GUILTY MD - Donna Campbell-Powell, 39, beaten to death, Towson, 13 May 2008

[philamena]

What I always find horrifying about this kind of crime is the thought that the mother gave birth to the cause of her own death.

Sadly.

 

[Taximom]

I wonder why he waited till morning to try to kill his dad. Did he fall asleep too?

 

[MeoW333]

From what the article sounds, i'm guessing the coworkers were friends with the mother, as well. She was always on time for work; and most likely they talked about their home lives. She could have mentioned her son having problems and that's why they came to her house to see why she wasn't there at work.
What gets me is that 2 of her coworkers learned from her son's school that he was absent from school as well, then they went to the house.
They must have had reason to call his school to see if he was present. So once they couldn't reach her, then realized her son wasn't in school, they drove over there. She must have told them something so that they went as far as to call the school to see if the son was present..

It does sound like he had a lot of pressure on him with the academics, it's just sad that he snapped the way he did. It could have prevented if maybe he talked to a counselor..

 

[Yeah me]

Just brutal.

 

[Taximom]

Maybe their kids carpooled together, or just attended the same school... Kids talk too, so maybe her coworkers heard about her home life from their kids.

One of the comments (topix?) mentions that the school was a "boarding school" as in he stayed there most of the time. I don't know if that's true or not though.

 

[philamena]

I was going to write some snippy post about this brutal murder and the kid who comitted it. I decided to do a little googling first. From what I can figure out, this boy was emotionally and verbally abused by his parents, especially his mom.
Please know that I am not taking up for him.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1393477~N..._accused_in_mom_s_death.html?cid=temp-popular

Towson, Md. (Map, News) - As word circulated through this Baltimore suburb that a 16-year-old boy had confessed to beating his mother to death with a baseball bat and trying to do the same to his father, neighbors and officials at the respected private school the boy attends reacted with shock and surprise.
But the family that lives next door to Lewin C. Powell III had a markedly different response.
"I'm not totally surprised about what happened," said Paul Kozloski, a former probation officer whose teenage son and daughter used to play sports with Powell before the already sheltered boy became even more withdrawn.
"Suppose you were 16, and most of the time in your life you were just berated by your mother," Kozloski said. "The only time he was happy was when he came over here."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16276584/detail.html

Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey said Lewin Carlton Powell III was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of his mother,

School spokeswoman Lynn McKain said school officials were not aware he was at risk. McKain said Powell was taking a difficult course load that included some honors and advanced placement classes.

 

[Taximom]

Very interesting, Philamena....

 

[philamena]

Hey there Taximom,
Check this out. The teen wasn't some drugged out kid who up and decided to kill someone. He was a very good kid who went to a private school that cost $21,000.00 a year. My oldest daughter's college tuition wasn't that much.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1393477~Neighbors_not_surprised_about_teen_accused_in_mom_s_death.html

Powell was a student in good standing at McDonogh, said Lynn McKain, a spokeswoman for the Owings Mills school, where annual tuition is $20,640.
He was taking a difficult course load, including honors and Advanced Placement classes, some of which he needed recommendations from teachers to get into. He played in the jazz band and had been on the baseball team, although he did not play baseball this season, McKain said.

 

[barb0301]

I was going to write some snippy post about this brutal murder and the kid who comitted it. I decided to do a little googling first. From what I can figure out, this boy was emotionally and verbally abused by his parents, especially his mom.
Please know that I am not taking up for him.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1393477~N..._accused_in_mom_s_death.html?cid=temp-popular

Thanks for sharing this philamena. It puts a new slant on the story. I'm not taking up for him either, but it does add a whole new dimension to the family dynamics and what could have happened here. The next door neighbor sure seems shaken by it, and I'm sure in his line of work he's seen similar cases.

Too sad !!

 

[Malini2001]

One of the comments (topix?) mentions that the school was a "boarding school" as in he stayed there most of the time. I don't know if that's true or not though.

McDonough is a pretty prestigious and expensive private school. They have a 5 day boarding program where the student can stay Monday-Friday. I don't know how many do that, however. I have known quite a few students that went there but none of them boarded. This boy had a scholarship.

The TV news tonight interviewed the next door neighbor that used to be a parole officer. He said the boy had gotten a C in Honors History and was afraid to tell his parents. He didn't specify if this happened this week or if this was something he knew about in the past. He said the family was very 'controlling' and that they held the son to a very high standard and wasn't allowed to be less than perfect.

None of this is an excuse for murder, but I'm sorry the parents didn't understand what was going on with their son a little better. It's a shame there wasn't someone he could confide in.

 

[philamena]

Hey barb!
You are welcome.
I heard only bits and pieces about this case earlier tonight on the news. The reporter kept saying that this young man was brilliant, a good student, good sportsman, etc. So I decided to do a little reading about the teen and the murder.
I'm glad I did. I think we're going to hear a lot more about this.

 

[Taximom]

Gosh, a C? Poor kid.

 

[philamena]

McDonough is a pretty prestigious and expensive private school. They have a 5 day boarding program where the student can stay Monday-Friday. I don't know how many do that, however. I have known quite a few students that went there but none of them boarded. This boy had a scholarship.
....SNIP....

None of this is an excuse for murder, but I'm sorry the parents didn't understand what was going on with their son a little better. It's a shame there wasn't someone he could confide in.

Absolutely. If only he'd confided in someone.
He not only ended his mother's life but in a sense he ended his life too.

 

[barb0301]

snip

None of this is an excuse for murder, but I'm sorry the parents didn't understand what was going on with their son a little better. It's a shame there wasn't someone he could confide in.

Absolutely - if only someone had been available for him to talk to, maybe this wouldn't have happened. I'm sure there will be lots of people saying "if only we'd known". You have to wonder if it would have made a difference or not. Again, not an excuse for murder, just a different way to look at what has happened.

 

[calidreamin]

snip

Absolutely - if only someone had been available for him to talk to, maybe this wouldn't have happened. I'm sure there will be lots of people saying "if only we'd known". You have to wonder if it would have made a difference or not. Again, not an excuse for murder, just a different way to look at what has happened.

Agreed- that is a different way to look at things.

 

[OkieGranny]

From April 2009:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-04-04/news/0904030200_1_powell-gayle-sentenced-for-killing

On Friday, Powell, who turned 17 last month, was sentenced in Baltimore County Circuit Court to life in prison in the bludgeoning death of Donna Rosemarie Campbell-Powell in the family's Towson home. A charge of attempted murder in an attack on his father was dropped as part of a plea arrangement...

Cox acknowledged the familial tensions typically caused by "an adolescent suddenly not working up to his potential," but she rejected the defense's argument that the boy had cracked under pressure. "This wasn't some 'snap' thing," the judge said. "This was an event that spanned 15, 16 hours," she went on, describing the initial argument, Powell's "unspeakable" killing of his mother on May 13, 2008, and the attempt on his father's life the next morning, an attack that left the man with two skull fractures.

Cox said she would recommend that Powell be sent to the Patuxent Institution, a maximum-security facility with a psychiatric and educational treatment program for young offenders. He could be eligible for parole in 15 years. As a first-degree murder convict, however, any parole would require the governor's approval; such approval has not been granted since 1994.

 

[Mystymiss]

What I think is interesting is that her coworkers were at her door immediately the next morning. How many of you would be going to a "missing" co-workers home like that unless you knew of possible trouble in the home in the first place?

For any co-worker that didn't show up at work in the a.m., I would assume they overslept or had an appointment. Even being a WSer, I wouldn't worry about them right away! She had only worked there about 6 months.

Maybe there was other violence going on in the home either w/the son or the husband and she had told co-workers.

Weird and very sad.

Maybe the co-workers rode to work together each day. That would explain why they were there.