How & Why?

I was readin the news and such this morning and saw this story in two separate places. ON in the town it happened in and then the nearest Tv station. OMG HOW can this be true. SO sad.


From the hometown paper....Warning will give you Chills and make you angry.

Kennett man arrested in death of son

Tuesday, December 5, 2006Deanna Coronado and Steve Hankins

HopperA Kennett man was arrested in connection with the Saturday death of his infant son, police said Monday.

Eric L. "Rat" Hopper, 29, of Kennett was taken into police custody and is behind bars at the Dunklin County Jail at Kennett in lieu of $100,000 bond, according to court documents.
Dunklin County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonce Chidister Saturday charged Hopper with second-degree murder and abuse of a child resulting in death in connection with the death of Hopper's four-month old son.

Kennett Police Department Chief Barry Tate said officers received a 911 call Saturday from the infant's grandmother, who told police the child was not responsive.

Officers and medical personnel arrived at the home minutes later, and the baby was taken by Medic One Ambulance Service personnel to Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center (TRRMC) for treatment, Tate said.

The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, the chief added.

A probable cause affidavit filed Saturday by Kennett Police Department Criminal Investigator Lt. Tim Trowbridge and provided Tuesday to The Daily Dunklin Democrat by Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen P. Sokoloff indicated officers were dispatched to the address in reference to the suspicious nature of the infant's death.

Preliminary evaluation conducted by medical staff indicated the child, identified as D.L.T.M., was the victim of an apparent assault, the affidavit states.

Severe trauma was noted at the back of the victim's head, according to the affidavit. Hopper was caring for the child at the time the baby sustained the injuries, the document states.

Trowbridge and Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Dennis Rainey interviewed Hopper at the Kennett Police Department, where Hopper admitted he deliberately pushed his son while he was alone caring for the baby, the affidavit indicates.

The action caused the infant to strike the back of his head on what Hopper described to police as a "hard wooden surface." the document indicates.

Hopper also admitted that he was holding his infant son and dropped the baby head-first on the kitchen floor of the home, the affidavit states.

The suspect told Trowbridge and Rainey that the injuries sustained by D.L.T.M. were inflicted by Hopper's "pushing the infant against the hard wooden surface and dropping the child on the floor," the affidavit states.

Dunklin County Major Case Squad investigators were activated in connection with the investigation, as well as Kennett Police Department officers and Trowbridge; Dunklin County Sheriff Bob Holder and his deputies; and Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators who represent the organization's Division of Drug and Crime Control (DDCC).

The case remains under investigation, although 35th Judicial Circuit court reports for Dunklin County indicate Chidister filed documents Monday in connection with the infant's death.
Hopper appeared before Dunklin County Circuit Court Associate Judge Dan Crawford at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Dunklin County Courthouse, court documents indicated.

A plea was not indicated at press time.


From KAIT8 News Jonesboro.

December 5, 2006 - Posted at 6:11 p.m. CST

KENNETT, MO - A Region 8 baby is dead and his father sits behind bars for his murder. 29-year-old Eric Lee Hopper was arrested Saturday in Kennett for the death of four-month-old David Lee Tyler Mitchell. And as horrific as this child abuse story is, police say this still isn't an open and closed case.

"Honey, he's no murder, he's no murder," said Glenda Queen, Hopper's mother.

Queen is quick to defend her son, but the story gets blurry from there.

Queen says Hopper was watching his infant son on Saturday and had called his mom for help when the child began crying from a rash.

"I went over there and he (Hopper) was in that chair crying and holding that baby like this and that baby was already dead and then he told me that he had accidentally dropped the baby, it slipped out of his arms," told Queen to K8 reporter Heather Flanigan

"What did you do then?" asked Flanigan.

"I turned around and said, we'll we are just going to have to get a hold of it's momma...and so that's what my state of mind was, to get a hold of it's momma," replied Queen.

Police aren't saying exactly how baby David's body got from Hopper's home on Seely Street to where officers were performed CPR at Queen's home on Dolph Street.

"The officers were dispatched to the house on Dolph Street where they attempted to perform CPR. The officers then met the ambulance somewhere around Floyd Street where at that time the child was transferred to the ambulance service and they took the baby in," said Lt. Detective Tim Trowbridge of the Kennett Police Department.

The infant was pronounced dead at the Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center and Hopper was later arrested.

"I think they are full of crap because accidents happen and especially when you take somebody who has had no sleep...no sleep at all and then he end up with the baby," said Queen.

"Why didn't he have any sleep?" asked Flanigan.

"I told you he worked 7:00-7:00. 7:00 in the night to 7:00 in the morning," said Queen.

"Being a father myself, it was just tough to even look at the body of the small child and it's really, really rough. And then you know talking to the people involved in the case, yea, it's really heart wrenching. It really is," said Trowbridge.

Police officials say it's about 15 years since a child has been a victim of a homicide in Kennett and they say many details will continue to come out as this investigation continues to unfold.

Baby David was normally in his mother Angie Snider's custody but was staying with Hopper for the weekend. Hopper faces charges of second degree murder and child abuse.

He is currently in the Dunklin County jail on a $100,000 dollar bond.