A father abducted his young sons before cutting them with a hatchet, pouring fuel in their wounds and killing them.
The horrific deaths of five year-old Braden Powell and his brother Charlie, 7, at the hands of dad Josh Powell were outlined in a civil court case in Tacoma, Washington, on Tuesday.
Josh murdered his sons in February 2012, three years after his wife Susan vanished, with Josh suspected of murdering her.
Susan’s parents Judy and Chuck Cox have now sued their local Department of Social and Health Services, claiming its negligence led to their grandson’s deaths.
The horrific saga began in 2009 when Susan Powell failed to turn up for work in West Valley City, Utah.
Josh Powell had taken Braden and Charlie on a midnight camping trip on the night she disappeared, and maintained his innocence in her disappearance.
Court documents said Susan’s blood was found next to a sofa in the family’s home, and that Josh had made attempts to collect a life insurance policy and retirement money shortly after his death.
Josh then moved home to be with his dad in Puyallup, Washington, with his sons placed in social services care because his dad was a convicted voyeur.
It was during one December 2012 supervised visit that Josh locked a social worker outside and mutilated his young sons, before pouring gasoline over them.
He then set his house ablaze, with the subsequent explosion killing both him and the boys, WSBT reported.
Speaking in court Tuesday, the Cox’s attorney Anne Bremner said social services should have spotted ‘red flags’ that Josh posed a danger to his sons.
Bremner highlighted the midnight camping trip on the night of Susan’s disappearance, saying: ‘And then (Susan) disappeared and the kids said she was in the car, she was in a mine – things like that.’
The lawyer said the Cox’s wanted to change social services policy, so that family reunification was no longer prioritized at the expense of a child’s safety.
