US preacher murdered wife and put her in freezer
An evangelist who terrorised his family while preaching at revivals was sentenced to life in prison today after being convicted of killing his wife and storing her body in a freezer.
Anthony Hopkins, 39, showed no remorse as he was sentenced in Mobile, Alabama.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley Rich called Hopkins “evil of the worst kind”.
She said he taught the eight children in his home things about the Bible that were not true and that helped him get away with his crimes for years.
During Hopkins’ trial prosecutors said he killed his 36-year-old wife, Arletha, in 2004 after she caught him molesting a girl, then stuffed her body in a freezer at their home.
Police found it in 2008 after a young woman abused by Hopkins gave him away. Police arrested Hopkins while he was preaching at a revival in the Alabama town of Jackson.
His lawyer Jeff Deen said Hopkins admitted putting his wife’s body in the freezer, but did not know how she died.
“There’s evidence in the trial that it could’ve been by natural causes, and it needs to be explored on appeal,” Mr Deen said.
The two oldest children in the Hopkins home are now grown up. The six youngest are living with relatives.
