Woman found guilty of killing mother with frying pan after she learned about college ejection

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An Ohio woman killed her mother by beating her with a frying pan before stabbing her 30 times after she discovered her daughter had been kicked out of university.

Sydney Powell, 23, was found guilty by a jury in Summit County of murdering Brenda Powell in March 2020

Powell, who was 19 at the time of the attack, had pleaded not guilty by insanity and is set to be sentenced on Thursday, reported News 5 Cleveland.

She could receive a maximum of life behind bars with parole after 15 years and additional jail time for an evidence tampering conviction.

“In March of 2020, Sydney Powell struck Brenda Powell in the head with an iron skillet, then stabbed her nearly 30 times in the neck,” said Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, in a release.

She broke down in tears as she was convicted of the killing, which a jury was told she carried out because she did not want her mother to find out she had been kicked out of Mount Union University.

The court was told that she was attacked while on the phone with officials from the university, who called the police to the home.

Brenda Powell, who was a child life specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital for 30 years, died from her injuries in hospital.

Sydney Powell was diagnosed with schizophrenia by three defence experts who evaluated her.

A clinical psychologist for the prosecution told the court that Powell had mental health issues but was not suffering a psychotic breakdown during the killing.

Investigators say that she initially lied about the incident saying that there had been a break-in and smashed a window to stage the crime scene.