Autopsy Complete On Body Found In Freezer

BREAKING NEWS

The Mobile County Medical Examiner has finally confirmed what police feared all along. The woman's body found stuffed in a freezer is 36-year-old Arletha Hopkins.

Police made the grizzly discovery July 28th at a home on Rylands Street after one of Hopkins' eight children told police she was having sex with her father. When they asked the girl what her mother had to say about all this, she told them "Momma? She's in the freezer."

Hopkins' husband Anthony, a traveling preacher, is charged with her murder.

Police believe Anthony Hopkins strangled his wife in November 2004 after she caught him in the bathroom fondling their daughter. But according to police, the freezer was not Arletha's first grave. They say Hopkins first tried to hide the body in a wooded area in Semmes, then moved the body to a shallow grave in Jackson. Worried someone would find the body, police say Hopkins brought her back to Mobile and kept her in a freezer for nearly four years.

Anthony Hopkins has pleaded not guilty to murder, sexual abuse, rape, sodomy and incest.

Don't miss out on breaking news when you're at work or on the go. Sign up for News 5 Text Alerts that can be sent to your cell phone or PDA. News 5 can also send you breaking news alerts to your e-mail.