A woman suspected of pushing a Chinese immigrant to her death is now facing criminal charges more than a year after San Francisco police initially deemed the incident an accident.
Thea Hopkins, 44, has been charged with assault and battery resulting in great bodily injury in connection with the July 3, 2023, incident on Third Street in the Bayview, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office announced Wednesday. Hopkins is accused of shoving 63-year-old Yanfang Wu to the ground near a bus stop, causing her to hit her head. Wu died two days later.
Prosecutors will not pursue murder or manslaughter, as they “did not have the evidence to show that there was an intent to kill or a conscious disregard for life,” the office said.
The case sparked a political firestorm and media frenzy after the San Francisco Police Department initially ruled the fatal incident as an “accident” and closed the case. The case was reopened in March after The Standard reported that Hopkins had allegedly pushed another elderly Chinese woman. The development prompted the Asian American community, Mayor London Breed, and the Board of Supervisors to demand the release of surveillance video evidence.
The charges come more than 17 months after Wu’s death.
“I would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department for their thorough investigation,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. “I would also like to thank the public for their patience as the investigation unfolded and trust in my office to make an appropriate charging decision based on the facts and the law.”
Hopkins was arraigned on Wednesday in court and pleaded not guilty to all charges. She remained in custody.
Kathleen Natividad, a deputy public defender representing Hopkins, has previously denied that the 2023 incident was criminal, emphasizing that law enforcement had carefully reviewed the evidence and officially deemed it to be an accident.
“While we understand that the circumstances of these recent allegations are upsetting, it is disheartening to hear false assumptions being made against Ms. Hopkins, who is also a vulnerable person in the community,” Natividad said in a March statement.