Uni dropout killed mother with frying pan and kitchen knife

Sydney Powell would stop at nothing, including murder, to stop her mum discovering she had been kicked out of university

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Brenda Powell devoted her life to helping young people. She had worked as a child life specialist in the hematology-oncology unit at Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio for 28 years and had a reputation for being the best in her field. But her family was always her priority, so when Brenda received a call at work from her husband to say their 19-year-old daughter Sydney needed her, she went straight home.

It was 3 March 2020, and 50-year-old Brenda, who also had a son, believed her home life was going well. Her daughter was studying at University of Mount Union. in Alliance, Ohio, where she lived on campus. Brenda had always supported Sydney's studies.

The teenager had been captain of her high school soccer team and earned a partial academic scholarship to the university, where she started in the autumn of 2019.

The following February, Brenda noticed a GPS tracking app showed her daughter was at home, rather than in class. Sydney sent a text saying her teacher had taken the week as a holiday "so just gave us a worksheet and some work online to do while she's gone".

Later that day, Brenda asked her, "Why do I always feel like you're scamming me? Just remember you need the grades to keep your scholarship."

But Sydney replied, "My grades are good, thank you very much."

But just over a week later, her father Steven noticed he couldn't pay her university tuition fees through the usual online portal and queried it. Sydney at first said it was an error before admitting she'd been suspended from university and suggesting that perhaps it wasn't the right path for her.

Steven called Brenda, believing the mother and daughter had such a close relationship they would be able to talk it out. He then went to work.