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PUYALLUP, Washington (CNN) -- The tragic tale of two boys killed along with their father in an apparent murder-suicide took another gruesome turn when authorities said the children suffered hatchet wounds before dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Investigators found the hatchet they believe was used on the boys in the Washington home of Josh Powell, whom authorities believe set the explosive fire Sunday afternoon, said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

Powell was a suspect in the 2009 disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox-Powell.

Autopsies showed his sons, 5-year-old Braden and 7-year-old Charlie, suffered "chop" injuries to their necks, but medical examiners concluded both boys and their father died from inhaling carbon monoxide, the county medical examiner's office reported.

Powell's death was ruled a suicide, and his sons' deaths were ruled homicides.

But before dousing his Puyallup home with gasoline and setting it ablaze, Powell gave toys and books to charity and sent multiple goodbye e-mails, authorities said Monday.

That evidence suggests that Powell planned a murder-suicide for some time, Troyer said.

"(I) believe this was intentional -- it's two counts of murder and then suicide," he said.

It was a tragic development in a puzzling saga that began two years ago in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, when 28-year-old Cox-Powell disappeared.

The farewell e-mails Powell sent included one to his attorney, saying simply: "I'm sorry. Goodbye."

He also sent e-mails to his pastor and others just minutes before the fire, giving instructions on how to handle his end-of-life business, according to Troyer.

The spokesman added that authorities found two five-gallon cans of gas in the home, one of which appeared to have been lit right next to the bodies, which were found together in the same room.

The sheriff's department has copies of an e-mail Powell sent to his attorney as well as family and friends that said "he couldn't live with what was going on," Troyer said.

The deaths of Powell and his two sons could mean the disappearance of the children's mother might never be solved.

Still, the case remains open and investigators vowed to pursue it until the point of closure.

"I promised the Coxes I wasn't giving up, and I'm still not because we want to get some closure here," West Valley City, Utah, Police Chief Buzz Nielsen said Monday. Utah detectives went to Washington in the aftermath of the fatal fire.

"The case is still active; we're not closing the case. We still got things that have not been resolved," he said.

As late as last month, Utah authorities were still working to connect Powell to the disappearance of his wife, who authorities believe is dead.

Cox-Powell's sister, Denise Cox, told CNN on Tuesday she had been told by her family that Powell could be arrested within a few weeks and that authorities were attempting to build a case against him despite the lack of a body.

"We were all excited that something was going to happen," she said, adding the family was hoping that a deal could be made or Powell could be coerced to divulge his wife's whereabouts.

However, Powell was never arrested or charged. He was embroiled in an ugly custody dispute with the Cox family.

Asked Monday whether she feared Powell would ever hurt his children, Denise Cox responded: "Absolutely."

In recent months, the children had started "opening up and talking to my parents about what happened that night" their mother disappeared, she said.

"They basically kept saying how they went on a vacation in the desert, and camping ... they stopped at some place, and mommy and daddy left, and only daddy came back," Judy Cox, Susan Cox-Powell's mother, told NBC's "Today" on Tuesday.

Cox family attorney Steve Downing said the older boy recalled his mother being in the trunk.

"Charlie had been asked along with other members of (his) class to draw a picture of something they did in summer," Downing said. "At some point he drew a picture of the family van. The dad was driving the van, he and his brother were in the backseat and mom was in the trunk."

Chuck Cox, Susan Cox-Powell's father, told "Today" that the picture was drawn by Braden. Asked who was in the minivan in the picture, the child told his teachers "that was his daddy, Charlie and himself, and that Mommy was in the trunk," he said.

Authorities believe that by setting fire to the home, Powell not only killed his children -- he eliminated evidence in the case of his wife.

"Those boys were evidence. Those boys were going to be evidence against him," Troyer said. "You're looking at somebody who's willing to kill their own kids ... killing your wife isn't that much of a stretch from there."

Asked whether she believes Powell's motive was the custody battle or the recent remarks made by the children, Judy Cox told "Today" she felt it was both.

"He was feeling cornered," she said. "... Basically, he didn't like us, and he wanted to get the kids away from us so much," she said. "It really bothered him that the boys were showing such affection to Chuck."

According to investigators, Powell had said the last time he saw his wife was the night he and his sons -- then ages 2 and 4 -- left to go camping.

Cox-Powell's sister eventually reported her missing. A month later, Powell and his children moved from Utah to Washington.

The double homicide and suicide on Sunday came days after a judge refused Powell's petition to regain custody of his children. The judge instead ordered Powell undergo psychological evaluations -- an order that came after authorities turned up child pornography in the home Powell shared with his father.

The Coxes said they were concerned about Powell's having visitation, but noted that several previous visitations had been uneventful. However, they were worried about the first visitation after the court's ruling, Chuck Cox said on "Today."

"We knew that if he was cornered and felt like there was no way out, that he was capable of this," he said of Powell. The couple had communicated their concerns to police and child welfare workers, he said.

"I understand they have a lot of people and they deal with a lot of people who exaggerate the threat -- cry wolf, if you will," he said. But, given the circumstances, "... we felt they should have taken more care."

Asked whether her family was thinking of pursuing legal action against the state for ordering visitations, Denise Cox said she wasn't sure and had not spoken to her parents on the matter.

"I feel the state did the best with what they could do, but they just didn't have the right information to change the visitations," she said.

Despite their grief, the family is attempting to open up to the public "spreading the word on how wonderful the boys were, and how tragic it is, and trying to drum up some more attention" so a search for Cox-Powell can be launched, she said.

As part of the investigation into Cox-Powell's disappearance, Utah authorities searched the Washington house where Powell, his two sons and his father, Steven Powell, were living last year.

During the search, investigators "discovered numerous images and recordings of adult and juvenile females," according to a statement released by the Pierce County sheriff's department.

Powell's father, Steven, was subsequently charged with 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents.

After the arrest of Powell's father, custody of his sons went to the Coxes, according to Washington state court records. Powell maintained in court documents filed last week that he established his own home after his father's arrest and "have consistently proven my fitness as a stable and loving parent under close supervision by (child welfare caseworkers)."

On Sunday, shortly after noon, Powell was standing outside his home in a quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac waiting for a social worker to bring the two boys for a supervised visit, authorities said.

As the children got to the door, Powell pushed the social worker back, quickly brought the two boys inside and locked the door.

The social worker, who later reported smelling something similar to gas at the time, tried "pounding the doors, trying to get in," said Gary Franz, a deputy chief with Graham, Washington, Fire and Rescue.

About two minutes later, as the social worker was calling her supervisor, the house exploded, Franz said.

The powerful explosion shook houses, with debris landing on lawns blocks away.

That morning, Judy Cox told "Today," the boys did not want to go to their father's. Sometimes they did look forward to visits with him, she said, but that day they were having fun playing with their 2-year-old cousin. She said she knew, under the law, the boys had to go.

The Coxes told NBC their faith helps them stay strong.

"We know where our daughter is, and we know that she's not here on this Earth ... and that she's safe," Chuck Cox said. "And we know the boys are back with their mother, and that gives us a lot of strength."

CNN's Ashley Hayes, Tina Burnside, Anderson Cooper, Sara Weisfeldt, John King, Leslie Tripp and Dave Alsup and HLN's Alexis Weed and Phil Rosenbaum contributed to this report.

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