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牧师杀妻并冷冻她的尸体,而且乱伦,兽奸
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" t9 r4 n0 z9 OPreacher convicted of killing wife, freezing body
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By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated . [3 [+ |' L4 h' S
Press Writer – Fri Apr 9, 11:02 pm ET
3 s$ e* K* R3 M$ U6 c5 g: e, i, nMOBILE, Ala. – An Alabama evangelist who terrorized his family while % h8 Q5 d9 X3 M9 s5 I' k
impressing audiences at revivals was convicted Friday of murdering his
% x' A1 H- Z7 ^wife and storing her body in a freezer for years.4 C! ]# w5 m$ m5 r
# {% ~) a. } P/ c& B! W* k7 XPeople who heard Anthony Hopkins' sermons in rural towns around the $ J" D9 @8 A5 e9 a+ |
South sometimes called him a psychic or even a prophet. Yet a prosecutor
& N, b5 X s- J+ Itold jurors that Anthony Hopkins terrorized his wife and young children, 7 g! t( e4 O& d0 |/ z5 N
isolated them and used the Bible to manipulate them.
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"He was the supreme commander of his own little army," said Assistant ! _+ `) F, u& k, _% ?) y9 I" g
District Attorney Jill Phillips.; o0 s0 `& \! u2 ~, U+ n( h9 m
, C# T, p) z4 AAfter deliberating for 1 1/2 hours, the jury in Mobile also found 39-
& ^4 F% G& G& [% q& ?year-old Anthony Hopkins guilty of rape, sodomy, incest and sexual abuse $ G5 u( j/ g8 A( w f# H+ ~
of a child between the ages of 12 and 16./ C" |4 R. `; G: R; k3 {
- g0 o( b& m( F% t& ?8 OHopkins was arrested in 2008 while preaching at a revival on charges
( p$ s! e2 b s- ~9 A5 Xthat he killed 36-year-old Arletha Hopkins. Authorities said they were " }: x7 I' i" _( N
led to the body of his wife by a teenage relative that Hopkins had ( w" E* o( C) ?" i. W; ^ G4 m
abused and impregnated.* g' x4 r" Q2 c
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Investigators say Hopkins killed his wife in a violent fight in 2004
5 h$ B5 Z. b+ Q4 s3 G& t% Cafter she caught him having sex with the teenager. They said he then
4 {7 e. X8 L" ~7 ^$ T& I* S3 fstuffed the wife's body into a freezer at the Mobile home he shared with 2 v1 O' Z* n: c4 D, @
her, the couple's six children and two of her children from a previous : Z R! J7 |& F4 V, X0 @1 z
relationship.
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Hopkins showed no reaction on Friday as deputies handcuffed him and led
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1 C! A9 x7 X3 X. c8 u% C2 d% y3 l cChildren who grew up in his home and who had testified against him stood + j, k F9 @, x+ ]$ |
in front row and hugged each other and cried as the verdict was read.
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8 Q0 m2 j a% r( j"There is nothing pleasing about any of this, it is all very
- x: H0 \+ Y/ d: z# f4 vdisturbing," Ashley Rich, the prosecuting attorney, said afterwards. "A
6 C9 m$ s3 [2 d* [9 `number of children have been harmed and the chances of them fully
! _! m) l1 T& R2 [4 Vrecovering are slim."
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R! S1 n1 e/ S8 K; @, P% uDefense attorneys left court without answering questions.* |1 q0 g0 V3 ~/ a1 H: {
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Hopkins told jurors Friday that he came home on a December evening in
: J6 ~9 \6 D, z* m2 ^, m2004 and found his wife dead on the floor, with the youngest of her 6 R+ O# u1 d4 r; A9 U
eight children, an month-old infant, beside her.2 U+ O5 e+ J; s6 f
& W# g, V( y8 Q8 d"I was shocked and I began to shake her, and I was like 'Letha, Letha
2 u) z& k o" f) H$ B; _. Oare you alright?' I began to shake her, tilt her head back and do CPR," ( c$ f7 Z$ w- K( N' t
Hopkins testified.5 U" `1 w1 n0 W: v1 W( R4 F% A: g, \" H
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Hopkins served in the U.S. Army in Kazakhstan in the late 1990s and
' D. f: r% f! z" o& @; uearned a medal for his service. Hopkins was arrested in Saraland, near L: q- l: e9 q/ ]$ x6 j7 \) m
Mobile, in 1998 for being absent without leave from the U.S. Army in
& Z; @5 R8 {5 `. ^9 @Fort Bragg, N.C., from June 15, 1995, until April 6, 1998.
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He testified Friday that he decided to leave the Army after he got
7 Z" R$ @& l; X' |0 Forders to serve in Korea and could not take his family with him." R9 y6 j- [, f$ n4 J" ~$ O `
7 o# `% k0 G. C$ [. mIt was then he said that he had a calling to become an evangelist and
! |8 C8 e. R5 s0 A/ O; Cbegan preaching at churches and revivals around the rural South. He ' h: a9 U7 n" N8 Z; u
developed a following because many who heard him preach considered him a 5 ~3 [2 `' d9 X5 m
prophet who could see the future.
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" [' E; v- j: F9 P3 j( \% W3 ~Six of the children who lived with the couple have been sent to live ' ~. n# G" r' g# I- E! T
with in Georgia with Arletha Hopkins' stepmother Mary Best, who ! U6 r7 v( z" i8 t8 ~# R7 n
commended the jury.9 c) m6 Z7 u k( n' p3 Y7 ?
! C- N, N" K( V7 ~"They saw the same thing I did because it didn't take them long to
% _: ^( ? R/ I, dconvict him," she said after the verdict. |
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