- 2 days ago
In a peaceful Iowa town, farmer Ryan Cooper is found shot in his armchair in the middle of the night. His wife, a local hairdresser, becomes the center of a tense investigation filled with secrets and explosive revelations.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:12Sheriff's Office, what's going on?
00:21Help me!
00:23An Iowa farmer, murdered as he slept.
00:32He was determined through autopsy that Ryan Cooper had suffered two gunshots to the face.
00:38This kind of stuff doesn't happen in small-town rural America.
00:41You know, Ryan was one of the nicest men you could have ever met.
00:44Of all people, who would have done this to him?
00:46The initial conversation of this, somebody broke into the house.
00:50How can this happen? How did it happen?
00:52But there are rumors about a local farmhand and the farmer's wife.
00:56Like everybody in the community started saying, hey, Houston Danker.
01:00And then the dramatic moment when the wife took the stand to admit the affair.
01:05Did Houston talk about killing Ryan?
01:07Several times.
01:08Then when the police get there, why didn't you tell them?
01:12Houston shot my husband.
01:15We're heading Aztec door.
01:20The
01:22disabilities
01:33Tma County 911, what is the location of your emergency?
01:37I just got a call from my sister in law.
01:40How does somebody have another house?
01:41What's your sister's name?
01:52They had a frantic woman on the phone screaming and they couldn't make out anything what was going on.
02:00It was Corina Cooper on the other 911 line calling about her husband, Ryan Cooper.
02:14And then she was able to say, someone's been shot.
02:18I can't help you, I can't help you, I can't help you.
02:22I can't help you, I can't help you.
02:23There's blood all over you.
02:29Mary, wake up!
02:32Ma'am, can you settle down?
02:36I can't help you, I can't help you.
02:39A deputy sheriff was the first on the scene.
02:42He rolls up, you can see from his dash cam and then his body cam, he gets out, he comes
02:48around the corner.
02:51Sheriff's office, what's going on?
02:55My brother is dead.
02:56Aaron is standing there on the phone with 911.
03:00Ryan Cooper's brother Aaron had rushed to the scene after calling 911.
03:05Ryan Cooper was located, he's sitting in his living room.
03:09Were you hearing this happen?
03:10In a recliner, his hands are essentially on his lap, his feet are up.
03:15She was actually sitting in Ryan Cooper's lap.
03:19Ma'am.
03:19Sitting on the deceased body of her husband.
03:22Ma'am.
03:23Ma'am, come on.
03:24She was rubbing her face against his face, so essentially covering her face with Ryan Cooper's blood.
03:34Come talk to me.
03:36Yeah, we're in the ambulance.
03:38They're on their way.
03:40Ma'am, what happened?
03:41I don't know.
03:43I don't know.
03:56The scene with Karina and the children there is difficult to watch with the children being
04:01present at the scene, obviously able to see the state that their father was in.
04:15I don't know if you saw her, but she was literally on top of him when he came in here.
04:21She's a circle.
04:22That's the name of his wife.
04:23That's the wife.
04:25I think so.
04:25There's three kids.
04:26Apparently not the boat shut.
04:30Karina?
04:30What?
04:31I need you to tell me what happened.
04:33Can you tell me what happened?
04:40There was a loud noise.
04:42I thought something fell.
04:44Something always falls out of the mouth.
04:47Okay.
04:48And then what happened?
04:52I got up and I peeked in the living room and then I went to the kitchen.
05:00And then as she comes back through out of the kitchen, she goes to flip on the one little
05:05light and that's when she sees the large amount of blood all over her husband laying
05:12there.
05:13And then that's when he was there.
05:16Everywhere.
05:17Okay.
05:21But you didn't sit, you didn't hear or see anyone else?
05:24No, what if they're here?
05:28What?
05:31What if they're here?
05:33I don't...
05:41You're safe, okay?
05:43You're safe.
05:44All right?
05:45I'm so scared.
05:47I couldn't get my gun out of the safe.
05:52You couldn't get your gun out of his face?
05:54I wouldn't.
05:55But you didn't actually see anybody?
05:56No way.
05:58Okay.
05:59So did he do that to himself?
06:01No way.
06:03No way.
06:04Okay.
06:05No.
06:08No.
06:12Somebody's here.
06:13Somebody has to be here.
06:15I'm so scared.
06:18I'm so scared.
06:19I'm so afraid of people.
06:26I don't know if they were here.
06:27I can't breathe, but I need to be with my kids.
06:30Somebody with them.
06:31Your kids don't want to see.
06:32You have blood all over you.
06:33I need somebody to come get my kids with them.
06:36Okay.
06:36We won't work on that, but we got a plan to figure out what happens.
06:39They need somebody with them.
06:42Your brother's with them.
06:43Okay.
06:47Ryan Cooper and his family were some of the biggest farmers in Tama County,
06:51growing corn and soybeans.
06:53He grew up farming.
06:55That was his livelihood, you know.
06:57I'm Teresa McBride, and I was a friend of Karina and Ryan
07:02and their, you know, extended family.
07:04Like, Ryan, of all people, who would have done this to him?
07:09Ryan was one of the nicest men you could have ever met.
07:12He'd give you his last penny if that's what he needed to do to help you.
07:18Ryan and his wife, Karina, had been married for almost 12 years with three children,
07:23and she had a small business on the farm, cutting hair.
07:27She was a lot of fun.
07:28She had her moments, you know, raising three little kids by yourself, you know,
07:32because Ryan's, you know, out farming a lot, trying to juggle all their schedules.
07:37It gets to be a lot some days.
07:39It was the first murder in this small farming community in more than a decade.
07:44Everybody was shocked.
07:46Everybody was more or less in disbelief.
07:49How can this happen?
07:51How did it happen?
07:52The investigation focused on what Karina Cooper had told detectives at the scene,
07:56that someone had broken in.
07:58The initial conversation of this, that it was, you know, a stranger came in.
08:03A stranger did this.
08:04Somebody broke into the house.
08:06There was a lot of uneasiness.
08:08And on that first day, detectives needed a better idea of what Karina Cooper saw and did.
08:15We've got to kind of regroup here.
08:17We're going to try our best to get to the bottom of this, okay?
08:20Detectives from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations, the DCI, took over the questioning.
08:50The next step at that point is to first try to make a determination about,
08:56who might have a motive to commit a crime like this.
09:00That's what we're here to try to find out and figure out.
09:02But you went around and didn't see anything, hear anything unusual,
09:06didn't hear any cars speeding away,
09:08didn't hear any talking or communicating that was going on inside the house at all.
09:12Is it that one-story, two-story home?
09:15Story and a half.
09:16Story and a half.
09:16And you didn't see anybody flee or anything like that?
09:20Nothing that gave you concern that at least someone was still in the home?
09:25Or did you think at the time someone was in there?
09:28I don't know.
09:29I was just nervous, just scared.
09:31Okay.
09:33I don't really feel like I thought anybody was in the house until I saw him.
09:37Okay.
09:38And I saw blood.
09:40Yeah.
09:42I don't know.
09:43I just started screaming.
09:45Okay.
09:47What about in the last few days or like the last week?
09:50Is there anything out of the ordinary with him or maybe between the two of you or anything like that?
09:58But detectives knew there was something Karina was not telling them.
10:15It was the talk of the town.
10:17Ron, I'm live just outside the home here.
10:19Live shots from Trayer and outside the Cooper residence.
10:23It was a big deal.
10:26And as rumors swirled in this small Iowa town, friends of Ryan and Karina Cooper recalled there had been frictions
10:33in the marriage.
10:34When she got herself dolled up, she was a pretty good-looking lady.
10:38I think she wanted a lot of newer things.
10:41She wanted a little bit more glamorous life than living in the old farmhouse.
10:45She wanted to build a new house.
10:47But Karina had told detectives her marriage with Ryan was good.
10:50No relations between the two of you?
10:53No.
10:54Okay.
10:57We didn't get married until we were mid-30s.
11:00We've been through all that garbage.
11:04Yeah.
11:10We have plans.
11:12Okay, so no affairs of any kind?
11:15No.
11:15Better than we have been in a while.
11:18Kids are finally getting older and we can breathe again.
11:23All right, well, let's give us a couple minutes here and we'll be back, okay?
11:29The detectives left the room without telling Karina what they had been hearing about a man by the name of
11:34Houston Danker.
11:36Like, everybody in the community started saying, hey, Houston Danker.
11:39Hey, I think I remember seeing Houston Danker and her together.
11:43Danker was a 22-year-old farmhand, 20 years younger than Karina, who Ryan's brother Aaron said had been sending
11:50messages to Karina.
11:51What can you tell me about your relationship with Houston?
11:59Danker?
11:59Yeah.
12:01My friend?
12:02Okay.
12:03And I'm going to be blunt with you and be forward with you.
12:06The only reason we ask is Aaron made mention about maybe Ryan's seeing something on your Snapchat.
12:14Not that that was Houston, but maybe there was something with your Snapchat.
12:20Last fall, there was a Snapchat that wasn't even meant for me.
12:26Okay.
12:27Tell me about that.
12:28Supposedly.
12:29Ryan saw it, not me.
12:31And he told me about it.
12:33It was something about a married woman and naked, seeing her naked or something like that.
12:39Okay.
12:40And Ryan saw it and confronted me, and I confronted Houston, who were friends, on Snapchat, and that's it.
12:48And that was the end of it.
12:50So he said that he sent it to the wrong person.
12:57This is dumb.
12:58Well, we're trying to get to the bottom of dumb.
13:01Oh, my God.
13:02We're just making sure that all the questions are answered.
13:05Has Houston seen you naked?
13:07No.
13:08God, no.
13:10He's 22 years old.
13:12Oh, I...
13:14No.
13:15To each their own.
13:16I'm just...
13:16Stupid town and their...
13:18Rumors.
13:19No.
13:20Okay.
13:21I cut his hand.
13:22Okay.
13:23I watched his kids a couple times when his babysitter flaked.
13:27Okay.
13:28Oh, my God.
13:29We don't know unless we ask.
13:32Right?
13:33Right?
13:40So, and I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but it's safe to say that nothing is going
13:43on between you and Houston.
13:45Absolutely not.
13:46When's the last time you socially interacted with Houston or cut his hair or anything like that?
13:56Last fall.
13:58Okay.
13:59Okay.
14:01That's the last I've spoke with him.
14:03Okay.
14:05Like I said, we get information and sometimes we have to ask stupid questions.
14:14Hours later, Houston Danker was brought in for questioning.
14:17Let's grab a seat.
14:18Yeah.
14:19Actually, if you can grab a seat here, it'd be great.
14:20Let me go.
14:21It's easier for me to write.
14:22Yeah.
14:23Okay.
14:25Ryan Cooper died in one of the first, I don't know, in the first hours someone said,
14:31Hey, we heard that Karina was having an affair with Houston.
14:36That's why you're here.
14:37Okay?
14:37Yeah.
14:38Okay.
14:38But the rumor's out there, so we have to talk to you, right?
14:40Yep.
14:41Because there's no point in you to kind of dance.
14:43If you were screwing around with her or whatever, it doesn't make you a killer or anything like that.
14:49Right?
14:50Guess what?
14:51People have affairs all the time.
14:54Right.
14:54Okay?
14:55Yep.
14:55So, I don't want you to get too nervous.
14:58No.
14:58Because if you had an affair with Karina, it doesn't make you guilty of anything other than you had an
15:03affair with her.
15:04Right.
15:05Well, I'll put it this way.
15:07I'll completely dumb it down.
15:08So, like, with me and Karina, the hard thing with all that rumor being spread is I was literally sitting
15:15there like a, I would say, a gay best friend.
15:18You described it as, like, your gay friend or how do you describe it?
15:22I, the best way I could put it is, yeah, just a gay best friend, you know?
15:27What he was trying to say is he was a confidant and a friend to her and someone that had
15:32a close relationship to her, but it was platonic and not sexual.
15:36Houston Danker was told he was free to go.
15:39All right.
15:40Hey, you know, I appreciate you coming down as quickly as you did.
15:42Yeah.
15:43Cool.
15:44You got my phone number and all that?
15:45Oh, yeah.
15:46I'll call you if I need you.
15:47Yeah.
15:49Now, the focus was out at the Cooper farmhouse.
15:52There was no murder weapon recovered, but police did find a .22 caliber bullet casing.
15:59It was determined through autopsy that Ryan Cooper had suffered two gunshots to the face.
16:04So there's one shell casing that's missing.
16:07Of great interest to detectives, there was no evidence of a break-in or any stranger coming or going that
16:13night.
16:14And detectives wondered how a stranger could get by the family guard dog named Ransom.
16:23Help him!
16:25And this was a 90, 100-pound Rottweiler that was extremely aggressive.
16:32I don't know that anybody that can sneak into a house and shoot someone and a dog not even hear
16:37it or get up or alert to it.
16:39And the questions about Karina's version of events and about her marriage continued to grow.
16:47We were at their house one evening.
16:49That's when she said that she hated him and wanted to shoot him in the face.
16:53She said, I hate you.
16:55I could shoot you in the face.
17:00Just the look in her face that night when she said that, I was just like, whoa!
17:11First, I'm going to have you step in here.
17:14You're going to take a seat right there.
17:16I'm just going to close the door for our privacy.
17:19On day two of the investigation, Karina Cooper was brought in for another round of questions.
17:25A lot of things were starting to not make sense.
17:29There's just a few things we want to go back through and just a couple things that we noticed out
17:32there that, hey, we just want to clarify.
17:35Starting with the dog.
17:37Somebody said you guys have maybe a Rottweiler.
17:39We have a Rottweiler.
17:40Okay.
17:40Where was the dog on Thursday night?
17:43He was in the bedroom with me.
17:45Okay.
17:46And he barks at everything.
17:47Okay.
17:48And he woke up when I woke up to the noise and let out a little, but it wasn't even
17:55loud enough, like I said, to wake the dog.
17:57And he doesn't give out a bark.
17:59Just the low roof, the warning.
18:02We just give us, please be patient.
18:04Just give us two more minutes.
18:06Detectives had been prepared to share the autopsy results.
18:09This is really weird.
18:10Like, we've been talking to her for 20 to 30 minutes.
18:13She doesn't even ask how her husband's been killed.
18:15So, they make a plan to how they're going to now approach her and basically say, we know you were
18:24involved.
18:24I'm going to tell you that the autopsy you found, but I think you already know.
18:31He was shot, wasn't he?
18:35I swear I don't know that I knew somebody was in the house.
18:39Okay.
18:41Was he?
18:42I'll tell you that he was shot.
18:47But Karina, that's, that's where, that's where I think the story turns.
18:53Okay.
18:55I don't think anyone else is in that house.
18:57Me?
19:02I don't even know how to find, what?
19:05Hey, I'm just, I'm just telling you.
19:09I don't think, I don't think anyone else is in that house.
19:14It wasn't him, and it wasn't me.
19:16It wasn't him.
19:18And it wasn't me.
19:20How was it me?
19:23Karina, no one else is in that house.
19:26Besides you and the three kids.
19:30It wasn't.
19:31How could you even say this?
19:33It's me.
19:39It wasn't me doing a, what?
19:43I don't even know how to fire a gun.
19:45Well, I think you knew how to fire a gun on Thursday night.
19:48No, I didn't.
19:50No one else is in that house.
19:52I was in bed.
19:56If you think I killed my husband, then obviously I need a lawyer.
20:00Well, that's up to you.
20:01I'm leaving without a lawyer.
20:03How can you say this?
20:04Why would you think I killed my husband?
20:06Because I think that this is a preventive solution to a temporary problem.
20:12Whatever's happening between you and your husband, whatever the issues are, okay?
20:17There are no issues.
20:18There are no issues.
20:20Because my husband sleeps in a chair in the living room?
20:23I'm not saying...
20:24Because rumors flew last fall that I was sleeping with some kid that he even said was ridiculous and apologized
20:33to me for?
20:34We've been fine.
20:36Never once did either one of us ever say that we were going to leave.
20:40Never once did we doubt our marriage, our kids, our family.
20:45We have plans.
20:46I would never...
20:48I've been pulled.
20:50I just knew he got shot.
20:52And so that means I shot him?
20:53How else would there be all that blood?
20:57Karina, there's...
20:58things that we can always prove and can't prove, right?
21:01Then prove it.
21:02Prove that one.
21:04Karina, listen.
21:05Okay?
21:06Just listen.
21:07We're not yelling at you.
21:08You're accusing me of killing my husband.
21:10Well, there's a difference between killing someone and acting out of character, right?
21:17I did not shoot my husband.
21:20This is insane.
21:23I'm leaving.
21:24How do I leave?
21:25We can work out.
21:30And she just gets up and she goes to take off.
21:33She didn't admit to anything.
21:34But they're like, this is just the strangest thing ever.
21:38But to the dismay of the Cooper family and friends in Tama County, no charges were brought
21:44against Karina.
21:45She was even able to collect on her husband's $500,000 life insurance policy.
21:51She told me straight to my face that she didn't do it.
21:56You know, that she had no part of it.
21:58I mean, someone else had to have taken my husband.
22:01We were probably going about two and a half years into the case.
22:04And it kind of seemed like it was just, it was stagnant and it wasn't going anywhere.
22:09It just kind of fizzled out, if you will.
22:15It finally led a frustrated Deputy Killian to go to the state capitol and personally confront
22:21the Attorney General, Renna Byrd, complaining her prosecutors were dragging their feet.
22:26She said that, you're right, you're going to get a new attorney signed to this case.
22:30And I would say within 90 days is where we made the arrest of Karina Cooper.
22:36Ron, I'm live just outside the home here, where three years ago, it was the scene of
22:41a murder that rocked this community.
22:44Today, officials say they arrested Ryan's wife, Karina, for his murder.
22:48The key for the new prosecutor was the clotting in the pool of blood found next to Ryan, indicating
22:54he had been shot long before Karina called 911.
22:59It would be very difficult for those two blood pools to form in the way that she had described
23:03in that period of time.
23:06And then a bombshell, when after a long legal delay, Snapchat finally turned over a series
23:13of messages between Karina and Houston Danker.
23:16And those Snapchat messages indicated an affair that seemed very serious and seemed as though
23:23it had been fairly lengthy.
23:26That affair included conversations about perhaps being together long-term, having children together,
23:33perhaps moving away together.
23:35Most disturbing on the night of the homicide was communication at about 3.30 in the morning
23:40between the two parties.
23:43Houston Danker says that he's going to be essentially coming over because he needs to, quote, get this
23:47done, and he mentions to Karina, don't forget the shell casings.
23:54She sends him a heart emoji and she says the word, go.
23:58That certainly was a smoking gun.
24:01And it was now more than enough to arrest Houston Danker and also charge him with the murder of
24:07Ryan Cooper.
24:08The question at trial would be, who actually pulled the trigger?
24:21The murder trial for Karina Cooper starts today in Lynn County after a judge moved it out
24:27of Tama County.
24:28She seemed like the Midwestern mother that you'd expect, this normal mom of three who's
24:34cutting your hair and talking to you at sporting events.
24:39You almost felt this sadness, this pity for her in a way.
24:44And prosecutors worry the jury might have a hard time accepting that a wife and a mother
24:49could have carried out such a murder.
24:52One of our concerns was just the heinous nature of the crime itself.
24:56The children were present in the home when it occurred.
24:58It's really difficult for someone to understand that a parent could do that.
25:02Karina Cooper was not just an unfaithful wife.
25:06She was not just a wife who wanted, as a text message will show you, to leave Trey, Iowa for
25:16a better life, in a sunnier place, with a younger man.
25:25The evidence will show you that she was not just dishonest, but that she was manipulative,
25:30that she's a co-conspirator.
25:33Karina Cooper's alleged co-conspirator, Houston Danker, was set to face his own murder charges
25:39once this trial was completed.
25:41A plan was being hatched by these two lovers, the defendant and Houston Danker, to kill Rand
25:49Cooper.
25:50She tells Houston Danker, I f***ing hate him.
25:55Houston Danker says, in these text messages, I gotta get this s*** done.
26:00And Karina's, the defendant's response is, go!
26:07And then, the text message prosecutors considered the smoking gun.
26:12Remember those shell casings.
26:16No f***ing ifs and buts.
26:18Remember those shell casings.
26:20We will ask you, at the end of this trial, to hold Karina Sue Cooper accountable for planning
26:32and cutting out her husband's murder, head in hand, with her lover.
26:39Thank you very much.
26:41That's right.
26:42Karina Cooper's lawyer, Nicole Watt, stuck to a single theme and a single name.
26:48Houston Danker, Houston Danker, Houston Danker killed Ryan Cooper.
26:55Houston Danker shot Ryan Cooper in the face.
27:00Houston Danker solicited Karina.
27:02Houston Danker manipulated Karina.
27:05Houston Danker lured Karina.
27:07Karina Cooper was in a dream world, and then it became real, and then she was in too deep.
27:16She did not want her husband dead.
27:18She did not want his life insurance money.
27:20You'll see, you'll hear, nobody rode off into the sunset to the mountains.
27:25Houston Danker killed Ryan Cooper.
27:27Please, as you hear the evidence in this case, keep an open mind.
27:30Don't rush to judgment.
27:32And at the end, we'll ask that you find her not guilty.
27:39Yes, Your Honor, the state would call Aaron Cooper.
27:43One of the prosecution's first witnesses was Ryan Cooper's brother, Aaron.
27:49Can you explain how long you worked together in farming?
27:55As long as I can remember.
27:57Okay.
27:58Ever since you were kids?
27:59Yep.
28:00The jury had already seen the body cam video of the bloody murder scene, and Aaron Cooper
28:06described what Karina was doing.
28:08He said that she's sitting on top of him.
28:10She's got her face against his face.
28:12Did you ever see her attempt to render aid?
28:15No.
28:15Did you ever see her attempt to perform CPR?
28:18No.
28:19Did she ask you to perform CPR?
28:21No.
28:22Did you have, after Ryan died, did you have a visitation for him?
28:25Yes.
28:25You attended that visitation?
28:27Yes.
28:27Was Karina there?
28:28Yes.
28:29Did you have any observations of her behavior at that visitation?
28:35Theatrical.
28:41Can you just give us your first name and your last name spelled for us, please?
28:44Sure.
28:44Teresa McBride.
28:46I made eye contact with her once, and that, that was tough.
28:50But I was angry with her because she had lied, and having her sitting right there watching
28:56me tell everybody what she had said, it was hard.
29:03Did you ever see her or hear her make any threats towards Ryan?
29:07Yes, I did.
29:08How many times?
29:10Well, the one that stands out in my mind is the night that she yelled at him and said that
29:18she hated him and would shoot him in the face.
29:22Those witnesses came in and did a fantastic job navigating that kind of emotional minefield
29:27and just talking about what they knew.
29:29So now, Karina Cooper told the judge she would take the stand herself to tell the jury her
29:35side of the story.
29:46Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you'll be giving in these proceedings will
29:50be the truth?
29:51I do, Your Honor.
29:52Okay.
29:52I think with the strength of the evidence that was presented, her only option was to attempt
29:57to rebut it.
30:00How would you characterize the nature of your relationship with Ryan in general?
30:04I guess, was it good?
30:06Was it bad?
30:07Generally speaking, I would call it good, normal.
30:10I want to talk about the relationship with Houston.
30:13How did you meet him?
30:15Technically, by cutting his hair.
30:18Like others have said, it's a small town.
30:20I knew of him for years, but I started cutting his hair is how I met him.
30:25So is it fair to say that Houston is maybe giving you some attention that you weren't necessarily
30:30getting from Ryan at that time?
30:32Yes.
30:33But Karina said they only had sex once.
30:36I cut his hair and we had sex.
30:41And then you stopped cutting his hair?
30:47What was the purpose?
30:48Why did you stop cutting his hair?
30:50Because I had sex with him.
30:52And I didn't want him around and I didn't want that chance of that happening ever again.
30:59It was an online fantasy thing.
31:03And when it became a physical and worse thing, I was disgusted and scared of losing my husband.
31:12Did Houston talk about killing Ryan?
31:15Several times.
31:17Did you ever take him seriously?
31:20No, I thought he was full of crap.
31:23He liked to brag about how he knew powerful people and his dad knew dangerous people.
31:29And he insinuated that he had been involved in some other crimes.
31:35I guess we do have these Snapchats about shell casings.
31:40What's going on?
31:42Again, it's not the first time that that had been talked about.
31:47I didn't take him seriously.
31:48And she stuck by the story she had told police, that she discovered her husband after something woke her up.
31:55What wakes you up?
31:57Crashing noise.
32:00Did your kids wake up at any gunshots?
32:03No.
32:04And Karina now claims that Houston had done it on his own.
32:08Then when the police get there, why didn't you tell them?
32:13Houston shot my husband.
32:15I'm so scared.
32:17I'm so scared.
32:19I was scared.
32:20I was panicked.
32:21I instantly thought I was being set up in one of his plots that he laid out all the time
32:28through Snapchat.
32:32I panicked.
32:34And then did you continue to lie to law enforcement for years?
32:40I did.
32:42I was also being threatened by Houston for over a year and a half afterwards.
32:47Ryan was killed with your three children home.
32:51Would you ever orchestrate the murder of your husband with your three kids home?
32:56Never.
32:57Did you participate in the death of your husband?
33:01No.
33:04We're having other questions.
33:06Thank you, Karina.
33:07Mr. Kodiaga, cross-examination.
33:09My cross-examination started by focusing first on Ryan Cooper and establishing those things that she cannot deny.
33:17You state you loved Ryan Cooper?
33:20Yes.
33:21You loved him?
33:22Yes.
33:24You are the lover?
33:26That's what you call him.
33:28Yes.
33:29What do you call him?
33:30I called him an online inappropriate relationship.
33:36When I hear lover, I assume sexual partners.
33:39It's just the way I perceive it.
33:41And then the prosecutor had Karina read some of the Snapchat messages that she and Houston Danker had exchanged.
33:47You want me to read it?
33:48Yeah.
33:49Good morning, baby.
33:51You would have woke up to your horny wife's hand wrapped around your this morning, just so you know.
33:56And then a message where Karina refers to Ryan as her children's sperm donor.
34:01The person you just referred to as a sperm donor, that's your husband, Ryan Cooper, who you tell this jury
34:11you loved so dearly.
34:13That's how you showed your love to Ryan Cooper, correct?
34:16I think we all called people that we love names at times.
34:20I asked you, is it a yes or no question?
34:23Yes.
34:24I could feel it crumbling.
34:26I could feel it being snappy.
34:30Unable to answer some of those questions.
34:32It was hard to answer them.
34:35More than one occasion, you told Ryan Cooper that you hated him.
34:43Yes.
34:46In front of France, you told Ryan Cooper that you'd shoot him in the face.
34:51I deny ever saying that.
34:54What is the next text message and who sends it?
34:59That he sends?
35:00Yeah.
35:01Going to sleep with my hand on your p*** very soon.
35:06Going to sleep with my hand on your p*** very soon, correct?
35:12Correct.
35:13You send a text message to your lover saying,
35:17I will be your wife and he tells you very soon he will have his hands on your most private
35:27of parts on that same night your husband is dead.
35:33That and many others, yes.
35:36Then he says, remember those casings.
35:41F*** remember those.
35:43No ifs, ends, or buts.
35:46You know what those casings are because you say,
35:50absolutely,
35:52a hundred percent.
35:54That was the snapchat I sent, yes.
35:59Absolutely, a hundred percent.
36:02Correct?
36:04Correct.
36:04It cannot be clearer than that.
36:16Mr. Ringel, are you prepared to present a closing argument on behalf of the state?
36:20Yes, judge.
36:24Oh, here's the bonus.
36:25She's in love with Mrs. Baker.
36:28She wants to have his kids.
36:30Start a new level.
36:31What I wanted to leave the jury with was,
36:34from start to finish,
36:36there's only one individual who could have committed this crime.
36:40Why?
36:43Why would you sit
36:45on your dead husband
36:47who had just been shot
36:48and rub your face all over his face?
36:52Directly over the wounds.
36:55Soaking your face
36:57and hair with his blood.
36:59Because you shot it
37:01and you're covered in backspatter,
37:03which you did not anticipate,
37:05so you had to come up with a pretty quick plan.
37:09This was what she came up with.
37:11She's guilty
37:13of murder in the first degree.
37:15Beyond a reasonable doubt,
37:17we're asking that you find her guilty.
37:21Ms. Watt, are you prepared to proceed?
37:23Yes, Your Honor.
37:24She never would have done that
37:27with her children home.
37:29She never.
37:31And nobody has said that she would have.
37:33She did engage in reckless behavior
37:34and talking to Houston
37:35and not cutting it off
37:37and having all these conversations.
37:38It was reckless.
37:39She's getting attention
37:40from some knucklehead on Snapchat.
37:42And she likes it.
37:43And she's living
37:45in a fantasy and a dream world
37:47until he does it.
37:49I think the defense strength
37:51in their case
37:51was sympathy
37:52to present
37:54Corrina Cooper
37:57as a
37:58manipulated woman
38:00who fell into
38:02the dark web
38:04spanned by
38:05Houston Dinker.
38:07And prosecutors
38:08were never able to prove
38:09with certainty
38:10who actually
38:11pulled the trigger.
38:13She didn't do it.
38:15She wouldn't do that.
38:16She would not do that
38:17to her children.
38:19She may be an idiot
38:20in her relationship
38:21with Houston.
38:24But she
38:24didn't
38:25participate
38:26in the murder
38:28of her husband.
38:31Please
38:32think it through.
38:35Find her not guilty.
38:40The jury was out
38:42for three hours.
38:43The hottest part
38:44for
38:45a prosecutor
38:47is waiting
38:48for the jury
38:48to come back.
38:49You always think
38:50of all the things
38:50you could have said,
38:51all the arguments
38:52you could have made.
38:55All right,
38:56I have a former verdict.
38:58Form of verdict two.
39:02We the jury
39:06find a defendant.
39:07You have blood
39:08all over you.
39:09I need somebody
39:10to come get my kids.
39:11Karina Cooper.
39:12Stupid
39:12talent
39:13in their
39:15rumors.
39:16No.
39:16Guilty
39:17of the offense
39:17of murder
39:18in the first degree.
39:19Dated this 11th
39:20day of July
39:212025.
39:24She just
39:24kind of shook
39:25her head
39:25and that was
39:26about it.
39:28For the first time,
39:29her sadness
39:30looked genuine.
39:31And I don't think
39:32it was for
39:33anyone else
39:34in the world
39:34except for herself.
39:37I couldn't
39:38be more happier.
39:45One month later,
39:47Houston Danker
39:47pleaded guilty
39:48to first degree murder.
39:50I think that
39:50Houston saw
39:51the way
39:52that the jury
39:53found Karina guilty
39:54after three hours
39:56of deliberation
39:56and realized
39:58that it wasn't
40:00going to work out
40:00any better for him.
40:02Danker was
40:03sentenced to
40:03life in prison
40:04without the
40:05possibility
40:06of parole.
40:06And when he
40:08got back
40:08to the jail,
40:09Houston made
40:10the comments,
40:10well,
40:11how did my hair
40:11look?
40:16Your Honor,
40:17as I said,
40:18my name is
40:18Heather Cooper.
40:19Ryan was
40:20my brother-in-law.
40:21What kind of
40:22sick person
40:22does that?
40:23Was it worth it?
40:24This online
40:25you say relationship,
40:26was it worth it?
40:28Awful,
40:29deceiving person,
40:30she deserves
40:30the worst.
40:31Last,
40:32I will care
40:32to give her
40:33any thought.
40:34She can now
40:34go.
40:36to prison.
40:37Well,
40:38today's the day.
40:41The day I can
40:42finally speak out
40:44about how
40:44this narcissistic
40:46psychopath
40:49made the
40:50incomprehensible
40:51choice
40:51to rid her
40:53pathetic life
40:54of my brother,
40:58Ryan Cooper.
41:00even more
41:01than being a farmer,
41:02he wanted
41:02to be a dad.
41:06Nothing made
41:07him prouder
41:08and more
41:08overjoyed
41:09than having
41:10a family
41:10of his own.
41:11Ryan was
41:12sentenced to
41:12death
41:13by this
41:14murderer.
41:15Those of us
41:16left on earth
41:17were sentenced
41:18to life
41:18without Ryan.
41:19family.
41:22There is no
41:23justice.
41:24There will be
41:25no forgiveness.
41:27What I hope
41:28for now
41:28is simply
41:29closure.
41:31I will waste
41:32no time
41:32and no energy
41:33in addressing
41:34you about that.
41:36My full,
41:37complete,
41:38and final message
41:38to you
41:39is go
41:40to hell.
41:43Thank you,
41:44Your Honor.
41:47I will say
41:48this was a
41:49senseless crime.
41:50Mr. Cooper
41:51was a hardworking,
41:53kind,
41:53generous man
41:54who loved
41:54his children
41:55and his
41:55many friends.
41:56Ms. Cooper,
41:57your actions,
41:58whether you
41:59were the one
41:59who shot
42:00Mr. Cooper
42:00or whether
42:02as a result
42:03of aiding
42:03and abetting
42:04Euston Danker
42:06resulted in
42:07his death,
42:08they deprived
42:08your children
42:10of not only
42:12a father
42:12but of a mother.
42:13Ms. Cooper
42:14is adjudicated
42:15to be guilty
42:15of the offense
42:16of murdering
42:16the first degree.
42:17She is sentenced
42:18to life in prison
42:19without the
42:20possibility of parole.
42:27The Cooper's
42:28children are now
42:29being raised
42:29by their Uncle Aaron.
42:31And you can tell
42:32by the pictures
42:34of those kids
42:35that they're
42:36doing all right.
42:37The smiles
42:37are coming back.
42:39This kind of stuff
42:40doesn't happen
42:41in small-town
42:41rural America.
42:42It was horrible.
42:46Whether she did it,
42:47pulled the trigger,
42:48or whether Houston
42:49pulled the trigger,
42:50they both needed
42:51to be punished
42:53for what they did.
42:55He was a great man
42:56taken way too soon
42:58for very selfish reasons.
43:00Anyla
43:01a
43:01a
43:01a
43:02a
43:04a
43:06You
Comments