College student stabs mother to death so she wouldn't find out she was expelled from school
A college student, fearing her mother's reaction to her expulsion, stabbed her multiple times, killing her.
A report by Akron Beacon Journal carried by PEOPLE detailed that 23-year-old Sydney Powell from Ohio was found guilty of murdering her 50-year-old mother Brenda back in 2020.
According to the release acquired by the news outlet, Sydney struck her mother in the head with an iron skillet before stabbing her nearly 30 times in the neck.
Sydney, who was 19 years old at the time, committed the horrendous act because she didn't want her mother to find out that she had been kicked out of the university she was attending.
The injuries sustained from the brutal act resulted in Brenda taking her last breath at the hospital.
Three defense experts who evaluated Sydney revealed that she had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was unable to fully understand the wrongness of her actions due to the mental disorder.
However, clinical psychologist Dr. Silvia O’Bradovich argued against this, noting that Sydney reported that she began experiencing symptoms at the age of 11, which would make her case extremely rare as symptoms commonly surface around mid to late twenties for women.
"The best source of information for an insanity evaluation is what was said and felt at the time of the incident. It just didn’t add up to Schizophrenia," Silvia explained per CourtTV.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian Stano meanwhile stressed that what Sydney did was "purposeful."
"Sydney stopped attacking with the pan, presumably went to the kitchen with a knife. She had to switch weapons and keep attacking her," Stano recounted. "Just the knife just in the neck multiple times? That is purposeful. That is trying to end someone."
Sydney is now facing charges for the crimes of murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence.