find your co-pay at myflexpen.com. >>> last september steven powell was arrested for child pornographyder suspicion. and as autumn deepened into winter, chuck and judy cox heard again and again, the arrest of josh powell was next, could happen any day. so they waited, held their breath, and took in the boys charlie and braden. how was it living with those boys? for the months you had them. >> how about exhausting? >> yeah. we went to bed exhausted every night. but it felt good to have the kits there. >> reporter: the coxes were much stricter disciplinarians than josh, they enforced early bedtimes and regular meals and according to josh's sister and brother-in-law, the kids thrived. >> right after the custody hearing where they were finally in the coxes' home, we saw them that day, and they were withdrawn and angry and quiet. and then two months later they were sitting on laps and hugging and playing and listening while people read stories to them, and they were acting more like little boys. >> we're also very concerned for the welfare of our grandchildren. >> reporter: chuck and judy w

the one survivor who may hold the key is josh powell's weird father steven who claims he had an affairh susan. now he is sitting in jail arrested in september for voyeurism and child porn found on a computer in the seattle home he shared with josh and his grandson. saturday with spoke with the prosecutor before he joined thousands of mourners attending a memorial for the boys and their mother susan. >> is steven powell josh's father a person of interest in his wife's disappearance? >> there is no evidence to connect him to the murder of susan powell. >> they wonder if the boy's tragic death could have been prevented they say josh had been abusive to susan and they feared for the boys. >> is there criticism that josh powell had access to his children? >> i think there is too much of an attempt to do a blame game. the responsibility lies with the man who murdered his own children josh powell. oo poo what do you think of josh powell? >> good riddens. i think he is an evil, evil mean person. >> evil evil person he should have killed himself first. this revenge most foul. he makes me sick t

the one survivor who may hold the key is josh powell's weird father steven who claims he had an affairsan. now he is sitting in jail arrested in september for voyeurism and child porn found on a computer in the seattle home he shared with josh and his grandson. saturday with spoke with the prosecutor before he joined thousands of mourners attending a memorial for the boys and their mother susan. >> is steven powell josh's father a person of interest in his wife's disappearance? >> there is no evidence to connect him to the murder of susan powell. >> they wonder if the boy's tragic death could have been prevented they say josh had been abusive to susan and they feared for the boys. >> is there criticism that josh powell had access to his children? >> i think there is too much of an attempt to do a blame game. the responsibility lies with the man who murdered his own children josh powell. oo poo what do you think of josh powell? >> good riddens. i think he is an evil, evil mean person. >> evil evil person he should have killed himself first. this revenge most foul. he makes me sick think

together they lived with josh's father steven powell but after steven was arrested on child pornography charges and voyeurism custody was awarded to susan's parents chuck and judy cox. in august josh powell told nbc news his boys were his life. >> some days i don't know how i get through the day. except for my sons. >> reporter: sunday charlie and braden said a final good-bye to their grandparents. a social worker was taking them to see their father. it was the last time chuck and judy cox would ever see the boys alive. >> they're innocent children that were killed by their father. they are back with their mother now. his act was a cowardly, desperate act. >> reporter: utah detectives say they want to speak to josh powell's father steven powell. he's in jail awaiting charges on voyeurism and child pornography. they now call him, steven powell, a person of interest in susan's disappearance. last summer when we spoke to him, he denied involvement in her disappearance. natalie? >> miguel almaguer, thank you. >>> earlier on "today" ann spoke with chuck and judy cox. they say the boys had on

last september josh powell's father, steven, was arrested on several charges, including foyerism and child pornography. following that arrest, custody of the powell children, who had been living in the same house as steven powell, was given to susan's parents. just days ago the judge denied josh powell's attempt to regain custody of the children. now a tragic end with no real answers and a community and family in mourning. frances kuo, nbc news. >>> well, now here's a look at other stories making news today early today in america. it's hard to believe no one was seriously hurt after a small plane crashed into a montana home. three people were aboard. witnesses say the plane hit some trees before slamming into the house. the homeowner was there at the time, but everyone walked away from the crash. >>> in wisconsin a propane explosion was captured on video. >> oh, my god! >> it happened at a propane facility near mad i sop after a truck driver filling his tanker had a malfunction which caused the hose to break loose. the blast shook the ground for miles around, but no one was injured. >

last september, josh powell's father, steven, was arrested on several charges, including vowierism and child pornography. following that arrest, custody of the powell children who had been living in the same house as steven powell was given to susan's parents. just days ago, a judge denied josh powell's attempt to regain custody of the children. now a tragic end with no real answers and a community and family in mourning. francis koe, nbc news. >> just a horrible story there. >>> here is your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america today. it is hard to believe no one was seriously hurt after a small plane crashed into a montana home. three people were aboard. witnesses say the plane hit some trees before slamming into the house. the homeowner was there at the time but everyone walked away from the crash. >>> in wisconsin, a propane explosion was all captured on video. >> oh, my god. >> it happened at a propane facility near madison after a truck driver filling his tanker had a malfunction which caused the hose to break loose. the blast shook the ground for miles

in the raid, steven powell was charged with possession of child pornography. >> susan was very, very sexual with me. she was very flirtatious. i mean, i'm her father-in-law and i did -- i mean, we interacted in a lot of sexual ways because susan enjoys doing that. >> you knew about this. >> she's a very flirtatious person. >> reporter: susan's friends say she never wanted her children anywhere near her father-in-law. >> the very first time i met josh and susan, they told us about his dad and how he was into pornography and we knew he was a pretty bad guy and susan had basically told us, "he's never setting foot in my house." >> in fact, susan's sister told me when they would come to visit, susan would stay in a different home with the two little boys while josh powell stayed with his father. why? because the father-in-law was so creepy. >> reporter: court-ordered supervised visits began in november of last year. josh powell was fighting for their return ever since. in a court filing this past wednesday, he made a strong appeal. i've proven myself as a fit and loving father who provid

meanwhile, josh's father steven powell remains jailed on child porn charges under suicide watch. in graham, washington stephanie stanton, news 4. >>> a lawyer for the cox family says one of the children was beginning to verbalize what happened during a family camping trip in 2009. the child allegedly told the lawyer that his mother was in the trunk of the family car before she disappeared. u.s. officials are expressing grave concerns over egypt's plan to file criminal charges against 19 americans in connection with a crackdown on pro democracy organizations. six of the americans are still in egypt and the government is refusing to allow them. they took refuge at the u.s. embassy in cairo but it is unclear where they are right now. one of the detained americans is the son of u.s. transportation secretary ray lahood. egyptian officials say the americans will likely be charged on wednesday with using foreign money to support antigovernment protest groups. on saturday secretary of state hillary rodham clinton warned that the u.s. could withhold more than a billion dollars in aid to e

police discovered thousands of pornographic images of children on steven powell's computer in the home yes lived with josh and the boys. susan's parents haven't spoken publicly but released a statement saying, "words cannot adequately express the grief, first susan and now charlie and brained." >> this was a horrible murder of two little kids, let's not dress it up, let's not sanitize it let's call it what it is. which is something deeply wrong, which is not a tragedy, which is something evil. >> reporter: and a birth end to a two-year ordeal, with no real answer he is and a community and family in mourning. stephanie stanton, nbc news, graham, washington. >>> other news today the u.s. announced it is shutting down its embassy in syria amid the growing violence. the move puts pressure on syrian president bashar al assad to step aside. hundreds kill over the weekend bringing the total number of deaths 5,000 since the uprising began 11 months ago n an interview with nbc, president obama said assad has to go but he doesn't want to use force like they did in libya. >> i think it is very im

steven powell has been considered a person of interest in the case. learning new details about -- the image we have all now seen which killed josh powell and his son. the sheriff's office says powell actually may not have even lived there. >> kind of believe he was using that mostly as kind of a prop. >> joining me now is miguel marquette, from los angeles. let's start with josh powell's father, steven. does that mean -- >> it is possible, but he may still talk to investigators yet because keep in mind, a resident -- as leverage to get him to talk to them eventually. and taking tons of material from there. they've also searched a storage facility off site and have tons of material from there as well. they have some blood evidence from that storage facility. >> and what about the story that the sheriff's office said this may have been a fake comb. throw out the quote here, he set it up like a rental place are pictures of the family. i think it was staged so when stildchild services came, it would look like a loving family. was this a sham house and when

let's start with josh powell's father, steven. now that he's pleading the fifth, does that mean we might never know what happened to susan powell, the woman at the center of this horrible tragedy? >> it is possible, but he may still talk to investigators yet because keep in mind, a resident he's listen arrested on pornography charges after police searched his home and they may be be able to use as that leverage to get him to talk to them eventually. and it's not clear how much he knew about it. they've searched his home and taken tons of material from there. they've also searched a storage facility off site and have tons of material from there as well. they have some blood evidence from that storage facility. they don't know whose blood it is yet. >> and what about the story that the sheriff's office said this may have been a fake comb. -- home. he said he set it up like a rental place with pictures of t i think it was staged so when family. child protective services came, it would look like a loving family. was this a sham house a

a psychosexual examination and evaluation, and that is because he was living with his father, steven powellen arrested on 14 counts. voyeurism, a count of child pornography, and apparently his father had been spying on women for approximately a decade, and one of those women would have been susan powell. so certainly josh powell was under a tremendous amount of pressure. >> now, the spokesman for the sheriff's office seems to have no doubt it was powell who killed his wife. listen to this. >> he set this up, he did it, he is the one who started the fire and didn't tell anybody. >> those seem like strong words. but what do we know about josh powell and his mental state at the time all of this unfolded? >> well, we are learning that the boys ran to him for the supervised visit and he immediately closed the door on the person from social services that was supposed to be supervising the visit, the social worker. she immediately called her supervisor and heard the home explode. our understanding at this point is he was under a tremendous amount of pressure, but certainly i don't believe that any

the family had been living together in steven's home where police say they also found elicit pictures of susan cox powell, steven's daughter-in-law, the photos taken years earlier without her knowledge. >> i am a fit and qualified father. i have had nothing to do with any kind of illegal pornography. >> despite powell's emotional appeal to a judge, the boys were placed in the care of his missing wife's parents, chuck and judy cox. too distraught to be interviewed sunday. in a statement the cox family said, words cannot adequately express the grief. first, susan, and now charlie and braden. josh powell always denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. he was called a person of interest but never charged with a crime. susan cox powell vanished in december 2009, the same night josh told police he took his boys on a late-night camping trip in freezing temperatures. her body has never been found. >> i could never hurt susan or my sons. >> but according to police, powell did exactly that, killing his children, two innocent boys whose short lives had already been filled with such incredible loss. >> th

we interacted in a lot of sexual ways. >> reporter: steven powell even wrote love songs about her withret way." >> do you think a part of you started falling in love with susan? >> yeah, i would say so. and there's no question in my mind that the feelings were mutual. >> and you knew about that. >> she's a very flirtatious person. >> reporter: but josh powell was still the only person of interest in his wife's disappearance. both her family and his now worried that the mystery of her whereabouts may have died with him. >> we'll never get those answers now. >> he could at least left a note behind. >> susan powell's parents issued a statement through their attorneys sunday telling abc news that they were always fearful that their son-in-law would hurt his boys. they're devastated at losing a daughter but grandsons. >> let's bring in the host of nancy grace on hln from atlanta. nancy, you're a lawyer. you know by law, they couldn't forbid josh powell from visiting his sons. but could they have done more to protect these boys? >> well, you know, it's so easy to be a monday morning quarterb

and that's what steven powell, he will say where she is and whether she is there or not and he will make himself a deal because he is in a no lose situation from a defendant sitting there in jail. >>arthur: they will not just give him the key to the jailhouse. they jut learned from joran van der sloot not to do that. >>randy: this ain't aruba and people want closure in this case and he has the perfect opportunity to buy himself closure. >>shepard: we will follow it. a lost abc for the presidential candidates today. three states voting for republican nominee. in two states it counts and san sap is back in the mix. again. some suggest that he has a chance to win this thing. the latest on the race. mçpÑéh t [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know.

we talked about that and to talk to steven powell, he blamed the police for all of this and was placed under a suicide watch. i had contacted josh powell earlier this week and was at the custody hearing where he hoped to get his kids back. they found the porn on joshua powell's computer in 2009. they wanted to investigate what that was. he was ordered to undergo a lie detector and counseling and the next hearing was delayed until late july. when joshua powell left, he looked distraught and didn't say anything. since i first met him this summer, i had seen him over the months get distraught and he looks ten years older than in august or september. he had dark circles under his eyes and obviously distraught. then this happens here today. >> very sad. from our affiliate, kiro. many hoped that josh powell could shed light on what happened to his wife. holly gave me her take on the case. >> the saddest part is now we may know what happened fto the two young boys, but we will never know what happened to his wife. that's a sick mind. >> you believe he knew something about susan's disappearanc

the boys were also living with their grandfather, steven powell, and steven powell, back in december 14 counts of possessing child pornography and also voyeurism. so a judge took custody away from josh powell and put those children with susan powell, who lives here in washington as well. >> there's something about a voice mail from josh powell to his cousin. >> reporter: yes. he has apparently sent out two e-mails, as far as we can tell, two text messages right before that house blew up. one of the messages went to his attorney where he said goodbye and i'm sorry. the other went to his cousin in texas. and it was a voicemail text message which said, this is josh. i'm calling to say goodbye. i'm not able to go on any more. i'm sorry to everyone. and shortly after that here in washington, that home blew up with the children inside. michael? >> thelma gutierrez, thanks so much. >>> up next, trouble with an american company outsourcing to chinese manufacturers like the controversial foxcon. >> do you know what the solutions were? we should put up more nets so people can't jump off their

steven powell is in jail tonight, in fact he is on suicide watch right now. detectives tell us that they notified him that his son josh powell and grand kids were dead he became verbally abusive but showed no other emotion but anger. josh's father is on suicide watch. i don't think anybody thought something like this would happen. i think people worried josh might do something. we are hearing out of salt lake city tonight from some of our sources there that the west valley city police department was getting very close or had already decided to go ahead and charge josh powell and the disappearance of his wife susanment we don't know exactly what set him off but detectives are certain he planned this that he made sure it was a big explosion the fire burned fags and killed both he and his two sons. >> i didn't get to ask this, may not be able to answer it. in terms of the social worker that was there, was that person injured? when you look at the pictures the damage is extensive. >> the house is gone. it's a shell. you see the vehicle in the driveway but the who

he was a person of interest in his wife's disappearance but there were no signs of abuse until steven powellthe state attorney general revealed that pornography was found on josh powell's computer that was seized back in 2009. it was described as realistic animation that depicted scenes of an incent use nature and child pornography. at the time powell was ordered to under go a psychosexual evaluation and take a lie detector test. the court decided that supervised visits would go on. josh had done everything that the court asked him to do at that point. and four days later, this happened. josh powell saw this was the end of all that once he took that lie detector test and had that evaluation he may be found out and it cost the boys their lives. >> agree. you know, kevin with wendy with what you just said. the gig was up. it makes you wonder back and forth if he viewed his kid as possessions, wendy. >> not just possessions but extensions of himself is my bet. his brother-in-law referred to him as a narcissist. if he had that personality disorder his kids are not separate beings. they are exten

steven powell lives a mile and a half from here, the ribbons that were lining the streets were right down the road from us, and, so, it was close to our community and ... >>shepard: i cannot imagine whatever happened to this mom, we don't know yet, maybe we will find out, we will talk to the lawyers in a minute but to think that everybody talks how the kids just worshiped that man. and that he would not only kill himself but bring his children in the house, it's just ... you cannot imagine how anyone could do that. >>guest: unthinkable. >>shepard: unbelievable. >>guest: very unthinkable. >>shepard: so many questions left to answer for this family. and think of the grandparents. taking it to our legal panel, you know, we report on awful stuff, but when you think what this man did, it is just ... one thing ... how do you find out what happened to the wife, now? this is this other guy who is under investigation and i guess they got to get him to talk. can the prosecution offer a deal or something to try to put this thing together? >>randy: now they is access, maybe, to some of his compu

meanwhile, josh's father steven powell remains jailed on child porn charges under suicide watch. in washington, stephany stanton, news 4. >> a lawyer for the cox family says one of the children was beginning to verbalize what happened during the camping trip in 2009. the child allegedly told a lawyer that his mother was in the trunk of the family car before she disappeared. >>> after a year and a half of investigating and legal maneuvering the trial of the uva la crosse player charged with murder is now under way in charlottesville. george huguely is accused in the beating death of his ex-girlfriend yardly love. a player on the women's team she was found dead in her apartment back in may of 2010. before today's proceedings began huguely pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him including first-degree murder. the court is now sifting through the pool of potential jurors. 12 jurors will be selected along with three alternates. the trial is set to last about two weeks. today is the last time huguely has been in court for this case. julie carey will have more on this coming u

the family had been living together in steven's home where they found illicit pictures of susan cox powelleven's daughter-in-law, the photos taken years earlier without her knowledge. >> i am a fit and qualified father. i have had nothing to do with any kind of illegal pornography. >> reporter: despite powell's emotional appeal to a judge the boys were placed in the care of his missing wife's parents, chuck and judy cox. too distraught to be interviewed sunday in a statement the family said words cannot adequately express the grief. first susan and now charlie and braden. josh powell denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. utah police called him a person of interest but never charged him with a crime. susan cox powell vanished in december 2009, the same night josh told police he took his boys on a late night camping trip in freezing temperatures. her body has never been found. >> i could never hurt susan or my sons. >> reporter: according to police powell did exactly that. killing his children, two innocent boys whose short lives had already been filled with incredible loss. >>

. >> as you know, steven powell is in jail on suicide watch. do you believe he knows what happened to your daughter and was, in part, had anything to do with it? >> i don't know -- i'm sure that he and josh talked about that. they didn't have that many secrets from each other that they were very close. and i'm sure they knew what was going on. his involvement, i don't know to what extent he was involved. i'm sure he knew about it. probably before it happened. >> well, mr. and mrs. cox, again, we're so sorry for your loss. thanks for sharing your story this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >>> good morning to you both and all of you. we're beginning with new video smuggled out of syria. civilians, women and children, under attack by their own government. this morning, the crisis appears to be deinvolving into outer chaos. one day after the u.s. closed its embassy there and evacuated diplomats. m martha raddatz joins us with more. >> reporter: the stories are terrifying. government troops shell their own people for the fourth straight day. on