He took three deep breaths. Swallowed hard. Closed his eyes. Another breath.
Then, Lewin Powell Jr. began speaking about his wife and their son, who is charged with killing her.
“We all love Donna and Lewin and I know that my wife, if she was still alive, would like for us to provide Lewin with the necessary help that he needs,” Powell said. “I am still grieving for my wife and I am also fighting for my son.”
Powell ? whose 16-year-old son Lewin Powell III is accused of bludgeoning his mother to death with a baseball bat in their Towson home, then turning on his father ? spoke publicly Friday for the first time since the May 13 tragedy. Both Powell and Dawn Campbell, the older sister of 39-year-old Donna Campbell-Powell, described the teen as quiet, mild-mannered and respectful.
The teen was an honors student at the prestigious McDonogh School in Owings Mills, where he was a member of the jazz band. Police said he and his mother argued about his grades before he grabbed a bat and beat her, hiding her body beneath a blanket in the garage of their Alston Road split-level.
The next morning, his father, who arrived home from work that night and fell asleep on the couch, awoke to his son striking him with the same bat, police said in charging documents.
“This kid has never been in any trouble,” Dawn Campbell said Friday. “The kid snapped and we want to help him in any way we can.”
Baltimore County Circuit Judge Kathleen Cox earlier this week agreed to hear arguments filed by the teen?s attorney, who requested the case be tried in juvenile court. Attorney Shanell Harleston also is seeking to have his alleged confession thrown out and to schedule another bail review hearing.
Harleston said the teen was not represented by an attorney when he confessed and waived his right to his first bail review. A trial date is set for Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, he is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center and will be medically evaluated next month. The family said they hope the teen can avoid jail and get the “help he needs.”
After speaking Friday, his father sat on a couch in Harleston?s office, holding his head in his hands.
“I am going to do everything in my power to support and help my son,” he said. “Please note that this in no way lessens the love I have for my wife.”
