Josh Powell Threatened Mother: Sister Claims He was the 'Victim'
Josh Powell, the man who killed himself and his two children in a house explosion after his wife went missing in Utah, now allege the man threatened his mother with a knife as a child and displayed other disturbing behaviors.
Despite the claims, which were made public through the release of 1992 court documents, Powell's sister doesn't believe he had anything to do with his wife's disappearance.
Alina Powell made the remarks to ABC News.
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She admitted she was suspicious of her brother when his wife, Susan Cox, vanished in 2009.
"I was. I had my doubts," she told ABC news.
SEE VIDEO OF EXPLOSION THAT KILLED POWELL AND HIS TWO KIDS
Now, as the nation is gripped by the recent actions that left two children dead, Josh Powell's sister is defending him.
"I scrutinized him pretty deeply. I watched him when he would talk, when he would interact with anyone else. I had my doubts," Alina Powell said. "I never, ever heard anything that was remotely suspicious in I don't know how many months."
Powell took the support of her brother to the next level. She attempted to portray him as the victim.
"I think this was the act of somebody who had been so damaged by the lack of due process, so harassed and abused and lied about that he just reached a point of feeling like there was no... I don't know," she said.
Court documents paint an entirely different picture. They show a disturbed young man that displayed grossly violent tendencies as a child and grew up to be a killer as an adult.
One incident described in the court documents tell how Josh Powell's mother was frightened by her son's reaction when she asked him to finish the dishes.
"I felt extreme fear when Josh made a veiled threat at me with a butcher knife in his hand. His demeanor was menacing for a moment as he said, 'Don't push it, mom,'" his mother Terrica Powell wrote. "I was terrified and left the room to go downstairs…"
Powell was the only person of interest in his wife's 2009 disappearance. He was arrested in 2011 on charges of voyeurism and child pornography in Washington, while living with his father Steven Powell.
His children were taken away from him after the arrest. But when a social worker brought the children for a supervised visit, Powell locked the social worker out of the house, which exploded minutes later.
Before the explosion, Josh Powell left a voicemail with several family members.
"This is Josh. I'm calling to say goodbye. I am not able to live without my sons and I'm not able to go on anymore. I'm sorry to everyone I've hurt. Goodbye," the voicemail said.
