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West Valley City » Joshua Powell isn't the only Utah husband who won't help police solve a mystery.

In 1994, someone shot and killed Kimberly Evans at the mouth of Butterfield Canyon in Herriman. Her husband, Mark B. Evans, submitted to an interview with police shortly after the murder. Detectives grilled him hard. So hard he hasn't spoken to investigators since.

"I would like to talk to him to clear him from being a suspect in his wife's murder," said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Det. Todd Park, who is still investigating the Evans case. "I feel like there are other viable suspects more so than him."

Since Susan Powell, 28, went missing Dec. 7, the scrutiny has been on her husband and why he won't answer questions for detectives. While there exists a possibility Joshua Powell, 34, is covering up a crime, Kimberly Evans' unsolved murder could be evidence that sometimes even innocent people are afraid of police.

West Valley City police have called Joshua Powell a person of interest in the disappearance. He has given two interviews to investigators but West Valley City police have said Joshua Powell was not forthcoming. In the second interview, West Valley City Assistant Police Chief Craig Black said Joshua Powell answered only questions about jewelry his wife wears, scars on her body and other information that would identify her.

University of Utah law professor Daniel Medwed said some people refuse to talk to police for Libertarian reasons.

"You have a right to refuse to speak to police, a right to refuse to speak to law enforcement and a lot of people firmly believe they have a privacy interest at stake," Medwed said.

Medwed also said many defense attorneys will advise even innocent clients not to talk. Research has shown police, especially during high profile cases, develop what Medwed called "tunnel vision" where they latch onto once suspect and ignore evidence against others.

Some attorneys believe "if the police already suspect you, speaking to police might give them more ammunition," said Medwed, who teaches a course on wrongful convictions.

Black last week said Joshua Powell's refusal to answer more questions is not normal. Not only do most crime victims speak with police, Black said, many guilty people talk to police as a way of gauging what police know.

Joshua Powell's behavior is "bizarre to everybody," Black said. "If your loved ones go missing, your first inclination is to help."

Since Mark Evans gave his early interviews with police, the investigation into his wife's murder has focused on people who supplied Kimberly Evans with drugs and took nude photographs of her. Park thinks Mark Evans could supply information about those people or give other information that might solve the case.

"I don't know what motivates people to not talk to police," Park said. "The obvious one is when they're guilty and trying to hide something."

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