Shannon Hopkins, the father of a 24-year-old woman from Missouri who was brutally murdered, has spoken out about the horrifying moment he discovered his daughter’s lifeless body. His daughter, Mackenzie Hopkins, was found beaten to death in her bathtub, with her 4-year-old daughter Bella nearby. The incident occurred on January 15, 2022, in her Kansas City home.
In his first public statement since the conviction of his daughter’s killer, Hopkins recounted the chilling scene he encountered upon arriving at Mackenzie’s home. He described seeing a significant amount of blood and being unable to proceed further into the house due to the gruesome sight. Police officers present at the scene had to escort him out of the house.
Hopkins expressed his disbelief at the tragic event, stating that he initially refused to accept the possibility of losing his daughter and granddaughter. Bella, who was also present during the attack, suffered severe head trauma but miraculously survived.
The perpetrator, 32-year-old Jose Escalante-Corchado, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault charges last week. This plea came more than two years after the brutal attack. Escalante-Corchado, who was reportedly the boyfriend of one of Mackenzie’s friends, was sentenced to up to 30 years in a Missouri prison on both charges. The motive behind the horrific crime remains undisclosed by the authorities.
Upon their arrival at Mackenzie’s home, police officers discovered a trail of blood leading up to the front steps. The front door was found unlocked. Inside, blood was found throughout the main floor of the house. A boot print left at the scene and surveillance footage of a man matching Escalante-Corchado’s description fleeing the scene in a white truck helped investigators link him to the crime.
Hopkins remembered his daughter as a loving individual who truly blossomed when she became a mother. He expressed the family’s struggle to come to terms with the horrific actions that forever changed their lives and that of Bella. Bella, now 6 years old, currently resides with her father in Puerto Rico and is expected to visit her family in the United States this summer.