Susan Powell's Father Hires Private Eye to Review File

by Associated Press Writers Paul Foy and Brady McCombs

Police say they've taken their best shot at finding missing Utah mother Susan Powell. Now, her dad is hoping a review of the newly released case file containing tens of thousands of pages of detective reports, maps, interview transcripts and more might turn up something the investigators missed.

Chuck Cox told reporters Tuesday at a news conference in Seattle that a private eye has offered to help comb through the records, perhaps yielding new or overlooked clues about the sensational case.

"That's one of the reasons we wanted it: to find out what (the police) really had, because that would point us in a different direction and give us a place to search for my daughter," Cox said.

Susan Powell disappeared in December 2009, and her husband, Josh Powell, was long a suspect in the case. But last year, he killed himself and the couple's two young sons in an explosive house fire in Washington state, and investigators turned their attention to Powell's brother, Michael, who, they now believe, helped Josh Powell dispose of Susan's body.

Michael committed suicide by jumping off a parking garage in Minneapolis three months ago. That left authorities with no direct suspects, and this week they announced they were closing the active part of the investigation and opening their books on the case. They insisted they never had enough evidence to charge either brother.

"We didn't have a body. We don't have a crime scene," West Valley City Deputy Chief Mike Powell said.

The documents show that police had always doubted Josh Powell's bizarre alibi. Powell claimed he wasn't home when his wife vanished because he had just left the house in the middle of the night to take their 2 and 4-year-old boys camping in the Utah desert in the middle of a snowstorm.

They describe how Powell gave muddled answers when asked where authorities should look for her, and how detectives painstakingly followed up on tips called in by hunters, campers, prisoners, other law enforcement agencies and even psychics. They checked mine shafts and shallow pet graves, tracked down a potential witness in Michigan, used wiretaps and put a tracking device on Josh Powell's van.

Detective reports also reveal that Josh Powell apparently had an affair with a woman he met through a dating service months before his wife vanished. The woman, whose full name is redacted, told them they had sex five to six times during daytime meetings, and he paid her about $800.

The revelations about the affair and about Michael Powell's potential involvement were surprising, Cox said, and he was eager to see what else was in the files.

Cox and Anne Bremner, a Seattle attorney for the family, said they continue to believe that prosecutors did, in fact, have enough evidence to arrest Josh Powell and convict him for murder. Not having a body can make it tougher to prove a murder charge, but prosecutors across the country have won convictions in such circumstances.

In this case, Bremner said, the circumstantial evidence was remarkably strong: Powell's alibi was nonsensical. He hemmed and hawed when questioned by police. He couldn't explain why he had her cellphone with the digital SIM card removed, and he couldn't explain why, in the days after she disappeared, he rented a car and drove it 800 miles.

There was also a potential motive: Josh Powell cleaned out Susan Powell's retirement accounts 10 days after her disappearance, and he had taken out $1.5 million in life insurance policies on her.

"In some ways, circumstantial evidence is the best evidence," said Bremner, a former prosecutor. "With direct evidence, you can have a witness lie. With forensic evidence, you can have problems with collection. But circumstantial evidence never lies and you can't change it.

"They could have arrested him, and they should have, based on that evidence."

Bremner told the news conference that even as Utah police close the active part of their investigation into her disappearance, federal authorities continue to review the case, a claim that was denied by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City.

Bremner said she and Cox were apprised earlier Tuesday of the federal investigation by an agent who has been directly involved in the case. She said she requested permission to announce the development at the news conference, and the agent granted it. Bremner said the scope involved looking into what Josh Powell's father, Steve, knew about his daughter-in-law's disappearance.

In response, Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah, issued a statement saying that federal agencies in Utah had assisted in the investigation and would be happy to do so again should circumstances warrant.

"However, we do not have plans to conduct any further investigation," she said.

West Valley City Deputy Police Chief Mike Powell said he wasn't immediately aware of any ongoing federal investigation.

Steve Powell had a sexual obsession with Susan Powell and thoroughly documented it in journals seized by police. He is currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted of voyeurism charges for secretly recording young neighbor girls.

Utah police said Monday that they do not believe he was directly involved with Susan Powell's disappearance but may know more about it than he has let on.

Police said both Steve and Michael Powell were uncooperative in the investigation.

They interviewed Michael numerous times about why he left his car at an Oregon junk yard weeks after Susan's disappearance _ a fact police didn't learn until nearly two years later. Officials said he offered evasive answers about why he got rid of the car and how he had used it in late 2009.

Private Eye Accused of Planting Evidence in Oklahoma Moves to Arizona

Originally published in Victoria Advocate.com.

Nine years after a fatal shooting, a Texas private investigator nicknamed "The Rhino" reported to the slain woman's parents that he had found new evidence.

He told the parents he'd found an unfired .25-caliber bullet last year in the backyard of the crime scene. He told police the same thing.

In a report to the parents, James Leroy Richards promised to have the bullet checked for fingerprints. He wrote he firmly believes the bullet was from "the murder weapon."

Police allege he is a liar.

Richards, 58, goes professionally by the name Richard Lee James and also is a bounty hunter.

Richards was charged Sept. 9 with a misdemeanor - obstructing an officer in the performance of his official duties. Oklahoma County prosecutors say they are disappointed they couldn't charge him with a felony.

Midwest City police still are investigating the death of Nancy Probst. The partially nude woman was shot in the head inside her house on Nov. 16, 2000. She was 32. Her baby girl, in a nearby crib, was unharmed.

Prosecutors charged her husband, Matthew J. Probst, with first-degree murder but later dismissed the case because of insufficient evidence. Police said last year he has never been cleared as a suspect.

Richards told the victim's parents he dug up the bullet last year during a search of the backyard of the house where the victim lived. He reported it was "buried in the soil in the area where the storage shed used to be."

Police reported Richards had a long excuse for why he had not turned the bullet over to officials.

Police said the house's current tenant reported the investigator spent only a brief time in the backyard, never dug there and did not remove anything.

Midwest City Police Detective Lacky J. Harkins reported the homicide investigation was slowed and valuable time and resources were wasted "due to the lies" the private investigator told him and a police lieutenant.

The detective said Richards admitted in a phone conversation in March that he had lied about the discovery. Then, the detective reported, Richards at one point stated, "Let's just say it was planted." Finally, the detective reported, Richards admitted he had brought the bullet with him.

"He wanted me to just drop the whole incident. I told him I thought it was sorry of him to have taken the family's money and make this up. He agreed it was sorry," Harkins said.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said restitution will be sought from Richards if he is caught and convicted.

The victim's parents, Carl and Alberta Helmle, have hired several private investigators to look into their daughter's death. They paid Richards more than $5,000. They later fired him. They declined to comment.

Richards has lived in Texas, but he wrote on Twitter he was moving to Arizona. Because he faces only a misdemeanor, he will not be arrested in another state and extradited.

"But if he ever comes in the state of Oklahoma and he gets pulled over on a traffic ticket ... he can be held and we can go down and transport him up from whatever county he got arrested in," Prater said.

In an e-mail Saturday, Richards wrote he is being harassed by Midwest City police. He did not respond to a question about the charge.


"I've said it before and I'll say it again:  investigate your investigator first.  Get to know him or her, do a little research, and save yourself potential grief and wasted funds.  Please refer to my July 2010 article in this blog, 'How A Private Investigator Can Help You.' for more information."

Jeff Kimble, P.I.