Raised in an area near Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, Hopewell was recounted as a regular kid; he would ride bikes, play hide and seek, and had a big friend group.
[2] Two months later, Hopewell entered the Greenwell Apartments for elderly and disabled in northern Baltimore, where at the time, his mother was living.
Under guidelines of a 2002 ruling by the then Baltimore mayor and future Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, he would have been required to submit a sample of his DNA.
[6] Two downstairs neighbors, Bruce Boulware and D'Twain Holmes-Boulware, heard loud noises coming from Crawford's apartment.
[7] On August 31, Hopewell knocked on the door of 78-year-old Lydia R. Wingfield, who was the mother of his childhood friend Jerrold.
[8] Introducing himself as "money", he claimed to have known Jerrold as a child but refused to reveal his real identity.
Later in the afternoon Hopewell broke into the home, tied Lydia up, raped, and strangled her to death.
[9] Seven days later, on September 9, Hopewell attacked an elderly couple in their Spaulding Avenue home.
Having cut a hole in the kitchen screen door, Hopewell attacked the 55-year-old woman and the 61-year-old man.
Amelia was able to grab his knife, only for Hopewell to forcefully pull it back, slicing her hand in the process.
[9] He then pushed her to the floor and attacked Thomas, who fought with Hopewell and ended up sustaining minor injuries himself.
[8] Upon learning this Jerrold stated he began to remember Hopewell from his childhood, and reported this information to the police.
In a police line-up, the security guard from Crawford's murder identified Hopewell as the man who answered the door, and he was arrested.
[1] Shortly before his scheduled trial, Hopewell accepted a plea deal which allowed him to plead guilty to all charges to avoid a death sentence.
[1] Hopewell is currently serving his sentence at Western Correctional Institution in Allegany County, Maryland.