Killer dad ‘abducted sons, 5 and 7, slashed them with a HATCHET and covered them with fuel before burning them to death’

A KILLER dad who snatched, slashed and poured fuel on his sons before burning them to death, was also a suspect in their mom’s disappearance.

Josh Powell’s savage slayings of Braden, 5, and Charlie, 7 – who were sliced with a hatchet before being set alight – were detailed in a Washington courtroom on Tuesday.

Powell murdered his young kids back in February 2012, just three years after his wife Susan vanished and he was a suspect in her murder.

Cops say the boys’ caseworker took them to his Powell’s home for a supervised visit when he locked out the caseworker, savaged the boys with a hatchet, covered them in gasoline before setting them alight.

The horrific blaze destroyed his Pierce County home, killing him and the two boys, reports WSBT 22.

The grisly details of the double murder reemerged because Susan’s parents are suing their local Department of Social and Health Services.

Judy and Chuck Cox allege negligence led to their grandsons’ untimely deaths, resulting in their ongoing lawsuit.

DISAPPEARANCE

It all began in 2009 when Susan Powell didn’t show up to her job in West Valley City, Utah.

The night she disappeared, Powell had taken Braden and Charlie on a midnight camping trip.

He protested his innocence despite Susan’s blood being found next to the sofa in an area that had been recencleaned, court reports show.

Life insurance policies were taken out on Susan, according to these unsealed documents.

Investigators discovered Powell filed paperpwork to cash in on her retirement account money – 10 days after she vanished.

He then moved in with his dad, Steven Powell in Puyallup, Washington, while his sons were taken into care because his father was a convict.

‘RED FLAGS’

Powell senior was a convicted voyeur who snapped sick images of eight to ten-year-old girls in his neighborhood while they showered.

Disturbing journal entries also indicated he also enjoyed taking images of his missing daughter-in-law, reports ABC News.

The Cox family’s attorney Anne Bremner said social services should have spotted “red flags” in court on Tuesday.

She cited the midnight camping trip on the night of Susan’s disappearance, highlighting what the kids said.

“[Susan] disappeared and the kids said she was in the car, she was in a mine – things like that,” Bremner told the Tacoma court.

She explained the Cox’s wanted to change social services policy: they feel family reunification shouldn’t be prioritized over child safety.

The court hearing is set to last four weeks and continues today.

Susan Powell’s parents initally brought the wrongful death lawsuit in 2012.

It was thrown out in 2015 before being revived last year by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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