A Missouri father whose daughter was beaten to death and her toddler seriously injured is speaking out about the horrifying ordeal. Mackenzie Hopkins was 24 years old when she was murdered in 2022. Her young daughter, Bella, lived but suffered from severe head trauma. When Mackenzie's father, Shannon Hopkins, walked into her home the day she died, his life changed in an instant.
The grieving father opened up to KMBC about what happened to his daughter in her Kansas City home. He said he "collapsed" when he heard what happened to his daughter and wondered why anyone would want to hurt her and her innocent child. Jose Escalante-Corchado, 32, pleaded guilty in the deadly attack and will spend up to 30 years in prison.
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It was a gruesome scene.
According to court documents obtained by the Kansas City Star, officers arrived at the scene on January 15, 2022, on a welfare check for the young mother. Almost immediately, they saw blood throughout the home and found Mackenzie's body severely beaten and submerged in a bathtub. Bella was beside her, also beaten, but alive.
The shocked father was only inside the home for a brief time.
He told KMBC he arrived at his daughter's home, walked a few steps into the home, and was struck with horror at the bloody scene.
"I got a few feet inside her home, and [police] pulled me out," Hopkins said. "There was a lot of blood. I collapsed in the front yard."
He was in disbelief that his daughter was gone. "It's impossible that this happened this way," Hopkins told the news station. "She was caring. She was the most loving person."
A bloody boot print led investigators to the killer.
KMBC reported that a boot print at the scene belonged to Escalante-Corchado. Surveillance from a nearby gas station matched his truck, which was also reportedly seen at Mackenzie Hopkins' home. He reported to police during questioning that he had helped the single mom move into her home a short time earlier. Escalante-Corchado was allegedly dating one of her friends.
Her father is processing the grief.
Hopkins told KMBC that life will never be the same without his daughter, and he understands the convicted killer's family is also living a nightmare.
"We will have to learn to live with the horrific actions that he took that day that changed not only our family's life but Bella's life," Shannon Hopkins said. "I'm confident it has affected his family's everyday life, knowing they have this dark history to live with."
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Escalante-Corchado accepted a plea bargain.
The Star reported the accused killer was scheduled for trial on April 15, but accepted a plea bargain. He pleaded guilty to a single charge of second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Jackson County Judge Bryan E. Round sentenced the man to a maximum of 30 years in prison in connection with the crime.
