Petaluma man convicted of father’s murder in 2022

A Petaluma man was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for killing his father in their home about two years ago.

Christopher Hopkins, 21, was sentenced in Sonoma County Superior Court after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in August.

His conviction and sentence stem from the murder of James Woodworth Hopkins Jr. on Aug. 19, 2022, at a home in the 400 block of Acadia Drive in Petaluma.

“It is incredibly tragic and I am sorry for everyone’s loss,” Judge Laura Passaglia said before sentencing the defendant Thursday.

Several family members were present but did not address the court during the short hearing.

Linda Myhre, the mother of James Woodworth Hopkins, had filed a statement with the court saying she was devastated by her son’s death.

“I miss him terribly,” she wrote. “I hope that with the resolution of this case, I can put this incident behind me and begin to heal. I also feel like I lost my grandson at the same time I lost my son.”

Petaluma police said two years ago that he had been dead for days before they arrested Christopher Hopkins on Aug. 21.

Investigators said at the time that they discovered the father’s body after Christopher Hopkins’ boyfriend reported making statements about self-harm.

Police entered the home and interviewed the suspect, who admitted to killing his father.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office initially charged him with murder, and a criminal complaint revealed that the suspect used a spear in the killing.

On the day Christopher Hopkins was sentenced, his attorney, Chris Andrian, told Passaglia that the suspect “in an altered state stabbed his father.”

The defendant’s mother, Brandy Hopkins, told The Press Democrat that the killing was not malicious and was the result of years of abuse.

Myhre claims her son had a “short fuse and a sharp tongue” but loved and never physically abused Christopher Hopkins.

“I hope Christopher will take the time to remember all the little things his father did for and with him, but also the important things,” she wrote.

The defendant filed a statement with the court on October 4, beginning by accepting responsibility for his actions and the harm caused to his family.

“I have a very supportive family who has been through all of this with me,” Christopher Hopkins wrote. “I would never say that it is good to be in prison, but I have to admit that I have matured a lot since I have been here. I want to show you all that I appreciate the second chance I have been given and that I will do everything I can to show that I deserve it.”

You can reach staff writer Colin Atagi at [email protected]. On Twitter @colin_atagi