Amauri Powe was 14 when prosecutors said he stabbed Parzella Harris 37 times inside their shared home.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A Cabell County judge sentenced Amauri Powe to life in prison with mercy on March 25 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the 2024 killing of his grandmother, Parzella Harris, at their home on Huntington’s 18th Street.

The sentence brought legal finality to a case that moved from a February 2024 homicide investigation to a January 2026 murder conviction and then to a hearing centered on punishment, remorse and family loss. Prosecutors said Harris, 46, suffered 37 stab wounds and cuts in what they repeatedly described as a gruesome attack. Because Powe was a juvenile at the time of the killing, state law requires that he be eligible for parole after 15 years, even with a life sentence.

The case began on Feb. 4, 2024, when Harris was found dead at a home in the 1900 block of 18th Street in Huntington. Authorities later said she and her grandson lived there together. In opening statements at trial, prosecutors told jurors that Powe had told a friend they were going to get money from Harris before the attack. Investigators and prosecutors said Harris was stabbed and cut 37 times. The killing was ruled a homicide. Powe, who was 14 at the time, was later charged with first-degree murder and tried as an adult. At trial, prosecutors said the level of violence was central to that decision and to the state’s theory of the case.

Jurors heard medical testimony from West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office Deputy Chief Dr. Can Metin Savasman, who reviewed the autopsy and said Harris suffered 37 stab wounds and cuts as well as defensive wounds. According to local trial coverage, Powe appeared visibly distraught during that testimony and would not look at photos of Harris’ injuries. Prosecutors also called a Huntington police officer and a forensic investigator. A second juvenile was initially charged in the case, but prosecutors said that matter was resolved through a deal. Public reporting has not laid out the full terms of that agreement, and court coverage has left several details of the second minor’s role unclear.

The state’s case unfolded against the background of a close family relationship shattered by the killing. Harris was remembered in court and afterward as a kind, giving grandmother whose death stunned her relatives. Her obituary said she worked for West Virginia Choice, and an online condolence from that workplace described her as an employee of 11 years. Those details became part of the broader picture prosecutors offered as they argued that the victim was not just a name in an indictment but a working mother and grandmother whose life anchored a family in Huntington. That contrast between the ordinary routines of home life and the violence of the attack shaped much of the public response as the case moved through court.

After a jury returned a guilty verdict in January, Powe faced the only sentence West Virginia law allows in this circumstance: life with mercy. Under West Virginia Code §61-11-23, juveniles convicted as adults of first-degree murder must receive parole eligibility after serving at least 15 years. At sentencing, Powe told the court he had done a “terrible” and “dumb” thing and said he had been on drugs at the time. He also said he hoped to receive counseling and therapy as he got older. Prosecutor Jason Spears said outside court that he did not view the apology as sincere, and MetroNews reported that the judge said he was extending mercy because the law required it, not because Powe had earned it.

Family members used the hearing to speak directly about the damage left behind. WCHS reported that three relatives addressed the court in person and other statements were read aloud. Harris’ sister, Tonya Whitfield, said she did not know why Powe had done it and would never forgive him. Spears said the crime was one of the most gruesome murders he had encountered in his professional career. The prosecutor’s office also said relatives described Harris as loving and generous, a woman whose presence brought warmth and strength to those around her. In the courtroom, those descriptions stood beside the legal language of first-degree murder, parole eligibility and sentencing limits.

For now, the case stands at sentencing, with Powe beginning a life sentence that includes the possibility of parole after 15 years under state law. The next formal milestone would come much later, if and when he reaches parole eligibility and seeks release.

Author note: Last updated April 17, 2026.