Police: Woman met killer through her volunteer work
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Police say a local volunteer’s accused killer met her through her charity work.
Niki Powell, 32, was found dead in her own apartment in the 1400 block of Southeast Belmont Street on Tuesday, July 10. It's still unclear what happened inside Powell's second-floor apartment.
The organization, Operation Nightwatch, that Powell volunteered for says they have standards regarding strict boundaries between volunteers and guests. So why the suspect was invited into her personal life remains a mystery.
Operation Nightwatch caters to the homeless out of a space in Saint Stephen's Parish. In that sacred space she served coffee, food and talked to guests. It's also where she met Mark Daniel Beebout – the man later accused of murdering her.
"A couple weeks before she disappeared she was saying she had roommate problems," said John Kamp, who knew Powell.
Kamp said he didn't know who Powell's roommate was only that she was having problems.
Powell's neighbors told KATU News they'd seen the suspect coming and going into her apartment in the weeks before her death.
As a guest at Operation Nightwatch, Kamp said he was disturbed to hear the suspect was also a guest.
"If I knew that he was her roommate I would have helped her out because she'd want him out of there," Kamp said.
Lawrence Bishop, who volunteers at Operation Nightwatch, said the policy on guest-volunteer boundaries at the organization is strict.
"If you volunteer here, when you leave you don't fraternize, you don't date," he said. "You never know, and the reason the policy is set up is for that reason."
The organization wrote in a statement: "We pride ourselves in our ability to guarantee a safe space for all who attend our Hospitality Centers. However, we are powerless to extend that guarantee if boundaries are transgressed beyond Nightwatch hours."
Beebout is waiting to be extradited from the Seattle area to Portland.
Friends and loved ones of Powell are organizing a vigil. That will be Tuesday, July 31 at 6 p.m. at Laurelhurst Park.
California is releasing an unbelievable number of MILLION DOLLAR REHABILITATED SEX OFFENDERS directly to the streets...homeless, broke, unemployable....AND MORE ANGRIER & INSANE THAN EVER BEFORE.
 I was a friend of Niki's. Im still in shock and grief about what happened. It's still hard for me to believe that I wont see her around anymore , walking her dog, dancing, being goofy. She was a compassionate ,caring soul and would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. I wish she were still here. In the short time she was with us, she made a difference in the world. At the memorial vigil,  So many she helped came forward to pay their respects and said wonderful things to honor her memory. She touched so many lives.  All of us who could call her friend, were the richer for it.  At the same time the vigil took place in Laurelhurst park in Portland, there was a vigil for her in L.A. Niki was quiet but she had many friends in many different  places.  She will always live on in the hearts and minds of her friends, family  the people she helped  and cared for.  R.I.P
If the catholic church and these groups want to sponsor such activity THAT ONLY DRAWS PREDATORS FROM
THE STREET, then they need to provide adequate security, background checks, etc., and the loca uniformed district
officer should stop by there at least a couple of times during his/her shift to spot serial offenders, etc. SOMEONE
NEEDED TO EDUCATE THIS POOR NAIVE GIRL ABOUT THE REAL WORLD AND HOW MANY SERIAL OFFENDERS WALK AMONGST US DUE TO OUR POOR SYSTEM OF JUSTICE!!! You might say if this was done
no one would show up, but only those who are really needy and focused upon satisfying their needs rather than
preying upon the innocent, AND SO BE IT!!!! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. BUT YOU HAVE A MAYOR AND CHIEF
WHO ARE SO SELF-CENTERED, THEY CAN'T BE BOTHERED WITH THIS, EVEN THOUGH THIS WOULD BE
"PRO-ACTICE AND COMMUNITY POLICING!"
@FLATFOOT2810 St.Stevens is an Episcopal church not a Roman Catholic church.
 @Kristi  @FLATFOOT2810 Kristi: St. Stephen's Catholic Church (parish) is at SE 41st and Salmon St. Where is St. Steven's? I, too, thought it was the Catholic church they were talking about in the article. Guess they didn't bother to give the full name of the church.
I don't automatically presume that a person who is homeless is criminally insaine, or homicidal. That being said, I don't know (even with my theological commitments) that I could find myself inviting them into my home. I can't think of a situation where I would invite someone to live with me, especially if I lived alone.
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Such a senseless tragedy. Especially considering that Ms Powell was acting with compassion, and those actions then turned deadly. My thoughts and prayers are with the Powell family in the loss of their, obviously compassionate and caring, daughter.
Sad... r.i.p... :(
The movie "The Soloist" did a great job of educating me on this subject. In the movie a nice guy journalist goes to great lengths to help a homeless guy. I think most of us want to step in, but reality and skepticism holds us back. In the movie (based on a true story) it seems the journalist makes great strides in helping one individual and you, the audience, cheer him on and think yeah, this is a great idea. EXCEPT, (spoiler alert) suddenly, without any warning the homeless guy completely snaps and beats up the journalist to an inch of his life. There goes our pie-in-the-sky idea that given great opportunities people will respond accordingly. My heart goes out to Niki's friends and family.Â
I deal with the homeless in downtown on a regular basis. I haven't met one that isn't a drug user, most are mentally unstable, and if you do offer them anything, they try to take more than you offer. The minute percentage of homeless that do change their lives are the exception, not the rule. I wish she hadn't deceived herself by thinking otherwise.Â
 @Caspertoo such a common perception is called privilege and life choices-yours and theirs respectively. a young girl shouldnt ever be inviting a stranger home to live as a roommate from the homeless population, especially a strange man without doing a background check. this may have been a breach of the protocol but that church is responsible for not looking after the volunteers and honing in the aspects of safety. one of the problems with doing good in the name of 'generosity' from one's heart, is that others will take complete advantage, even turn it against that naive person. it's quite her own bad decision of course, people make a lot of stupid mistakes in life, but the one who is ultimately responsible is the man who took her life. Who is to say, too, his senseless situation won't cause him to become bitter and angry like that one jerk they caught up in Sandy molesting kids with his HIV? Some problems can only be resolved by encouraging people in abusive situations (ie. the girl) to talk to colleagues about the real problem, not to be ashamed of making such a stupid mistake and a bit of intrusive leadership. some problems are sadly not preventable. maybe she was intimidated into it, or just trying to be a good soul.
The connection there that many will deny is between drug use and mental instability. They don't call them "mind altering drugs" without a good reason. I too am saddened that this beautiful and caring young woman is now dead because she made a decision based on her emotions rather than logically thinking the situation through. My thoughts and prayers, truly, go out to the family.
Heartbreaker. I've helped before doing what Yeshua/Jesus would do. The difference is we do not know if the one we are helping is evil. As in this case it is. The person my wife & I helped paid us back by being a nuisance to women in a place we got him to work and live, and when I confronted him he threathed us. In order for me not to hurt him, I compromised. I found out later, that a couple of guys set him up for a physical confrontation. Bottom line, be very careful. These kind of people, when you help them, they look at you as a dummy. But there are people out there who needs help that are'nt going to hurt you. Unfortunately, we are in the end times, we've been told only a few are good.
 @Truth316 truth, what do you mean 'a couple of guys set him up for a physical confrontation'? like they had a bet going on that he could get you to fight with him by pushing your buttons, or that they were trying to set him up to do a violent act and face some sort of repercussion? street definitely looks at you as a dummy if you are naive, they know it and will try to take advantage. i do not believe it means not to help. but you gotta be smart and not become isolated in a difficult situation, and then be ready to figure out how to get away. one can also resign to accept fate and the will of God. :) interesting post.
Dating homeless people is generally recognized as a bad idea.
Mention that situation to one of your friends, and they will say something along the lines of "Are you freaking retarded?!?!"
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I'm sorry that we have one less kindhearted person in our world. However, I suspect that this dirtbag wormed his way into her life like a maggot and manipulated her into letting him stay with her...and then paid her back by killing her. I hope like hell that this puke-pail spends the rest of his life being 'taxed' in prison and used as a phallic pin-cushion.
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 @1984isnow She sure sounds like a sweetheart. This is a very sad story...one of those that makes you consider giving up on reading the news; but if not for it, I would not have known what a gem she was to the downtrodden and to you. Thanks.
 @Don_Keyshow yeah why do we read all the crap that goes on in the world anyway? it is depressing and addicting at the same time.
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 @Bikerider I don't know. LOTS of homeless people get through life without murdering someone. Of course, then there are evil basturds out there like this scum and James Nelson (who I have unfortunately met) that prey on anyone naive enough to allow them within kicking distance. This was just some total loser who felt that the only way to make himself feel better was to bring someone else down; misery loves company, unfortunately.
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All I can say is, I hope that this young woman is able to rest in peace once the creep who hurt her goes away for life.
A case of being killed for trying to help someone out. Moral of the story: if you must try to help others, be very careful who you try to help.
Her work as a volunteer is admirable,but according to the story,she made a dangerous lethal mistake by not following the guidelines that were obviously we're designed to prevent such a tragedy from happening.What a sad story.
 @noneofyourbizznessÂ
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Don't be fooled, the killer was responsible for her death.
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Niki is the victim.
@3X07 Absolutely.It's a tragic event.She had a big heart.Unfortunately there is a lot of evil in this worl.Iv'e heard of similar situations happening with people helping the less fortunate.Unfortunately these days, a person has to be extremely careful.
 @noneofyourbizzness  @3X07 even then it can be a bit of random bad luck noneofyourbizzness. wrong place at wrong timing and whatnot. it pays to accept that death is coming, and also not to be overwhelmed by the negative feelings which we feel with these meaningful losses, senseless acts of violence.
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This incident reminds me of what happened to my cousin, Wayne. He was not a volunteer, but a paid employee of a prominent social services organization, and a university professor. He also had a huge heart. He allowed one of the people the organization had helped to move into his home for a couple of weeks. When the man was still without a place to go after the two weeks were up, Wayne asked him to leave. The next day, the man entered Wayne's St. Louis office and stabbed him in the back numerous times. He died at the scene. Hindsight tells us that Wayne should never have been so generous. But he took a chance, in order to help a fellow human being. Like the woman in this story, he paid with his life. RIP Niki Powell, and so sorry about the pain her family is suffering at their incredible loss.
 @felines99 so sorry about your cousin. It's terrible that he (and this young woman) both had to pay for their generosity with their lives.
 @Philip Marlowe Thank you.
I wish there were extra special blessings and protection for Volunteers.