Sydney Powell

a beloved healthcare worker is viciously attacked in her home I've never seen anything as brutal before severe head trauma multiple stab wounds her daughter is the only witness she mentioned something about an intruder somebody broke in she's completely catatonic she has no touch with reality at all an investigation reveals the cracks in a loving relationship it was almost like sisters that they just really got along did you notice any the evidence points to a suspect who is desperate to hide the truth she was really trying to keep up this facade that everything in her world was okay it was the problem that had built up built up and finally came to a head when the truth came around on March 3rd 2020 police in Akron Ohio receive an alarming call from a nearby University the callers were from the University of Mount Union in Alliance Ohio it's about 40 minutes from here and they were calling because they were in the middle of a conversation with somebody named Brenda Powell in reference to Brenda's daughter Sidney Powell who was a student at Mount Union and the conversation got interrupted in a strange way they reported that they heard a bunch of strange noises they described as a couple loud thuds screams and then some other you know just unusual sounds and then the phone went dead they tried to call back and they didn't get an answer they were concerned that something had happened to Brenda they wanted us to we the police to go out and just check making sure everything's okay when the officers arrived they went to the front door I can hear her screaming in there officer Legacy went around towards the rear of the house and he had noticed that one of the rear windows had been broken and there appeared to be some some blood around it there was a sliding glass patio door and he had observed that that had also been broken in and then there was some blood looked like some blood smears there and that's where he made entry inside the officer finds a young woman covered in blood she says she's Brenda's daughter Sidney Powell Sidney is just hysterical she's preventing the officers from going down the hallway she mentioned something about an intruder somebody broke in so they really don't know what they're dealing with she did say that her mom was bleeding so they went to check it out officer Legacy made the discovery that Brenda was on the floor in the bedroom surrounded by a massive amount of blood Brenda is bleeding from multiple wounds to her head and neck so the officer immediately calls for emergency services as officers rushed to provide Brenda with life-saving care Sidney is inconsolable she was very uh very emotional come on screaming so their first uh action was to remove uh Sidney from the interior of the scene come on come on come on come on you just need to cooperate with me all right huh hello my dad what happened what's going on what's going on the police are trying to determine what's going on you know they see Sidney covered in blood they don't know if there is an intruder that's gone an intruder is still on scene in the house police are pretty shocked to find that Brenda is still alive considering the amount of blood on scene so they try and do anything at all at all to stop the bleeding to keep her alive as long as possible Brenda Doyle was born on March 19th 1969 in Salem Ohio she was a high achiever from an early age excelling in Catholic school and going on to graduate from the University of Akron with honors she had her degree in early childhood education she then proceeded to work at Akron Children's Hospital as a child life specialist when she started there she was dealing basically with with uh adolescents and children that dealt with a cancer of blood disorders I met Brenda in 1995 through some mutual friends this was a setup we went on our first date as a group of us her smile is what really attracted me to her the first time she just had that that little snarky sarcastic looking little smile on her face that just she was she just always seemed happy 27 year old Brenda was equally sure-footed in her relationship she and 30 year old Steve Powell married in 1996 just a year after their first date together we couldn't really make a decision on who wasn't going to be in the wedding so I think we put all of our friends in I had seven groomsmen she has seven bridesmaids so it was a large fun wedding Brenda and Steve went on to have two children together their daughter Sydney was born in 2000 and three years later they had a son for the next two decades Brenda split her time between work and family Brenda had one of the most difficult jobs I could ever imagine she had to sit with families and talk to them about a cancer diagnosis about chemotherapy with kids who are going through the worst time in their life Brenda was amazing she was loved universally by everyone that she worked with Brenda's personality as a mother was very nurturing I think from all these years of being at the hospital and dealing with the children that were there I think she just did all she could to protect her child and did everything to make sure that you know they grew up healthy Brenda and Sydney were especially close it was almost like sisters that they just really got along Sydney was the mini me of Brenda I mean they had the same personalities I remember her and her mom were always texting I think Sydney really did look up to her mom wanted to be how Brenda was be there to help people to always put others first Sydney appeared to share her mother's drive and ambition as well Sydney's grades always were good and all throughout elementary school in high school she did a little bit of everything sports wise and ended up really settling in on soccer which she excelled at we were teammates Sydney was a ball of fire um she was very small but on the field I mean she was you know one of our best players so we always looked up to her um you know as a role model or as someone who would set an example on the field Sydney's high school academic career was impressive enough to earn her a presidential scholarship to the University of Mount Union she moved into campus housing in the fall of 2018 but maintained contact with her family Sydney was very excited to go to college I think she was ready to spread her wings a little bit and go out there she was going to get into something sports physical Fitness training related and she eventually switched out of that to psychiatry by her sophomore year Sydney seemed to be flourishing and her relationship with her mother was closer than ever Mount Union is approximately 40 minutes from where we live she would come home sporadically on the weekend since it was so close if Sydney had a concern Brenda would be the first one she would talk to they really talked and they got along but now the mother and daughter have been involved in a vicious attack leaving Brenda clinging to life and Sydney traumatized are you caught I don't think so yeah you're cut somewhere I don't think so yeah your hand no I was helping her I grabbed her all right stop I'll tell you what can you sit on the ground real quick while first responders tend - To Sydney and Brenda, her father, Steve Powell, races home. - I got a call from my friend, who happens to be a police officer, heard a call go out with my address. Sydney was down by the mailbox when I got it home and she was almost shaking. I had no idea what was going on. - Coming up, a witness's erratic behavior perplexes officers. - No, she's not acting right. - And when tragedy strikes, detectives must grapple with a harsh reality. - I'm sure at that point I ended up going into shock. And then after that, it's pretty much a blur. - 50-year-old Brenda Powell is in critical condition after she was attacked during an apparent break-in. Her husband, Steve Powell, has just arrived home to find his daughter, Sydney, in a state of shock. - What's going on? - I just got here. - What? - I'm the dad, Sydney. - Daddy! - I don't know, I don't know. - Daddy! - Where's my wife? - The window's broken, Dad! - Where? - The back window's broken in! - So you're gonna have to-- - Daddy! - The doctor's inside there, so. - Are you okay? - I don't know, she was there with so much pain. - There was so much blood! - I tried to go up into the house, and I made it basically as far into the front room as I could, and then they proceeded to escort me out of the house. - You need to go outside, sir. - No, I don't. - Yes, you do, outside. - You need to be called in. - All the way back to the right. You need to stay outside. - Go ahead. - Please have a seat. - I don't want to talk to you. - Okay. - Get out of the car. Investigators begin searching the house for evidence. - When I arrived, I met with Officer Legacy and he kind of took me through the path that he took through the house. We were just trying to figure out, okay, what are we dealing with? We know Sidney was screaming about somebody breaking in, but besides the bedroom and the broken windows, there was nothing out of place. I didn't see any signs of any struggle or anything like that inside the kitchen. And then he took me down the hallway that separates the kitchen and the bedroom. He was pointing out different blood smears, appeared to be blood smears on both sides of the wall. I just remember turning the corner, looking into the bedroom and just seeing all that blood. It's one of the worst scenes I've been to. There was an iron skillet that was on the floor near to where Brenda was and also a knife. It looked like to us that these might've been the possible weapons that were used. In addition to the weapons, detectives also find the cell phone Brenda was using when she was attacked. We're thinking, what happened? Are we dealing with somebody that broke in and attacked them for a burglary type situation? What about Sidney? Was Sidney involved in this? Does she have any information? It's about an eight or nine minute drive to the hospital. The police officers trying to figure out what's going on, asking Sidney some basic questions. What are you saying, Sidney? Uh, what are you saying? She's not making any sense. She has no touch with reality at all. From the ambulance, Sidney's then taken to the psychiatric ward. As Sidney is interacting with officers and her dad, something that we hear her say over and over again is get out of the house, get out of the house. Police obviously don't know if she's a victim too. She is clearly in a state of shock. She really wasn't focusing on the detectives. She really wasn't acknowledging that they were even present. We decided not to ask her any more questions at that point. We needed more information. Sidney wasn't going to be able to tell us anything. We're going to have to figure out other ways about what happened. ♪ In the emergency room, doctors are doing everything they can to save Brenda Powell's life. Her 19-year-old daughter, Sidney, is being treated for wounds of her own, but she's still at risk. But she's still unable to tell anyone what happened. Investigators hope Brenda's husband, Steve, can provide some insight. When they finally took me to the police station, they basically took a statement on what transpired up until the time that I got there, any communication I had with Brenda or Sidney up until that moment. Where'd you get a call from? Where'd it come from? What happened? I got a call from him, a call from me. He said there was a call, went out, a distressed call from the University of Mount Union where my daughter was gone. So I was going and said, uh, female in distress. I said, well, that's funny because Brenda's there, my wife. Steve says the day began like any other. He and Brenda had breakfast, then both headed into work. Sidney was scheduled to visit that weekend for spring break, which reminded Steve to pay her tuition for the following semester. I signed on, it says, you're balling in a fast drive. He doesn't work. I'm like, that's weird. So I recovered my password, and I put in the right answer, and it didn't work. So I sent Mount Union Billy an email and says, basically, what's wrong? So she called me back today and says, well, the reason you can't get on, long story short, is your daughter's unenrolled. The university informed Steve that due to poor grades, his daughter had been academically suspended two months earlier. So I text Sidney. I'm like, oh, give me a call. I have a question to ask you. I call her, no answer. Steve and Brenda had installed Life 360 on their phone so they could see where Sidney was at all times. So Steve sees on his phone that his daughter's home. He thinks to himself, why is she home? I go home, and there she is. She's at home. Perfectly normal. She's crying because I go, so I said, what's going on? Are you not going to school? She goes, I'm overwhelmed. I'm not going to school. And I don't really like what I'm doing, and it seems like it's a waste of my time and your money. It made me shocked. Since the winter quarter ended, she wasn't even enrolled, and they never knew about it. Steve called Brenda and made Brenda aware of what's going on, and he decides to go back to work. Now the mom, Brenda Powell, is coming home because she obviously wants to know what's going on as well. According to Steve, he received a call from Brenda at 11:49 AM to let him know she was pulling into the driveway. An hour later, he received the call from a friend in law enforcement that officers had been sent to his address. When I called Brenda, I didn't ring her cell phone. No answer. I called her in the back, ring, ring, ring. No answer. I'm pacing around. My doctor calls me back. Said, oh, mom's on the phone with Bob Munger. I said, what, cops are on the way? She went, there's going to be a break in. She just turned around. I said, I don't know what's going on. She said, I don't know what's going on. support just before detectives receive word from the hospital. I broke into the house, I don't know if your wife and daughter got into an argument, not physically, I mean the window was broken, but there's no forced entry into the house, the window was broken, but nobody actually came through that window, and the sliding door was unlocked, so. Did your wife and daughter ever have, like, really heated? No. No? No. I was just trying to figure out in my head, you know, what actually could have happened, because nothing was adding up to me. I had nothing to go on. I'm sure at that point I ended up going into shock of some sort, because I don't remember. I don't remember talking to them. After. After that, I had to inform my son of what had happened, and after that, it's pretty much a blur. While Steve copes with the heartbreaking news, investigators must reassess the situation. The lack of forced entry into the home, combined with signs of an altercation, suggest a painful possibility. I think he had some kind of idea that Sidney was responsible for this. I don't think he thought that there was an intruder, even though he might not have wanted to believe it. At that point, we knew we were dealing with a homicide investigation. It was just very unusual that we're trying to piece together, okay, was there an intruder, or did Sidney do this? Despite her claims of a break-in, Sidney Powell has become an unexpected person of interest. Since Brenda was on the phone with university administrators when she was attacked, detectives review her cell phone records for more information. What we know from looking at the cell phone records is there was about three minutes and 30 seconds between that first call and the second call. And what we know is all of the injuries to Brenda happened. Within that three minutes and 30 seconds. Investigators speak with the deans to corroborate. They were in the middle of a conversation with Brenda Powell, but then they heard thumping and screaming, and then the phone went dead. They were very emotional about it, and they just didn't know what to make of it. The deans say after the line went dead, they immediately tried to call back. And after a few attempts. Someone answered. And what they described as a calm voice, "This is Brenda." And Dean Gaffney and Dean Frazier, having known Sidney as a student, they knew right away that that was Sidney. They asked her, "Sidney, is that you?" And then the phone went dead again. Sidney's behavior on the phone where she says, "This is Brenda," where she's pretending to be her, saying everything's fine, it's a falsehood. She never said anything about it. She never said anything about an intruder, so we began more and more, as we looked into this, that that was unlikely, and that Sidney was actually responsible for this. Forensic analysis seems to support police suspicions. When the crime scene unit came, we started taking our time, looking at the scene. It appeared with the knife and the skillet that those most likely came from inside of the house. The most damning evidence is a set of bloody footprints in the house. We were able to eliminate any foreign shoe being involved. It was Sidney's. We knew that the main incident happened in the bedroom, and by observing all that blood all over the place in different locations throughout, it was clear to us that, you know, Sidney had been moving throughout the house at different times, you know, before and after the police arrived. Although Sidney appeared traumatized at the time, the evidence indicated that she was not the victim of the murder. It indicates she attempted to cover up what she'd done. The broken window was at the very rear of the house. We didn't see any rock or any object that would have done it, so we think that she most likely did it with her own hands, because she did have blood on her hands. After she knew the police were coming, she most likely broke out the windows to portray an intruder instead of what really happened. We're four or five hours into the investigation. We got authorization to sign charges on her for murder, for murdering her mother. We took her into custody. She didn't make any further statements. It's no longer a whodunit. We know who did it. But any time you handle a homicide that involves family members, why is always going to be the first question. When I first heard Sidney was arrested, I had the same response everybody heard. There was no way that anybody that knew Sidney and Brenda would have guessed that this would have been the scenario that played out. I've never seen anything this brutal before. Brenda had severe head trauma and she had multiple stab wounds right below the base of her neck, between her shoulders. It's going through our minds that, you know, what could happen to cause this? And I think that's what's going to cause that much rage. Following Sidney's arrest, detectives visit her university to better understand her psychological state. After talking with the officials at Mount Union, we learned quite a bit about the situation that was going on with Sidney. Sidney starts Mount Union fall of 2018. She goes there with one of her best friends. She joins a sorority and by all appearances starts to just live a normal college life. Everything seems to be going fine. But it's fall 2019 when we notice that her grades start slipping. Sidney went from a 3.8 grade point average down to academic probation within two semesters. So something was clearly wrong with Sidney. There's conversations with deans and eventually she winds up being disenrolled as a student in that spring 2020 semester. Sidney went home for Christmas break. And she just couldn't tell her parents that she had died. tell her parents that she had been expelled or suspended from school. - Sydney's college friends tell investigators she came back from the break acting like nothing was wrong. - She even went back for the spring semester in January of 2020, and continued to even try to convince her friends and her roommates that she was still a student, when in fact she wasn't. - She was still going to classes, even though she wasn't in 'em. She was trying to figure out ways of getting in the dorm building. - We talked to Sydney's roommate and best friend. She would see her leave with a book bag. They went to social events together, like there were everybody else in Sydney's life. She had no idea that Sydney was no longer a student. - Did you notice any change in her mood? Was she talking? Did you think about anything? - When we were just talking or with our friends, she always seemed happy, I couldn't tell, until the end where she was kind of just like struggling and she kind of was sad. I could tell she was being more upset and more sad. And I told her, "If you need anything, I'm here," but she never really opened up. - Sydney was really trying to keep up this facade that everything in her world was okay when it was all completely crumbling. - Mount Union's a small campus. The deans are obviously aware of what's going on with Sydney and find out she's still trying to stay on campus and pretend to be a student. They pretty much make it clear to her she can't keep doing that. - Sydney's friends say she moved out of her dorm a week before the murder. - Through examination of her phone, computer, we knew that she was doing Google searches from various hotels and that she had not been home. - The school has made it pretty clear she's not allowed to stay on campus anymore. But she also knows she can't go home without letting her parents know what's been going on. So she doesn't want to choose that either. She's running out of money. She's running out of options. - Coming up, was this a crime of passion or a mental health crisis? - There was no leading indicators that it could be that type of diagnosis. - And a divisive trial ensues. - I did not meet a family member that wanted a murder conviction, that wanted a life sentence for Sydney, not war. Sidney Powell's murder trial is set to begin in February 2022, two years after the brutal attack on her mother, Brenda Powell. Just before the court date arrives, prosecutors discover how she intends to plead. Our defense was she was insane at the time, and that prevented her from knowing the wrongfulness of her conduct. One of the different things about not guilty by reason of insanity is that defense has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is suffering from a severe mental disease or defect. She was being held involuntarily at the psychiatric unit. During that stay, they finally diagnosed her with schizophrenia. She was treated with a psychotropic drug, and she was treated with anti-psychotropic drugs. This is the age when these serious mental diseases start to manifest. Late teens, early 20s for females. It was very surprising to hear that that is what the diagnosis was, because there was no leading indicators that would be that type of diagnosis. The doctors started treating her immediately with anti-psychotropic drugs, and she stayed. She was stabilized to the point where she could be released from a psychiatric hospital. Sidney is released on bond to her family while she awaits trial. My job was now to make sure she is now going to be taken care of. I took her down to Brenda's mom's. They have a farm down in eastern Ohio. She would always be really good with the horses and the dogs out there. You know, outwardly, she was, you know. Getting better. Sidney's lawyers had three doctors evaluate her, and they all had the same conclusion. What all three of these doctors said is she was experiencing long periods of lucid thoughts, but they were interrupted by serious and significant psychotic episodes. That first serious psychotic break occurred with her. And Brenda, unfortunately, the day that Brenda was killed. I mean, it just doesn't make sense that the reason she killed her mom was because she got kicked out of school. Killing Brenda doesn't solve that problem. That kind of attack, that kind of brutality, is completely out of character for Sidney. And it screams insanity. When we watch Sidney on the body cam when police first arrive, she's completely disassociated. Where's your mom at? No! No, there's so much blood! No, please! She had no recollection of any violence with her and her mother. But she's coming to, and she's seeing this horrific crime scene, and she's trying to make sense of what's going on. Mom! She's in another corner now! Each and every doctor that saw that video, saw that footage, said, "That's a catatonic state." Sidney! What's going on? Brenda's family tells prosecutors they also don't think Sidney should be held responsible for her actions. And they ask that she be declared unfit for trial. I'm very supportive. Her grandparents are very supportive. Her brother's supportive. The goal for the whole family and for Sidney and mom is just to get her better. And we want her back. Nobody close to Brenda or Steve or Sidney was wishing to pursue this criminally. We weren't asking them to let her go scot-free or without any of the analysis by the doctors. We wanted them to look at seriously and consider those three separate medical opinions showing that she was not guilty by reason of insanity. That's all we wanted. The state ultimately decides to continue in pursuit of a trial. The standard in Ohio is that not only does a person have some kind of mental disease going on at the time, but it's because of that mental disease that they couldn't appreciate the wrongfulness of their actions. While she may have had some mental health issues at the time, her actions around the crime are clearly consistent with someone who knew exactly what they were doing and then tried to cover it up. Sidney never stops the cover-up. You know, even in the seconds afterwards when the dean calls back and she's able to talk to him, she is still saying, "No, no, I'm Brenda." She pretends to be her mom. I'm not a psychiatrist. I don't have a medical degree. I can only look at the evidence that we have. When she called her dad, she had just brutally killed her mother, but she was still, to me, thinking, "Okay, I need to do something to make the police think that I didn't do this, to make them think that there's an intruder." In preparation for the trial, prosecutors hire their own expert to evaluate Sidney. Dr. Obradovich takes a look at the case file, interviews the defendant, gets her hands on as much information as possible, and ultimately comes to the conclusion that Sidney is competent to stand trial and that she was sane at the time of the crime. The psychologist interprets Sidney's behavior not as evidence of insanity, but as a trauma response caused by witnessing her own brutal actions. Sidney was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of what she had done to her mom and all the after effects. Prosecutors seek a trial date, but it's delayed by the COVID pandemic. Sidney was out on bond for about three and a half years before the case went to trial. She actually thrived while out on bond. She helped out with the horses on the farm, and it was helpful to her. Pursuant to the doctors, she improved. I understood what they were charging her with. I understood what happened. I understood everything. But still, in my heart of hearts, I'm still thinking this is not, this is not happening. This is not what nobody wanted it to. There were multiple attempts to come to a resolution to the trial prior to, so the family wouldn't have to go back through this. I was disappointed that this didn't happen in this case. It seemed to me prosecutors were interested in one thing, one thing only, which was a guilty verdict. After multiple postponements, Sidney Powell's murder trial begins on September 7th, 2023. Nearly four years after the death of her mother. Our heart goes out to the family in this case. I know that they had different wishes, and I do respect that. But ultimately, we have to do our job and prosecute a crime. What the whole trial centered upon was, did she know what she was doing, or was it under the influence of some type of mental disability? What you have is a battle of the experts. It was really all or nothing. What I mean by that is, it was either guilty of murder or not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial is broadcast on television and streamed online. Watching the trial was hard. I think myself, along with everyone else who tuned in, just wanted to know why. Why did she do the gruesome things that she did to her mom? Who was her best friend, you know, confidant, someone that, you know, really loved and supported her? You just look into her eyes like that. Not her. She's not there. Seeing the body cam footage was, I think, harder than I thought it was gonna be. Hearing her yell. Is she gonna be okay? The Sidney Powell I knew wouldn't ever do something like that. Sidney! We think the evidence showed clearly and conclusively that. What's going on? Sidney was in the midst of a horrific, psychotic, violent break and did not know the wrongfulness of her conduct. After two weeks of hearing the evidence, the case rests in the hands of the jury. Unfortunately, they came back and said murder. They do not buy that she was insane at the time. In the state of Ohio, there's only one sentence for murder, and that is life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. So the judge imposed that sentence. Although we were prepared for, as best you can, a guilty verdict, it was still soul-crushing. We understand that this was not Sidney. This was a very small little snippet in time that something went horribly wrong. To the investigators and the prosecutors, it wasn't from mental illness. It was just from a problem that had built up and finally came to a head when the truth came out. That split second when she realized that her lie was going to be uncovered, she snapped. Within that state that she was in, she was in, she had more power than she realized. Deep down, I feel like she wasn't intentionally trying to kill her mom. Even after her conviction, Sidney's loved ones are pursuing an appeal. I think she knows, and if she doesn't, we tell her that, you know, we still love her. Brenda would want us to continue to fight. I have that sense of feeling that she is right there with us, leading this charge to help Sidney. A lot of people told me how much Brenda touched, you know, maybe not even their lives, but their cousin or anybody. She just could do that. I've spent a lot of time with Sidney, and Sidney, more than anyone on the planet, is trying to search for some answer. And I've spent a lot of time with Sidney, and Sidney, more than anyone on the planet, she is also incredibly remorseful and grieving the loss of her mom, the loss of her best friend. I really feel for the Powell family. It's tragic. I feel for Steve having to lose his wife in this manner and then essentially lose his daughter. I can't imagine what they're going through. It's just tragic. After Brenda's passing, we tried to figure out a way to keep her memory alive, and we actually came up with a Brenda K-Pop Scholarship that's at Akron Children's Hospital. It gives financial reward for kids that have gone through cancer and are going on to higher education. Brenda loved working with the kids at the hospital. That's just the way Brenda was. She was like the mother to them all. She was just a sweet soul. She was just like the mother to them all. She was just like the mother to them all.