The young sons of Josh and Susan Powell began to "verbalize more" about their missing mother, suggesting that she was in the trunk of their father's car on the night she disappeared in 2009, an attorney for the woman's parents said.

Josh Powell had been named a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance and had lost custody of the boys, who were just 7 and 5 when they and their father died in an explosive fire authorities believe he set at a home in Graham, Wash. Susan Powell had vanished while the family lived in West Valley City, Utah, and is believed dead.

The boys, Charles and his younger brother Braden, were beginning to talk to their maternal grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox, about the night their mom disappeared, the Cox's attorney, Steve Downing, told the Associated Press.

"They were beginning to verbalize more," said Downing, whose clients had custody of the children. "The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that Mommy was in the trunk. Mom and Dad got out of the car and Mom disappeared."

Josh Powell had long claimed he took the boys camping in freezing weather and returned home the next day to find his wife gone.

Sgt. Mike Powell of the West Valley City Police Department in Utah said it was too soon to say how Josh Powell's death may impact the probe.

"Quite frankly, this has obviously quickly unfolded up in Washington and we're obviously just working through the details ourselves here," said Powell, who is not related to the family.

The investigator did not return a subsequent message regarding the children's assertion that their mother had been in the trunk of the family's car on the night she disappeared.

Meanwhile, Pierce County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Troyer says Josh Powell's father, Steve Powell, is on suicide watch at the jail where he faces charges of child porn and voyeurism.

An email Josh Powell sent to his attorney just minutes before he apparently set the fatal blaze was simple and short, a farewell to the world after two years of scrutiny by police, prosecutors and the media.

"I'm sorry, goodbye," Powell wrote in the email to Jeffrey Bassett, days after he was denied custody and ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation.

The Sunday blaze at Powell's home brought yet another tragic twist to the story that began with Susan Powell's disappearance more than two years ago. The case had since spiraled into a salacious saga of finger-pointing and accusations of sex and lies -- and now the unthinkable loss of two young lives caught in the crossfire.

A social worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home Sunday for what was to be a supervised visit. They rushed toward the home, leaving the social worker behind. By the time she got to the door, Powell had let his sons in but locked her out, Graham Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Franz told The Associated Press.

The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an explosion that neighbors said rattled their houses.

Troyer said it appeared an accelerant was used to make the house burn faster.

Susan Powell, a pretty 28-year-old mother of two, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, after she failed to show up for her stockbroker job in Utah.

Authorities in the couple's hometown of West Valley City, about 10 miles outside Salt Lake City, quickly turned their attention to Josh Powell. He's been the only "person of interest" in the case, but had repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance.

"I would never even hurt her," a tearful, red-eyed Josh Powell told CBS' Early Show in August. "People who know me know that I could never hurt Susan."

About a month later, police spent 12 days in the remote central Utah desert looking for clues around Topaz Mountain, a popular spot for rock and gem hunters. That site is about 30 miles south of where Josh told police he went camping with the boys.

The search proved fruitless and Powell moved to Washington, where his father lives. Steven Powell, 61, was subsequently arrested there and accused of secretly videotaping young girls and women -- including Susan Powell -- taking baths and using the toilet in neighborhood homes.

The elder Powell has claimed in previous interviews that he and Susan Powell were falling in love and even implied a sexual relationship had occurred.

"Susan was very sexual with me," he said in one interview at the time. "We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that."

Chuck Cox denies his daughter had any interest in her father-in-law.

Custody of Charles and Braden was given to the Coxes as the parallel cases were investigated. The custody matter got so heated that at one point a court commissioner in Washington state ordered Chuck Cox and Josh Powell to keep 500 feet apart.

In what would be the final custody hearing last Wednesday, Josh Powell pleaded in vain with a judge to return his children.

"For over four months already, my interactions with my sons and many other aspects of my character have been investigated and documented by" social services, he wrote in an affidavit to the court. "I have proven myself as a fit and loving father who provides a stable home even in the face of great adversity. ... It is time for my sons to come home."

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This guy was one sick puppy.

GRAHAM, Wash. – The father of a man who killed himself and his two young sons in a house fire Sunday has been named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his son's wife, KCPQ-TV reports.

Steven Powell is currently in jail and facing child porn and voyeurism charges. He claimed in previous television interviews that he and Susan Powell were falling in love and even implied a sexual relationship had occurred.

"Susan was very sexual with me," Steven Powell said in one interview at the time. "We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that."

Susan's father denied the allegations and said Steven Powell had been initiating unwanted sexual advances, and that his daughter had no interest in her father-in-law.

The elder Powell, 61, was arrested at his Washington state home and accused of secretly videotaping his daughter-in-law, other women, and young girls taking baths and sitting on the toilet in neighborhood homes last year.

The new report is another twist in the very public scandal that began when Susan Powell vanished in 2009. Josh Powell had been the only person of interest named in his wife's disappearance.

Steven Powell has been reportedly placed on suicide watch following his son's and grandson's deaths.

Authorities in Washington state said Monday evening that the Powell's sons suffered severe chopping injuries to their heads or necks as they died in a house fire set by their father Sunday.

Smoke inhalation was the primary cause of death for Josh Powell and his two young sons, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office said. But the boys also suffered "chop injuries" that contributed to their deaths.

A social worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home Sunday for what was to be a supervised visit, and Powell let his sons inside -- but then blocked the social worker from entering, authorities have said.

The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an inferno that neighbors said rattled their houses.

Investigators searched through the charred rubble of the home Monday and released new details about what they described as Powell's deliberation in killing himself and his children, who had been removed from his care -- a horrifying climax to a long, bizarre saga. They found the two 5-gallon gas cans inside.

"This was definitely a deliberate, planned-out event," Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said.

Jeffrey Bassett, who represented Powell in the custody case, said he received an ominous email from his client just minutes before the fire.

"I'm sorry, goodbye," it read.

Authorities said Powell sent longer emails to some people, including his cousin and pastor, with instructions such as where to find his money and how to shut off his utilities. But none of the emails said anything about what happened to his wife.

The maternal grandparents of Josh Powell's two sons say the boys were playing happily Sunday and didn't want to visit their father.

Charles and Judy Cox tell KIRO-TV that the grandmother talked them into a supervised child custody visit with their father.

When the boys arrived at Powell's Washington state home, their father barred a social worker from entering and then lit the house on fire.

Charlie and Braden Powell shared a bedroom in the Cox's Puyallup home since last fall, when they were removed from their father's custody.

The Coxes are parents of Susan Powell, who has been missing since 2009. Josh Powell was a person of interest in her disappearance in Utah.

Investigators tried to fill in holes Monday in the case with an arson investigation at the home and autopsies on Josh Powell and his sons, said Troyer. Local detectives also are meeting with police from West Valley City, Utah, who have been looking for Susan Powell.

Steve Richards, assistant chief of Graham Fire and Rescue, said crews were assessing the remnants of the home to determine how the fire began and what types of accelerants might have been used. He said responders arrived on scene about three minutes after getting the call and found flames already through the roof.

"It was just devastation," he said.

Fire investigators were slowly moving around the home Monday morning, measuring areas both inside and out. All the bodies were found Sunday in one room in the middle of the home, Troyer said.

A candle light vigil was held Sunday night for the boys outside the 7-year-old's school in Puyallup.

The investigation will include a closer looks at Josh Powell's last movements and messages.

Chaplains have been working with the family of Susan Powell.

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services said the social worker who brought the boys to Josh Powell's home for what was to be a supervised visit is "suffering from grave emotional trauma as a result of the horrific event." The department will conduct a formal child fatality review.

She did all she could, Troyer said.

The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames, igniting an inferno that neighbors said rattled their houses. Some sort of accelerant was used to make the house burn faster, Troyer said.

Susan Powell, a 28-year-old mother of two, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, after she failed to show up for her stockbroker job in Utah.

Authorities in the couple's hometown of West Valley City, about 10 miles outside Salt Lake City, quickly turned their attention to Josh Powell. He was a "person of interest" in the case, but had repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance.

"I would never even hurt her," a tearful, red-eyed Josh Powell told CBS' Early Show in August. "People who know me know that I could never hurt Susan."

About a month later, police spent 12 days in the remote central Utah desert looking for clues, and Josh Powell and his father quickly disappeared from the limelight. The search area around Topaz Mountain, a popular spot for rock and gem hunters, was about 30 miles south of where Josh told police he went camping with his two children in the hours before his wife's disappearance -- his steadfast alibi.

On Sunday, the lawyer for Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, told the AP the children had started talking to their grandparents about things they remembered from the night their mother vanished.

"They were beginning to verbalize more," said attorney Steve Downing, whose clients had custody of the children. "The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that Mommy was in the trunk. Mom and Dad got out of the car and Mom disappeared."

Police turned up no clues in their desert search.

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