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AL Preacher Anthony Hopkins Kills Wife: Kept Her in Freezer 4 Yrs

by Liz McKibbon | April 9, 2010 at 07:42 pm

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Alabama evangelist Anthony Hopkins has been convicted today after murdering his wife Arletha Hopkins, 39 and mother of eight, and storing her body in a freezer for 4 years.

Hopkins also abused and impregnated a young female relative, who eventually led investigators to the body of Mrs. Hopkins. After only an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury found Hopkins guilty of rape, sodomy, incest and sexual abuse of a child between the ages of 12 and 16. He faces life in prison.

Hopkins killed his wife after a violent argument in 2004, when she caught him having sex with the teenager. Hopkins told jurors that he found his wife already dead and even attempted CPR. Hopkins told some members of his congregation that his wife had died giving birth to their youngest child.

In closing arguments Friday, Assistant District Attorney Jill Phillips said Hopkins terrorized his wife and young children, isolated them and used the Bible to manipulate them.

Anthony Hopkins' History of Abuse

Anthony Hopkins served the US army in the late 1990s, and even earned a medal for his efforts. He was arrested in ’98 for leaving the army without notice. Hopkins says he was assigned to serve in Korea and couldn’t leave his family.

Hopkins began preaching at revivals and churches in the South, and continued to do so until the murder charges were brought against him. Many of his followers believe he is a “prophet who could see the future.”