John W. Hopkins
John W. Hopkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 3, 1953 Comstock, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | "The Mohawk (Valley) Ripper" "The Johnstown Ripper" |
| Conviction(s) | Murder x2 Attempted murder x1 |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment x3 |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3+ (2 convictions) |
Span of crimes | 1972–1978 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | New York |
Date apprehended | August 16, 1979 |
John William Hopkins (June 3, 1953 – March 11, 2000), known as The Mohawk Valley Ripper, was an American
Early life
John William Hopkins was born on June 3, 1953, in Johnstown, New York, with 2 brothers Jimmy and Donny along with a sister Nancy. Little is known about his childhood, but at some point during his adolescence, he expressed a desire to join the state police, but eventually gave up on the idea.[1] According to friends and acquaintances of Hopkins, he enjoyed cruising along the New York State Thruway and stopping by college towns in his Chevy Nova, often wearing a cowboy hat and a military coat in an attempt to pass himself off as a trooper. Most concerningly, he appeared to have an unhealthy obsession with knives, often carrying several on his person in various knife sheaths.[1]
Murders
Hopkins' first confirmed victim was 19-year-old college student Joanne Pecheone, whom he abducted on January 12, 1972 while she was walking through an isolated wooded path towards her apartment in
On the night July 24 to 25, 1976, Hopkins passed by a donut shop in Gloversville, from where he abducted 17-year-old Cecelia Genatiempo. He then drove her to an isolated section of railroad tracks in Mohawk, where he subsequently raped and then stabbed her multiple times, before burying the body in a shallow grave.[3] Genatiempo's decomposing body was found three months later by hunters who were passing by the area.[4]
His final confirmed victim was 17-year-old Sherrie Ann Carville, a teenager from Johnstown whom he kidnapped from a bar in Johnstown on October 22, 1978. He drove her to his father's property, where he proceeded to rape and stab her multiple times, before leaving the body to rot in the field. It was discovered a year later, and another man, 32-year-old Albert J. Baird, was arrested for the crime after allegedly confessing that he was the one who had killed her.[5] He spent six months in detention before authorities cleared him of suspicion.[6]
Arrest and confessions
On August 15, 1979, Hopkins abducted a 15-year-old girl from Northville, driving her to his house in Johnstown where he bound her hands between two attic posts and repeatedly raped her.[1] On the next day, he drove with his victim to Palatine, where he intended to kill her. Hopkins shoved a sponge in her mouth to prevent her from screaming, knocked her on the head and then stabbed her in the back, but before he could finish her off, he was frightened off by a nearby logger who was marking trees for a harvest.[1] After rescuing the girl, she and the logger went straight to the police, quickly managing to identify Hopkins as her assailant. He was promptly arrested only hours later and driven to the police station in Loudonville, where, after a few hours of interrogation, he confessed to several violent crimes he had committed in the area over the years, telling the investigators that he was "ill and [requires] professional help".[1] In his confessions, he admitted to killing Genatiempo and Carville, but for reasons unknown, did not reveal that he had also killed Pecheone in 1972.
Trial, imprisonment and death
Following his confession, Hopkins was charged with the two murders and the attempted murder of the Northville girl, but it was decided that he would be tried separately for each. Shortly after being indicted for these crimes, Hopkins revoked his confession, with his attorney claiming that he had been forced into by policemen who had sicked a dog onto him.[3] These claims did not convince the jurors, who subsequently found him guilty of second-degree murder, felony murder and kidnapping, after consulting for 90 minutes.[7] On November 25, 1980, Justice Mario M. Albanese sentenced Hopkins to a 25-year-to-life term for the three charges, all of which were to run consecutively.[8]
A few months into his serving his sentence at the Fishkill Correctional Facility, Hopkins was also charged with the kidnapping and murder of Carville, which he also denied committing.[9] After less than a week, he was again found guilty, a decision met with joy by the victim's family members and with indifference from Hopkins himself.[10] Like with the previous murder, Albanese gave the convict another 25-year-to-life sentence.[11] In August 1981, he was yet again found guilty of the attempted murder at his third and final trial, receiving yet another 25-year-to-life sentence.[12]
Two years later, Hopkins unsuccessfully attempted to appeal his murder convictions, but they were rejected by an
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i David J. Krajicek (September 9, 2018). "Sick spree of the Mohawk Ripper". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Uncle of Slain Girl 1 of First at Scene". Racine Journal Times. January 13, 1972.
- ^ a b "Victim's dead testified". The Post-Star. October 22, 1980.
- ^ "2 men charged". The Ithaca Journal. October 4, 1976.
- ^ "Man held in slaying released on bail". The Ithaca Journal. December 3, 1979.
- ^ "Indictment dismissed". The Post-Star. March 27, 1980.
- ^ "Man convicted". The Ithaca Journal. November 8, 1980.
- ^ "Convicted slayer gets prison term". The Post-Star. November 25, 1980.
- ^ "Jury to get case in rape-murder". The Post-Star. February 28, 1981.
- ^ "Rape-slaying verdict is guilty". Press & Sun-Bulletin. March 4, 1981.
- ^ "Sentenced". Star-Gazette. March 13, 1981.
- ^ "Killer sentenced in third case". Press and Sun-Bulletin. August 19, 1981.
- ^ "Hopkins murder conviction upheld". Bennington Banner. August 5, 1983.