A 23-year-old Ohio woman killed her mother by hitting her with an iron pan and stabbing her dozens of times – because she discovered the young woman had been kicked out of college.
According to the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Sydney Powell of Akron was convicted of murder, felony assault and tampering with evidence in the beating of 50-year-old paramedic Brenda Powell.
“In March 2020, Powell hit Brenda Powell in the head with an iron pan, then stabbed her nearly 30 times in the neck,” the office said in a statement.
The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Powell, a former University of Mount Union student, sobbed in the Summit County Common Pleas courtroom after the jury found her guilty Wednesday. Police found Brenda inside her Scudder Drive home critically injured on March 3, 2020. She and her then 19-year-old daughter were taken to the hospital, where Brenda eventually died.
Prosecutors said Powell attacked his mother — a child life specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital — while she was on the phone with officials at his school.
During the trial, the defense argued that Sydney suffered from schizophrenia and therefore could not be responsible for the murder.
James Reardon, one of three defense experts who gave the diagnosis, said Sydney was mentally disturbed when she killed her mother, whom she considered her best friend. But Sylvia O’Bradovich, a psychologist hired by prosecutors, disagreed with the diagnosis and said Sydney did not meet the legal definition of insanity at the time of the crime.
O’Bradovich admitted that Sydney suffered from mental health issues, including borderline personality traits, slurring disorder and anxiety, the Beacon Journal reported.
According to the newspaper, Steven Powell, Sydney’s father and Brenda’s husband, and her grandmother, Betsy Brown, have urged prosecutors to reach a settlement without a trial.
But the prosecution said they want the jury to decide.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian Stano said: “Sydney stopped the attack with the pan and probably took the knife into the kitchen. “She had to switch weapons and continue attacking him,” he said, adding that Sydney carried out the deadly attack because she did not want her secret revealed.
“Just a knife repeatedly cutting into your neck? This is intentional. It was trying to destroy someone,” Stano said.
Defense attorney Donald Malarcik declined to comment after the verdict. Powell’s sentencing is scheduled for September 28. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 15 years and additional time for tampering with evidence. his sentence.
