(Image Source: KIRO-TV)

BY STACEY WELSH

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

News sources are reporting that Josh Powell killed himself and his two young sons at their Washington home Sunday. He was a person of interest in his wife Susan’s disappearance. A detective tells KOMO-TV the boys died in an explosion after a social worker brought them to their father’s house for a supervised visit.  

“DETECTIVE: He grabbed the kids, locked her out of the house and immediately the house went up in flames, very quickly, very big. So, we believe that Josh Powell intentionally set this fire.”

This comes after Powell lost a custody battle to the boys’ grandparents. CBS reports...

“...a Washington judge denied Powell custody of his two sons and ordered him to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation after child pornography was found on his father's computer.”

Reports indicate Powell took his sons on a camping trip when his wife disappeared in 2009. A lawyer for Susan Powell’s parents told the Associated Press the boys saw their mother in the trunk of the car. They said their mother disappeared on that camping trip.

Despite this, the Los Angeles Times reports Powell returned to court...

“...in a bid to regain custody. ‘I have proven myself as a fit and loving father who provides a stable home even in the face of great adversity,’ he wrote in an affidavit.”

The house caught fire at about 12:30 in the afternoon. CNN cites shortly before that Powell...

“...apparently sent a three-word e-mail to his attorney. It said simply: ‘I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

Authorities were reportedly working to connect Powell with his wife's disappearance at the time of his death. KUTV spoke with the Pierce County Sheriff who refuses to call the incident a ‘tragedy’ because of the possible premeditation.

“...that distances us from it, that sanitizes it, that seems to make it less than it is ... Let’s call it a horrible murder because that’s exactly what we have here.”

Dozens of community members gathered at the boys’ elementary school for a candlelight vigil Sunday night.