Comforter found at Powell storage unit tests positive for blood

A stain on a comforter found at a storage unit owned by Josh Powell tested positive for blood in initial exams, the Associated Press reported Friday afternoon.

"Our test just shows that it has blood markers," Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said. "It doesn't tell you sex, it doesn't tell you whose blood it is, or even if it's human or not."

A copy of a search warrant served on the unit shows detectives recovered several items including a plastic bin with toys, a blue, yellow and green box with toy blocks, white garbage bags with linens and children's clothing, and a grey, blue and pink comforter.

Document: View the search warrant

Employees at the storage facility said Powell was there one day before setting a fire at his home that killed him and his two boys, Charlie and Braden.

Investigators told KIRO 7's Kevin McCarty they're focusing on the comforter because of the blood stain. The AP reported the stain is expected to undergo further tests.

At this point it is not known if any of the items will be useful in the murder investigation of Powell's wife, Susan Cox Powell, who disappeared from the couple's home in West Valley City, Utah, in December 2009.

Police constructing timeline in double murder-suicide

Surveillance pictures released Friday showed Josh Powell withdrawing money from a bank one day before the explosion at his home.

Police said they're using the images and other evidence to construct a timeline of Powell's actions prior to the killings.

More information about 'incestuous' images on Powell computer

Investigators said Friday that images found on Josh Powell's computer more than two years ago were initially in a file format difficult to open, but once that was accomplished, officials found realistic-looking animations that depicted incestuous scenarios and child pornography.

"It's of adults and kids, and it appears to be a family setting, but it becomes sexually involved with all the characters," Troyer said.

Those images came up during a custody hearing a week and a half ago, when the 29-year-old Powell was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and lie detector test.

KIRO 7's Kevin McCarty is following fast-moving developments in the Powell case. Follow McCarty on Twitter: @KevinKIRO