Man convicted of 2015 murder in Huntington

A Groveton-area man pleaded guilty June 6 to second-degree murder in the August 2015 killing of a Khalid Aboumalik in Huntington, according to information provided by the Fairfax County Circuit Court.

Michael Norman Powell, 20, had been charged with first-degree murder, but the charge was amended down Monday, according to the circuit court.

Michael Powell pleaded guilty to killing Khalid Aboumalik in Huntington Park. (Fairfax Police photo)

Powell, who lived on the 6800 block of Kenyon Drive, will be sentenced Oct. 7. Second-degree murder carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

A message left with Powell’s attorney was not returned.

A unnamed 17-year-old was also arrested last year in connection Aboumalik’s death and charged with murder and robbery. It is unclear what the status of that case is; the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court would not release any case details over the phone.

Aboumalik’s body was found by area residents walking in Huntington Park near Liberty Drive early in the morning on Aug. 5, 2015. The 42-year-old Moroccan immigrant rented a room in the neighborhood and had worked as a cook at Old Chicago Pizza on Huntington Avenue, according to neighborhood residents.