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hello everyone and welcome back to another True Crime Mysteries video thank you all for being here
today we're discussing three Cold Case missing persons cases as always covering these cases
and shedding some light on them might be the final piece of a puzzle needed to solve these
cases but with that being said let's get into it number three Susan Marie Powell it was 1999
cosmetology student Susan Cox met Joshua Powell at a dinner party in Tacoma Washington Joshua
and Susan were devout followers of the Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints and the spark between
the two was undeniable friends close to the couple claim that within a few days of meeting each other
Joshua had already proposed and the two had said in motions plans to spend the rest of their lives
together Susan was utterly smitten with Josh and in 2001 the pair got married in a traditional LDS
ceremony following their marriage the two moved in with Josh's father Stephen Powell in South Hill
poyellup Utah Steven welcomed his daughter-in-law with open arms but his behavior soon took a turn
for the worse Susan had gotten a job as a broker at Wells Fargo and to the outside world all seemed
well Josh and Susan were thriving but behind closed doors evil was lurking Stephen had taken
a particular liking to Susan in the three years the couple lived with him his behavior escalated
to stealing her underwear to filming her without her consent Susan was disgusted by Stephen's
behavior and attitude towards her and things came to a head when she discovered he'd been
writing love songs dedicated to her he would later tell the Today Show quote I wasn't going to turn
down an opportunity with this beautiful woman even though she's my son's wife one of the songs titled
waiting for you included lyrics such as quote I could be getting a mistaken impression each time
you seem to gaze at me you let me touch you softly why is the question and the effect amazes me in
2004 the Powells were relieved when they moved to West Valley City and finally got away from Stephen
little did Susan know that Steven's bizarre behavior was just the tip of the iceberg she
had jumped out of the frying pan Into the Fire the fire being Josh's controlling and abusive Behavior
now that the two were alone Josh exerted complete control over his wife making her life miserable
he began to withdraw from the LDS church something that Susan was passionate about and he remained in
close contact with his father Stephen despite his inappropriate behavior towards Susan
by 2007 Susan and Josh had welcomed two sons Charles born 2005 and Braden born 2007.
Susan dove headfirst into motherhood and was known to be a loving and devoted mother she juggled her
job as a broker with her job as a parent whilst Josh was in between jobs it was apparent to those
outside the marriage that cracks were beginning to show Susan was the primary Breadwinner and Josh
was living a lifestyle well beyond their means Josh's spending habits and withdrawal from the LDS
church began to great on Susan and the pair became distant Susan recorded a disturbing video in which
she said this is me July 29 2008 covering all my bases making sure that if anything happens to
me or my family or all of us that our assets are documented July 29 2008 it is 12 33 Mountain Time
um covering all my bases making sure that if something happens to me or my family or
all of us that our assets are documented hope everything works out and we're all happy and
live happily ever after as much as that's possible she banned the camera around the home but it was
clear that Susan's message had a double meaning Komo News reported that in June 2008 Susan had
written a new will in secret the will in part read quote I want it to be documented somewhere
that there is Extreme turmoil in our marriage Josh threatened that if we get a divorce there will be
no lawyers only a church mediator and I will ruin you she also stated that Josh had told her quote
you Susan will be destroyed and your life would be over and the boys will not grow up with a mom and
dad final paragraph chillingly read quote if I die it was not an accident even if it looks like one
just over a year later Susan Powell disappeared under mysterious circumstances December 6 2009
started like any other day for the Powells Susan took her children to a church service
before returning home news Outlet the deserter provided an in-depth timeline of Susan's last
known movements the last person to see Susan was a neighbor who saw her around 5 PM Susan
had made dinner for the family before taking a nap as she felt unwell after this what happened
to Susan remains a complete mystery the next day on December 7th 2009 the West Valley City
Police Department received a call from a babysitter of Charles and Braden the
pair failed to attend daycare that morning and Josh and Susan were both unreachable
their families had also tried to contact them to no avail the West Valley City Police Department
quickly began the search for the Powell family fearing that the worst may have occurred
hours later at 5 PM Joshua and the boys returned to the West Valley family home
without Susan Josh's Behavior was noted as very strange and erratic and when officers entered
the house earlier that day they found that two fans had been blowing on a wet spot on the carpet
Susan's purse wallet and ID bank cards were found inside the home but her cell phone was missing
upon his return Josh told the investigators a bizarre story of how he had whisked his kids
away on a late night camping trip to Simpson Springs in Utah he claimed that Susan had been
asleep when he left because she felt unwell investigators found that hard to believe
that Josh had taken two small children into the woods in the freezing December weather
data indicated that on December 7th Utah experienced highs of 7 degrees Celsius or
44 Fahrenheit and lows of negative 17 Celsius and 1 degree Fahrenheit with blizzard-like condition
investigators ordered a further examination of the Powell home and at this time they found two
crucial Clues firstly was Susan's phone which was found in the car Joshua had used on December 7th
to take his kids camping one question Charles and Braden agreed that they'd been camping but
only after encouragement from their father second forensic investigators found a blood
stain on the carpet and a DNA test proved that it belonged to Susan there were still
insufficient evidence for investigators to press charges and the search continued
they also found life insurance policies for Susan worth over a million dollars
and Susan's privately stashed will letter and video Josh tried to return to normal
following Susan's disappearance despite the circumstances and the media circus that followed
news outlets quickly discovered Steven's bizarre obsession with his daughter-in-law Susan
and soon the blame began to fall on Josh Charles and Braden gave chilling accounts
of what happened that cold December evening once they were away from the influence of their father
Charles told a teacher that Susan had been with them on their camping trip but that she hadn't
been alive Braden also drew a picture of the van similar to the Chrysler minivan the Powell's owned
with the picture depicting his mother sleeping in the trunk of the car
things would take a sickening turn in 2011 when the full scope of Steven's Obsession was revealed
after he was arrested for voyeurism inappropriate child materials it was also around this time that
Josh lost custody of his two sons and they were placed in the care of their maternal grandparents
investigators slowly began piecing together the puzzle and getting closer to arresting Josh
became evident to investigators that Josh was a narcissist who emotionally abused his wife
and controlled her life but the unthinkable would happen before action could be taken
February 5th 2012 is a date that Susan's parents will never forget that afternoon
Elizabeth Griffin Hall arrived at Josh's home with Charles and Braden for a supervised visit
psychologist Dr James Manley who had undertaken Josh's psychological evaluation noted that he
suffered with adjustment disorder and narcissistic personality disorder before Elizabeth could enter
the door Josh slammed it in her face she heard the locks clicking from inside and immediately
began to bang on the door she told Josh to let her inside and desperately called 9-1-1 to get some
backup Elizabeth stood on the side of the road outside of the home waiting for the police to
arrive to retrieve the children just minutes later the Powell home exploded and erupted in flames
Charles Joshua Powell was seven years old Braden Timothy Powell was just five years old
emergency responders arrived but it was too late investigators found that Josh had taken an ax to
his sons before dousing them in gasoline and setting the home on fire he had sent an email
to his lawyer stating that he was sorry and he also sent goodbye messages to his family
there are two overwhelming emotions out here this morning deep deep sadness and also anger
anger that these two little boys couldn't somehow be protected from their father a man that so many
people feared was a killer the fire and apparent explosion was so powerful it shook neighbor's
homes and sent bits of insulation from the house raining down on the neighborhood all of a sudden
the house shook and I ran outside and you can see this black smoke minutes earlier just before 12
30 Sunday afternoon seven-year-old Charles and five-year-old Brayden Powell had been escorted
into the home by a caseworker for a court-ordered visitation with their father Josh Powell Police
say Powell forced the caseworker out locked the doors she saw flames and called 9-1-1 just as a
series of blasts tore the house apart across town Josh Powell's attorney says he received
an email from Josh stamped 1205. it was three words I'm sorry goodbye this wasn't tragic this
was deeply wrong this was evil you do not kill little kids police found three bodies
in the center of the rubble two children and an adult they say there is no doubt that that Josh
Powell wanted to end his life and take his little boys with him and say an accelerant was used to
make the House burn quickly he grabbed the kids locked her out of the house and immediately the
house went up in Flames there he is there he is you see him sources tell ABC News Powell's mood
had changed drastically in recent days he was more calm than usual but also seemed excited about the
future he was last seen in public at this custody hearing on Wednesday during which a judge ordered
him to undergo a psychological examination and lie detector test while the kids remained with
his missing wife's parents we're happy to have him with us we wanted the best for the kids the
decision was a blow to Powell who recently lost custody of the two boys and remained the only
person of interest in The Disappearance of his wife Susan Josh told police that he last saw his
wife around midnight in December of 2009 before taking his two sons on a late night camping trip
in the Utah desert you know I I got out to a pretty late start this morning the Cox family
which First lost a daughter is now dealing with the almost unbearable deaths of their grandsons
investigators were heartbroken by the conclusion of this bizarre situation
in 2013 Michael Powell Josh's brother who was also believed to have some involvement also
took his own life almost all possible suspects and Witnesses and Susan's disappearance are now gone
Stephen didn't provide the police with any valuable information and following his release
in 2017 he too would pass away due to natural causes this investigation had led the police on
a wild goose chase and despite thousands of dollars in cutting-edge techniques the West
Valley City Police Department were no closer to solving this case than they were in 2009
investigators believe Susan's body may be buried somewhere in Simpson Springs or the surrounding
Utah Wilderness with all potential Witnesses and suspects now deceased investigators are holding
out for new information or evidence to surface Susan's disappearance encompasses so many bizarre
tales and stories and is hard to discern what is the truth and what is a red herring
Susan Marie Powell is described as a white female with brown highlighted hair blue eyes 5'4 and 130
pounds she was last seen wearing a long sleeve black shirt and black dress pants anyone with
information is asked to contact detective David Greco of the West Valley City Police Department
number two Angela Mae Meeker Angela Mae Meeker was just two days away from her 14th birthday
when she disappeared on July 7 1979 Angela who lived in Tacoma Washington was known to
be a bright and outstanding young student at the time of her disappearance she was in junior high
and was doing well that afternoon Angela headed to the Tacoma Mall to buy a birthday card for
her friend a friend of Angelus would later come forward telling investigators that he had spotted
Angela walking on the side of the road this friend rolled down his window and discovered
that Angela was headed for the mall he offered her a ride and Angela jumped into the passenger
seat according to this friend he dropped her off outside the Payless store close to the mall
this is believed to have been the last time she was seen Angela never turned up for her joint
birthday party that evening Angela's mother knew that her daughter frequently disappeared for a
few days at a time but she eventually always returned when Angela's birthday passed there
was still no sign of her her family reported her missing to the Tacoma Police Department
they too were wary of Angela's past Behavior but her mother convinced them that this time
was different she felt it in her gut as reported by the Charlie project it would take two years for
Angela to be listed as a missing person not much is known about the subsequent investigation but
at one time it was believed that she was another victim of the Green River Killer Gary Ridgeway
however there's no concrete evidence to back up this Theory a local news reported that six months
after Angela's disappearance another 13 year old went missing this girl was found murdered 12 days
later Angela was known to hitchhike and her mother believes that she may have hitchhiked on the day
that she disappeared until Angela's body is found it's almost impossible to speculate what happened
as the years have passed Angela's case has grown colder and colder very few leads and tips come
into the Tacoma Police Department but they believe someone out there knows something they told the
media quote if there are people who knew Angie that might have any information about what was
going on in her life at the time relationships she was in if they have any information or even
speculation about what happened to her I'd be interested in hearing about it
if still alive today Angela May Meeker would be 57 years old Angela is described as a Caucasian
female with blonde brown hair hazel eyes five one to five two and 100 to 109 pounds she has a dark
mole on her left side of her mouth and she was last seen wearing black floral shirt a blue and
black satin jacket blue jeans sandals and a black felt hat with red feathers anyone with information
is asked to contact the Tacoma Police Department number one Anthony Merrill nine-year-old Anthony
Merrill was last seen at his home on sells Avenue in Atlanta Georgia on November 14 1971.
at the time the area where Anthony lived Harris Holmes was a housing project that housed hundreds
of low-income families it was a tight fit in the apartment for Anthony and his family and
had been reported that he shared a room with his 13 year old brother and the two had bunk beds
also in the home where Anthony's mother and stepfather on the evening of November 14th
Anthony climbed into the top bunk of his bed and drifted off to sleep his 13 year
old brother took the bottom bunk and the two were expecting a peaceful night's sleep
when anthy's brother awoke the next morning he was horrified to find his brother was missing he
immediately notified his mother and they searched the entire apartment and the apartment complex
after calling around they couldn't find anyone who had seen Anthony and the merrells went to
the Atlanta Police Department unfortunately the Atlanta PD classified Anthony's case as a
runaway even though he was just nine years old there was no sign of a struggle in his bedroom
and his older brother did not report hearing anything suspicious in the night Anthony and
his family originally hailed from North Carolina and the Atlanta PDA believed
that the nine-year-old had somehow traveled back to North Carolina to be with relatives
his mother of course refuted this but the police refused to listen when the police failed to find
any sign of Anthony in Georgia or North Carolina they finally listed him as a missing person
whilst Anthony's mother said that her son had no reason to run away from home Anthony's brother
told a different story his brother claimed that their stepfather was violent and it even
once stabbed their mother Anthony's brother does not believe that he ran away from home
and believes that his stepfather likely holds answers to what had happened to him
if Anthony was still alive he would be 61 years old at the time of his disappearance he was
described as a black male with black hair black eyes 5'2 and 95 pounds anyone with information
is asked to contact the Atlanta Police Department well that's it for this video thank you so much
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