KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In a hearing for an early release, Tennessee Board of Parole member Barrett Rich voted against letting Kimberly Hopkins out of prison early for attempting to murder her mother.
If a majority of the board of parole agrees with Rich's decision Hopkins would have to stay in prison and continue serving her 15-year sentence. At the hearing on Tuesday, Hopkins told the board of parole her mom, the person she tried to kill, wanted her released.
Hopkins pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in 2019. Prosecutors said she tried to kill her parents and make it look like an assisted suicide.
They said she told her mother she wanted to give her a pedicure. She put zip ties around her wrists, and put a bag over her head, planning to fill it with helium. Hopkins' mom, Jan Martin, later told investigators she was able to escape.
Hopkins was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted murder.
In 2020, at a board of parole hearing, Hopkins told the board she was trying to help her mother commit suicide. On Tuesday, she told the board she didn't recall the incident.
"According to the police report that I read, there was an attempt on my mother's life," Hopkins said. "I take full responsibility for my actions and my decisions on that day."
Prosecutors from the Ninth Judicial District Attorney General's Office argued against Hopkins' early release on Tuesday. They argued that Hopkins' avoidance when answering questions about her role in the attempted murder proved she showed no remorse.
Assistant District Attorney Jed Bassett said he's concerned because Hopkins' father argued against her release in 2020, but he died late in 2021.
"With him passing away and him not being available to kind of stand in the way of her possibly preying on her mother again, that's what concerns us," Bassett said.
If the rest of the parole board agrees with Rich's decision, Hopkins' next parole hearing is in 2025.