"We believe that he killed his kids and himself," Pierce County, Wash., Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Ed Troyer, who described the fire as an intentional act that came shortly after Powell sent an email to his attorney apologizing and saying goodbye. Police are awaiting verification from the Medical Examiner's Office, but said they believe the bodies are those of Josh Powell and his two sons. The police did not specify what the information was, but Judge Kathryn J. Nelson ruled that because of that information, Josh Powell would not be allowed to have his children back until he submitted to a psychosexual evaluation and a polygraph test, the report said. Powell answered the door, pulled the boys inside, slammed the door and locked it, Troyer said. Josh Powell's lawyer, Jeffrey Bassett, said he received an email from the man minutes before the explosion that said "I'm sorry, goodbye," but he didn't see it until two hours later, when he was informed of the blast. Bassett told The Associated Press he knew his client was upset about being denied custody of his sons at a court hearing last week, when he was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and polygraph test in order to get them back. Some people reported hearing popping sounds that sounded like gunshots at the time of the fire, while others described the noise as coming from the fire, Troyer said. While Powell had not been arrested or charged in his wife's disappearance, he had been a person of interest in the case from the start. The boys were removed from Josh Powell's custody Sept. 22, the same day Josh Powell's father, Steven Powell, with whom the three were living, was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography. Temporary custody of the children was awarded by a judge to Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox of Puyallup. At a hearing Wednesday, a statement from the West Valley City, Utah, police noted that information and images were found on Josh Powell's computer that "specifically related to their children's welfare," according to ABC affiliate KTVX in Salt Lake City.
– A Washington state man suspected in his wife's disappearance pulled his two young sons away from a social service worker at his doorstep, locked her out, and exploded his gas-filled home, according to authorities. Three charred bodies found yesterday at the blackened shell are believed to be those of Josh Powell and his sons, 7-year-old Charlie, and Braden, 5. A staffer from Child Protective Services had just turned over the boys for a supervised visit when Powell grabbed the boys. She smelled gas, quickly stepped back to phone her boss, and the house exploded, reports ABC News. "The children were right in front of her as she was walking to the door," said a social services spokeswoman. "They went into the house and Josh shut the door and locked it." The house "immediately went up in flames, very quickly, very big, so we believe that Josh Powell intentionally set this fire," said a police spokesman. Just minutes before the blast, Powell sent an email to his attorney saying: "I'm sorry. Goodbye." Powell was the only suspect after his wife, Susan Powell, vanished from their Utah home in 2009. He claimed he took his toddler sons to go camping in the freezing cold, and she was gone when the three returned. The boys were being cared for by Susan Powell's parents. Powell was just denied custody again last week, and was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and polygraph if he wanted to get them back. "What happened here was an act of evil. Do not call it a tragedy because that sanitizes it," Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor told the Seattle Times. "This was a terrible act of murder involving two young children." (Click to read about a possible motive.)