Thug who beat elderly woman so badly that she can't walk, speak, or recognize her husband of more than 50 years is sentenced

A 35-year-old male who nearly two years ago used a cane to beat an elderly woman so brutally that she can't walk, speak, or recognize her husband of more than half a century was sentenced to eight years in prison last week.

What are the details?

Alexander Adams on February 23, 2022, approached John Hopkins, 78, and his wife — 79-year-old Claudia Hopkins — outside a supermarket in Washington, D.C., and asked them for five dollars, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

When John Hopkins gave Adams one dollar, Adams hollered, “That is not enough!” and punched John Hopkins, who fell to the ground, the DOJ said.

With that, Adam began beating Claudia Hopkins with her husband’s wooden cane, hitting her head and body, after which she fell backward and hit her head on the concrete, officials said.

Claudia Hopkins suffered numerous injuries, including a concussion, a brain bleed, swelling on the brain, and an altered mental state and cognitive deficits, officials said, adding that she "will likely never recover."

Adams has been in custody since February 24, 2022, officials said, adding that he pleaded guilty last December. He was sentenced Friday on two counts of aggravated assault of a senior citizen to 96 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, officials said.

According to WRC-TV, the prosecutor said Adams had 32 contacts with the judicial system over the years — including 11 assaults and 13 convictions. The judge called Adams extraordinarily dangerous, the station added.

'I have lost my wife forever'

WRC said that before the attack, John and Claudia Hopkins had an active social life. Now she is bedridden in a nursing home and can no longer walk, speak, or recognize her husband of more than 50 years, the station said.

“She is incapable of talking, she cannot walk, she has a feeding tube,” John Hopkins told WRC. “I have lost my wife forever.”

Image source: YouTube screenshot

He added to the station, “I feel haunted; I feel emotionally haunted. I feel anguished. It has given me anxiety, and I realize I am depressed. And I fear that it will last me for the rest of my life.”

WRC reported that the day after the attack, Adams’ father told the station that his son had physically attacked him as well, breaking his hip. Tom Adams also told WRC that his son is bipolar and becomes violent when he doesn’t take his medication.

In court, Alexander Adams apologized for what he did, the station said.

“It’s the city’s and the United States government’s responsibility to protect its citizens, and we suffered that neglect,” John Hopkins told WRC.

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