Stained comforter in Powell unit tests positive for blood
TACOMA, Wash. - Police who searched a storage unit belonging to Josh Powell have found a stained comforter that tested positive for blood in initial exams, according to documents obtained Friday by KOMO News.
The discovery of the stained comforter was the latest development in the investigation after Powell killed himself and his two young sons in a deliberately set house fire on Sunday.
According to a search warrant document obtained by KOMO News, the green-blue-and-pink comforter was found in a storage unit that Josh Powell had rented in the Tacoma area.
A stain was found on the comforter that tested positive for blood in field tests.
Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said the presumptive test was conducted with a field kit and that a determination of blood won't be confirmed until the item is examined in the lab. "Field tests are not infallible," he said.
If the stain tests positive for blood in lab tests, then further tests will be conducted to try and determine whose blood it is.
Lindquist said he expects the finding will be something law enforcement will share with colleagues in Utah who have been investigating Susan Powell's disappearance. The comforter was the only item police kept from the storage unit.
Also found in the storage unit were several plastic bins filled with miscellaneous items, a box full of blocks, a white garbage bag containing children's clothing and linen, a garbage bag full of toys and some framed photos.
The searches were conducted after Josh Powell attacked his sons with a hatchet then torched his home in a gasoline-fueled inferno after they arrived for a supervised visit on Sunday.
Before the deaths, Josh Powell was the only publicly named person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, who vanished in December 2009 when the family lived in Utah.
Powell recently was denied custody of his two sons, but was allowed to have supervised visits with them at his home.
Also on Friday, it was revealed that incestuous sex images were found two years ago on a computer belonging to Josh Powell.
But a lawyer for the Powell's in-laws, who had custody of the boys, was never told about the images even through a judge in Utah had specified that he should be allowed to see them.
The lawyer, Steve Downing, said he might have asked the court to change the terms of Powell's supervised visitation with the boys, such as by asking for the visits to be in a public place, if he had known about the images.
The discovery of the stained comforter was the latest development in the investigation after Powell killed himself and his two young sons in a deliberately set house fire on Sunday.
According to a search warrant document obtained by KOMO News, the green-blue-and-pink comforter was found in a storage unit that Josh Powell had rented in the Tacoma area.
A stain was found on the comforter that tested positive for blood in field tests.
Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said the presumptive test was conducted with a field kit and that a determination of blood won't be confirmed until the item is examined in the lab. "Field tests are not infallible," he said.
If the stain tests positive for blood in lab tests, then further tests will be conducted to try and determine whose blood it is.
Lindquist said he expects the finding will be something law enforcement will share with colleagues in Utah who have been investigating Susan Powell's disappearance. The comforter was the only item police kept from the storage unit.
Also found in the storage unit were several plastic bins filled with miscellaneous items, a box full of blocks, a white garbage bag containing children's clothing and linen, a garbage bag full of toys and some framed photos.
The searches were conducted after Josh Powell attacked his sons with a hatchet then torched his home in a gasoline-fueled inferno after they arrived for a supervised visit on Sunday.
Before the deaths, Josh Powell was the only publicly named person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, who vanished in December 2009 when the family lived in Utah.
Powell recently was denied custody of his two sons, but was allowed to have supervised visits with them at his home.
Also on Friday, it was revealed that incestuous sex images were found two years ago on a computer belonging to Josh Powell.
But a lawyer for the Powell's in-laws, who had custody of the boys, was never told about the images even through a judge in Utah had specified that he should be allowed to see them.
The lawyer, Steve Downing, said he might have asked the court to change the terms of Powell's supervised visitation with the boys, such as by asking for the visits to be in a public place, if he had known about the images.
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