# 256: Brenda Powell

An episode of [Morbidology](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1463979546), 13 May 2024, 1 h 00 min.

Audio: https://prefix.up.audio/s/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/s.gum.fm/s-610c47a4222ada0024acb2d8/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/2IMk17EdnEqyRhJTIpIU/claritaspod.com/measure/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/59582130/morbidology_256_brenda_powell.mp3

Michelle Gaffney was at work at the University of Mount Union in Ohio on the 3rd of March, 2020, when she received a message from a parent of a student. When Michelle called back, she could hear loud thumps in the background along with a deafening scream.... SPONSORS - ZocDoc: Zocdoc is the only free app that lets you find and book doctors who are patient reviewed, take your insurance & are available when you need them. To find a & book a top rated doctor today. Visit: https://zocdoc.com/morbidology FÜM: Start the Good Habit at https://tryfum.com/morbidology to save 10% off the Journey Pack today. 310 Nutrition: They have the hydration game down to a tee. Check out their water enhancers, lemonade, and milkshakes! They are offering 50% off up to $100 with code “MORBIDOLOGY” at: https://310nutrition.com/ Truvaga: Truvaga is a handheld device designed to stimulate the vagas nerve, which helps reduce stress, sharpen focus, and improve sleep. Get $15 off with promo code “MORBIDOLOGY” at: https://www.truvaga.com/ Prolon: Prolon is a groundbreaking plant-based nutrition program designed to nourish your body while tricking cells into a fasting state. Get 10% off their five-day nutrition program at: https://prolonlife.com/morbidology SHOW NOTES - https://morbidology-the-podcast-251-billy-payne-and-billie-jean-hayworth PATREON - https://www.patreon.com/morbidology YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/morbidology Audio Credit: Epidemic Sound Evening of Chaos - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Empty Reflections - ErikMMusic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgq4SPKHlyI A Mothers Sacrifice - OurMusicBox - https://ourmusicbox.com/ Dark Tranquility - Anno Domini Beats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6mBav72Ak Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/morbidology--3527306/support.

## Transcript

[0:34] There was a very large or very loud sort of thud sound like a pound,
[0:39] a pounding, or a thud, accompanied by us by a pretty loud
[0:43] scream. Akron is a vibrant city located in the northeastern region of Ohio.
[0:57] It has a rich industrial history and is known as the rubber capital of the
[1:00] world. This is because of its significant contributions to the rubber industry in the
[1:06] early twentieth century. Today, the city boasts a diverse economy, with sectors
[1:11] ranging from health care and education to technology and manufacturing. The cityscape is characterized
[1:19] by a mix of historic architecture, especially evident in the downtown area, and
[1:25] contemporary developments. Akron is also home to several prominent educational institutions, including the
[1:32] University of Akron. About a forty five minute drive away lies the University of
[1:38] mont Union, which is known for its strong academic programs, especially in business
[1:44] education and the sciences. On the third of March twenty twenty, Michelle Gaffney,
[1:51] the Associate Dean of Students, was at work at the University of mont
[1:55] Union. She was having a meeting with Dean Fraser, the vice president of
[2:00] student Affairs, when the skill's administration assistant knocked on the door. She said
[2:06] that she had just received a call from a woman named Branda Powell, whose
[2:10] daughter Sydney had been enruled at the school. Branda had wanted to talk to
[2:15] somebody at the school, so Michelle and Dane called her back. Immediately.
[2:21] Branda answered the phone, greeted by Michelle and Dane's voices. I have the
[2:25] conversation quickly veered into unsettling territory. There was a very large or a very
[2:31] loud sort of thud, sound like a pound, a pounding or a thud,
[2:37] accompanied by us by a pretty loud scream. And the scream might have
[2:45] actually been first, and then the thud, as I think about it.
[2:49] And then there was sort of an expulsion. The other sound that I heard
[2:54] at the same time or right after, was sort of an expulsion of air,
[2:59] like the air knocked out of somebody. I'd always heard that expression of
[3:04] the air being not, you know, having the wind knocked out of you,
[3:06] but I didn't that's actually what it sounded like. This was followed by
[3:10] several more large thumps and this, and so we we're both talking into the
[3:17] phone saying, you know, what's going is what's happening? Are you okay?
[3:23] What's can we do? You need help? What's what's going on?
[3:27] Other than the thumps and screams, Michelle and Deane couldn't hear anything else.
[3:32] Nobody was speaking, despite the fact they repeatedly kept asking if everything was okay,
[3:38] but it didn't sound like everything was okay. It sounded like Branda was
[3:44] being attacked. Branda Poyle was born on the nineteenth of March nineteen sixty nine
[4:02] in Salem, Ohio, a town steeped in history. Her journey led her
[4:06] to the University of Akron, where she pursued her education with determination, ultimately
[4:13] earning a bachelor's degree. Following her graduation, Branda crossed paths with a man
[4:18] named Stephen Poyle. Their meeting in nineteen ninety five, which had been orchestrated
[4:24] by mutual friends, ignited a spark that quickly blossomed into a deep connection.
[4:30] United by shared values in mutual respect, Brenda and Stephen wasted no time in
[4:34] solidifying their bond. Within a year, they exchanged vois, marking the beginning
[4:40] of a lifelong journey together. Then, on the twenty first of March two
[4:45] thousand, the couple welcomed their daughter Sydney into the world. Three and a
[4:50] half years later, their son Andrew was born. Despite the demands of parenthood,
[4:57] both Brenda and Stephen remained steadfast in their dedication to their respective careers.
[5:03] Branda had found fulfillment as a childlife specialist at the Akron Children's Hospitals Shower Family
[5:10] Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders. Here, her compassionate nature and unwavering
[5:15] commitment brought solace to many families facing adversity. Meanwhile, Stephen carried on the
[5:21] family legacy as the assistant vice president for quality Assurance at Akron Steel Trading,
[5:28] a company that was founded by his grandfather back in nineteen forty three. For
[5:33] generations, the Powell family had poured their hearts and souls into the success of
[5:38] the business, ensuring its prosperity in the community. Brenda was said to pour
[5:43] her heart and soul into every faucet of her life. Against became sacred moments
[5:48] of family bonding, meticulously planned by Brenda to ensure some quality time together.
[5:56] Family holidays also held a special place in Brenda and Stephen's hearts, with annual
[6:00] trips to Disney World and trips to the beach. Branda's mother, Betty Brown's,
[6:05] out of them. She was a wonderful mom. She worried about her
[6:11] kids all the time, and probably one of the reasons she waited a little
[6:15] longer than some to have children is because of what she had seen in the
[6:18] hospital. But we were just thrilled when they announced that they were pregnant,
[6:27] and from day one, she just was wonderful with the kids, both of
[6:32] them. Steve was wonderful with them too, as they got older and played
[6:36] out in the yard and so forth. He was always We had a lot
[6:41] of picnics at our place on the weekend. Branda's love had her role at
[6:44] Akron Children's Hospital, knew new bonds within the walls of the hospital. She
[6:49] became a beacon of hope and comfort for the children and trusted into her care.
[6:55] Her dedication was unmatched, as she treated each child with the tenderness and
[7:00] compassion she treated her own children with. In the face of adversity, Branda
[7:04] stood as a pillar of strength, offering reassurance and support to the young patients
[7:10] and their families. For those in need of extra support, Branda's presence was
[7:15] always a source of solace, whether it was holding a trembling hand or tenderly
[7:20] stroking a child's hair. She provided comfort to each person on her ward.
[7:27] Amidst the challenges of chemotherapy and the grief of parents, Branda remained a steadfast
[7:31] source of guidance and empathy. Her ability to provide solace normalized the seemingly abnormal
[7:38] was a testament to her exceptional character. From organizing promnites to arranging outings such
[7:44] as bowling, Branda went above and beyond to provide some normalcy into the lives
[7:48] of her patients their eyes. She wasn't just a caregiver, she was a
[7:55] second mother. Vanessa Evans, whose son was a patient at the hospital,
[8:00] recalled she loved those kids like they were her kids. Vanessa's son CJ.
[8:05] Had been diagnosed with a stage four brain tumor when he was just twelve years
[8:09] old. After a long battle with cancer, he succumbed to the disease ten
[8:13] years later. Vanessa recalled of Branda, she was in that room with me
[8:18] when my son took his last breath. Branda's work ethic knew no bounds,
[8:26] evident not only in her tireless dedication to her role, but also in her
[8:31] initiatives to enhance the lives of those she served. The finding of the Oncology
[8:37] Team program stood as a testament to her commitment to the young cancer patients.
[8:43] Her mother, Betsy recollected she dedicated her life after college to advocating for children
[8:52] at Acrichildren's Hospital on the oncology hematology floor. And I was that she was
[9:01] able to stay on that same floor for so many years, because it's such
[9:07] a difficult thing when children are ill and when children die, and she did.
[9:18] She stayed all those years with it. Many many Christmas Eves, as
[9:24] she would call and say, Mom, I'm just going to have to go
[9:26] back to the hospital because some of the children don't have family coming in and
[9:31] I want to be there for them. So she did. She always was
[9:35] with us on Christmas Day, but she sometimes didn't make it for Christmas Eve.
[9:41] Amidst her professional endeavors, Brande find a man's pride and joy in her
[9:45] children's accomplishments, especially in her daughter Sydney's academic Priess Sydney's exceptional intellect. Sean
[9:52] Brightly during her high school years at Saint Vincent Saint Mary's High School, where
[9:58] she had maintained an impressive three point eight GPA as an honor student. Sydney's
[10:03] teacher, Catherine Milligan said of her, she was a good student, so
[10:07] she had a high GPA and she cared about her grade. She did her
[10:13] work. She was conscientious, she was quiet, she was respectful, and
[10:20] Uh had a lot of friends. And Uh was a well liked student,
[10:26] well liked person, respected by the faculty. Despite her quiet, unreserved demeanor,
[10:31] Sydney's intelligence was unmistakable. Do you enjoy treating yourself to life's little luxuries,
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[13:15] the Skills soccer team underscored not only her academic talent, but also her remarkable
[13:20] leadership skills and athletic skills. Brand's on wavering support for Sydney extended beyond the
[13:26] academic realm, and she was made sure to never miss one of her soccer
[13:30] games. Their relationship transcended that of mother and daughter, evolving into a genuine
[13:37] friendship marked by mutual respect and affection. After high school, Sydney's academic journey
[13:43] continued at the University of mont Union, where she embarked on a new chapter
[13:48] of her life. In the fall of twenty to nineteen The family's fondness for
[13:52] the university stem not only from its academic offerings, but also its proximity to
[13:58] home and small campus atmosphere. Stephen recollected what drew them to Mount Union.
[14:05] It was the closest of it. It was like a small little community almost.
[14:11] It wasn't a big the big campus. Were you just in number.
[14:16] So in the fall of twenty nineteen, Sydney Powell packed up and moved into
[14:20] the residence halls at the university. Despite the distance, she remained closely connected
[14:26] with her parents, especially her mother. They texted every single day and had
[14:33] phone calls multiple times a week. Sydney eagerly anticipated the holidays as it was
[14:39] an opportunity to reunite back at home. After receiving no response, after they
[14:52] called back, Branda, Michelle and Dean exchanged worried glances with a sense of
[14:58] urgency. Read the contacting the police was the next logical step. I opened
[15:03] the door and told our admin. I said, I need Sydney Palal's address
[15:07] right away. And in the meantime, I had my phone and I was
[15:11] looking up the number for the Akron Police Department while the assistants was looking up
[15:13] the address, the phone line went dead. We decided to keep While we
[15:18] were waiting for the address to keep calling, we called the number back,
[15:22] Brenda's number, Brenda's number that she had left, and we called twice and
[15:26] there was no answer, rang and rang and rang, and no answer when
[15:30] and when it went to voicemail, we hung up and we called again and
[15:35] then on the third time, and I had just gotten the address as the
[15:39] phone was answered on the third. On the third try to the number,
[15:43] and John's Dean Fraser said something along the lines Brenda is that you are you
[15:52] there? And the voice on the other and said, yes, this is
[15:56] Brenda, but the voice did's on my Branda to Michelle or Dane. Instead,
[16:03] it sounded like her nineteen year old daughter, Sydney. And he then
[16:08] said, I I don't Sydney. I think this is you. This is
[16:14] not Brenda. And what happened next the phone went dead. After the phone
[16:18] line went dead for a second time, Michelle called police. She gave them
[16:23] the address of Sydney and Branda Poyle in the nineteen hundred block of Scudder Drive.
[16:30] The two responding officers pulled up outside the single family home and made their
[16:33] way to the front door. As soon as they approached, they could hear
[16:37] wheeling coming from inside, followed by the front door being flung open. She's
[16:48] in the my modroom. It was Sidney Powell. As soon as she opened
[17:07] the door, she went back inside. The officers followed her and they were
[17:12] mad by a blood bath. There was blood on the floors and walls,
[17:18] but Sydney tried to prevent them from going any further. She said that an
[17:22] intruder had broken in and her mother was dead in the master bedroom in the
[17:26] basement. Sydney was in a state of hysteria, and it was clear she
[17:32] didn't want to see her mother's dead body again. We got to figure out
[17:38] what's going on. Can you sit down? Can you sit down? Take
[17:53] her outside, Come on, come on, come on. Sydney was escorted
[18:02] outside by one of the officers while the other entered the basement. Branda was
[18:07] lying on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of blood. She had sustained
[18:12] almost thirty stop wounds to the neck, and nearby lay a bloody iron skillet
[18:18] and the bloody kitchen knife. There's I would put that out at the medics
[18:22] get here, secure the scene. She was like at twenty two. She
[18:26] looks like she's been down for a while. Blood all over the place.
[18:29] There's a knife, fire ahead and stuff like that. And there's a huge
[18:30] pool, bud No, I think she just walked in on it. There's
[18:34] a broken window in the back. So if you can just put up some
[18:37] crime some tape shoes. AfD gets here, they're gonna pronounce her. I'd
[18:41] shirty, you saves, you want to check her? I don't think she's
[18:44] breathing bad by no, my backup. It arrived and the officers observed a
[18:48] smashed broken window outside. Sydney explained further what had happened, What happened?
[18:56] What's going on? What's going on? We heard a bay? We heard
[19:04] a bay. She told me to get out and that's I heard screaming.
[19:10] Okay back and she lives on the ground. Who's a big broken. The
[19:18] officer then noticed that there was blood on Sydney's hands. What is your name,
[19:22] Sydney? Are you cut? I don't think so? Yeah? Cut
[19:30] something? I don't think so yeah. No. I was helping her.
[19:33] I grabbed her all right. Stop. When Sydney got to the bottom of
[19:37] the driveway, she collapsed and began clawing at the asphalt to the point where
[19:41] her fingers were bleeding. Her eyes then rolled into the back of her head.
[19:51] By this point, Stephen had been called at work and he rushed home
[19:53] immediately. She's got cut on her hands. I don't know what they have
[19:57] in there, but there's a female down in there. Yeah, that's I
[20:03] don't know. We just got dead, Okay, I don't know. I
[20:07] don't know what the hell where. Sydney began to scream to her father that
[20:19] an intruder had broken and the back window was smashed, but the officers thought
[20:26] that the injuries to Sydney's hands were suspicious. It looked as though they had
[20:32] been caused by a knife slipping. Triambulance has arrived at the scene, one
[20:37] for Sydney and one for Branda. During the ride to the hospital, Sydney
[20:42] stared straight ahead and ignored every question she was asked. Branda was rushed to
[20:48] Cleveland Clinic Akron Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Detectives annoyanced that night
[20:56] that they weren't looking for anybody in connection with the murder. They already had
[21:00] the killer in custody and it was Branda's own daughter. Sydney. While Sydney
[21:11] had excelled in high school, in the beginning of university, her mental state
[21:17] began to deteriorate in the fall of two thousand and nineteen. At the time,
[21:22] she had lived in a residence hall at the university, but her roommates
[21:26] began to notice that something within Sydney had shifted. She had always been a
[21:30] determined and hard working student, but Sydney had started to sleep sixteen hours a
[21:36] day her room made Amanda Brawn recalled how Sydney often had very vivid dreams during
[21:41] these long sleeping sessions. Sidney told Amanda that the dreams she had been having
[21:48] were scaring her. As a result, Sidney often missed her classes and her
[21:52] grades began to slip. She eventually got to the point where she was so
[21:56] withdrawn that she mostly stayed in her dorm room. Sydney's grades became so bad
[22:03] that in January of twenty twenty, she was suspended from the school. The
[22:07] school has a system that puts a plan in place to help students who are
[22:11] struggling, but if there's no improvement with this help, then there put on
[22:15] an academic suspension for the semester. So that's exactly what happened to Sydney,
[22:22] and she was distraught, But instead of informing her parents or her roommates,
[22:27] Sydney decided to keep it a secret. She continued to stay in her resident
[22:33] hall and even attended classes. While this was ongoing, Sydney's behavior was alarming
[22:40] her roommates. She had begun having blackouts and couldn't remember what had happened.
[22:48] Then one afternoon, Sydney was spotted at a sorority meeting, but she wasn't
[22:52] on the list of enrolled students. This caught the attention of Director of Student
[22:59] Involvement. We made contact with Michelle Gaffney. She rejoined to Sydney and told
[23:04] her that she wasn't enrolled in the university for that semester, so she had
[23:08] to leave her resident hall and leave the university. Sydney was ottoman that she
[23:14] was a student there and that she was enruled for the semester. So Michelle
[23:19] checked the records again and told Sydney that she had received the suspension letter and
[23:25] had signed it. So a little spoke a little bit further and said,
[23:30] but and that's when I actually addressed the fact that the suspension I said,
[23:33] Sidney, you received a suspension letter that you signed for, And so we
[23:38] spoke a little bit further, and she said, well, yes she had,
[23:41] and but she was had been hoping to get things fit, you know,
[23:48] changed or fixed, and so she had had been trying to work things
[23:52] out. Michelle explained to Sydney what would happen next? So I explained that
[23:56] she would have to unfortunately leave campus, that she couldn't she could no longer
[24:03] remain living in our residence halls, that she would have to go home.
[24:07] Michelle told Sidney that she would have a couple of days to get everything in
[24:10] order so that she could move out of the university and move back home,
[24:15] but Sydney still refused to leave. The following so, after that date elapsed,
[24:22] we became aware that Sidney was still spending quite a bit of time in
[24:27] the hall, more than what enough that it seemed as she was still living
[24:32] there, according to the hall staff who had checked to see to see if
[24:37] she had moved, and we found that she had not, in fact moved
[24:42] out, and the store of the residence hall was still coming and going.
[24:45] That following week, Michelle held another meeting with Sydney, but this time,
[24:49] Dean Fraser, the Vice President of Student Affairs, was in attendance. Sydney
[24:56] was told that since she was no longer a student, she couldn't be living
[25:00] on the campus. She understood, she was just taking her longer to move
[25:07] out. She needed a little more time. We asked if she had shared
[25:11] with her parents the fact that she wasn't enrolled. She said that she had,
[25:19] and because we again offered it, would it help if we were would
[25:25] to have a conversation. Would you want to call your parents and see if
[25:29] they could come down and help you move out? And MSMU told you that
[25:33] she already told them, and then yes, and that they were having a
[25:36] lot of that they were on vacation, in fact, they weren't home,
[25:41] and that they were having a lot of problems with her little brother, and
[25:48] she didn't want to bother them because of all the issues they were having with
[25:52] her little brother. So Sydney was given another date and told that she needed
[25:56] to be gone by then. But that day came and went and Sydney still
[26:02] remained at the university. The Director of Security and the Director of Student Conduct
[26:07] appeared at Sydney's resident hall and she was once more told that she needed to
[26:12] leave, and Dean Fraser and I met with Sydney again and said, you
[26:19] cannot be here any longer, you're not enrolled, and again said why don't
[26:25] we call your parents? And she refused, She did not want us to.
[26:30] She absolutely did not want us to do that. We asked again,
[26:33] are you sure you've told your parents, like, we know this is difficult,
[26:37] we know how hard this can be, and she did not want it,
[26:41] absolutely did not want us to call her parents. This final meeting seemed
[26:45] to get through to Sydney, and by the next day she had moved out
[26:48] of the university, but Sydney hadn't returned straight at home. Instead, she
[26:53] slowly made her way back to Akron, staying in various hotels along the way.
[27:11] From the crime scene. Sydney had been transported to hospital. She was
[27:15] kept under armed guard until the next day, when she was charged with her
[27:18] mother's murder. Her arraignment was held via video link from the Summit County jail
[27:25] where she was being held. Sydney's eyes were red from crying, and her
[27:29] defense attorney Don Malaric said that her entire family were supporting her. He stated,
[27:37] they're advocating strongly for her release because nobody on the planet knows Sydney better
[27:41] than her family. Judge John Oldham granted Sydney a bond of two hundred and
[27:47] fifty thousand dollars with maximum pre trial supervision and a mental health evaluation. That
[27:53] meant that Sydney was released that afternoon, with her defense attorney announcing the Powell
[27:59] family overwhelmed with grief but grateful for Sidney's release. Sidney's incarceration was a tremendous
[28:06] source of stress for the family. As part of her bond stipulation, Sidney
[28:11] needed to remain in constant contact with pretrial services, which included weekly in person
[28:17] check ins. She also spent two weeks at the Akron General Medical Center psychiatric
[28:22] Hospital. If her family were afraid of her or scared she was capable of
[28:27] inflicting more violence than their demeanor didn't give it off. Brenda had just lost
[28:33] her life at the hands of her own daughter, but Stephen was just happy
[28:37] to have his daughter back home. On the twentieth of April, Sydney was
[28:48] indicted in Summit County Common Police Court on further charges. She was indicted on
[28:55] charges of murder Felonius's sault and tampering with evidence. The next time she appeared
[29:00] in court was in February of twenty twenty two, and she pleaded not guilty
[29:06] by reason of insanity. After Sydney had been released on bond, her defense
[29:11] attorney had her evaluated by doctor James Reardon, a Columbus psychologist. He reached
[29:19] the conclusion that Sydney was suffering from a severe mental disease and was unable to
[29:23] appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct. In his report, he had written,
[29:29] I have rarely, if ever, seen a situation where an individual was in
[29:33] such an utterly compromised psychological state as Sydney Powell was at the time of these
[29:38] offenses. He mentioned Sydney's blackouts that her roommates had reported and said that she
[29:45] couldn't remember her drive from the university to home. He mentioned Sydney's blackouts that
[29:51] her roommates had reported and said that she couldn't remember her drive from the university
[29:56] to home, but Sidney could remember arriving on her parents' storstep on the morning
[30:02] of the third of March. At the time, Brenda was at work,
[30:06] but Stephen was at home. Sydney burst into tears and told her father,
[30:11] I dropped out. I can't do it. Stephen told his daughter that everything
[30:18] was going to be okay, and then he called Brenda and asked her to
[30:21] come home. Since Brenda was a childlife specialist, he knew that she could
[30:26] handle the crisis far better than he could. Branda was practiced de escalating traumatic,
[30:33] emotionally charged situations, and Stephen could tell that Sydney wasn't coping well.
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[33:52] promo code Morbidology. As soon as Branda arrived back home, even went to
[34:00] work, leaving Brenda and Sydney at home together. Brenda decided to reach out
[34:06] to the university to try and figure out what had happened. But first Brenda
[34:10] hugged her daughter and told her that everything was going to work out just fine.
[34:16] According to Sydney, while her mother called the university, she began having
[34:21] hallucinations. She remembered going to the basement hoping that it would drawing out the
[34:27] voices. These voices were telling Sydney that she was a loser, was worthless,
[34:34] and that she should kill herself. The next thing that Sydney remembered allegedly
[34:40] was waking up in the hospital with her mother dead. Doctor Reardon believed that
[34:45] Sydney was legally insane, but her defense attorney said they had tried to find
[34:51] other explanations. First, when Sidney was a young girl, she had suffered
[34:55] a concussion while playing soccer. He even looked into the possibilit that she had
[35:00] epilepsy, which could have explained her blackouts, but eventually they reached the determination
[35:07] that Sydney was suffering from severe mental issues. The doctors had looked back at
[35:12] Sydney's mental deterioration over the preceding months and identified signs of a mental break.
[35:20] Defense attorney Malaric said those signs weren't enough for any one to come to her
[35:24] aid Sidney was unable to make a request for help that could have prevented all
[35:30] of this. Doctor Rearden ultimately diagnosed Sydney with schizophrenia and a major depressive disorder.
[35:38] He noted that it was common for somebody who suffers a psychotic break to
[35:43] lose touch with reality. Sidney was also diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder,
[35:49] stemming from the murder of her mother. Since Sydney was hospitalized, she had
[35:53] been placed on medication, and her defense attorney said that her mental state had
[35:58] improved. She'd been saying a councilor psychologists and psychiatrists who were monitoring her progress.
[36:07] Defense attorney Malaric said of Sydney's family, they understand that she was suffering
[36:13] from a mental health issue, but for that mental health issue, she's a
[36:16] loving, peaceful, quiet woman. After Sidney pleaded not guilty by reason of
[36:28] insanity. Prosecutors announced that they were going to request a second mental evaluation.
[36:35] The second evaluation found that Sidney Powell was not The second mental evaluation found that
[36:40] Sydney was sane at the time of the murders and should therefore be held accountable.
[36:47] In September of twenty twenty three, Stephen appeared in court and begged prosecutors
[36:52] for a resolution that would spare his daughter going on trial for murder. Tears,
[37:00] I don't know why we're doing this. This isn't what anyone wants here.
[37:05] I don't know how she can handle it. I don't know how I
[37:07] can handle it. I'm trying to keep my family together. Stephen said he
[37:14] feared that if Sidney went on trial, it would undo all of the progress
[37:17] she had made since the day of the murder. He stated, this goes
[37:23] against anything Brenda would want. As our parents, our job is to protect
[37:28] her. The goal is to get her better, not go backwards to prove
[37:31] a point. The rest of the family agreed, with Betsy Brawn, Sydney's
[37:37] grandmother, stating, all of this is opening things we hope to put behind
[37:42] us. Since Sydney had been released on bond. She had been living with
[37:45] her grandmother, and she said that she had seen tremendous changes in her granddaughter
[37:50] since the murder. Betsy lived on a farm and Sydney had been helping out
[37:54] with the horses and doing chores. Betsy recalled, we live on a farm.
[38:01] We've got over one hundred acres in so we kind of sit back by
[38:07] ourselves. It's a nice home. It's over one hundred years old. It's
[38:15] quiet, and I have the animals, which Sidney has quite an affinity to,
[38:22] and I just felt it would be a good environment for her. Sydney
[38:24] had stuck to the regiment put in place for her for the past three years.
[38:30] She had never missed an appointment or violated her bond. The family asked
[38:35] that if the trial were to go ahead, could Sydney have every facility dog
[38:39] owned by the prosecutor's office sit with her during the trial to cope with the
[38:45] stress. The prosecutor's office refused the request, and they also announced that Sydney
[38:51] was indeed going to be facing trial. Later that month, jerry selection began,
[38:57] and in an email, Prosecutor Sherry Bevin Walsh stated, we have the
[39:01] utmost sympathy for Brenda Powell surviving family members. It's unimaginable and tragic to lose
[39:08] a loved one to violence under any circumstances, much less when the violence is
[39:14] caused by another family member. In the interest of justice on the community,
[39:20] we believe the case is best resolved by presenting a fair and impartial jury with
[39:25] all the facts and then letting them decide the outcome. The murder trabagan on
[39:34] the seventh September twenty twenty three, and during the opening statements, prosecutors laid
[39:39] out their theory. They said that Sydney had got caught up in her lies
[39:45] both before and after the murder, and had attempted to cover up what she
[39:49] had done. Prosecutor Joe McAleese pointed at the smashed window in the home and
[39:54] said that this was evidence that Sydney had tried to stage the murder as a
[39:59] robbery gune ro. He also highlighted what Sydney had told the responding officers,
[40:06] that somebody had broken into their home and her mother urged her to get out.
[40:12] He said that this proved that Sidney was seeing at the time of the
[40:15] murder and had the wherewithal to try and cover it up. The prosecutor then
[40:21] looked from ur to juror, as he stated, Yet on March third of
[40:25] twenty twenty, the truth caught up to these lines. Miss Powell couldn't keep
[40:30] them up anymore. Became overwhelming. She was stressed. Mount Union had dismissed
[40:37] her, Her parents were concerned. Her tuition was canceled, her scholarship was
[40:40] canceled, her enrollment was canceled. Miss Powell couldn't keep the lie up anymore,
[40:46] and in that moment, she struck her mother with a cast iron frying
[40:51] pan over and over and over. She stabbed her mother with a stake knife,
[40:55] over and over and over, hoping that that was finally enough and she
[41:01] had the awareness to try and hide what she did. Now, I'm not
[41:07] going to pretend this is easy. I'm not going to ignore that there are
[41:10] some difficult factors in this case. There is a family that has been completely
[41:15] destroyed. We recognize that there are emotions and feelings that cannot be separated in
[41:21] cases like this for the tragedy of what this family has gone through. But
[41:24] we talked about this yesterday. That you are a jury that has been selected
[41:30] to listen to the evidence. Defense attorney dol Malaric refuted this, telling the
[41:36] jury that three separate psychologists had diagnose Sydney with schizophrenia. He said they all
[41:42] believe that Sydney had a psychotic break on the day of the murder, and
[41:45] that she was having delusions and hearing voices. He said that Sidney hadn't fled
[41:52] from this scene and hadn't washed the blood off of her or her clothing.
[41:57] He said that this screamed of visanity. They're going to talk to you about
[42:02] how schizophrenia manifests itself in late teens and early twenties, that's when this is
[42:09] common. You're going to hear that Cindy was reporting before March of twenty twenty,
[42:17] audio and visual hallucinations. She was hearing voices, You're not worth anything,
[42:24] You're worthless. People know it. You're a failure. Those were the
[42:29] voices. She was seeing things, cartoon figures looking like fire was coming out
[42:34] of her hands. Defense attorney's composure was confident, as he annoynced, You're
[42:40] going to hear that there was no planning of this incident. There was no
[42:45] attempt to flee Sidney's cars in the garage. If she truly appreciated the wrongfulness
[42:52] of her acts, she would have fled. She would have washed the blood
[42:54] off her, she would have changed her clothes. You're going to see pictures
[42:59] of the sinks and the tubs in the pale household. There was no attempt
[43:05] to wash any blood off, no attempt to clean the clothes, no attempt
[43:07] to hide the clothes. The trash cancer photographed. The police are trying to
[43:10] figure out why Sidney was sat at the defense table, and she appeared to
[43:17] be emotional. She cried throughout the opening statements and repeatedly bonced her fate as
[43:22] if she was anxious. While Sidney hadn't been alloyed dog in the courtroom with
[43:28] her, a special viewing room had been set up so that if she couldn't
[43:30] handle any of the testimony, she could go into that room and watch through
[43:36] a screen. The testimony then got underway, with Stephen testifying aboid Sydney's time
[43:42] at the university. He said that he and Branda hadn't been aware that she
[43:45] was struggling. Do you remember did Sidney after the December that semester ended in
[43:55] twenty nineteen, did she was there a winter break there usually is. It
[44:02] sounds like there shouldn't, but I don't, okay. Do you remember her
[44:06] coming home for that winter break, like spending Christmas and New Year's with you
[44:09] all? Yes? And did she share anything about how college was going with
[44:22] you or Brenda? Then not with me? No? Okay. But Brenda
[44:28] also didn't tell you anything unusual was going on either, did she correct?
[44:35] He told the jury that her tuition payments had come back out of his and
[44:37] Branda's bank account when the January term started, which Sydney had been suspended from.
[44:45] He had tried to sign into the schools portal to pay for the tuition.
[44:50] However, he couldn't seem to log in. I asked Sydney, what
[44:54] was going on about it? Okay? And what did she say? There
[44:59] was a mistake with Mountain Union okay, and she'd look into it, okay.
[45:04] And and at that point you had no reason not to trust correct.
[45:07] She's telling you correct, And to be fair, you always found her trustworthy.
[45:14] Yeah, it's fair to say it fair. He described speaking to Sydney
[45:19] at home on the third of March and learning that she was no longer enruled
[45:22] at the university. I remember she said, you know, all her friends
[45:27] said their shit together and she doesn't. And I told her, no,
[45:30] that's not the that's not true. She said she did. Sydney said,
[45:34] I don't have my shit together, but my friends do. She didn't know
[45:37] what she wanted to do. It's sounded like, sure, do you remember
[45:45] telling her, you know, let's call the school back, get reinstated,
[45:51] something along those lines. I think I said let's call your mother. I'm
[45:55] sorry. I think I said let's call it your mother, okay. And
[45:59] why did you say that Brenda was better at things like that and me?
[46:05] Stephen told the jury he waited at home until Branda arrived back from work,
[46:09] and then he left for work himself. Not too long afterwards, Stephen got
[46:15] a phone call from a friend who was a detective. He said that he
[46:19] had heard over the police radio that officers had been dispatched to his home.
[46:23] Stephen immediately called up Sydney and Branda, and it was Sydney who picked up
[46:29] the phone. She was hysterical as she said that somebody had broken in.
[46:34] Stephen also testified that Sydney had never told him or Branda about any mental health
[46:38] issues she had been having. Doctor Rearden then testified about his evaluation of Sydney.
[46:45] What she described to me was like flashes here and there again by the
[46:52] time by the time she gets home on the third. In my opinion,
[47:05] she is in the midst of a full blown psychotic episode. She is manifesting
[47:16] significant auditory hallucinations. She is she is in a full blown e schizophrenic state.
[47:37] She is not very coherent. Uh and uh. To the degree that
[47:51] she appeared to be coherent, she probably wasn't. He said that Sydney's mental
[47:58] state deteriorated Robert when she learned that she had been suspended. Failing was not
[48:06] an option in her mind. I mean, in her mind, if she
[48:10] failed, then she was a failure. And I think that is when some
[48:15] of the early manifestations of thought disorder, some of the early auditory hallucinations were
[48:27] manifest But again, she didn't seek or couldn't seek help, because you know,
[48:36] if your successful graduate student athlete at akronsin Vincent Saint Mary's, you don't
[48:42] do that. He said that after she eventually left the school and stayed in
[48:45] hotels for a week while traveling back home, she lost all sense of reality.
[48:52] The psychologist said to the jury that he didn't believe that Sydney was malingering
[48:57] or exaggerating her symptoms. When he was asked how the case compared to other
[49:02] criminal cases he had handled, he responded, this is one of the most
[49:07] severe cases I have ever been involved with in my forty five to forty six
[49:12] years. There were two other psychologists who testified after doctor Reardon, and they
[49:17] had reached the same conclusion as him that Sydney was insane at the time of
[49:22] the murder. Sydney's grandmother, Betsy, then testified about that morning. She
[49:30] said she had spoken to brand that morning and Branda was excited about Sydney coming
[49:34] home from university for spring break. She was completely oblivious that her daughter had
[49:39] been suspended. With Betsy testifying she didn't know something was going on with Sydney,
[49:47] she talked about the changes in Sydney after she began her medication, after
[49:52] her release from bond, and did there come a time where you noticed any
[50:00] any improvement in Sydney's kind of demeanor, her attitude or personality, her thinking,
[50:07] her process, any of that. Yes, her processing was improving.
[50:14] Is she started to have more facial expression and a little bit more shine to
[50:22] her eyes where she didn't seem so out of it all the time. It
[50:29] wasn't that she was out of it. I don't want to overspeak that,
[50:31] but she just had more of a glow to her. You could tell she
[50:36] was starting to feel better. She talked a little more. She was improving.
[50:44] It was obvious to me that she was improving. Okay, Sydney's room.
[50:47] It's also testified about her strange behavior in the lead up to the murder,
[50:52] including her sleeping for long periods of time, her black OIDs, and
[50:55] her dreams. Mom de Braun said she knew that Sidney was suffering, but
[51:01] she just wasn't aware of how much. She said that she wasn't concerned enough
[51:07] to report Sydney's behavior to the school or to her mother, Brenda. The
[51:12] prosecution then called their own expert witness, doctor Sylvia Obradovitch, to the witness
[51:16] stand. It was her belief that Sydney was seen at the time of the
[51:22] murder. She said that while Sydney did have mental health issues, including borderline
[51:28] personality traits, lingering, and an unspecified anxiety disorder, she did not meet
[51:34] the requirements of legal insanity. She didn't believe that Sydney had lost touch with
[51:39] reality, and told the court if somebody is in a full blown psychotic state
[51:45] and disconnected from reality, they can't magically turn it off temporarily. You either
[51:51] are or you're not. According to the previous psychologist, Sidney had no recollection
[51:57] of the week's leading up to the murder, where she's in hotels while driving
[52:00] home. However, doctor Radovitch said that she had analyzed Sydney's cell phone and
[52:07] she had been googling makeup actors, movies and TV shows. She'd been playing
[52:13] a pill game on her cell phone with a friend, and had even given
[52:15] her mother her Gmail address, saying she didn't use her school email much.
[52:21] Sidney even went to a TV viewing party of The Bachelor with a group of
[52:24] friends the night before she killed her mother. The psychologist said that when somebody
[52:30] is entering a psychotic episode, they're usually signs that include sleep disturbance, becoming
[52:36] totally withdrawn, and not interacting with people, as well as saying and doing
[52:39] things that don't make sense. She testified, I looked through everything to try
[52:46] and find evidence of that, and there wasn't any. The defense then presented
[52:52] the video of Sydney from the officer's body cam footage and suggested this show she
[52:57] was in a catatonic state. The doctor Obradovitch said that Sydney was in a
[53:01] state of shock, not catatonic. During the closing arguments, defense attorney Malaric
[53:07] asked the jury to weigh the evaluations of the three defense hired psychologists. He
[53:15] said that they had combined fifty years of experience, whereas doctor Obradovitch was testifying
[53:20] in a murder trial for the very first time. The defense attorney further said
[53:24] that the prosecution wanted the jury to believe that Sydney had fooled multiple experts.
[53:30] Prosecutor Bryant Stano said in his closing arguments that Sydney wasn't insane. He said
[53:37] to the jury, Sydney stopped attacking with the pan, presumably went to the
[53:42] kitchen and found a knife. She had to switch weapons and keep attacking her
[53:47] just the knife, just in the neck multiple times. That is purposeful.
[53:52] That is trying to end someone. He accused the defense of attacking doctor Obradovitch's
[53:58] testimony so hard because she was the only expert who actually looked at the evidence.
[54:05] He stated, if Sydney was on the verge of a psychotic break.
[54:08] She had forty five minutes with Brenda. Why not kill her in those forty
[54:14] five minutes. She only attacks her when she's on the phone with mont Union,
[54:19] right when her secrets are about to be discovered. I submit to you,
[54:23] that's when that happened. I don't even think in that moment she wanted
[54:28] her mother dead. She just wanted to prevent her secret from coming out.
[54:34] The jury were then sent off to deliberate, and they had a choice of
[54:37] three verdicts. Sydney had been charged with two kinds of murder, one that
[54:43] she had purposefully killed her mother and the other that she had caused her death
[54:46] as the result of felonious assault. The jury could also find Sydney not guilty
[54:52] or not guilty by reason of insanity. After nine hours of deliberation, they
[54:59] returned with the vers verdict. They foind Sidney Powell guilty of the murder of
[55:04] Branda Powell. As the verdict was annoynce, Sydney erupted into sobs. She
[55:12] had spent the past three years out on Bill, but now she was going
[55:15] to prison. She just needed to learn how long fo Sidney returned to court
[55:27] on the twenty eighth of September to learn her fate. The defense requested the
[55:31] minimum sentence of fifteen years to life. Prosecutors, however, urged the judge
[55:37] to impose an additional three years in prison for the tampering charge. The judge
[55:44] then addressed the court, first of all, to the victims, to the
[55:46] family and friends. I am terribly sorry for your loss here. I cannot
[55:51] imagine what you have been through. I have received and read all of the
[55:57] letters that have been sent to it. I have considered the evidence that was
[56:01] brought into evidence at the trial, the statements of Council, and all of
[56:07] the information that is before me at this time. I do find that Counts
[56:12] two and three merge with Count one for purposes of sentencing in this matter.
[56:16] Based upon the facts and circumstances of this case, and in consideration of the
[56:21] relevant sentencing factors, including seriousness and recidivism, and applying the minimum sanction that
[56:25] the Court has determined will protect the public and punish the offender without imposing an
[56:30] unnecessary burden on state local resources, the Court imposes the following sentence on Count
[56:37] one, Man, I sentence you to an indefinite sentence of fifteen years to
[56:40] life in the Ohio Department of Corrections. On count four of the indictment,
[56:45] I sentence you to three years in the Ohio Department of Corrections. Those two
[56:50] sentences to be run concurrent with and not consecutive to each other. The Jaws
[56:55] ultimately sided with the defense and sent in Sidney Powell to life in prison with
[57:00] a minimum sentence of fifteen years. Following the sentence, prosecutor said that while
[57:06] Sydney's family supported her, many in the community felt that the conviction was justified.
[57:13] Prosecutor Stanu commented, we always do our best to take into account the
[57:17] victim's wishes, but we represent the community as a whole. We try to
[57:22] be consistent with our recommendations. Brenda and Stephen Powell had done everything to provide
[57:30] a good life for their two children. They both worked demanding jobs, and
[57:36] they provided Sydney with everything she wanted in her life, despite evident struggles with
[57:40] her mental health. Sydney's choices led her down a path that culminated with the
[57:46] death of her own mother, well Bestie's. That is it for this episode
[58:16] of Morbidology. As always, thank you so much for listening. And I'd
[58:21] love to say a massive thank you to my new supporter of bon Patreon,
[58:23] Hannah. Morbidology is just a one woman show, so the support up on
[58:28] Patreon seriously, seriously goes such a long way. You can join for as
[58:31] little as one dollar a month, and you can cancel your subscription at any
[58:35] time. A bon Patreon, I upload ad free in early release episodes,
[58:39] bonus episodes of Morbidology plus behind the scenes, and I also send out a
[58:45] hand written thank you card along with some cool merch. As mentioned before,
[58:49] Morbidology is now up on YouTube and the episodes are presented in a documentary style
[58:54] with videos and photos associated with each episode. So if you could head on
[59:00] over to YouTube, search for Morbidology, and then hit the subscribe button,
[59:05] I would be eternally grateful. Remember the jack is at morbidology dot com for
[59:09] more information about this episode and to read some true crime articles. Until next
[59:14] time, take care of yourselves, stay safe, and have an amazing week.

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