Murdering Mormons: 15 Mormons Who Defied the Cross
Faith seems is like a double-edged sword; it can inspire people to do great deeds and drive some to commit unspeakable crimes.
The Mormon religion in particular is exceptionally unique in many of its doctrines. While it enjoys the unwavering devotion of millions of people throughout the world, it has also suffered the shame and infamy of being associated with some of the most heinous crimes, including serial killings and mass murders.
Get to know some of the most notorious criminals ever known to man and discover how their faith sometimes played a part in their crimes.
The Mormon religion in particular is exceptionally unique in many of its doctrines. While it enjoys the unwavering devotion of millions of people throughout the world, it has also suffered the shame and infamy of being associated with some of the most heinous crimes, including serial killings and mass murders.
Get to know some of the most notorious criminals ever known to man and discover how their faith sometimes played a part in their crimes.
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Excerpt
Introduction
Faith seems is like a double-edged sword; it can inspire people to do great deeds and drive some to commit unspeakable crimes.
The Mormon religion in particular is exceptionally unique in many of its doctrines. While it enjoys the unwavering devotion of millions of people throughout the world, it has also suffered the shame and infamy of being associated with some of the most heinous crimes, including serial killings and mass murders.
Get to know some of the most notorious criminals ever known to man and discover how their faith sometimes played a part in their crimes.
Susan Powell
In Spring of 2001, Josh Powell and Susan Cox were married at a Mormon temple in Portland, Oregon. It was a whirlwind romance of sorts since they had only met at a single’s dance in one of the Latter-day Saints events four months before they tied the knot.
Just like most young women at the age of twenty, Susan Powell was once a love struck newlywed who dreamt of having a family of her own with a husband who would love her unconditionally. This much was evident in her journal entries, which she started a year after her marriage to Josh.
In 2002, she even wrote that she felt incredibly blessed and lucky to have Josh in her life. Sadly, things suddenly turned sour and the entries started to sound grim. What initially seemed to be a fairytale romance had somehow turned into a living nightmare.
The Young Couple’s Struggles
The couple were active members of the church. They regularly attended service and even sang together in the choir. While the couple struggled financially, they had each other and their faith to keep them together.
Early into their marriage, the couple bounced from one job to another and had to transfer from apartment to apartment. Sometimes, they were forced to live temporarily with Josh’s father, Steve. In her journal, Susan claims her husband was good with computers but she had reservations about his ability to keep a regular job.
Money had always been a constant problem for the couple. The Mormon Church requires its members to tithe 10% of their income. This was something that Josh considered to be a waste, which was written in Susan’s journal. Josh also wanted to spend as little on food as possible. In her journal, Susan wrote that they would only buy meat and dairy products, all other food products would come from their garden.
Unreasonable Restrictions
Eventually, Susan managed to land a steady job as a call center agent. She earned a decent salary, which was enough to support her young family. However, this may have had a negative impact on Josh, as he grew more sullen and controlling, which was revealed in the police records and Susan’s journal.
Josh tried his best to cut off Susan from the rest of the world. He imposed unreasonable restrictions on her such as limiting her phone and internet access. He also made sure calls to their apartment were forwarded to his mobile phone so he can personally decide which messages his wife could receive and which ones should be discarded. He did not even allow Susan to have a mobile phone of her own.
According to police records, even Susan’s sister had limited contact with her and their conversations were closely monitored by Josh. The sister, whose name was withheld, revealed she had resorted to calling Susan at work so Josh would not be able to eavesdrop.
Negative Influence
Susan knew things were not normal in their household and her husband’s behavior made her worry for her safety. In her journal, she had written how she struggled to accept how quickly their marriage had seemed to deteriorate. She also didn’t have a good relationship with her father-in-law, who she considered to be meddlesome and a bad influence on Josh.
Susan soon felt a growing sense of unease as she started to fear for her life and that of her two young sons. Her journal revealed she had contemplated leaving her husband and fleeing with her little boys. However, it was her strong religious faith that kept her from doing so and instead she committed herself to saving her marriage and keeping her family together.
Josh started to distance himself and his family from the Mormon Church, which was said to be exactly what his father Steve had done years earlier. In her journal, Susan had detailed how father and son would spend hours on the phone every week. Many of their conversations triggered bouts of anger in Josh, which Susan and the kids had to witness and endure.
The Disappearance
In one entry in 2008, she wrote: "If I die, it may not be an accident even if it looks like one." The following year, Susan Powell was reported missing and hasn’t been seen since. Shortly after her disappearance, her husband Josh killed himself along with their sons aged 2 and 4 years old at the time.
No one was charged for the disappearance of Susan Powell since the primary suspects, her husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law, were either already dead or in prison. The leads soon grew cold and the police were forced to close the case.
In the reports, the authorities believed that Josh had a hand in the disappearance and possible death of his wife. Police reports also showed that Michael Powell, Josh’s brother, may have been the one who got rid of Susan’s body. However, both men had denied any involvement in her sudden disappearance. This was before Josh committed suicide and killed their two sons.
With the investigation hitting what seemed to be a dead end, the police released documents that provided new details about the case. This helped draw attention to Susan’s disappearance and the death of her family, which made national headlines.
Questionable Alibi
In the reports provided by the police, it was revealed that even from the outset, they had doubted Josh’s alibi and the investigation focused on him. According to Josh, his wife went missing after he went camping with their two sons in the high desert. This alibi raised questions given the fact that a snowstorm had blanketed the area.
The investigation led to the neighboring areas of Nevada and the abandoned mines in Utah. However, all throughout, the police had kept close tabs on Josh’s movement even when he went to West Valley Utah, where he murdered his two boys in cold blood using a hatchet. After killing his sons, he then proceeded to set their home on fire, which triggered an explosion that also killed him. The social worker who was in the area could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded.
A New Angle
In the investigation, it was later found out that Steve Powell, Susan’s father-in-law, seemed to had taken a liking to her. In Susan’s journal, she had written about her discomfort with what seemed to be one-sided sexual obsession. She also wrote that she felt her husband blamed her for his father’s infatuation, claiming Susan was sending mixed signals and had encouraged Steve.
In her writings, it was suggested that she somehow had a premonition that something terrible was about to happen. She also divulged that she thought her husband had bipolar disorder, displayed by his violent, erratic temper.
In a series of interviews and surveys conducted with neighbors, transcripts revealed that most of them found Josh extremely strange. One woman claimed she had always felt uneasy when Josh would stand next to her on the sidewalk.
Yet despite the family and financial problems Susan had to deal with, she claims it was her faith that continued to provide her with unwavering hope things would somehow turn around and improve for the better.
In her journal, she had always viewed Josh’s decision to distance the family from the Church as the main cause of their problems. While she was still alive, Susan would constantly remind and encourage him to attend services, read the gospel and tithe. This was in the hopes that the church would help soften Josh and lead him back to the Lord.
It was later revealed that Josh had an affair with another woman he met online. He referred to Susan as a religious fanatic and claimed that the church was brainwashing her, which echoed the opinion of his father.
This deeply troubled Susan and in response, she started to assert her independence. This led her to open her own bank account and purchase a mobile phone and computer.
Sadly, a few months later, the sum of all Susan’s fears came true. Today her disappearance remains a mystery. While the police assumed she was murdered by her husband, her body remains missing. Her husband then killed their sons and himself barely two months after her disappearance. In addition, her father-in-law was sentenced to jail three months later. And within the same year, Michael, Josh’s brother who was also suspected to be an accomplice to the crime committed suicide by jumping from a parking garage in Minneapolis.
Faith seems is like a double-edged sword; it can inspire people to do great deeds and drive some to commit unspeakable crimes.
The Mormon religion in particular is exceptionally unique in many of its doctrines. While it enjoys the unwavering devotion of millions of people throughout the world, it has also suffered the shame and infamy of being associated with some of the most heinous crimes, including serial killings and mass murders.
Get to know some of the most notorious criminals ever known to man and discover how their faith sometimes played a part in their crimes.
Susan Powell
In Spring of 2001, Josh Powell and Susan Cox were married at a Mormon temple in Portland, Oregon. It was a whirlwind romance of sorts since they had only met at a single’s dance in one of the Latter-day Saints events four months before they tied the knot.
Just like most young women at the age of twenty, Susan Powell was once a love struck newlywed who dreamt of having a family of her own with a husband who would love her unconditionally. This much was evident in her journal entries, which she started a year after her marriage to Josh.
In 2002, she even wrote that she felt incredibly blessed and lucky to have Josh in her life. Sadly, things suddenly turned sour and the entries started to sound grim. What initially seemed to be a fairytale romance had somehow turned into a living nightmare.
The Young Couple’s Struggles
The couple were active members of the church. They regularly attended service and even sang together in the choir. While the couple struggled financially, they had each other and their faith to keep them together.
Early into their marriage, the couple bounced from one job to another and had to transfer from apartment to apartment. Sometimes, they were forced to live temporarily with Josh’s father, Steve. In her journal, Susan claims her husband was good with computers but she had reservations about his ability to keep a regular job.
Money had always been a constant problem for the couple. The Mormon Church requires its members to tithe 10% of their income. This was something that Josh considered to be a waste, which was written in Susan’s journal. Josh also wanted to spend as little on food as possible. In her journal, Susan wrote that they would only buy meat and dairy products, all other food products would come from their garden.
Unreasonable Restrictions
Eventually, Susan managed to land a steady job as a call center agent. She earned a decent salary, which was enough to support her young family. However, this may have had a negative impact on Josh, as he grew more sullen and controlling, which was revealed in the police records and Susan’s journal.
Josh tried his best to cut off Susan from the rest of the world. He imposed unreasonable restrictions on her such as limiting her phone and internet access. He also made sure calls to their apartment were forwarded to his mobile phone so he can personally decide which messages his wife could receive and which ones should be discarded. He did not even allow Susan to have a mobile phone of her own.
According to police records, even Susan’s sister had limited contact with her and their conversations were closely monitored by Josh. The sister, whose name was withheld, revealed she had resorted to calling Susan at work so Josh would not be able to eavesdrop.
Negative Influence
Susan knew things were not normal in their household and her husband’s behavior made her worry for her safety. In her journal, she had written how she struggled to accept how quickly their marriage had seemed to deteriorate. She also didn’t have a good relationship with her father-in-law, who she considered to be meddlesome and a bad influence on Josh.
Susan soon felt a growing sense of unease as she started to fear for her life and that of her two young sons. Her journal revealed she had contemplated leaving her husband and fleeing with her little boys. However, it was her strong religious faith that kept her from doing so and instead she committed herself to saving her marriage and keeping her family together.
Josh started to distance himself and his family from the Mormon Church, which was said to be exactly what his father Steve had done years earlier. In her journal, Susan had detailed how father and son would spend hours on the phone every week. Many of their conversations triggered bouts of anger in Josh, which Susan and the kids had to witness and endure.
The Disappearance
In one entry in 2008, she wrote: "If I die, it may not be an accident even if it looks like one." The following year, Susan Powell was reported missing and hasn’t been seen since. Shortly after her disappearance, her husband Josh killed himself along with their sons aged 2 and 4 years old at the time.
No one was charged for the disappearance of Susan Powell since the primary suspects, her husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law, were either already dead or in prison. The leads soon grew cold and the police were forced to close the case.
In the reports, the authorities believed that Josh had a hand in the disappearance and possible death of his wife. Police reports also showed that Michael Powell, Josh’s brother, may have been the one who got rid of Susan’s body. However, both men had denied any involvement in her sudden disappearance. This was before Josh committed suicide and killed their two sons.
With the investigation hitting what seemed to be a dead end, the police released documents that provided new details about the case. This helped draw attention to Susan’s disappearance and the death of her family, which made national headlines.
Questionable Alibi
In the reports provided by the police, it was revealed that even from the outset, they had doubted Josh’s alibi and the investigation focused on him. According to Josh, his wife went missing after he went camping with their two sons in the high desert. This alibi raised questions given the fact that a snowstorm had blanketed the area.
The investigation led to the neighboring areas of Nevada and the abandoned mines in Utah. However, all throughout, the police had kept close tabs on Josh’s movement even when he went to West Valley Utah, where he murdered his two boys in cold blood using a hatchet. After killing his sons, he then proceeded to set their home on fire, which triggered an explosion that also killed him. The social worker who was in the area could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded.
A New Angle
In the investigation, it was later found out that Steve Powell, Susan’s father-in-law, seemed to had taken a liking to her. In Susan’s journal, she had written about her discomfort with what seemed to be one-sided sexual obsession. She also wrote that she felt her husband blamed her for his father’s infatuation, claiming Susan was sending mixed signals and had encouraged Steve.
In her writings, it was suggested that she somehow had a premonition that something terrible was about to happen. She also divulged that she thought her husband had bipolar disorder, displayed by his violent, erratic temper.
In a series of interviews and surveys conducted with neighbors, transcripts revealed that most of them found Josh extremely strange. One woman claimed she had always felt uneasy when Josh would stand next to her on the sidewalk.
Yet despite the family and financial problems Susan had to deal with, she claims it was her faith that continued to provide her with unwavering hope things would somehow turn around and improve for the better.
In her journal, she had always viewed Josh’s decision to distance the family from the Church as the main cause of their problems. While she was still alive, Susan would constantly remind and encourage him to attend services, read the gospel and tithe. This was in the hopes that the church would help soften Josh and lead him back to the Lord.
It was later revealed that Josh had an affair with another woman he met online. He referred to Susan as a religious fanatic and claimed that the church was brainwashing her, which echoed the opinion of his father.
This deeply troubled Susan and in response, she started to assert her independence. This led her to open her own bank account and purchase a mobile phone and computer.
Sadly, a few months later, the sum of all Susan’s fears came true. Today her disappearance remains a mystery. While the police assumed she was murdered by her husband, her body remains missing. Her husband then killed their sons and himself barely two months after her disappearance. In addition, her father-in-law was sentenced to jail three months later. And within the same year, Michael, Josh’s brother who was also suspected to be an accomplice to the crime committed suicide by jumping from a parking garage in Minneapolis.
