Autopsy reports out of Washington State say that Josh Powell’s young sons, Charles, 7, and Braden, 5, were murdered preceding the home’s explosion.
Reports say the boys appeared to have died by “chops to the neck” as well as carbon monoxide poisoning, according to FOX 13’s sister station in Seattle, KCPQ Q13. They say the reports were released by the Pierce County Medical Examiner early Monday evening. The medical examiner said the boys most likely died from the carbon monoxide caused by the fire.
The cuts to the boys’ necks were done by a hatchet or a small ax, according to Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy Ed Troyer.
Earlier Monday, during a press conference, Troyer said two five-gallon gas cans were found in Josh Powell’s burned out rental home following the explosion that killed both Powell and his two sons.
Troyer said one of the gas canisters was found with the bodies and the contents of another had been spread around the house.
“The point of origin of fire would be the entire house, because the fumes and the gas, but where it was actually lit off, we believe preliminarily, lit off right next to where all three of them were, one of the cans, intentionally,” said Troyer. [More Background, Click Here.]
