TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – Thousands
of images seized from the home of Susan Powell's father-in-law show the missing
Utah mother
as she walks in public and sits in her car -- apparently unaware that someone
is taking her picture.
The photos -- some of which are sexually suggestive -- were obtained under
public records laws Thursday by The Associated Press, three years after Powell
went missing.
Authorities uncovered the files while serving a search warrant last year at
the home where her husband, Josh Powell, and father-in-law, Steve Powell, were
living. Josh Powell killed himself and the couple's two young children earlier
this year.
Some of the images seized during the search, including those of bathing
young girls who lived next door to Steve Powell, were used earlier this year to
convict him of voyeurism charges.
Other photos show a variety of women, apparently unaware that a camera is
focused on them, as they walk along sidewalks, at the park or into the mall.
Steve Powell was not charged with any crimes related to images of Susan
Powell, but the files show she was often the focus of his lens. In a folder
labeled with her initials, SMP, there are images of her walking through parking
lots or sitting in her car. It appears the photographer is taking the pictures
from another vehicle.
Some images zoom closely to Susan Powell's crotch or her backside, including
a set of photos taken through blinds as she's bending over and doing laundry.
None of the pictures, which were found on a disc in Steve Powell's bedroom,
show her naked.
The folder dedicated to Susan Powell contains nearly 4,500 images.
In journals that authorities have also made public, Powell describes himself
as a "voyeur" and Susan as an "exhibitionist." He talks
about using a mirror to spy on her under the bathroom door, and he writes about
taking sexual pleasure in looking at images of Susan Powell that he kept on his
computer.
Powell talks in his journals about taking lots of video of Susan during a
trip to Silver Falls in 2009, and a folder of images from the trip shows only
photos of her backside as she's walking.
In one entry, dated a few months before Susan Powell disappeared, Steve
Powell wrote that he had just woken up "from a most pleasant dream about
Susan." He described a sexually charged dream in which Susan asked him,
"'Do you think I would make a good wife for you?"'
Anne Bremner, an attorney who represents Susan Powell's parents, said the
images support the family's assertion that Steve Powell had a concerning
attraction for his daughter-in-law.
"When you look at those pictures, it's clearly surreptitious. It's
clearly obsessive," Bremner said. The family believes Steve Powell knows
something about Susan Powell's disappearance, and authorities have described
him as uncooperative.
Mark Quigley, an attorney who represented Steve Powell in the voyeurism
case, did not return a call seeking comment. Powell is in prison, serving a
sentence of more than two years.
Susan Powell disappeared in Utah
in December 2009. Records have shown that Utah investigators handling the case focused
their attention primarily on her husband.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Susan Powell- AP Photo
