Mum's final moments before daughter 'stabbed her to death’ heard on phone
The heartbreaking final moments of a mum's life were heard over the phone as she was brutally killed and her daughter is now accused of killing her.
Ohio mum Brenda Powell was killed on March 3, 2020. Her daughter Sydney Powell, then a teenager, is charged with her murder after police arrived at her house the same night to discover the 50-year-old with fatal injuries. She was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital but later passed away from her injuries.
Police were alerted when a Mount Union University employee called Brenda's home and heard a commotion that included yelling and screaming in the background. They told police they heard a thud, followed by screaming and more thuds. The employee called back twice but did not receive a response and told law enforcement.
Police also found Sydney Powell with blood on her and she appeared to be in a hysterical state. She allegedly killed her mum by hitting her with a cast-iron frying pan and repeatedly stabbing her with a steak knife, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
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The jury will be asked to return one of three possible verdicts. Guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity (Summit County Sheriff)Sydney Powell told authorities someone broke into their home and urged her to leave. She also claimed the home had been broken into. Prosecutors say the 23-year-old broke a window to make it look like a break-in.
“Sydney Powell did take her mother’s life and she knew in doing so her actions were wrong,” said Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Joe McAleese. Prosecutors painted a picture of increasing stress felt by the defendant in the weeks leading up to the murder.
Sydney Powell had been suspended from the University of Mount Union in December 2019 because of bad grades but kept it quiet. She stayed in hotels before returning to her home in Akron on the day of the killing.
“The truth caught up to these lies,” Mr McAleese said. “It became overwhelming. She was stressed. Her tuition was canceled. Her enrollment was canceled. In that moment, she struck her mother with a frying pan over and over. She stabbed her over and over — hoping that was finally enough. She had awareness to try to hide what she did.”
Sidney Powell cries in court during her trial (COURT TV)Her attorneys have said the accused - facing two murder charges - suffered a psychotic episode on the day of the killing and the accused has pleaded not guilty on the grounds of insanity. They said police found her at the Powell property clawing at the ground, causing bleeding on her fingers, and her eyes were rolling back in her head. She is currently living with her maternal grandmother on a $25,000 bond.
“She’s absolutely in shock — in a catatonic state — not responding to audio stimuli,” Don Malarcik, Powell’s attorney, said. Mr Malarcik said his client also went through two weeks of psychiatric treatment. Mr Malarcik added: "The science is overwhelming — and it supports insanity."
Columbus Psychologist Dr James Reardon said he believed Sidney Powell's "utterly compromised" state was unprecedented."I have rarely, if ever, seen a situation where an individual was in such an utterly compromised psychological state as Sydney Powell was at the time of these offenses," he said in a report.
The trial will be heard in two parts with the first on the evidence of the killing, with the second on the insanity defence. Three psychologists found Powell to be not guilty by reason of insanity, but another determined she was sane when the alleged murder occurred.
Syden's father and Brenda's husband previously asked for the trial to end as it goes "against anything Brenda would want."
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