An Ohio woman, who had been kicked out college and flew into a murderous rage when her mother found out, was sentenced to at least 15 years behind bars on Thursday.
Sydney Powell, 23, will eligible for parole after serving a decade and a half in custody, under the life prison term imposed by Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly McLaughlin.
Powell hit mother Brenda Powell, 50, with an iron skillet on March 3, 2020 in Akron, before stabbing her nearly 30 times in the neck, prosecutors said.
A jury last week found the younger Powell guilty of murder, assault and tampering with evidence.
The convicted murderer had been suspended by Mount Union University for poor grades and the school officials were on the phone with Brenda Powell when the fatal attack unfolded.
School officials called Akron police when they heard screaming on the other end of the line.
“The phone cut off at some point after, I would say, somewhere in the neighborhood of six or seven of those thudding, those sort of thud sounds, and the screaming had continued,” Associate Dean of Students Michelle Gaffney testified earlier this month.
Alarmed school officials repeatedly called the Powell home back before a woman picked up claiming to be Brenda Powell, who was a child life specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital.
“The voice on the other ends said, ‘Yes this is Brenda. Yes, this is Brenda,’ ” Gaffney recalled. “It was not Brenda. I was sure it was Sydney. Both Dean (of Students John) Frasier and I looked at each other and sort of shook our heads at each other and said that’s not Brenda. He then said, ‘Sydney I think this is you, this is not Brenda.’ The phone (then) went dead.”
Sydney Powell, wearing orange jail garb, declined to make a statement in court due to the upcoming appellate case, her defense lawyer said.
She said “yes” in a soft voice when Judge McLaughlin asked if she wanted the court to appoint an attorney to represent her for that appeal.
“To the victim, to the family and the friends, I am terribly sorry for your loss here,” McLaughlin told the court. “I cannot imagine what you have been through.”
Powell was shackled at the waist and cried as she was led out of court.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
