Honor Roll Student Beats His Mom to Death

This 16-year-old boy was denied bail Thursday after he was charged with beating his mother to death.

Lewin Carlton Powell III was charged as an adult with first degree murder. The boy killed his mother by beating her to death with a baseball bat. He then used the bat to assault his father, for which he was charged with attempted murder.

Donna Rosemarie Campbell-Powell, 39, was found dead Wednesday morning by police and co-workers at her home in the 1600 block of Alston Road in the Thornleigh community.

Lewin Powell confessed to police that he had killed his mother after they got into an argument Tuesday afternoon about his performance at McDonogh School.

Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey said the argument "escalated to a fight where he ended up hitting his mother, physically with his hand, and then beating her over the head with a baseball bat until he killed her. A couple of her co-workers came. They found the door locked and they couldn't get in so they called police. Officers came, went in and found the victim inside dead."

Powell hid his mother's body in the garage. Powell's father, who works a night shift, came home around midnight and fell asleep on a sofa, unaware of the violence that had occurred Tuesday, the spokesman said. Mr. Powell woke up Wednesday morning when his son started beating him about the head with a baseball bat, Toohey said. During the struggle that ensued, the 16-year-old murderer, admitted to killing his mother, the spokesman said.

Mr. Powell was able to talk his son out of killing him, according to police. He stalled his son and was able to get out of the house when police arrived around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The father and son were in the yard when the police arrived, where he was "bleeding from significant wounds to the head," and told police, "Thank God you're here; my son killed my wife," according to the documents.

Mr. Powell was taken to Sinai Hospital; the younger Powell was taken to police headquarters were he is being held without bail.

A little bit about Mrs. Powell:

Campbell-Powell's co-workers remembered the mother Thursday for her impeccable style of dress, her eloquent speech and her worth ethic and punctuality. A supervisor in the Baltimore County office of Budget and Finance said that Campbell-Powell always arrived to work by 7:45 a.m., and if she were running just five minutes late, she would call.

A little bit about the boy:

Oddly, the teen was remembered as bright, non-violent student, who was in some honors and in advanced classes. He was also a part of the school's jazz band and previously played baseball. Lewin Carlton Powell III attends McDonogh School, a coeducational day and boarding school in Owings Mills, and was in good standing. Owings Mills has about 1,300 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. School spokeswoman Lynn McKain said school officials were not aware he was at risk.

Retired first-grade teacher Joann Hutchinson, who taught Lewin Powell III, recalled the teen as one of the brightest and most promising students she ever taught."That's the only kid I ever remember saying, 'You will be my future president,' Hutchinson said. "It was not a screwed up family. This was a cultured, educated family who wanted the best for their kid. I do not believe that this child had a negative, mean bone in his body. When I heard this, I said, 'He cracked. Oh my God, he cracked."

Hutchinson said she wonders if the teen felt pushed too far to stand out. "Anything less than perfect is not good enough, and that's what I think happened here."

Neighbor 'Not Totally Surprised' By Fatal Beating:

A next-door neighbor said he was "not totally surprised" by the fatal bat beating. Paul Kozloski said that Campbell-Powell "berrated" her son constantly. He said the only time the teenager was happy was when he came over to his house. Kozloski said his 17-year-old daughter, Maggie, had played basketball with Powell and other neighborhood children when they were younger, but that Powell had grown shy and withdrawn in the last couple of years. Kozloski said he frequently heard Campbell-Powell yelling at her son about trivial things such as the way he cut the grass. Kozloski, a former probation officer, said he had seen similar psychological abuse in hundreds of homes. "I imagine he's at peace now," Kozloski said of Powell, his eyes welling with tears. "He was never violent. Never."

The incident represents the second time in 2008 in Baltimore County that a teen is accused of killing a parent. In February, a 15-year-old boy who wasn't getting along with his father was charged with murder in the deaths of his parents and two younger brothers, who were shot to death at their home in another Baltimore suburb.

[source: wbal]