Court bans publication of Susan Powell's journal
TACOMA, Wash. - The husband and father-in-law of missing mom Susan Cox Powell were ordered not to publish any entries from Susan's journal in a court order issued Friday.
The temporary restraining order, issued in Pierce County Superior Court, orders the husband, Josh Powell, and his father, Steven Powell, to "immediately cease" publication of entries from Susan's private journal.
It also orders the husband and father-in-law to "immediately remove" Susan's journal entries from their website, SusanPowell.org, and from any other public forum where the entries are posted. They also are prohibited from giving copies of the journal to the press.
The temporary restraining order was requested by Susan's father and mother, Chuck and Judy Cox, through their attorney, Anne M. Bremner, and was granted Friday.
"It's really a major victory for the family because there's been so much out there right now that's untrue that's been put forth by Steven and Josh Powell," Bremner said in an interview with KOMO Radio.
The order says that Chuck and Judy Cox will continue to suffer "severe mental distress and anguish" as a result of the journal's publication. The injuries "are irreparable and will only worsen" if the Powells continue to publish the entries, the court order adds.
Susan's private journal, which covers the period of her teen years, has been in the possession of Josh and Steven Powell. The two have claimed in recent interviews that the journal entries, which number about 2,000 pages, show Susan was suicidal in her younger years.
But Bremner said the journals have absolutely no bearing on the missing person case.
"Susan was a teenager with these journals. It doesn't show anything," she said. "She was a good wife and a good mother who would have never left her children."
She said Josh and Steven Powell have given copies of journal entries to the media, but they no longer can do that.
A copy was given to KOMO News, which made the decision not to publish or broadcast any material from Susan's private journals.
On Thursday, police executed a search warrant and seized Susan's journal from Josh Powell's home, according to Steven Powell. It is not known whether Josh and Steven Powell have any other copies of Susan's journal.
The latest developments come 20 months after Susan Powell's disappearance on Dec. 6, 2009, from her home in West Valley City, Utah. She was reported missing the next day after she failed to show up for her stockbroker job.
Josh Powell said he last saw his 28-year-old wife before he left with their two boys, ages 2 and 4, to go on a midnight camping trip in freezing temperatures on the Pony Express Trail, about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.
Bremner also said that Josh delayed reporting Susan as missing, and that police found a wet spot on the carpet of the Powell family home with two fans drying it after her disappearance.
Police have said that Josh Powell is a person of interest in the case, although he's never been arrested or charged.
Both Susan and Josh Powell are natives of Puyallup, and Josh moved back there with his young sons after Susan disappeared. Susan's father-in-law and father also live in Puyallup.
In recent interviews, Josh Powell has claimed that his wife was mentally "unstable" before she vanished, and Steven Powell has claimed that she initiated a flirtatious, "sexually charged" relationship with him.
Her father, Chuck Cox, has denied those claims - as did Bremner, who called them a "complete lie."
Bremner said there can be only one possible motivation for publishing entries from Susan's private teen journals - and that is to "smear" Susan.
"They try to say that she took some aspirin and tried to kill herself. She didn't," she says. "I mean, she was a kid. You say funny things when you're a kid. She was an adult woman with two children aged 2 and 4 when she disappeared, and to mock her memory or try and malign her is just irresponsible."
The restraining order issued against Josh and Steven Powell comes a few days after Josh obtained a no-contact order against Chuck and Judy Cox, forbidding them coming within 500 feet of him or his sons.
The temporary restraining order, issued in Pierce County Superior Court, orders the husband, Josh Powell, and his father, Steven Powell, to "immediately cease" publication of entries from Susan's private journal.
It also orders the husband and father-in-law to "immediately remove" Susan's journal entries from their website, SusanPowell.org, and from any other public forum where the entries are posted. They also are prohibited from giving copies of the journal to the press.
The temporary restraining order was requested by Susan's father and mother, Chuck and Judy Cox, through their attorney, Anne M. Bremner, and was granted Friday.
"It's really a major victory for the family because there's been so much out there right now that's untrue that's been put forth by Steven and Josh Powell," Bremner said in an interview with KOMO Radio.
The order says that Chuck and Judy Cox will continue to suffer "severe mental distress and anguish" as a result of the journal's publication. The injuries "are irreparable and will only worsen" if the Powells continue to publish the entries, the court order adds.
Susan's private journal, which covers the period of her teen years, has been in the possession of Josh and Steven Powell. The two have claimed in recent interviews that the journal entries, which number about 2,000 pages, show Susan was suicidal in her younger years.
But Bremner said the journals have absolutely no bearing on the missing person case.
"Susan was a teenager with these journals. It doesn't show anything," she said. "She was a good wife and a good mother who would have never left her children."
She said Josh and Steven Powell have given copies of journal entries to the media, but they no longer can do that.
A copy was given to KOMO News, which made the decision not to publish or broadcast any material from Susan's private journals.
On Thursday, police executed a search warrant and seized Susan's journal from Josh Powell's home, according to Steven Powell. It is not known whether Josh and Steven Powell have any other copies of Susan's journal.
The latest developments come 20 months after Susan Powell's disappearance on Dec. 6, 2009, from her home in West Valley City, Utah. She was reported missing the next day after she failed to show up for her stockbroker job.
Josh Powell said he last saw his 28-year-old wife before he left with their two boys, ages 2 and 4, to go on a midnight camping trip in freezing temperatures on the Pony Express Trail, about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.
Bremner also said that Josh delayed reporting Susan as missing, and that police found a wet spot on the carpet of the Powell family home with two fans drying it after her disappearance.
Police have said that Josh Powell is a person of interest in the case, although he's never been arrested or charged.
Both Susan and Josh Powell are natives of Puyallup, and Josh moved back there with his young sons after Susan disappeared. Susan's father-in-law and father also live in Puyallup.
In recent interviews, Josh Powell has claimed that his wife was mentally "unstable" before she vanished, and Steven Powell has claimed that she initiated a flirtatious, "sexually charged" relationship with him.
Her father, Chuck Cox, has denied those claims - as did Bremner, who called them a "complete lie."
Bremner said there can be only one possible motivation for publishing entries from Susan's private teen journals - and that is to "smear" Susan.
"They try to say that she took some aspirin and tried to kill herself. She didn't," she says. "I mean, she was a kid. You say funny things when you're a kid. She was an adult woman with two children aged 2 and 4 when she disappeared, and to mock her memory or try and malign her is just irresponsible."
The restraining order issued against Josh and Steven Powell comes a few days after Josh obtained a no-contact order against Chuck and Judy Cox, forbidding them coming within 500 feet of him or his sons.
