Mother Confronts Daughter's Killer

MANASSAS, Va. - Lorraine Whoberry shares with ABC 7 News her conversation with the man who killed one of her daughters and brutally raped the other more than a decade ago.
"He told us he was sorry," Whoberry recalled.

Whoberry has waited 11 years to hear from the man who killed her then 16-year-old daughter Stacie and viciously attacked her then 14-year-old daughter, Kristie.

Paul Powell spoke to Lorraine and Kristie from death row during a private conference call.

"We asked him what possessed him to do what he did to Stacie and Kristie and he told us it was senseless, pointless and there was no reason for it," Whoberry said.

Whoberry told Powell she had forgiven him during the conversation.

"I did ask him, 'Have you forgiven yourself,' and he said 'no' immediately," Whoberry said.

Despite what Powell has taken from the family, they say their recent conversation transformed him from a monster to a calm human who had made key mistakes.

"But I hope that you can reach that point of forgiveness, but again, that's between you and God and I heard him crying in the background and knew he was getting emotional," Whoberry told Powell during the call.

Paul Warner Powell, 31, is set to die by electrocution at 9 p.m. at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. He chose electrocution rather than lethal injection. Lorraine, Kristie and her family will be there to witness. They told Powell they will be praying for him and he said thank you before saying goodbye.

"I walked in there with a lot anxiety, a lot of apprehension and I left there with a lot of peace. I think we all did and that is what I've been waiting for the past 11 years," Whoberry added.

Powell was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to death for fatally stabbing 16-year-old Stacie Reed of Manassas. He also raped and attempted to kill her 14-year-old sister.

The Virginia Supreme Court overturned that verdict, and Powell wrote a taunting letter to prosecutors detailing the crime. He was convicted again in 2003.

Source: ABC7 news
Please find video here as well

Paul Warner Powell was indeed executed on March 18, 2010.