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PUYALLUP, Wash. — The house where Steven Powell committed his voyeuristic crimes against his neighbor has now been sold to the victims' mother.
Powell, 63, was released from prison in March after serving nearly two years for taking voyeuristic pictures of two neighbor girls, then ages 8 and 10, with a telephoto lens from his house while they were nude or partially nude in their own bathroom.
In December, a judge ordered the Pierce County Sheriff's Office to sell Powell's largest non-exempt asset — his house at 18615 94th Avenue Court East in Puyallup — in order to start paying off the money he owed in the civil judgment awarded to the girls, which with interest is now more than $1.9 million.
Powell, acting as his own attorney while still incarcerated, made several attempts to block the sale of the home with numerous court filings, all of which were ultimately rejected by a judge.
Now, with a $100,000 credit from the $2 million owed to the girls from the settlement, the girls and their mother have purchased the Powell home. A redemption period will now follow, said the girls' attorney, Anne Bremner.
Bremner said Monday she believes the house is vacant and that Steven Powell's daughter, Alina, and son, John, had moved out. There was no official word Monday on what the girls' family planned to do with the house.
Powell is the father-in-law of Susan Cox Powell, who has been missing from her West Valley City home since 2009. Investigators believe she was murdered by her husband, Josh Powell, who later killed himself and their two young sons. A battle over life insurance money is still ongoing between the families of Josh Powell and Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox.
