CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Court TV) — An Iowa woman is facing life in prison without parole if convicted of murdering her husband.
According to an affidavit, Ryan Cooper was found with two gunshot wounds to his face in their Traer home on June 18, 2021. A deputy noted Ryan’s body was in a recliner and his wife, Karina Cooper, was sitting on top of him. The couple’s three children were also in the home.
FILE – Karina Cooper and Huston Danker (Iowa Department of Public Safety)
Deputies found no gun at the scene but did recover a .22 shell casing.
The case went unsolved for nearly three years until Karina was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in February 2024. Two months later, co-defendant Huston Danker was also arrested on a first-degree murder charge for “acting in concert” with Karina to kill Ryan. Danker is currently scheduled to go to trial in August.
In their opening statement, prosecutors alleged Karina and Danker were having an affair and plotted to kill Ryan to collect $500,000 in life insurance. The defense argued that Danker alone killed Ryan, describing him as a manipulative lover who pulled Karina into a “fantasy of starting a new family.”
DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS
DAY 4 – 7/8/25
- VIDEO: IA v. Karina Cooper, Day 4 | Widow’s Words Murder Trial
- Forensic analyst Kenneth Martin testified to the crime scene where Ryan Cooper was found, focusing on bloodstain patterns.
- WATCH: Expert: Karina Cooper ‘Altered the Scene’ By Sitting On Ryan
- Martin noted the presence of stippling on Ryan’s face, which is indicative of a close-range shooting, and emphasized there were no exit wounds.
- Specific bloodstains were discussed regarding the positioning of the body at the time of the shooting as well as footprints and potential contamination of the scene.
- DCI criminalist Steve Tvrdik testified about the footwear impressions found at the crime scene, saying they did not match a pair of muck boots found at the scene.
- Tvrdik tested two doorknobs for fingerprints but was not able to find any suitable for comparison.
- DCI criminalist Brenda Reinhard testified about evidence collected from the Cooper home.
- Michelle Wilson, Ryan Cooper’s older sister, testified about her work as the accountant/bookkeeper for the family business, Cooper Farms.
- Wilson said after Ryan’s death she noticed a bill for Karina’s phone account with a Post-It note on it that had “Huston D.” written on it with a phone number.
- Wilson said there were interests Karina wanted to pursue that Ryan didn’t agree with, such as remodeling their house or getting a second home.
DAY 3 – 7/7/25
- VIDEO: IA v. Karina Cooper, Day 3 | Widow’s Words Murder Trial
- Iowa DCI special agent Jon Turbett testified about his May 4, 2023, interview with Karina Cooper. She gave a timeline of the night Ryan died but didn’t mention being awake at 3:30 a.m. or messaging Huston Danker. When asked about electronic evidence, she became irritated and told him to leave. As he walked out, she said if she knew who killed Ryan, she would have “killed that motherfucker,” and added she was hiring a private investigator.
- Kirstie Seda testified Karina became distant from the friend group in late 2020 and said she was frustrated Ryan didn’t support her financially. Seda said Karina talked about “taking him for everything” and mentioned seeing flirtatious Snapchat messages between Karina and Danker.
- Carmen Earhardt said Karina and Ryan argued often and that Karina once pulled another woman’s hair during a confrontation. She recalled Karina complaining Ryan would spend money on himself but not help with home projects she wanted done.
- WATCH: IA v. Karina Cooper: Key Moments from Day 3
- Teresa McBride and Leroy Bradley both testified they heard Karina say she wanted to shoot Ryan in the face. McBride placed the comment in 2018; Bradley thought it was in fall 2020.
- Brian Morrison, Ryan’s best friend, said that he witnessed Karina threaten her husband on multiple occasions.
- A bank employee testified Karina’s accounts were repeatedly overdrawn in the months before Ryan’s death, and an insurance agent confirmed Karina was the sole beneficiary on two of Ryan’s life insurance policies totaling more than half a million dollars. These claims were paid out to Karina Cooper as the criminal investigation continued.
- A hearing on the admissibility of Danker’s October 2023 interview was held outside the jury’s presence. It was allowed under the concealment exception. The defense later played part of Danker’s June 2021 interview, where he was asked if he was “messing around” with Karina and replied that he was her “gay best friend.”
DAY 2 – 7/3/25
- VIDEO: IA v. Karina Cooper, Day 2 | Widow’s Words Murder Trial
- Iowa DCI criminalist Andrew Gladfelter walked jurors through an array of crime scene photos, highlighting a massive pool of blood near Ryan Cooper’s recliner and additional blood stains on the living room door and surrounding areas.
- He testified there was no evidence of forced entry on any doors or garage and casted doubt on an unknown intruder being involved or robbery as a motive, noting that while processing the scene, he found items of obvious value left in plain view inside the house, garages, and vehicles.
- Jurors were then shown a stream of sexually explicit and affectionate Snapchat and iMessage exchanges between Karina Cooper and Huston Danker, brought in through detective Tiffany Lord, a digital forensics investigator at the University of Iowa police department.
- Karina and Huston Danker’s messages included graphic sexual references and discussion of their relationship, including plans to try IVF if her planned tubal ligation reversal surgery was unsuccessful. At 3:31 a.m., the morning of the homicide, Danker sent Karina Cooper a Snapchat message: “Remember those casings.”
- Lord also read aloud a string of Google searches from Danker’s phone, including: “best ways to kill somebody with no way for anybody to find out who did it,” “how to positively get away with murder,” “how to delete Snapchat data.”
- Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman, the case agent, was the day‘s final witness. The State brought in portions of Herman’s interviews of Karina Cooper on June 18 and 19, 2021, respectively.
- Herman explained that potential romantic involvement with Huston Danker came to his attention mid-interview on June 18.
- WATCH: Widow’s Words Murder Trial: Police Interview of Defendant Karina Cooper
- During a break in the interview, Herman learned that Karina’s brother-in-law, Aaron Cooper, who was being interviewed at the same time, alerted his colleagues that Ryan had seen a Snapchat notification on Karina’s phone from Danker referencing a married woman and having “seen you naked.” This prompted agents to ask Karina about Danker when her interview resumed. Karina forcefully denied any intimate relationship and told investigators she thought the Snapchat message incident was a “non-issue” after Danker offered assurances the message had been meant for someone else.
- WATCH: Widow’s Words Murder Trial: Day 2 Recap
DAY 1 – 7/2/25
- VIDEO: IA v. Karina Cooper, Day 1 | Widow’s Words Murder Trial
- The State’s opening argument, delivered by Assistant Attorney General Israel J. Kodiaga, detailed allegations that Karina Cooper and her lover, Huston Danker, planned Ryan Cooper’s murder to collect $500,000 in life insurance.
- Kodiaga described inconsistencies in Karina’s account of events; for one, health app data recovered from Karina’s phone indicated 170 steps inside the house from 4:23 to 4:33 a.m., totaling nearly 400 feet of movement. An hour before the 911 call, Danker messaged Karina, “I’m gonna get this shit done,” and she replied “go,” Kodiaga said.
- Kodiaga told jurors that it was just one example of numerous recovered messages from Karina to Danker before (“I f–king hate him” and “I’m wishing for a rogue semi accident, no survivors.”) during and after her husband was shot dead in the family home.
- Public defender Nichole Watt’s opening was relatively brief; she argued Danker alone killed Ryan, described him as a manipulative lover who pulled Karina into a “fantasy of starting a new family,” noted she had her tubes tied making future kids impossible, and said she neither wanted Ryan dead nor received his insurance money, which remains in trust for their children.
- Two Tama County sheriff’s deputies testified there were no signs of forced entry, broken doors, or missing property.
- Before calling 911, Karina called Ryan’s older brother, Aaron Cooper, a volunteer firefighter who lived just a few minutes away.
- Aaron Cooper took the stand Wednesday afternoon and told the jury he immediately called 911 while pulling out of his driveway to help after receiving the call. He made the short drive to their home and found Karina on top of Ryan’s blood-soaked body on the recliner, screaming hysterically with her face resting up against Ryan’s, but not attempting CPR.
- WATCH: Widow’s Words Murder Trial: Jury Shown Photos of Deceased Victim
- Aaron also testified that about two weeks after Ryan’s death, Karina called him—having seen news reports that a shell casing had been found at the scene—and asked him what a “shell casing” was and what its discovery meant. He found the question odd because he knew Karina had been around hunters, guns, and ammunition frequently through her husband and sons.
- Karina and Ryan’s son, who is now 15 years old, testified he usually slept on the living room couch next to his dad’s recliner because he had been scared to sleep alone, but said he wasn’t down there the night of the killing because Karina had asked him to stop sleeping downstairs just a few days prior.
- WATCH: Widow’s Words Murder Trial: Day 1 Recap
