2012.02.07 - 911 Tapes Released

[A_News_Junkie]

Thank you ynotdivein. And I have to add that if I see this social worker's name on this site, I'm going to warm up the ray gun. :saber:

There will be NO bashing or deriding or second-guessing of what the social worker did, or how they reacted in the moment.

May no one here ever have to experience what that person has.

To be completely frank and honest, there was nothing anyone could do from the moment JP decided he was going to do this, to the time he did this.

Everyone did their best, and while we can look back and see things we may have done differently, hindsight is always 20/20. Yes, we should look at, and examine, the series of events, but we should also always remember that we were NOT there, we did NOT have the pressure and the insanity in our faces, and we did NOT watch two children get brutally murdered by hatcheting and then explosions carried out by their father.

Josh Powell would have done this, period. It is luck, pure and simple, that we are not talking about a third murder (the S/W), or third and fourth murders (the Coxes).

I don't care how fast LE responded or didn't respond. They would never have been able to stop JP from igniting the blasts. Even if they were right outside, he would have done it.

If the 911 operator was a pure idiot, JP still would have done it.
If the 911 operator was able to send out squads right then, JP still would have done it.
If the kids had entered after the S/W, JP would have done it.
If visitation was not allowed, JP still would have done it, but at the Coxes' house.

It was gonna happen. From the moment when JP made up his mind this was how it was going to end, it was going to happen.

The responsibility of this lays only on JP. Not the social worker, and even if the 911 operator is a complete idiot, it's still not his fault. There were no actions anyone could take, even with dispatching immediately everything LE had including SWAT and HRT, that was going to stop JP.

JP was going to do what he did.

Best-
Herding Cats

I just want to say I am so proud to be a member here - where victims can come for comfort. Where a social worker, who while a witness, can still be embraced by the best posters the web has to offer. I APPLAUD the decision not to have her name here - at least not now. I hope to never see it here unless she chooses to do interviews. I hope we can be a supportive place for her, even if she never reads a word here - I believe the positive energy that is put out in the world is felt, especially when it exceeds negative energy.

Herding -- I agree with everything in your well written post. I would only add, there are lessons that have come out of this (policies that should be reviewed) and if the lessons are learned and changes made where need be, then we will be a better society for the experience of this horror. If not, then I will hang my head again at the almighty dollar or whatever evil prevents those lessons from being learned.

:grouphug: <--------- we need it.

 

[SmoothOperator]

It's just so very upsetting to see just how long this nightmare drug on before finally culminating in the home engulfed in flames.. I wanted so badly to cling to the hope that it was all so very quick in the sequence of events concerning the boys and that it literally was over very soon thereafter it'd begun.. Not enough time for their little minds to comprehend the literal heart stopping terror that was happening..

These tapes now show that My mind's eye was wanting to speed up the process of those events.. It appears as tho there were many, many minutes as it unfolded that I'm certain felt like hours of sheer terror for those precious boys..

I asked very early on about what she saw or heard outside the home and that what she witnessed could be the ultimate of traumatic.. Her stating she could hear screams coming from one of the two children is just overwhelming me with emotion.. I truly can't begin to comprehend the evil that was present and very much in control on that Sunday afternoon..

*God bless this case worker.. I left my words of support and prayer for her and her family in her specific thread of support*


Still posting via mobile so plz forgive the large number of errors in my posts

 

[Starry Night]

You have me crying A News Junkie.......tears full of hope.

 

[rotterdam]

I believe it was reported earlier on that the social worker called her supervisor first( a job requirement apparently) and was told to call 911 by her supervisor. So the 911 call was her 2nd call in this tragedy. That said, in the 911 call, she had enough logic to deduce that Powell could be unhinged because of the previous Wednesday court hearing results, hence her sense of emergency. Shame nobody else did directly after Wednesday Court results. .
I can not see one iota of wrong doing in the lady that supervised the boys visit. None whatsoever.

 

[Melanie]

I'd really like to know why the fire department was not called immediately after the woman stated she smelled gas.!!!! Why didn't the first 911 dispatcher do that?

I tend to go into panic mode when having to call 911, so that man at the dispatch would have been told to STFU and listen.

I have to give credit to those who were brave enough to listen to the 911 calls -- I couldn't. I'm still having nightmares just hearing the news on the television.

As far as 911 goes, if anyone had a chance to listen to Demi Moore's 911 call, it goes into all that's wrong with the system. The operators spend FAR too much time trying to figure out what's an emergency and what's not. Maybe too many people cry wolf, and it causes the real emergencies to fall through the cracks.

Anyway - getting back to my point. Demi's dispatcher (Beverly Hills) transferred her to LA. LA says, "no - that's BH" back to the BH dispatcher -- who then proceeds to tell her not to give Demi anything to eat or drink (seriously)? If Demi had been really dying, should would have been dead by the time the dispatchers were done arguing with each other.

I've listened to so many cringe worthy 911 calls, that I shudder at the thought of every needing to call.

Now I'm rambling - sorry

Mel

 

[Cher352]

There are the calls recorded here.

I don't believe they are complete. But they are heartbreaking.

Word of caution....I tried several times to open #2 on this list and each time my anti-virus stopped me. All the others I was able to open with no problems.


All in all these were so heart wrenching to listen to. God Bless them all!

 

[Starry Night]

Honestly this conversation is getting better-this dialogue I should say....breaking down the emergency call for help and the script. Has the script become too strict? Too many 911 calls, hence the detailed questioning? Do we need not only a 911 and a 311 but something in-between?

 

[Cher352]

I have to give credit to those who were brave enough to listen to the 911 calls -- I couldn't. I'm still having nightmares just hearing the news on the television.

As far as 911 goes, if anyone had a chance to listen to Demi Moore's 911 call, it goes into all that's wrong with the system. The operators spend FAR too much time trying to figure out what's an emergency and what's not. Maybe too many people cry wolf, and it causes the real emergencies to fall through the cracks.

Anyway - getting back to my point. Demi's dispatcher (Beverly Hills) transferred her to LA. LA says, "no - that's BH" back to the BH dispatcher -- who then proceeds to tell her not to give Demi anything to eat or drink (seriously)? If Demi had been really dying, should would have been dead by the time the dispatchers were done arguing with each other.

I've listened to so many cringe worthy 911 calls, that I shudder at the thought of every needing to call.

Now I'm rambling - sorry

Mel

Yes, I listened to Demi's and totally agree with you.

 

[rotterdam]

To be completely frank and honest, there was nothing anyone could do from the moment JP decided he was going to do this, to the time he did this.

Everyone did their best, and while we can look back and see things we may have done differently, hindsight is always 20/20. Yes, we should look at, and examine, the series of events, but we should also always remember that we were NOT there, we did NOT have the pressure and the insanity in our faces, and we did NOT watch two children get brutally murdered by hatcheting and then explosions carried out by their father.

Josh Powell would have done this, period. It is luck, pure and simple, that we are not talking about a third murder (the S/W), or third and fourth murders (the Coxes).

I don't care how fast LE responded or didn't respond. They would never have been able to stop JP from igniting the blasts. Even if they were right outside, he would have done it.

If the 911 operator was a pure idiot, JP still would have done it.
If the 911 operator was able to send out squads right then, JP still would have done it.
If the kids had entered after the S/W, JP would have done it.
If visitation was not allowed, JP still would have done it, but at the Coxes' house.

It was gonna happen. From the moment when JP made up his mind this was how it was going to end, it was going to happen.

The responsibility of this lays only on JP. Not the social worker, and even if the 911 operator is a complete idiot, it's still not his fault. There were no actions anyone could take, even with dispatching immediately everything LE had including SWAT and HRT, that was going to stop JP.

JP was going to do what he did.

Best-
Herding Cats

Exactly. He was determined. Only his incarceration could have prevented this wacko from murdering the boys..
And the social worker was not pushed out because he did not want to murder her. He still had to do some unspeakable things first prior to the actual fire, she might have tried to stop him. The time line according to her 911 call was much longer than just a few minutes. More like 10 plus minutes from the minute the kids were in the house until the actual fire.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

As for the archive--

I'm adding all the 911 calls released. 9 calls in all (that I know of) from <modsnip> the supervisor, sister Alina, Jeff the lawyer, Ed the boss, a male neighbor and a female neighbor.

They go into the murder/suicide sub-album:
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/...well -UT-/Murder-Suicide- A cowards way out/

Main Susan archive is still:
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Susan Cox Powell -UT-/

and from there you can click any of the other sub-albums.

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

oh my gosh.. the male 911 operator wasted valuable time with all the demanding basic questions. I know that is his job.. but the woman was in a panic.. the sarcastic and rude remarks about her supervising herself took up alot of time.. why her license plate.. oh my .. life theatning emergency.. after she told him it was emergency he ignored it..

he should be fired asap

incidentally she said could hear child crying.. and it was about 10 minutes they had been in there.. this gets worse. It was reported 2 minutes after they were there.. so now 10 minutes of pure torment.. sick each development even more so than the last.

BBM: using your opening statement as a jumping off point only, what many may not realize is 9-1-1 operators have a multi-tasking job I would not want, while they are gathering information from the caller, they have to figure out the best place to send out the information, LE, FD, etc. Then while still gathering information, they are at the same time relaying it by keyboard to the proper authorities, trying to calm the caller and all this happens at one time.
While it may seem like a lot of time is wasted as he asks questions, the notification has probably already started making it's way to a squad car in the area, or the nearest fire dept etc. It's not like they talk for 10 minutes and then submit the info, it is all simultaneous with gathering the info needed.

 

[Starry Night]

Dewey it probably took some time for you to formulate that response and thanks for doing that. It really helps a 'lay person' so to speak, to understand a 911 call and the other end of a frantic cry for help. Protocol and a cool head and the correct dispatch...not an easy job. Takes nerves of steel I would imagine.

 

[hollyblue]

BBM: using your opening statement as a jumping off point only, what many may not realize is 9-1-1 operators have a multi-tasking job I would not want, while they are gathering information from the caller, they have to figure out the best place to send out the information, LE, FD, etc. Then while still gathering information, they are at the same time relaying it by keyboard to the proper authorities, trying to calm the caller and all this happens at one time.
While it may seem like a lot of time is wasted as he asks questions, the notification has probably already started making it's way to a squad car in the area, or the nearest fire dept etc. It's not like they talk for 10 minutes and then submit the info, it is all simultaneous with gathering the info needed.

I understand and agree, but he apparently didn't think it was an emergency by his statements....and just the smelling of gas IS.

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

I understand and agree, but he apparently didn't think it was an emergency by his statements....and just the smelling of gas IS.

When I listened to that call, I tried to put myself in his place, and yes he did miss the boat on the reasonshe was there as supervisor, but, without hindsight, when she said I want to move my car because I smell gas, she didn't say it was eminating from the home. Now that we know the facts, it seems obvious, but at the time to me it sounded like she may have a gas leak in her car, she was not clear on that as she could have been. Not blaming her, just saying, he had no reason to think the odour was from the home. MOO

 

[joedotnet]

I can't listen. I've had a difficult time since this happened. I can't listen to those calls right now. My prayers are with Susan's family, the case worker and all of the investigators and first responders who had to work this horrible scene.

I can't either. Those poor kids.

 

[~n/t~]

To be completely frank and honest, there was nothing anyone could do from the moment JP decided he was going to do this, to the time he did this.

Everyone did their best, and while we can look back and see things we may have done differently, hindsight is always 20/20. Yes, we should look at, and examine, the series of events, but we should also always remember that we were NOT there, we did NOT have the pressure and the insanity in our faces, and we did NOT watch two children get brutally murdered by hatcheting and then explosions carried out by their father.

Josh Powell would have done this, period. It is luck, pure and simple, that we are not talking about a third murder (the S/W), or third and fourth murders (the Coxes).

I don't care how fast LE responded or didn't respond. They would never have been able to stop JP from igniting the blasts. Even if they were right outside, he would have done it.

If the 911 operator was a pure idiot, JP still would have done it.
If the 911 operator was able to send out squads right then, JP still would have done it.
If the kids had entered after the S/W, JP would have done it.
If visitation was not allowed, JP still would have done it, but at the Coxes' house.

It was gonna happen. From the moment when JP made up his mind this was how it was going to end, it was going to happen.

The responsibility of this lays only on JP. Not the social worker, and even if the 911 operator is a complete idiot, it's still not his fault. There were no actions anyone could take, even with dispatching immediately everything LE had including SWAT and HRT, that was going to stop JP.

JP was going to do what he did.

Best-
Herding Cats

I agree. There was no stopping him. He was a madman on a mission. Sadly, he succeeded.

 

[BrownRice]

This is the last thread I can read about this case. It keeps getting worse (now the thought of one of the little boys crying is just too much for me). By following this case, it's like we got to know these little boys and yearn for their peace and comfort and truly hope they would pull through (after their dad was where he belonged in prison) with the love of their family. I truly feel a personal loss here. And everyday it gets worse. I just can't read any more.

 

[ami]

I understand she was shocked. But as a "crisis worker", she must be trained by her employer to be prepared and effective as possible in the event of a crisis. How do we hope to have better crisis intervention for children without being able to address the obvious short-comings of the system in place to protect children in crisis? Ill-training is a short-coming. This is not an attack on the poor woman. It is an identified failure of the systems training and expectations of her. The address is crucial.

Where is it listed that she was a "crisis worker"? Everything I've read said she was a "case worker" and that her primary job was to be on site while the children interacted normally with their parent and she took notes and observed. Not stood between them and a murderous psychopath.

Because if they had thought Josh Powell was at risk of murdering his children, he would NOT have been given that type of visitation.

How do you train a person to stop a hatchet wielding psychopathic murderer with 10 gallons of gasoline and a lighter? I'm trying to picture what type of person would have even had a tiny chance to save the kids and make it out alive. More likely anyone who would have gotten in the house would have been the 4th casualty.

The fault as I see it was on the underestimation of the system, and that's so sad because Chuck Cox said that they warned the powers that be that he was backed into a corner and they were nervous he'd harm the kids. That was when it should have gone from a home visit with someone trained to observe to NO visits pending results of his tests. I honestly don't think there would have been a situation secure enough to keep the kids safe AND interact with their father.

I can't listen to the 911 calls, I just can't. From what I read, she was frantic and she knew (backing her car out of the driveway) that something absolutely horrible was about to happen. She has my full sympathy and support. I don't know how she'll recover from this.

(Is it wrong of me to hope they publish the 911 operator's name as well?)

 

[21merc7]

OMG, she could hear one of the children screaming. All I can think of is that was when the hatchet went into play. OMG!

As far as any 911 operator wasting time, or any one else, I don't see it that way. Everyone was doing what they had to do. It would have made no difference if the police, firetruck, and ambulance were sitting right outside the door. JP was already in motion, no stopping him. That is why all the gasoline. Even if they tried to knock the door down, it was too late.

I hope the social worker can qualify for free therapy for the rest of her life, she's going to need it, and it may never help. I feel so sorry for her, just so awful.

 

[hollyblue]

So curious what the first psych exam revealed to the powers that be on JP and was it taken into consideration for the visitation?

They should have put Casey and JP in a cage together.....forever. imo