On Sept. 24, 2009, Debbie Powell received a phone call from someone telling her that her son, Andy, had been found dead in his home on Goodwin Road in Gaston and his prized dragon necklace was stolen.
“You give birth to this child and you raise them for 21 years,” Powell said. “Then somebody goes in the house and they kill him and nobody’s willing to come forward and tell what they know. That’s extremely heartbreaking.”
Though Powell couldn’t think of who would do that to her son, she thought the case would be solved within days.
“That didn’t happen,” Powell said. “Then a year went by, several years and now eight years. It’s a little bit scary to know that eight years has gone by and no one’s been arrested.”
However, Powell and Lt. Robby Lint agree it’s not for lack of trying. Over the years, detectives have followed lead after lead, only for them to fall apart.
“We have followed up on every bit of that information as we’ve tried to find out who’s responsible for this crime,” Lint said “Unfortunately, we have had dead ends or the information didn’t pan out like we would like it to that’s resulted in us not being able to identify the person responsible for this.”
After eight years without answers, it would be easy to assume Powell has lost faith. But just like a mother’s love, she said faith is unwavering.
When asked if she still has hope that the case of her son’s death will be solved, Powell responded with a calm assurance.
“Because I have confidence in the Sheriff’s Department…I have confidence that they will eventually find out who did this,” she said.
“There is a person out there or persons that has the right information or can lead us down the right path to identify the people responsible for this,” Lint said. “I just encourage those people, it has been eight years. Please come forward.”
Powell said it’s time for those who have the answers to be honest. If you have any information on this case, call Crimestoppers at 888-Crime-SC.