The father of a woman who was brutally murdered in her bathtub described how he “collapsed in the front yard” after finding her body.
Mackenzie Hopkins, 24, was found dead on January 15, 2022 in her Kansas City home by her father, Shannon Hopkins, her sister Hazel and police.
shannon he told KMBC: ‘I entered a few meters inside his house and (the police) took me out. There was a lot of blood. I collapsed in the front yard.
Jose E. Escalante-Corchado, 32, pleaded guilty to her murder and to first-degree assault on her then-four-year-old daughter, Bella, who was seriously injured in the attack but survived.
He was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison.
A day after Hopkins’ body was found, her friend told police she had told her boyfriend, Escalante-Corchado, that she was visiting Hopkins (pictured) the night before her murder, but said that it was a cover to be able to get out
Mackenzie Hopkins, 24, was found beaten to death in the bathtub of her home in Kanas City, Missouri, and her 4-year-old daughter was found beaten unconscious in her bed nearly 12 hours after a call to 911 from the mother’s phone.
His father, Shannon Hopkins, said: “I went a few feet inside his house and (the police) took me out.” There was a lot of blood. I collapsed in the front yard.
José Escalante-Corchado has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder and assault
Hopkins was working as a nurse when she had Bella and her father said she “bounced back” when she had a baby.
She was found beaten to death in her bathroom, submerged in water, with her daughter beaten unconscious in her bed.
Hopkins had called 911 12 hours earlier and police said people could be heard arguing on the phone, but no one was talking.
But her body wasn’t found until that night, when her father asked police to conduct a welfare check.
His father said: ‘There’s no way it could have happened this way. She was affectionate. She was the most loving person.
Hopkins’ daughter, now six years old, lives in Puerto Rico with her father.
Bloody shoe prints found throughout the home were traced back to a specific brand of cowboy boots owned by Escalante-Corchado and his truck was seen on surveillance footage near his home at the time of his murder.
It emerged that Escalante-Corchado’s then-girlfriend had used Hopkins as a ‘cover’ so she could go out at night.
DailyMail.com obtained a police report stating that around 6 a.m. Saturday morning, a 911 call (referred to as a disturbance in the documents) was made from Hopkins’ phone. where the operator heard “parties fighting.” Police did not confirm whether or not officers responded to the early morning call.
When officers arrived for a welfare check 12 hours later, Hopkins’ father tried to use a key to open the front door, and it opened, revealing a gruesome scene.
“There were several spots on the floor inside the main floor of the residence where large amounts of blood had collected and there were apparent blood marks in places where the victim appeared to have been moved,” the police affidavit stated. “Bloody shoe prints were found in different places.”
Police responded to a 911 call for a welfare check at Hopkins’ Kansas City home, where they found a gruesome scene. In the image: a police cordon outside the house.
Hopkins’ 4-year-old daughter (pictured with her mother) was found lying in her own bed suffering from severe head trauma. She remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Police later determined that bloody shoe prints throughout the house were prints of a specific brand and style of cowboy boots made by ‘ARIAT.’
The next day, detectives met with one of the victim’s friends and, while there, saw a pair of cowboy boots that matched the make and style of the bloody footprints at Hopkins’ home, according to the statement. sworn
When detectives asked the friend about the boots, the friend said they belonged to her boyfriend, Escalante-Corchado. The friend’s name is redacted from the affidavit.
The friend also told police that she had told Escalante-Corchado that she was visiting Hopkins the night before her murder, but said it was a cover so she could get out.
Detectives also discovered that Escalante-Corchado’s truck was in the crime scene area on the day of the murder. Witnesses told detectives that a person matching his description was seen coming and going from the home and spent approximately two hours in the area.
Surveillance video obtained by police showed a man matching his description running from the victim’s home and then getting into a white truck seen pulling into a gas station moments later.
He told detectives it was him at the gas station. He also acknowledged that he knew Hopkins and his daughter.
Escalante-Corchado had denied any involvement in Hopkins’ murder and the assault on her daughter, but had no reasonable explanation for being in the area of the victim’s home in his truck for more than two hours, according to the affidavit.
Hopkins’ family is devastated by the tragedy, with her aunt saying: “I don’t think anyone wants to believe that these things could happen, especially to someone and affect someone they know.”
Hopkins’ sister-in-law, Shawna Hopkins, created a GoFundMe to help with medical and funeral expenses, saying, “All we can hope for is to be able to hug and love her daughter for her and in her name to the best of her ability.” Our ability
Hopkins’ devastated family said at the time they were shocked by the tragedy.
‘It’s just shocking for everyone. “I don’t think anyone wants to believe that these things could happen, especially to someone and affect someone they know,” Michelle Bishop, Hopkins’ aunt, told FOX4.
Her sister-in-law, Shawna Hopkins, created a GoFundMe to help with funeral and medical expenses.
‘It’s something I could never imagine. It hurts like her sister. It hurts like her friend. “She was one of the most positive forces in my life,” Shawna Hopkins told FOX4. “Nothing can fix this, but justice must be served.”
Escalante-Corchado was charged with first-degree murder, assault, two counts of armed criminal action and endangering the welfare of a child.
Last week he reached a deal that found him guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
“Nothing fixes this,” Shawn Hopkins said. “All we can hope for is to be able to hug and love her daughter for her and in her name as best we can.”