Topics: Crime, Mental Health, US News
Heartbreaking footage shows the moment a dad from Ohio learned his daughter was involved in the murder of his wife.
Brenda Powell was killed on 3 March, 2020 at her home in Akron, Ohio, where she had lived with her husband, Steven.
Police were called to the scene on a report from the University of Mount Union, which had been on the phone with Brenda when they heard screaming on the other end of the line.
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Officials at the school attempted to call Brenda back, and eventually a woman picked up claiming to be her. However, Michelle Gaffney, Associate Dean of Students, later testified: "It was not Brenda."
Gaffney speculated it was actually Brenda and Steven's daughter, Sydney, who was on the line, but the phone went dead when she tried to confront her.
Footage taken after the incident, shared by the YouTube channel Stranger Stories, showed Steven being questioned by police about the incident before learning his wife had not survived.
The devastated father put his head in his hands when he learned of Brenda's death, asking the police what had happened.
Police then indicated their belief that Sydney was involved in the attack, asking if his daughter and wife had ever previously gotten into an argument.
When officers left the room, Steven said Sydney would be 'going to jail forever'.
After an investigation, prosecutors claimed the 19-year-old had hit her mother with an iron skillet and stabbed her nearly 30 times in the neck after she found out she had been kicked out of college.
Sydney was found on the scene in the driveway in what her lawyer described as a 'catatonic state'.
Sydney, who has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the killing, and in September 2023 she was sentenced to 15 years-to-life in prison for the killing.
However, Steven has asked a judge to reconsider the sentence.
In spite of the circumstances surrounding Brenda's death, Steven wrote in a letter to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas that a life sentence wouldn't have been what his wife would have wanted for their daughter.
He wrote: "I can confirm with a 100% degree of certainty that this is not, what people are saying, is justice for Brenda Powell.
"I believe that since there can never be true justice in this case, Sydney's mental health should be our main priority."
Steven asked that Sydney instead be sent to a mental health facility. Sydney has expressed plans to appeal her sentence.
