Man, his 2 boys dead after he loses custody

GRAHAM, Wash. -- Days after a judge ruled against him in a child custody hearing, a man and his two young sons were killed yesterday when, police said, he appeared to intentionally blow up a house with all three inside, a tragic ending to a bizarre case that began in 2009 when the man's wife mysteriously went missing in Utah.

A Child Protective Services worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home for what was to be a supervised visit, and Powell let his sons in -- but then blocked the social worker from entering, Graham Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Franz told The Associated Press. The social worker called her supervisors to report that she smelled gas; moments later the home exploded.

The Pierce County sheriff's office said emails Powell sent authorities seemed to confirm that he planned the deadly blast. He didn't elaborate on the contents of the emails.

Jeffrey Bassett, who represented Powell in the custody case, said he received a three-word email from his client just minutes before the three died. It said, "I'm sorry, goodbye."

The email arrived at 12:05 p.m., about 10 minutes before the explosion, but he didn't see it until two hours later, when others told him Powell and the boys had been killed. He said he knew his client was upset after being ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation recently.

Powell was under investigation in the disappearance of his wife Susan, 28, from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. He claimed he had taken the boys on a midnight excursion in freezing temperatures when she vanished.

The children, Braden, 5, and Charles, 7, had been living with Susan Powell's parents since Josh Powell's father, Steven, was arrested on child porn and voyeurism charges last fall.

On Wednesday, a judge denied Josh Powell's bid to regain custody, saying she wouldn't consider returning the boys to him until he underwent a psycho-sexual evaluation. A psychologist recommended the evaluation based on undisclosed materials Utah police found on Josh Powell's computer in 2009.

"It's the most horrifying thing you can imagine happening," said lawyer Steve Downing, who represented Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox. "The Coxes are absolutely devastated. They were always very fearful of him doing something like this, and he did it."