Suspect denied bond Man charged

MANASSAS, The family of two sisters brutally stabbed at their Yorkshire home are left with many questions, but the toughest one is the reason behind the attack, a family friend said Monday.
"They just want to know 'why?' " said Dan Lawray, a friend designated as family spokesman.
Kristie Reed, 14, was stabbed repeatedly Friday afternoon when she came home from school to find her sister Stacie Reed, 16, dead at their McLean Street home, officials said.
Police have charged Paul Warner Powell, 20, with murdering Stacie and raping her younger sister, according to court documents. Powell was an acquaintance of the family.
"In my years of prosecuting violent offenders, this one truly shocks the conscience, " said prosecutor James Willett. "This one is more senseless and cruel than I've ever seen them."
Powell allegedly admitted to police to killing Stacie, stabbing Kristie and forcing her to remove her clothing and then tying her hands and feet together, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in Prince William Circuit Court.
The girls' mother, Lorraine Reed, and her fiance, Robert Culver, appointed a spokesman to keep the community informed, Lawray said.
"Lorraine is certainly grieving the loss of Stacie and at the same time is overjoyed that Kristie is alive, " Lawray said on their behalf. "Right now, the focus is on Kristie. The doctors came in and upgraded her condition to fair and told the family that she has graduated from danger."
Powell remained jailed Monday at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail Monday after Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Janice Brice denied bond at his arraignment Monday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 18.
Kristie arrived home about 3:15 p.m. Friday to discover her sister had been slain and the killer was still in the house, Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert said Monday.
"There are many theories as to why he remained at the scene after the death of the older girl, " he said. "One theory is that he was waiting for the other girl to come home."
Powell and Stacie "were friendly, but I don't think they were ever romantically involved, " Ebert said.
Powell was also arraigned Monday in General District Court on a bad check charge, Ebert said. Prince William and Manassas police arrested him Saturday at the home of a friend on Old Hickory Lane, Manassas police Officer Marc Woolverton said.
Powell was convicted in May of petit larceny and received a year suspended jail sentence, a year probation and a year to pay $400 in restitution, according to court records. He was also charged with burglary, but that charge was later dropped, according to court records.
"He's thought of to be a petty thief and a non-productive citizen, " Ebert said of Powell, who last lived in Fredericksburg with a friend.
Funeral services for Stacie won't be held until Kristie is released from the hospital, said Lawray, a security specialist at Parkside Middle School who got to know Stacie and her family last year.
"She knows about her sister and she's taking it very hard, " Lawray said.
Principals at Osbourn Park Senior High School and Parkside Middle School said they were using this week's teacher work days to prepare their staffs for Wednesday's classes.
Osbourn Park will provide counselors for students today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the school plans to have 12 counselors available Wednesday, said Principal J. Wayne Eline.
"You must provide as much information as possible and encourage the students to talk and deal with their grieving, " Eline said. "You have to have the child get back to their normal lives as soon as possible. That's the goal and it just takes longer for some."
Counselors will meet with students at Parkside Middle School's library when classes resume Wednesday, Principal Marie Bowe-Quick said.
"We are going to just be available for them starting Wednesday, " she said. "We are here and will be ready for all students who need us."
Bowe-Quick said some teachers have bought teddy bears, balloons and cards for other students to sign that will be sent to Kristie. The school also plans to prepare meals for the family.
Lawray declined to talk specifically about Kristie's injuries but said that her multiple stab wounds did not damage any of her vital organs.
"But it's very clear that the person who did this did not intend for her to survive and be around, " Lawray said.