Jennifer and Kirk Graves ousted from family
because of her hysterical behavior

On Friday evening, January 22, 2010 at 6:00 p.m., Jennifer and Kirk Graves showed up unannounced at Steve Powell's home in Puyallup, Washington. Jennifer and Kirk Graves' visit to Steve Powell's home was highly unusual for either of them, and Kirk Graves has never been to Steve Powell's home in his life. This is due to Jennifer Graves' 20-year hatred of her father, Steve Powell. The Powells tried to be hospitable and even offered dinner to Jennifer and Kirk Graves. Josh Powell invited Jennifer and Kirk Graves to attend the children's birthday party the next day since the Graves were in town.

Jennifer and Kirk Graves hid their true reason for "visiting" the Powells in Puyallup, Washington as they accepted the Powells' hospitality and had dinner. Right after dinner, however, Jennifer Graves asked Josh to talk privately so they went into a side room. Jennifer Graves has always had a strong contempt for Josh and had been making hostile comments toward Josh in the media and since the day after Susan Powell left. Therefore, Josh's brother Michael Powell stayed right outside the French doors to watch through the glass, listen, and act as a witness.

Jennifer Graves is a convincing storyteller

When Jennifer Graves first got Josh Powell alone, she started making some facial expressions and gestures in an attempt to express strong emotion. For about 90 seconds, Jennifer Graves' strange body language was physically disconcerting to Josh. Josh asked her, "What's wrong?" At first, Jennifer Graves didn't respond, but she continued fidgeting very strangely.

Jennifer Graves is a convincing story teller and her body language has always been able to elicit a physical response in listeners, such as muscle tension. When Jennifer Graves finally began to speak, Josh felt all of his own tension release, because Josh realized it was just more of Jennifer Graves' accusatory rhetoric. Jennifer Graves became more tense throughout her hysterical rant, but Josh was used to hearing this from Jennifer Graves by now, because it was the same thing she had been saying since the day after Susan Powell left. Jennifer Graves said, "Josh, you have to turn yourself in because there are rumors that you will be arrested in only a few days." Knowing that no police agency in the world would try to warn someone with "rumors" before an impending arrest, Josh just asked, "Did the police spread these rumors?" Jennifer Graves said, "No, just people."

Jennifer Graves went on to do most of the talking. At this point, Jennifer Graves said many new things that she had not said to Josh before:

• Jennifer Graves said Josh should cop a plea bargain before it is too late in order to mitigate any punishment.
• Jennifer Graves boasted that she was instrumental in convincing the West Valley City Police to search Josh and Susan Powell's Utah home and seize their property.
• Jennifer Graves reminded Josh that Jennifer Graves was the person who found the two-foot-wide Koolaid-pink spot under his couch on the carpet and that they were forensically testing it at that very moment. It should be noted that this was fully six weeks after the West Valley City Police had seized the property to begin forensic testing. Now it is one year later, and perhaps Jennifer Graves thinks that the West Valley City Police are still working on that spot.
• Jennifer Graves even invented a motive for Josh based on her own attitudes, claiming that Josh's motive was a disagreement with Susan over Mormonism (Latter-Day-Saint, LDS Church).
• Jennifer Graves said that she would make sure that everyone knew that Josh was a lukewarm Mormon and that "everyone" would think he was therefore capable of the most terrible things.

Most of Jennifer Graves' talking was centered on Jennifer Graves' faith in her own judgments about Josh and Susan Powell's attitudes regarding the Mormon religion. Jennifer Graves was wrong on most points. Jennifer Graves kept asking loaded questions, such as "Where did you hide Susan's body?" and "Why did you become a Mormon when you've hated Mormonism your whole life?" Josh told Jennifer Graves he didn't know where Susan had gone, and that Jennifer Graves' assumptions about his beliefs were unfounded and untrue.

Josh tried his best to answer Jennifer Graves' slightly-more-grounded questions, though they were rare. For example, "Did you even love Susan?" to which Josh answered, "Of course. And I still do." But because Jennifer Graves came with a preconceived notion of Josh's guilt, she was not satisfied with Josh's responses and did not stop asking the same loaded questions incessantly. Jennifer Graves' insinuations became more exaggerated and hysterical with each time she asked, until Josh finally stopped responding to her altogether, and ultimately Josh just walked out of the room.

Jennifer Graves followed behind Josh and kept whispering her accusations as they walked back to the dining room to rejoin everyone else. Josh told Jennifer Graves, "If you can't control your behavior, do not come to my children's birthday party tomorrow." Jennifer Graves responded, "I guess I can't control myself, because every time I look at you, I see a guilty person."

Jennifer and Kirk Graves' even wilder accusations

Although Josh's brother Michael Powell had overheard everything Jennifer Graves said, at the time Steve Powell and Josh's sister Alina Powell didn't know what Jennifer Graves had been doing with Josh.

Jennifer and Kirk Graves waited in the dining room as Josh and his two brothers drove away to take care of previously planned errands. Jennifer Graves then redirected her verbal attack on Steve and Alina.

With Josh and Susan's children in the room, Jennifer Graves said to Steve, "There isn't much time left." Steve said, "Excuse me?" Jennifer Graves said, "There are rumors that they will be arresting Josh right away." Steve said, "For what?" Jennifer Graves responded, "For killing Susan!" In an effort to protect Josh and Susan's children from Jennifer and Kirk Graves, Steve told Jennifer and Kirk Graves to get out of the house immediately.

Alina and Steve followed Jennifer and Kirk Graves to the front door as Jennifer Graves continued her diatribe against Josh and the whole Powell family. Jennifer Graves hysterically demanded of Steve, "When did Josh tell you and Michael he was planning to kill Susan!" Steve was speechless as Jennifer Graves continued, "You hated Susan!" Steve again had no response, but Alina jumped in and said, "Susan and Dad always got along well and Dad even bought Susan nice birthday presents every year." In contradiction to her previous accusation, Jennifer Graves then said, "You only did that because you wanted to buy [Susan's] love."

In response to Jennifer Graves' confusion and unfounded accusations, Alina said to Jennifer Graves, "Dad never hated Susan - You have always hated Dad, you bitch. You have no idea how much Dad has grieved over the loss of his daughter Susan. I was there for your 'grieving' too, and yours doesn't even compare." Steve Powell said, "Jennifer, you disowned me 20 years ago. I am now disowning you and I do not ever want to see either of you again."

Jennifer and Kirk Graves then started bringing up disagreements that happened almost 20 years ago between Steve and Steve's ex-wife, Terri Powell, during their divorce. All animosity between Josh's parents is long-since resolved, leaving them amicable enough even for Terri to stay in Steve's guest room when visiting her kids in Puyallup, Washington. Josh and three of his four siblings have loving relationships with each other and with both parents. Jennifer Graves is the only exception.

Jennifer Graves continues to pose in the media as a member of Josh Powell's family, though Jennifer Graves has had no contact with Josh, his siblings, or his father since this episode on January 22, 2010. Jennifer and Kirk Graves continue to carry Jennifer Graves' unyielding 20-year grudge against her ex-Mormon father and her now-estranged siblings.

Updated December 5, 2010