WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – A candlelight vigil was held for Charlie and Braden Powell Tuesday night on the one year anniversary of their deaths.
The vigil was held at West View Park. Friends said it is a place Susan often took the boys to play.
The park is also the location where the first vigil was held for Susan when she went missing in 2009. She has never been found.
Family and friends gathered to listen to songs and poems in remembrance of the boys. A slide show of pictures showing Susan with Charlie and Braden brought many people to tears.
Jennifer Graves, the boys’ aunt, said she had been on an emotional roller coaster in the past year.
“I think of them being with their mom in heaven and being happy,” Graves said. “Honestly, I really think they are in a peaceful, happy, joyful place.”
A vigil was also held in Puyallup, Washington for the boys. Susan’s parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, were in attendance.
Chuck Cox told ABC 4 Reporter Cristina Rendon he visited Charlie and Braden’s graves on Tuesday. He and his wife Judy brought the boys flowers.
The Cox’s said the anniversary of the deaths is just another day without answers.
“It’s been a year, but I just feel I haven’t been able to grieve the way I want to,” Judy Cox said.
Josh Powell was the only suspect in Susan’s disappearance. He killed himself and the boys when he blew up his Washington state home in February 2012.
Graves said time does heal. She finds comfort in the belief Charlie and Braden are resting with their mother.
“There will always be a tenderness for Susan, Charlie and Braden,” Graves added. “I’ll always miss them.”
