Her husband, Joshua Powell, was named by law enforcement a person of interest in her disappearance but was never charged. Joshua killed himself and the couple's two young sons in February after custody of the boys had been given to Susan's parents.
West Valley City police closed their active investigation into Susan's disappearance in May , stating their belief that Joshua killed Susan and that his brother, Michael who died by suicide in February , [ 1 ] aided him in concealing her body. According to divorce filings by Terrica in , Steven shared pornography with his sons and refused to teach or enforce limits on certain behaviors.
As a teenager, Joshua allegedly killed gerbils belonging to one of his sisters and threatened his mother with a butcher knife. He also attempted suicide on at least one occasion. By the late s, Joshua was living in Tacoma as a student at the University of Washington. After the two moved into an apartment together, Joshua exhibited possessive behavior towards Everett. She later recalled he refused to allow her to visit her family by herself and added: "He would have restrictions and limitations on what I could and couldn't do when it came to my family.
The two began a relationship and married in the Portland Oregon Temple in April Joshua obtained a bachelor's degree in business and worked for a number of different companies over the subsequent decade. For a brief period following their wedding, Joshua and Susan lived with her father-in-law Steven in South Hill, Washington. Steven developed an obsessive infatuation with Susan and followed her around the house with a camcorder, used a small mirror to spy on her while she used the bathroom, stole underwear from her laundry, read her journals and posted love songs online under a pseudonym.
The Powells moved out-of-state soon after, partly so Susan could distance herself from Steven. Susan's journal entries and email correspondence indicated the presence of marital discord.
