Petaluma man accused of fatally stabbing his father charged with murder

A 19-year-old Petaluma man, accused of fatally stabbing his father, was charged Tuesday with murder.

Christopher Hopkins appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court via Zoom before Judge Christopher M. Honigsberg who ordered him jailed without bail. A plea hearing was scheduled for Sept. 6.

James Hopkins Jr., 49, was found dead Sunday inside his Petaluma home, a spokesperson for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators believe he had been dead for several days, though they can’t confirm the exact date until an autopsy has been completed, Petaluma Police Lt. Jeremy Walsh said.

Following Tuesday’s court appearance, family members declined to comment through Christopher Hopkins’ attorney, Jane Gaskell.

Petaluma police arrested Hopkins on Sunday after he admitted to the killing, officials said.

Investigators are “vigorously trying to determine what exactly happened and why,” Walsh said. Detectives are interviewing friends, relatives and others close to the father and son.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. Sunday, responding police officers discovered James Hopkins’ body after a friend of the younger Hopkins called emergency personnel to the pair’s home in the 400 block of Acadia Drive, according to Walsh.

The friend told authorities Christopher Hopkins had recently made statements about hurting himself.

In 2018, Christopher Hopkins suffered major injuries in a car crash that occurred a few blocks from his Petaluma home, the Petaluma Argus Courier reported that year. At the time he was a 14-year-old freshman at Casa Grande High School.

According to the article, James Hopkins raised his son on his own and was at the teen’s bedside daily while he recovered in the hospital.

Also injured in the crash were Christopher Hopkins’ grandparents and three others. They were all hospitalized following the crash, but the younger Hopkins suffered the most serious injuries.

The crash occurred when the driver of another car, who authorities said had been street racing, slammed his car into the grandparents’ car as they were driving Hopkins home from school.

Christopher Hopkins’ pelvis and ribs were broken, his spleen was cut and his internal organs were bruised and bleeding, James Hopkins told the Argus Courier in 2018.

“He's a very happy and mellow kid,” the elder Hopkins said of his son. “He's probably one of the sweetest souls I've ever known … He's very cerebral, he likes to read, he likes history and video games.”

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.