Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors (17 page)

Susan and Josh on his birthday in 2001. He looks about fifteen, and he had always lived at home with his father until a few weeks before he met Susan. She thought of him as an “older man” with an independent life. Far from it. He depended on his father, Steven Craig Powell, to help him make decisions. (
Cox family
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The bride and groom: Susan and Josh Powell, holding one another under a Japanese cherry tree outside their reception. Judy, her other daughters, her sister-in-law Pam, and many friends catered the reception. Steve Powell paid for the rehearsal dinner but complained about the price. (
Cox family
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Susan in her wedding gown. The photograph is damaged because it went through a terrible fire in February 2012. Miraculously, this and most of the other pictures in this section survived the fire, although they remain singed on the edges. (
Cox family
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Josh Powell puts a lacy garter on his bride Susan’s leg just before their wedding at an LDS temple near Portland, Oregon. The future lay ahead of the young couple. (
Cox family
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Susan and Josh and their attendants at their wedding reception. It was a wonderful affair. Josh’s mother asked if she could take the leftover food, flowers, and decorations home to Spokane, where she planned another reception. Surprised, Judy Cox demurred and shared those things with her family. (
Cox family
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Susan laughing as she dances with her dad at her wedding reception. He had warned her, “You don’t marry a ‘project,’” but stood by her when she could not be dissuaded from marrying Josh. Through the years ahead, Chuck and Judy often bailed Josh out financially. (
Cox family)

Susan and Josh Powell celebrate their first Christmas as a married couple. They both seemed to be very much in love. (
Cox family
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Susan Cox attacks a giant slice of pizza in March 2001, a month before her wedding. (
Cox family
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Susan Cox Powell on a visit to the west desert country in Utah. These photos are eerie because many investigators and her family and friends believe that she may lie at the bottom of one of the thousands of abandoned mine shafts in the west desert. (
Cox family
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Susan and Josh Powell had two precious sons. Braden is on the left, and Charlie is on the right. They loved animals of all kinds. And they worried about them. Charlie was an excellent artist, talented beyond his years. (
Cox family
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