbroken. But perhaps they should have risked “getting in trouble” and kept the boys home. I’m sure they wish they did.
Here’s what we all need to know: Our intuition is designed to protect us. Fear is our friend, and it is based on intuition. If we ever have a really bad feeling about anyone or anything, we should trust ourselves and take appropriate action to get away.
If the court really knew what sociopaths were capable of, and if many people had listened to their instincts, those boys might still be alive.
More about the case
Watch:
A family’s story on Dateline NBC
Steve Downing, the lawyer for Chuck and Judy Cox, talked to local media about his impressions of Josh Powell. He is obviously describing a sociopath.
[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/FQhz_aVTnow] [youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/lSOP4hOXPb4]
Josh Powell’s sister is in complete DENIAL about what her brother did. UNNNNNN freaking believeable
http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/132815/josh_powells_sister_defends_him?utm_medium=sem2&utm_campaign=outbrain&utm_source=outbrain&utm_content=outbrain&quick_picks=1
Now the powell relatives are trying to bury him next to his sons…..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2101804/Susan-Powell-Family-outrage-Josh-Powells-family-tries-buried-sons-murdered.html
Oxy,
I remember when I was that stupid. *sigh*
You dont need a degree in physcology to be in law enforcement.
You got that right, hens.
However you may need a degree in law enforcement to be in psychology with psychopaths….
The Josh Powell story has hit so close to home, with me, that I can’t even bare to follow it or read the story above.
I think I said, once before, here, that I had a 2-1/2 year old Grandson who was viciously murdered in 1992. An acquaintance of my daughters, she grew up with him, they went all through school together…he went in the Marines and was gone a couple of years, came home and started love bombing her…in the end, he stabbed my grandson through the heart 18 times, then took his body and threw it in an empty field, behind a sign that was overgrown. We all really do believe that after he dumped my grandson, he did intend to go back and murder my daughter as well. However, by the time he got back, she had already discovered the bloody bedroom and the fact that ‘her friend’ was gone…she took her cellphone, couldn’t find her keys, went and locked herself in her car and called the police. By the way, at the time of his arrest, her keys were in his pocket.
The police came and he finally confessed to doing it and took the sheriff and showed them where his body was. It isn’t easy being a grandmother, one who actually climbed in the cemetery hole and laid that little coffin to rest on the dirt.
And, I have one thing to say:
How dare this psychopath in my life think he can take more.
Who does this ‘entity’ think it is?
It was difficult holding my family together. But we made it.
I have never seen my family more devastated. Who was this evil person that created so much devastation and sorrow in my families lives?
I will tell you who: A FOR REAL COLD BLOODED, PSYCHOPATHIC, KILLER. Just like you see in the movies, folks. Only thing is, he was examined by several psychologists and they found that he is not insane but very manipulative and knows exactly what he is doing. In other words, he was and is in touch with his psychopathic side and tendencies and uses them to his full advantage, no matter what that takes.
I can’t bare to think nor read of the sorrow the grandparents of these children and their mother must be going through. It never really goes away. And, “I” have a psychopathic stalker ?? Some how that ppath seems so inconsequential when I think of this experience in my life.
My grandson’s murderer is in prison for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole; ever. He was an abandoned child who was taken in by adoptive parents and they raised him as their own. Gave him everything. They were older people. It came out at trial, he beat his adoptive father with a tire iron one time because his ‘father’ wouldn’t give him what he wanted, whatever it was…I can’t remember now.
I have traveled many roads and seen many things.
My faith has not wavered in whatever higher authority there might be…my faith has wavered in humankind.
Love to you hens…
20years: you said: “I also wish that people *would* take sides more, or be willing to say that evil does exist”…
You are absolutely right.
I could completely relate to your post up there.
Absolutely. I think from what I have read, you are an amazing mother and you should never feel guilty for making all the right decisions. I can tell you love your children very much and your post moved me. Reminded me so much of myself in younger years.
Thanks for your post.
My prayers and wishes are with you.
You will be just fine…I hear it!
Love ~ Dupey
PS: PPATHS HATE IT WHEN YOU UNMASK THEM.
Woundlicker, it was in the aftermath of my spath that I discovered my own narcissism. I remember blogging about it on here and the shame I felt. Yet it was also a relief to own this part of myself and bring it into the light and accept it. Something shifted for me when I did that. I loved myself just a little bit more.
When you talk about your Chinese zodiac sign being selfish, would you happen to have been born in the year of the rat? I was, and selfishness is one of the negative traits of that sign. I have made peace with that side of myself. It’s part of my shadow (this term that was coined by Carl Jung). My shadow is to be clingy, possessive, jealous, and envious. I am have a deeply compassionate and caring side, too. My personality is really prone toward extremes. But being a Libra, I usually strive to balance those things out. This is why, even when I was working as a stripper, I never sunk too far into depravity that I couldn’t bounce back and live a healthy life, which would be the biggest danger of a job like that – what it does to your psyche. I am one who probably would never let myself become a drug addict or sex addict, though I am aware of a part of myself that would be intrigued to go in that direction sometimes. If you are at all into astrology, I have 3 or 4 planets in Scorpio. This makes for someone who is capable of extreme heights of spiritual awareness and also the depths of depravity. I’ve probably dabbled a little in both directions, but always come back to a more moderate life.
Everyone has a shadow side. It may not be the same as yours or mine, but everyone has flaws and character weaknesses. I feel that we are not supposed to be perfect and without flaws to sit above everyone else and judge them. I think it’s just more kind to ourselves to accept our flaws and take responsibility for them, particularly when they would cause us to act out. I believe we are totally lovable even with those flaws. If we can love ourselves, we’re one step closer to allowing others to love us. Also, I feel that even though some of our weaknesses may have drawn spaths to us, we can equally draw kind people to us who accept us even with these same flaws. Just being aware and admitting our weaknesses means we are becoming whole and learning to love ourselves. And of course if you are AWARE of something you are doing, you then have the choice to change it anyway.
Duped,
I had no idea about your grandson. How horrible, and I’m so terribly sorry. 🙁
Woundlicker, I also wanted to add that I think being a little sociopathic can come in handy when breaking up with a spath. For instance, instead of trying to figure out their motives, what they want, what they are like, etc., etc., we could actually be selfish and say “who cares?” Who cares what they’re up to, what they want, what they’re doing, who they’re doing. Fact is they weren’t good enough for us. End of story. Moving right along……..What do *I* want? You can actually become indifferent toward them in your mind. It’s the same as a sociopathic discard, only you do it mentally. You just disconnect and put your energy in another direction. The best direction is the direction of our own healing and our own lives.
After a few months of obsessing over the spath, I employed this technique very proactively to get on with my life. But first I had to ensure no contact with him ever again. The only way to do that was to turn him in to the army for his crimes. Once that happened, he completely disappeared out of my life. During that time, the army told me he was suicidal and asked me if I wanted to recant my statement that eventually caused the army to find him guilty of fraud. “Hell no!” I said. My attitude toward him was very sociopathic. I think a lot of people here could use some of that attitude at a certain point in their recovery.
Judges are ELECTED in the US and there are some very odd attitudes to the total rights of parents. For example the Texas Republicans put in their party platform 2011 a plan to create a new charge so that parents who accidentally discipline their child to death aren’t charged with murder….
So sorry for your loss Duped. Your family are lucky to have someone so understanding and loving- I’m sure it was you who held them together.
But the majority of people, even if they ‘know’ just can’t their heads round sociopath/psychopathy…and we have medicalised the concept of ‘evil’ to try to explain it in recent years. Well some things just ARE evil, there is no explanation, and there is no treatment for it or for personality disorders. The medical and legal systems- because they attract arrogant, personality disordered workers maybe?- cannot accept this!
Whatever you do is likely to turn out bad in some way after meeting one of these dangerous people who have no conscience or compassion. For those of us who’ve been there the best outcome is usually they move on and victimise someone else….