Hopkins Indicted In Freezer Murder

A traveling preacher accused of killing his wife and hiding her body in a freezer has been indicted by a Mobile County grand jury.

The grand jury found probable cause to charge Anthony Hopkins with one count of murder for the death of his wife, Arletha Hopkins, and four counts of sex crimes against his daughter.

Hopkins was arrested in July 2008 after police found his wife's body in a freezer at the family's Ryland's Street home. Hopkins was preaching at a revival in Jackson, Alabama when sheriff's deputies took him into custody.

"You had people that appeared to be living normal lives, but it turns out had a deep dark secret," said Nicki Patterson, Chief Assistant District Attorney.

Prosecutors waited several months before presenting the case to a grand jury because of the large amount of forensic evidence. Patterson says investigators had to collect and analyze evidence from four separate crime scenes: the home where Arletha was allegedly murdered, a wooded area where police believe Hopkins first hid her body, a shallow grave in Jackson where the body was briefly buried and the freezer where the body was discovered.

On question still not answered is how Arletha Hopkins was killed. The body was so badly decomposed that a medical examiner could not determine the cause of death.

The grand jury indictment clears the way for a judge to set a trial date.