An Ohio woman was found guilty of murdering her mother by hitting her repeatedly with a cast iron skillet before stabbing her more than 30 times in the neck with a steak knife. Sydney Powell, 23, didn’t want her mother Brenda to know she’d been kicked out of college, so when Brenda found out, she was killed for it. Sydney was convicted at a Summit County court last week of two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault over the March 2020 attack.
- Sydney Powell had been kicked out of Mount Union University. Why she was kicked out is anyone’s guess, but the point is that she didn’t want her mom to know. So, when Brenda Powell did eventually find out, Sydney killed her for it.
- Brenda died at a local hospital from the brutal attack. She’d worked as a child life specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital for nearly 30 years but eventually lost her own life at a local hospital due to the injuries inflicted on her by her own daughter, CourtTV reports.
- Sydney was originally diagnosed with schizophrenia. This is according to three defense psychologists, all of whom claimed that Sydney had no idea what she was doing when she killed her mom because she was in the middle of a psychiatric break.
- The prosecution found Sydney guilty of malingering. While their psychology expert did admit that Sydney Powell has mental health issues, they called her out for faking many of her more extreme symptoms in an effort to convince the court she was insane and escape justice. “The best source of information for an insanity evaluation is what was said and felt at the time of the incident,” clinical psychologist Dr. Silvia O’Bradovich said. “It just didn’t add up to Schizophrenia.”
- The attack Sydney launched on her mother seemed extremely cruel and calculated. While she began hitting her with the pan, she then moved on to a steak knife to ensure she ended her mother’s life. “Sydney stopped attacking with the pan, presumably went to the kitchen with a knife. She had to switch weapons and keep attacking her,” said Assistant Prosecutor Brian Stano, per the Akron Beacon Journal. “Just the knife just in the neck multiple times? That is purposeful. That is trying to end someone.”
- Sydney Powell has her sentencing hearing on September 28. She could receive the maximum sentence of life in prison with a possibility of parole after 15 years. It remains to be seen if the judge will be merciful (or if he should be).
