Charges have been filed in the fatal assault of a Chinese woman that had been originally ruled an accident in San Francisco.
The case will be combined with another attack against a Cantonese-speaking 71-year-old woman allegedly by the same suspect.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins made the decision to reverse her department’s original finding of an accident following pressure from the community and Mayor London Breed.
AsAmNews reported on those efforts by the Asian American community back in March.
Prosecutors say Thea Hopkins (44), shoved his 63-year-old victim to the ground, causing her to hit her head on the hard surface.
Yanfang Wu died two days later from her injuries.
Prosecutors originally refused to press charges ruling the incident was an accident.
Pressure mounted after the San Francisco Standard reported Hopkins allegedly pushed another Chinese woman in March of this year, nine months after the incident with Wu.
Hopkins is now being charged with assault and elder abuse, but not manslaughter for Wu’s death. So far there is no indication hate crime charges will be filed.
The District Attorney’s office told the Standard it “did not have the evidence to show that there was an intent to kill or a conscious disregard for life.”
Hopkins has pleaded guilty to all the charges.
In the attack on the 71 year old, she is accused of grabbing the victim by the collar, slapping her three times in the face and pushing her against a tree.
The victim suffered injuries to her face and neck.
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