Susan Search DNA test results

The bones and pants found in the Ironsides mine, by the Diesel Brothers Team were tested by a private forensic lab in Salt Lake City. The bones were found to be non-human. The Pants had Male DNA on them. We are trying find identify the male.

There was a sock and a piece of a blouse material that was not submitted to testing, but we have asked that they be tested. The next step would be to go back to the mine and screen the material removed from from the mine to determine if there are any smaller bone fragments or evidence, with the aid of cadaver dogs. Also to check other openings near the mine.

It is my belief, based on Josh’s murder of his boys that he would be very capable of dismembering Susan and dispersing parts in several locations.

The search goes on. This effort also has resulted in numerous agencies now determined to work together sharing resources and information with a renewed goal to find Susan.

I am so thankful for all the work of the Dave Sparks and the Diesel Brothers team, and all those that are stepping up and offering their help. Check out Diesel Brothers on youtube, look for “Mine search”, “we found something” We are done?”. There were 3 videos, very well done

Chuck Cox

Thank You!

Thank you o all of those who are still following the case and supporting our cause, 13 years later and our family still has such a large following, and support chain. So from the bottom of our hearts we thank you for the love and support you have given us.

Anyone who would like to donate to the foundation can do so using the link provided in the side menu under the dream away video.

Sincerely,

The friends and family of Susan Cox Powell.

10 Years and still fighting for the Safety of Children

February 5th it has been 10 years since Joshua Powell murdered Charlie and Braden and killed himself. We continue to fight the State of Washington and DSHS, now called The Washington State Department of Children Youth & Families (DCYF). Their web page states “Supporting + Protecting Children, Youth and Families”. A new name but the same people, and the same negligence and lack of accountability. In our wrongful death suit in 2019, a Jury found that DSHS failed to follow their primary goal of Protecting Children, and that by not following their own guidance, allowed Joshua Powell to murder Charlie and Braden, during a supervised visitation.

Definition: Proximate Cause: Proximate (or legal) cause. Cause-in-fact is determined by the “but for” test: But for the action, the result would not have happened.  Charlie and Braden would not have been killed by Joshua Powell but for the action of DSHS allowing supervised visitation in the house Joshua Powell rented and prepared for the murders, (contrary to their DSHS own guidance/negligence). Joshua Powell is dead but he couldn’t have killed with out the help of DSHS negligence. (which shows proximate cause)

DSHS nor the State’s attorneys acknowledged their errors, despite each of their employees that testified demonstrated a total dis-regard for the new definition of domestic violence, and DSHS’s responsibility to follow the new guidelines which where developed to reduce Familicide. (parents killing children) Failing to put Child Safety 1st over reunification (at all costs) continues to be the accepted Practice at DSHS.

The state continues to ignore the safety of children. Oakley Carlson age 5 was taken from her Foster Parents and returned to her Father and Mother (one who was fresh out of Drug Rehab the other fresh out of prison), while removing the Carlson’s newest baby citing the mother was unfit. Yet Oakley was returned to them. Oakley has not been seen for a year, her parents are facing charges for abandonment, and refuse to assist police in finding Oakley. Proximate cause of Oakley’s disappearance would be DSHS Placing Oakely Carlson in a home with unfit parents. Same old DSHS.

DSHS was challenged in court and held responsible for their negligence by a panel of Washington State Jurors. However, Judge Stanley Rumbaugh decided to negate the Jury and their award. Not because of the negligence verdict, that was proven thoroughly. But the State decided to ask for a separate Jury trial to establish a different award (money), Judge Rumbaugh said the Jury was “subconsciously compromised due to the horrendous facts of the case and incapable of deciding a reasonable award. So Judge Rumbaugh based on his personal opinion and “experience over the years” arbitrarily decided to reduce the award because he (Judge Rumbaugh) felt it was too high. So now the State attorneys have appealed the judges decision to change the award. So our case is currently waiting on the appeals court process.

While we are waiting on the appeals process DSHS and the State has avoided making the required changes to protect children and hold their employees responsible for not following existing rules. We are not going away, until we have done everything in our power to correct the root problem. The safety of the Child must be the first priority. Safety of the children has always been the reason for DSHS, DCYF or what ever name they want to call themselves. We want DSHS to do their job and protect children.

Thank you for your support. Chuck Cox Administrator and President SusanCoxPowellFoundation.

Letter from “Afriend”

This letter is representative of emails, texts and phone calls received over the past 12 years.   The letter was (edited) by Chuck Cox to remove potential specific identifying information that might endanger the author.   We constantly receive letters, phone calls and Facebook Messages, and referrals for “clients” needing help or to thank us, share their information or voice their support.    This activity often increases after one of the Specials about Susan is broadcast or rebroadcast and another person discovers Susan’s story.   Re enforcing our belief that telling Susan’s story is helping others.

We appreciate all of them.   Thank you “Friends and supporters” and especially the Author your words and effort were very comforting and I felt they needed to be shared.

Dear: Chuck and Judy Cox

I hope that life is finding you well. You actually don’t know me but I have been meaning to write for quite a while. I have two boys, ages (deleted). Over a year ago we fled from a domestic violence situation where our lives were in danger.

I wanted you write you and let you know of an experience I had with your daughter Susan (deleted) years ago. I had been married for about 2 years at the time. My oldest boy was about two years old at the time, and I was pregnant with another child. My Marriage had become extremely abusive and dangerous. I wanted to leave with my entire soul and body. I had spoken with an attorney and was getting ready to tell my husband that I was leaving with the children the following day. I remember very distinctly sitting in my bedroom, thinking about what I was going to say to my husband, when Susan came into my thoughts. I realized and felt strongly that she was in the room with me. The words came to my mind “Don’t tell him you are leaving him, just do it. I made that mistake and it cost me dearly”. I made the decision that I would never tell my husband I was leaving. I later found out that was completely right. I had not realized at that moment in my trauma and fear, that I was about to do something that would have endangered not only me but also my children. I of course have since learned that most women die when they tell their abusers they are leaving. [this is a critical time, and the most dangerous time for the abuse victim(s)]

I ended up speaking with multiple attorney’s and studying the “Family Court System”. Which led me to the decision that staying was the best bet at the time. It was unimaginable to me for my Husband to have unsupervised visitation with my children. (#1) I ended up staying with my husband for several years.[ and enduring the abusive while sheltering my children to the best of my ability]. Until my boys were (deleted)older, and I realized that my husband was going to end my life.

I have felt strongly that Susan wants me to write this letter to tell you [about my experience] and to tell you that she loves you. And to let you know that she and your grandchildren [Charlie and Braden] are helping people on the other side. She [Susan] saved our lives! I cannot express enough of a thankyou to you and to her. I am including a picture of my boys and my hands together for you. I have not included our names as we are still involved in the “Family Court System” (#1), and it is a monster all [on] it’s own. I also want to express my grief to you for the loss you have experienced!! I want you to know that because of what Susan told me, we have lived. I live every day of my life trying to help other women in my situation to see hope ant to move forward. Her [Susan’s] actions from the eternities have saved our lives. I consider all women that I meet who are going through this my eternal sisters. I consider your daughter as an eternal sister to whom I am eternally grateful! I hope and pray that life is finding you well, and that peace can be with you until you are reunited with your precious daughter and grand babies.

With Eternal Regards! [AFriend]

___________________________________________________________________________________

(#1)   “AFriend’s” evaluation of  the Family Court system as another Monster, is very true.

It was proven and decided by a jury that DSHS was negligent in allowing unsupervised visits and ignoring the warning signs of domestic violence.    Making them the proximate cause of Charlie and Braden’s death.   And awarding a large financial judgement against the State.    There have been changes to DSHS quietly across the nation.  (Officially it wasn’t because of the ruling of course).   

The Judge then attempted to negate the jury by reducing the amount.    The State has never accepted the Jury’s verdict or acknowledged any fault or the flaws in their system proven by the evidence presented in the trial.  

So children continue to be endangered by the Family Court System.   We await the appeal process which the State intends to drag out as long as possible.    The State has argued that DSHS and State has no responsibility for the safety of Children in their care, although in previous cases the appeals court told them that safety of the children was their primary responsibility.   Negligent employees were promoted and the failure to follow required domestic abuse policy continues.  

Familcide After a 6-year national study of domestic violence and familicide a new domestic violence policy, training and screening process was established in 2008.   And still today I hear judges and other professionals making comments that refer to the outdated definitions of domestic violence from years ago.   Many people Victims, Police, Judges, continue to think of domestic violence as bruises and hitting, while the study found that the emotional abusers are the most likely to commit familicide.   Physical abuse is still a terrible crime but Abuse always escalates.   Domestic violence is about control.   I hope that telling Susan’s story has helped some abusers to reexamine their own actions and decide to change.   Education is the one tool that is not limited by the laws of the land.  

 The Family court system, also known unofficially as “Liar’s court”, because the judge must assume that everything anyone says is the truth.   So either side may lie and be believed.

>If Person “A” says that the water was “red” and Person “B” says the water was “brown”  then the judge says there was water, but the color is unknown.   

>If Person A says the water was “red” and Persons B doesn’t disagree then the water was “red”.

> If Person A says that person B abused the child, and Person B says there was no abuse, then there was no abuse.   If Person B supplies evidence, a photo, or other irrefutable evidence that Person A was lying, then the evidence simply establishes a fact but everything else Person A says is presumed to be the truth, even though Person B proved that Person A lied about the one item.  

So remember if you don’t disprove, or at least deny an accusation you are agreeing with it.  (Maybe).   (What a  system)

The United States Supreme Court has said:

The Court explained that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects this liberty, incorporating “the right to marry, establish a home, and bring up children.” Pierce v. Soc’y of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925)

Many courts and those in the family justice system, are stuck with rulings protecting Parental rights, unfortunately these rulings fail to protect the safety of the child.   Children do not have rights until they turn 18, depending on individual state laws,  but of course Federal Laws and the constitution overrule States rights.

Before 2000: Supreme Court Upholds Parental Rights

Prior to 2000, the Supreme Court followed the doctrine that parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Parents were assumed to be the best caretakers for their child unless proven unfit. Our nation consistently maintained that parents possess a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit.
It is the natural duty of the parent to give his children education suitable to their station in life. – Meyer v. State of Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923)

2000 Troxel Ruling:
There’s Now No Clear Precedent

Rather than continuing to uphold the Parental Rights Doctrine clearly established in previous cases, the Supreme Court’s split decision in Troxel v. Granville (2000) opened the door for individual judges and States to apply their own rules to parental rights.

Troxel in a NutshellOn the one hand…On the other hand…

A Washington state law gave any person the ability to override a good parent’s decision about visitation by simply claiming that it would be “best” for children to allow the third-party to have visitation rights. When the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the law in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000):

A picture from A

20/20 Case update Nov. 6, 2020 9PM has been moved due to election coverage. There is no new date at this time.

Attached is a link to the Trailer of the upcoming Case update. 20/20 has been working on this since January last year.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=388176282368074&id=163497464933

Thank you for your Support

Chuck Cox

Florin Roebig, Trial Attorneys

For those of you looking for legal help, against Domestic and sexual abuse of harassment, you can get a free case evaluation and further help at https://florinroebig.com/about-florin-roebig/

Back To Court……Again

We have another Court Date Tuesday September 15th, at 10am, The hearing should be open to the public however, we are checking Covid -19 restrictions. Anyone interested in the case and the Safety of Children should be able to attend, adhering to the Covid -19 restrictions. Judge Rumbaugh will hear arguments on the State’s motion for him to reconsider and to set aside the Jury’s Verdict and to start a new trial or at least reduce the Jury’s award. The State filed a 65 page motion challenging certain rulings made by the court during the trial attesting that they were wrong and biased, (not true) the jury was unduly influenced by emotion (not true), and the effects of Covid-19 made fair their presentation of the case impossible (Covid -19 impacted both sides), along with a long list of other ridiculous claims. The State asking the Judge to reconsider is a normal step before filing an appeal. Sitting through the entire trial, I felt the Judge tried to be, and was very fair, giving the State every chance and favoring the State whenever possible. Although in the end, the negligence of the State was clear. The State has yet to acknowledge any fault, or error, even with their own defense witnesses, and documents proving it.

Chuck Cox

Reminder!

You can find information about requesting wristbands, under the contact us tab. Also, you can help the foundation by donating, via the Donate buttons located in various place on the web page. Thank you all for your support!

The Susan Cox Powell Foundation.

The Verdict is in:

The Jury found that DSHS (The Agency/State) was negligent. I would like to give a special thanks to the Jury. They stayed with the case despite an almost 4 month break due to Covid-19 restrictions, they were dedicated, attentive and in my mind showed great courage and resolve to see this trial through. I think we started on February 12th and ended July 31. The visibility of this case and the amount of the damage award by the Jury are main factors. I am told the repercussions of this case and their verdict are already increasing safety for children in foster care across the nation.

Why did the Cox family sue in the first place?

We discovered that DSHS had lied about security precautions and failed to follow their own policies and procedures. We discovered this was not just a bad decision, it was a coordinated plan with the approval of management. We feel the Agency negligently moved visitation to Joshua Powell’s new residence which was not a secure location. Despite the fact that none of the visitation safety concerns had changed and despite our concerns.

The Trial exposed that there was and is a culture throughout the Agency of “reunification” as the first priority rather then “Child Safety“, the official first priority. The trial showed that the culture of the Agency was and is to this day ignoring the new domestic violence policy adopted in 2009 to help prevent familicide and to protect children. The “Social Workers Domestic Violence Policy and Procedures Guide” was rolled out in 2010 along with a training program to be taught by psychologists to insure proper implementation. The trial showed that employees where not trained on the new policies and procedures until 2013. Therefore the agency did not acknowledge emotional abuse,and other forms of abuse or properly investigate domestic violence as required using the 2010 Guide. Rather, the Agency was relying on previous training that narrowly defines Domestic Violence as (criminal) reported Physical Abuse or Sexual Abuse with bruises or marks that have been documented.(criminal domestic violence now includes emotional abuse and other forms) Many forms of Domestic Violence and Abuse do not leave visible marks, and often go unreported. The new policy and procedures require the Social Worker to investigate allegations, family history, and interview collateral sources. We found that this culture still exists today 10 years after the 2010 Guide was printed rolled out and available. In fact Agency Attorneys argued that there was no reported or documented domestic violence. Even though Susan was missing and Josh her husband was the sole Person of Interest/Suspect in her “disappearance/murder”. It couldn’t be considered because there had been no arrest or charge and no documented report of domestic violence or abuse..

What happened to Charlie and Braden was tragic, but this fight was not just for them. This fight was for all of the children who have or could meet a similar fate due to negligence from the state. This is the system we’ve all been told to trust, the lives of children are at stake. This system has failed many times in the past, as indicated by their own records of deaths of children in dependency. Now that many of the mistakes have been identified. We want the Agency to change their culture, do their jobs and protect the children. We are trying to make sure that DSHS and other Agencies across the Nation “Put Kids First”

The Susan Cox Powell Foundation will continue to help in anyway and anyone that we can to make this world a safer place, helping women and children get the help that they need to save themselves from Domestic Violence.

Thank you for all of your support.

Chuck Cox

The Susan Cox Powell Foundation

Understanding Domestic Violence:

Preparatory reading for participants.

By: Anne L. Ganley, Ph.D.

Can be found at :https://andvsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/60-ganely-general-dv-article.pdf

Includes important information, that may be very helpful for those who are seeking guidance in regards to Domestic Violence. Please be informed and ready for the danger that lurks in even the most unexpected places.