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	Doctor Describes Remains in Freezer Fox 10 April 8, 2010 http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/pastors-testify-in-anthony-hopkins-trial "It took quite a number of days to melt." MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Testimony continues in the trial of Anthony Hopkins Thursday. Authorities believe Hopkins killed his wife, Arletha, then kept her body in a freezer for almost four years. In addition to the murder charge, Hopkins also faces rape, sodomy, incest, and sexual abuse charges. One pastor, who is with a church in Mobile, testified Anthony was known as a traveling evangelist. he said Hopkins came to his church often, and spoke to the congregation. He said he asked Hopkins how Arletha was doing once, after not seeing her for a long period of time. The pastor said Anthony told him," She was doing fine; she was blessed." Then he said he heard rumors Arletha died in childbirth. he called Anthony, who said, "I can't tell you; I just can't handle it. I just can't handle it." The pastor said Anthony referred to himself as a prophet, which is a person who receives messages from God and shares them with others. He said the things Anthony spoke of came to pass. Others in the congregation also believed Anthony was a prophet. Dorothy Butler took the stand after the pastors. She works at Mobile Metro Jail, and checks inmate's mail for contraband. She said letters came in to Hopkins, and that Hopkins also sent letters. Sergeant Anthony Love, also with Mobile Metro Jail, testified next. He said he saw an investigator go into Hopkins' cell and search it. Michael Shavers took the stand next. He is with the Mobile Police Department. He also used to work with the Child Advocacy Center. He was the investigator over the case involving the Hopkins children. Shavers talked of meeting with the oldest Hopkins daughter. He said he met with her on July 28, 2008. A neighbor of the Hopkins' called him, saying she had a neighbor who was having sex with her father. That neighbor took the daughter to CAC. The Department of Human Resources was also involved. He said they talked to the daughter for an hour. He stated she told him about the sexual abuse she had been subjected to between the ages of 11 and 19. Shavers said she said Anthony told her about Lot in the Bible, and how he (Lot) had sex with his daughters so it made everything okay. Shavers said the daughter told him intercourse started when she was 12-years-old. Shavers said she also said at the age of 18, she tried to make him stop the abuse. He went on to testify he went to Jackson, Ala. to pick up the eight children. He said they were all in one room, and were all quiet and well-behaved. The chief with Wadley Police Department, Wesley Leon Lewis, was called next. He took DNA samples from Arletha's mother and father to help identify the body. Detective Keith Quinn, with the Mobile Police Department's homicide unit, also interviewed Hopkins' oldest daughter. She told investigators her mother was dead, and her body was in a freezer. Officials obtained a search warrant for the house. Quinn said the freezer was taped up and stored in a utility room. The crime scene unit was brought in, and started taking photos. They took the tape off the freezer, and opened the lid. He stated when they opened the lid they saw a human hand, and something wrapped up in a sheet. The freezer was taken to the Department of Forensic Sciences. A second search warrant was executed, and investigators went back to search each room for more evidence that might lead them to how the death occurred. Quinn testified they took the oldest daughter to Jackson, Ala. so she could show them where her mother's body was buried for a short time. It was near a shed, behind a former chapel. The area was covered with trees and bushes. The state has offered letters written by Anthony for admission of evidence. A few of the notes from the letters were: "I hustled my children"; "Things are out of sight and out of mind"; "I admit to having secret demons I submit to in my life as a preacher"; and "I knew I was not right". In one letter, Hopkins asked his parents to order pornography for him, and included the order form in the letter. The judge did not admit the letters written to Anthony into evidence. A crime scene investigator from the Mobile Police Department was next on the stand. He said the freezer was plugged in via an extension cord. He took the tape from around the top of the freezer and used a screw driver to break the lock on top. Pictures were then shown on a projector to jurors. They showed pictures of the freezer with items on top of it, and pictures of the body inside, and some with Arletha's hand showing. Jason Kokoscko with the Department of Forensic Sciences testified next. He talked about how the body was so decomposed, they could not identify it. They took a sample of blood from Arletha's heart, and two teeth were taken from her mouth. That DNA was matched with her parent's. Dr. John Krolikowski performed the autopsy on Arletha. He testified the body was essentially a block of ice. He said it could not defrost in the freezer, because of the insulating materials. He stated firefighters had to bring in the Jaws of Life to cut a wall of the freezer away. "It was a frozen specimen. It took quite a number of days to melt," he said. He said areas of decomposition showed up as white spots on Arletha, and that the term "body rot" was used to describe what her body had been through. He added the brain had liquefied. Because of the severe decomposition of the body, he said they could not identify the actual cause of death. No gunshot wounds, or stab wounds were visible, and they could not find any fractures in the bones. Dr. Krolokowski stated the body was so scrunched into the freezer, it was difficult to do the autopsy. He testified the spleen showed .05 alcohol level. He said it could have been residual changes from fungus and bacteria moving is a way that could turn into alcohol.
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