Every third day, in our #EveryThreeDays campaign, I write about a woman killed by a man. Previously in this campaign, which started on the 2nd of May 2021, I have remembered 116 women, the last being Zaneta Balazova.

Today I remember Celia Powell

The BBC reported in September 2015:

A man has been given a hospital order for killing his mother with a wrench after struggling to care for her. David Powell found caring for his 95-year-old mother, Celia, too much of a burden and planned to take his own life after the attack, but he was unable to go through with it, police said. The 74-year-old, from Barlaston in Staffordshire, told police she said she had wanted to die. He previously admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He was given the restricted hospital order at Stafford Crown Court.

The court was told he called police at about 20:00 BST on 9 April to report his mother’s death at her home in Penkhull and told officers he had killed her an hour earlier. But Powell, of Longton Road, admitted he had killed her three days before during questioning.

Det Insp Andy Maxfield, from Staffordshire Police, said: “Mrs Powell’s death was particularly tragic as she was killed by her own son, the person who had once been her carer. Powell claimed that his mother had expressed a wish to die and that he had intended to end her misery and die with her as he felt unable to cope. He claimed he could see no other way out. This has been a very upsetting case. Powell found the burden of caring for his mother too much to bear, and did not feel able to carry on. For an older woman to die in such violent circumstances is extremely sad. Nobody deserves to end their days like that.”

Celia Powell

#EveryThreeDays

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Steph Richards (she/her) is a 74-year-old human rights activist, intersectional feminist, and recipient of a 2023 Inspirational Women of Portsmouth Award. Holding a Gender Recognition Certificate and "post op", she is the founder and Chair of Translucent.Org.UK, which was named LGBT Organisation of the Year at the 2022 National Diversity Awards. Steph was also shortlisted as a Positive Role Model for Gender at the 2025 National Diversity Awards. Steph’s leadership spans political, healthcare, and community advocacy. She served as the Women’s and LGBT Officer for the Portsmouth Labour Party (2021–2024), co-founded the Women’s Action Network (Portsmouth), and is a former CEO of a women’s health charity. A passionate champion for women's healthcare, she possesses extensive expertise in baby loss awareness, actively defends UK abortion rights and is a member of "Women Against the Far-Right". Calling out VAWG, Steph has researched and written about 125 women and girls killed by a man. A prominent voice in national media and debate, Steph has been featured live on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Anti Social, Good Morning Britain, Times Radio, LBC, GB News, and Channel 4 News. In 2023, she debated trans human rights alongside Harvard biologist Dr. Carole Hooven at a prominent US university event.

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