>>> TONIGHT, ON "DATELINE"--
OH, MY GOD. KARINA, SIT UP, KARINA.
SHE SAID, I JUST DROVE BY THE COOPERS, AND SOMETHING IS WRONG.
THERE'S POLICE AND AMBULANCES THERE.
MY MOM SAID, "I JUST GOT A PHONE CALL THAT RYAN IS DEAD."
I APPROACHED RYAN, AND I OBSERVE A BULLET HOLE.
HE WAS SHOT TWICE. SOMEBODY CAME INTO MY HOUSE
AND KILLED MY HUSBAND! WHEN YOU GET A CASE LIKE
THIS, YOU CONSIDER ALL POSSIBLE SUSPECTS.
HUSTON IS KNOWN AS A LADIES MAN WHO HAD A PARTICULAR
AFFINITY FOR OLDER WOMEN. HE WAS INTO THE COUGARS?
I WOULD SAY SO. SOMETIMES KAREN COULD DRIFT
INTO BAD KAREN? YEAH, WHEN SHE HAD WAY TOO
MUCH TO DRINK. LAW ENFORCEMENT RECOVERED
SNAPCHAT MESSAGES. SNAPCHAT MESSAGES DON'T
ACTUALLY GO AWAY. THEY DON'T GO AWAY.
IT WAS HORRIBLE LANGUAGE. DISGUSTING.
IT'S PRETTY CLEAR EVIDENCE OF WHAT THEIR PLAN WAS.
THE TRUTH WAS COMING OUT FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW.
THAT WAS A TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW.
A BRUTAL MURDER ON A FAMILY FARM.
A PLOT "HATCHED" ON SNAPCHAT. I'M LESTER HOLT, AND THIS IS
"DATELINE." HERE'S ANDREA CANNING WITH "THE
FARMER'S WIFE."
Reporter: IT WAS JUNE 18th,
2021. NIGHT HAD SETTLED OVER THE CORN
FIELDS IN TRAER, IOWA. THE AIR WAS STILL AND QUIET.
RYAN COOPER, A FOURTH GENERATION FARMER, WAS HOME WITH HIS WIFE
KARINA AND THEIR THREE KIDS IN THE COMFORT OF THEIR FARMHOUSE.
RYAN HAD FALLEN ASLEEP ON THE LIVING ROOM RECLINER, NOT
UNUSUAL AFTER A LONG DAY WORKING THE LAND.
HIS YOUNGER BROTHER AARON LIVED JUST A MILE DOWN THE ROAD.
AND YOUR PHONE RINGS. ABOUT WHAT TIME WAS IT?
4:30. Reporter: IT WAS RYAN'S WIFE,
KARINA. SHE CALLED AND SCREAMING THAT
SOMEBODY WAS IN HER HOUSE. DID SHE GIVE ANY MORE DETAIL?
NO, IT WAS JUST SCREAMING AND FRANTIC AND COULDN'T REALLY MAKE
OUT TOO MUCH OF WHAT SHE WAS SAYING BESIDES SOMEBODY IS IN
HER HOUSE. GRABBED MY GUN AND HEADED
TOWARDS RYAN'S HOUSE. Reporter: DO YOU JUST HAUL IT
OVER THERE? TOP SPEED?
YEAH. Reporter: ON THE WAY, HE
CALLED 911. I JUST GOT A CALL FROM MY
SISTER-IN-LAW THAT SOMEBODY IS IN HER HOUSE.
OKAY, SOMEBODY IS IN HER HOUSE?
YEP. WE HAVE A FEMALE ON 911 BUT
CAN'T UNDERSTAND HER. Reporter: KARINA HAD ALSO
CALLED EMERGENCY DISPATCH. HELP!
Reporter: WHEN AARON ARRIVED
AT THE HOUSE, HE COULD HEAR KARINA.
I COULD HEAR HER SCREAMING STILL FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE, IN
MY PICKUP. Reporter: SO, THAT'S LOUD.
YEAH, IT WAS VERY LOUD. Reporter: AARON SAW HIS
11-YEAR-OLD NEPHEW CAYD AT THE WINDOW.
HE JUMPED OUT OF THE TRUCK, STILL ON THE PHONE WITH 911.
I AM ARMED. DO YOU WANT ME TO PROCEED?
YEAH. THE THREE KIDS JUST CAME OUT AND
TOLD ME TO COME OUT. OKAY.
SHE'S STILL SCREAMING. SO, I WENT IN THE HOUSE AND
WALKED IN THE LIVING ROOM, AND THAT'S WHEN I FOUND MY BROTHER.
WHAT THE [ BLEEP ]? WHAT THE [ BLEEP ]?
MY BROTHER'S DEAD. Reporter: AARON IS A
VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, SO HE'D SEEN DEATH BEFORE.
BUT NEVER LIKE THIS. THIS WAS HIS BROTHER.
WHAT THE [ BLEEP ]? WE NEED AN AMBULANCE NOW.
A LOT OF BLOOD ALL OVER BOTH OF THEM, BIG POOL ON THE FLOOR.
Reporter: AND WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE
THAT, AND WHAT DO YOU SAY? WHAT DO YOU DO?
I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER WHAT I DID.
I CHECKED FOR HIS PULSE, AND THERE WAS NO PULSE.
DO YOU KNOW IF HE HAS BEEN SHOT?
NO. HE HAS NOT, BUT THERE'S BLOOD
COMING OUT OF HIS MOUTH? AND EAR AND-- AND ALL OVER
ON THE FLOOR. IT WAS HORRIBLE.
WORST THING I'VE EVER SEEN. Reporter: MINUTES LATER, A
SHERIFF'S DEPUTY ARRIVED AND SPOKE WITH AARON.
WHAT'S GOING ON? MY BROTHER IS DEAD.
Reporter: RYAN WAS IN HIS RECLINER CHAIR, KARINA SITTING
ON TOP OF HIM, STILL WAILING. MA'AM, WHAT HAPPENED?
I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW.
Reporter: THE DEPUTY SEARCHED THE DARKENED ROOMS WITH A
FLASHLIGHT, MAKING SURE AN INTRUDER WASN'T INSIDE.
HE CALLED FOR BACKUP. 1079, IS 7 HEADED THIS WAY AS
WELL? THEY'RE ALMOST TO YOUR
LOCATION NOW. Reporter: TAMA COUNTY DEPUTY
TRAVIS FOSTER ARRIVED NEXT. AS I WALK TOWARDS THE HOUSE,
I COULD SEE TWO INDIVIDUALS, A MALE AND A FEMALE.
THE MALE WAS IDENTIFIED AS AARON COOPER, AND THE FEMALE WAS
FOUND TO BE, UH, KARINA COOPER. WHAT HAPPENED?
SHE SAID SHE HEARD SOMETHING IN THE HOUSE.
I ASKED AARON, UM, WHERE THE VICTIM WAS, AND HE ADVISED THAT
THE OTHER DEPUTY AND HIS BROTHER RYAN WERE INSIDE THE RESIDENCE
IN THE LIVING ROOM. WELL, I WALKED IN, AND RYAN'S
LEANING BACK IN HIS CHAIR, SLUMPED OVER.
SHE'S HYSTERICAL. ASSUMING THAT'S THE WIFE.
I THINK SO. COUNTY 7, GET A HOLD OF THE
M.E.'S OFFICE. ALSO ADVISE 86-1 WE HAVE ONE
DECEASED MALE. Reporter: SOON THE HOUSE WAS
SWARMING WITH POLICE, PARAMEDICS, THE MEDICAL
EXAMINER. EVERYONE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT HAPPENED. DOES HE HAVE ANY PROBLEMS?
MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS? OR ANYTHING?
NO. WHAT DID YOU FIND?
Reporter: AARON GOT THE CHILDREN OUT OF THE HOUSE AND
INTO HIS TRUCK. HE CALLED HIS AND RYAN'S SISTER,
MICHELLE WILSON. AND HE SAID, "RYAN IS DEAD."
I'M LIKE, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN DEAD?
LIKE HOW? "I DON'T KNOW."
AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, "CAN YOU TELL WHAT HAPPENED?"
HE'S LIKE, "NO, I DON'T-- I DON'T KNOW."
IN MY MIND, I'M THINKING, DID HE FALL AND HIT HIS HEAD?
YOU KNOW, SOMETHING AT THE FARM. Reporter: KARINA WAS STILL
DISTRAUGHT WHEN DEPUTY FOSTER BROUGHT HER TO HIS PATROL CAR.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?
THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE. I THOUGHT SOMETHING FELL.
DID YOU SEE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE HOUSE?
NO. SO, DID HE DO THAT TO
HIMSELF? NO WAY.
NO [ BLEEP ] WAY. OKAY.
SHE'S JUST INCONSOLABLE, AND THAT'S A TYPICAL RESPONSE FROM
LOSING A-- A LOVED ONE OR SOMEONE THAT'S VERY CLOSE TO
YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT
TO DO. I'M HERE FOR YOU.
ALL RIGHT, I'M HERE FOR YOU. ALL RIGHT?
HAPPENED FIRST, OKAY? DO YOU WANT TO STAND UP?
YEAH. I NEED AIR.
OKAY. JUST TAKE A SEAT, ALL RIGHT?
Reporter: IN THOSE EARLY MORNING HOURS AT THE CRIME
SCENE, KARINA, NOW A WIDOW, COULD BARELY SPEAK.
BUT AS THE MYSTERY OF WHAT HAPPENED DEEPENED, THERE WOULD
BE PLENTY OF TALK AROUND THIS TINY TOWN.
US GIRLS ARE VERY INQUISITIVE.
Reporter: THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF TAMA COUNTY.
YEAH. WE TOOK HIS PHONE AND LOOKED AT
ALL THE MESSAGES. Reporter: WHAT DID YOU THINK
WHEN YOU HEARD THAT? JUST GOSSIP.
TO THINK THAT EVERYTHING COULD HAVE JUST BEEN A COMPLETE
LIE THAT WHOLE TIME, IT'S HARD
COULD HAVE JUST BEEN A COMPLETE
LIE THAT WHOLE TIME, IT'S HARD Reporter: THE SUN WAS JUST
BEGINNING TO RISE OVER THE CORNFIELDS WHEN WORD SPREAD,
SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAD HAPPENED TO RYAN COOPER.
KARINA'S FRIEND, ASHTON WILSON--
ONE OF MY GOOD FRIENDS CALLED ME AND SAID, "I JUST DROVE BY
THE COOPERS, AND SOMETHING IS WRONG.
THERE'S A LOT OF POLICE AND AMBULANCES THERE.
I THINK YOU NEED TO CHECK IN WITH KARINA."
Reporter: BUT BEFORE SHE COULD GET THERE, HER PHONE RANG
AGAIN. IT WAS HER MOM.
AND SHE SAID, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BUT I JUST GOT A
PHONE CALL THAT RYAN IS DEAD." Reporter: OH, MY GOSH.
RYAN'S CLOSE FRIEND, JAMIE ERHARDT, RUSHED OVER TO
THE FARM TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED.
WHAT ARE YOU LEFT TO THINK IN THOSE EARLY MOMENTS?
I GOT NO IDEA. I-- I MEAN, DID HE HAVE A--
HAVE A HEART ATTACK? DID HE HAVE A WHATEVER?
I MEAN, MAYBE IT WAS A HEALTH-RELATED DEAL.
Reporter: THERE WAS ANOTHER THOUGHT THAT THIS COULD BE A
MEDICAL ISSUE. ONE OF THE DEPUTIES, OR
AMBULANCE CREW, SAID COULD HAVE BEEN A MEDICAL THING, LIKE A
HEMORRHAGE. Reporter: IN THOSE FIRST
CHAOTIC HOURS, ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE.
BUT AFTER TAKING A CLOSER LOOK, THE MEDICAL EXAMINER DETERMINED
RYAN DID NOT DIE FROM NATURAL CAUSES.
WHEN DOES THAT INFORMATION START COMING OUT ABOUT WHAT REALLY
HAPPENED TO HIM AS FAR AS HIS INJURIES?
BY THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, MAYBE BY THE TIME WE GOT TO
TRAER, MAYBE I THINK WE PROBABLY HAD HEARD THAT THERE WERE
GUNSHOTS. Reporter: INVESTIGATORS
WONDERED IF RYAN HAD TAKEN HIS OWN LIFE.
WAS IT SUICIDE? DID HE SHOOT HIMSELF?
Reporter: YEAH, BUT HOW DID THAT SIT WITH YOU WHEN YOU HEARD
THAT? OH, NOT WELL.
YOU KNOW, I'M LIKE, "THERE'S NO WAY."
YOU KNOW, LIKE, I CAN'T IMAGINE HIM DOING THAT IN THE FIRST
PLACE, AND I CAN'T IMAGINE HIM DOING THAT IN HIS HOME.
Reporter: HARD TO IMAGINE, BECAUSE AT 42 YEARS OLD, RYAN
SEEMED TO HAVE IT ALL. WAS IT CLEAR THAT RYAN WANTED TO
HAVE A LIFE ON THE FARM WHEN HE GREW UP?
FOR SURE, ABSOLUTELY. THERE WAS NEVER ANY QUESTION
THAT HE WOULDN'T BE INVOLVED. THAT WAS HIS PASSION, COMING
HOME AND HELPING DAD, AND BEING THERE TO HELP WITH HARVEST AND
PLANTING. AS SOON AS HE WAS 18, HE WENT
AND GOT HIS LICENSE AND STARTED TRUCKING AND LOVED IT.
Reporter: THE COOPER FARM WENT BACK FOUR GENERATIONS.
ACROSS THE 2,000 ACRES OF LAND, THERE WERE CATTLE TO HAUL AND
FEELS OF SOYBEANS AND CORN TO MANAGE.
MICHELLE, AN ACCOUNTANT, DID THE BOOKKEEPING WHILE BROTHERS AARON
AND RYAN MANAGED THE CROPS AND THE ANIMALS.
MOM WOULD'VE BEEN SO PROUD TO HAVE SEEN ALL OF US WORKING
TOGETHER AT THE FARM. Reporter: THE FARM HAD ALWAYS
BEEN A FAMILY AFFAIR, AND RYAN WANTED TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.
HAVE SOME KIDS AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
Reporter: FARMER WANTS A WIFE.
YEAH. Reporter: RYAN WAS DIVORCED
WITH A YOUNG SON WHEN HE STARTED DATING KARINA ALPERS.
I'VE KNOWN KARINA FOR A LONG TIME, AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS A
PRETTY FUN PERSON AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF, SO-- AND SHE
ALWAYS HAD VERY TERRIBLE TASTE IN MEN, AND I TOLD HER THAT
FOREVER UNTIL SHE MET RYAN. Reporter: WHERE RYAN WAS
QUIET AND RESERVED, KARINA WAS OUTSPOKEN.
SHE WAS ALSO A HAIRSTYLIST. IF YOU LIVED IN TOWN, CHANCES
WERE, SHE CUT YOUR HAIR. ALL THREE OF MY KIDS GOT
THEIR FIRST HAIRCUTS FROM KARINA.
SHE DID MY HAIR FOR A DECADE. I'M SURE YOU TWO TALKED A
LOT. YEAH, THERAPY SESSIONS HALF
THE TIME. YES.
YES, EXACTLY. VERY MUCH SO.
Reporter: KARINA AND RYAN MARRIED AND QUICKLY BUILT A
FAMILY. THEY HAD THEIR FIRST BABY.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE FOLLOWED.
MM-HM. Reporter: ANOTHER BOY.
YES. Reporter: AND THEN THEY HAD
ONE MORE? YEP, LITTLE GIRL.
LITTLE GIRL. Reporter: RYAN AND KARINA
WERE PART OF A TIGHT CIRCLE OF FRIENDS THAT INCLUDED JAMIE'S
WIFE, CARMEN. SHE WAS, I MEAN, FUN,
OUTSPOKEN. Reporter: AND KIRSTIE
SHEDA-- FRIEND GROUP THAT IS DEAR TO MY
HEART.
WE DID. TAMA COUNTY HOUSEWIVES.
I MEAN--
Reporter: I MEAN, I LOVE THAT.
YEAH.
Reporter: THE HOUSEWIVES DID GIRLS TRIPS, FUN RUNS, AND
PLENTY OF BAR HOPPING. RYAN AND HIS FRIENDS PREFERRED
ADVENTURE. OUTDOOR STUFF, FREEDOM-TYPE
THINGS. WE HAD SNOWMOBILE TRIPS, AND
MOTORCYCLE TRIPS, AND VACATIONS, AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS LIKE
THAT. BOATING AND CAMPING, AND--
Reporter: FUN TIMES. YEAH.
GREAT TIMES. Reporter: BUT IN RECENT
MONTHS, JAMIE THOUGHT RYAN SEEMED DOWN.
DID YOU FEEL LIKE RYAN WAS ACTING A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY?
YEAH, THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY COMES TO MIND IS WE
ALWAYS DO A TRIP TO NORTHERN WISCONSIN.
HE ALWAYS GOES, NO MATTER WHAT, AND HE LOOKS FORWARD TO IT AND
MADE EVERY EXCUSE IN THE WORLD NOT TO GO AND THEN STILL WENT.
AND THEN WHEN HE GOT THERE, HE JUST WASN'T HIMSELF, WASN'T HIS
NORMAL SELF. Reporter: BUT SUICIDE?
NOT RYAN. BUT HE'S NOT THAT KIND OF
PERSON. NO, NO.
THAT'S JUST NOT-- THAT'S NOT HIM.
NO WAY. HE WOULD NEVER HURT HIMSELF,
AND HE WOULD NEVER, EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN HIS OWN
HOME WITH HIS WIFE AND KIDS THERE.
Reporter: THAT HOME ON THE FARM RYAN LOVED SO MUCH WAS
LOCKED DOWN. THE SCENE OF A GROWING
INVESTIGATION WHEN TAMA COUNTY DETECTIVE TREVOR KILLIAN ARRIVED
A FEW HOURS AFTER THE FIRST FRANTIC CALL.
I DRIVE UP THE LANE, AND THE FORMER SHERIFF IS SITTING THERE.
SO HE WALKS ME INSIDE. THE SHERIFF TELLS ME THAT HE
THINKS THAT THERE'S A SINGLE GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE FACE.
Reporter: THINKING IT WAS SUICIDE, THEY'D BEEN LOOKING FOR
A GUN. AND WHEN THEY MOVED THE BODY
TO THE FLOOR, THAT'S WHEN THEY REALIZED THAT THERE WAS NO
FIREARM PRESENT. AND THEN I CROUCHED DOWN AND--
AND I'M JUST TAKING A LOOK AT HIM, AND THEN I OBSERVE WHAT
APPEARED TO BE A SECOND BULLET HOLE.
I LOOKED AT THE SHERIFF, AND I'M LIKE, "HE'S BEEN SHOT TWICE."
Reporter: WOW. SO THE-- THIS IS VERY LIKELY
NOT A SUICIDE IF HE'S BEEN SHOT TWICE.
YES. Reporter: YOU HAVE A MURDER
ON YOUR HANDS. WE DO.
THIS IS 100% AN ACTIVE CRIME SCENE.
NOBODY COMES HERE. Reporter: WHAT IN RYAN'S LIFE
HAD LED TO THIS DEADLY ENDING? DO YOU KNOW ANYONE THAT WOULD
HAVE ANY REASON TO HURT HIM? NO.
NOBODY.
HE DOESN'T HURT ANYBODY.
NOBODY.
HE DOESN'T HURT ANYBODY. Reporter: RYAN AND
KARINA COOPER'S CHILDREN HAD BEEN TAKEN FROM THE CRIME SCENE
TO A RELATIVE'S HOUSE. ASHTON RUSHED OVER TO BE WITH
THEM. THEY'RE SO LITTLE.
MM-HMM. I MEAN, THAT WAS THE FIRST THING
IS HOW DO WE GO ON? AND DO THEY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED?
Reporter: THE BOYS WERE 11 AND 8, THE LITTLE GIRL
ONLY 4. OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS A LOT OF
SHOCK, CRYING. WHEN I GOT THERE, BOTH OF THE
BOYS HAD BLOOD ON THEM. Reporter: OH, MY GOSH.
THAT'S AWFUL. SO, I KNEW THAT THEY
OBVIOUSLY KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED AT THAT POINT.
Reporter: FRIENDS JAMIE AND CARMEN WERE THERE, TOO.
I JUST SAID, I-- 'CAUSE THEY GOTTA BE STRONG.
I'LL STOP THERE. THAT THEY NEED TO BE STRONG AND,
UH, THAT MOM WAS HURT REALLY BAD RIGHT NOW.
I'M GONNA BE THERE FOR HER. Reporter: RYAN AND KARINA'S
SON, CAYD, WAS FEELING WHAT SEEMED LIKE A VERY ADULT
EMOTION, GUILT. PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST
MEMORABLE COMMENTS WAS, YOU KNOW, CAYD JUST BEING TERRIBLY
UPSET THAT HE DIDN'T SLEEP ON THE COUCH WITH DAD THAT NIGHT.
Reporter: OH. HIS MOM WANTED HIM TO SLEEP
IN HIS ROOM THAT NIGHT. SHE HAD JUST DONE ANOTHER
REMODELING, REPAINTING, YOU KNOW, GOT HIS ROOM ALL FIXED UP
AND MOVED AROUND FOR HIM. Reporter: THE IOWA DIVISION
OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION JOINED WHAT WAS NOW A HOMICIDE
INVESTIGATION. IS THAT NORMAL THAT IN A CASE
LIKE THIS, THAT DCI COMES TO HELP?
WE DO ASK THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DCI, AS WE'RE NOT FULLY
CAPABLE OF HANDLING A FULL-BLOWN DEATH INVESTIGATION.
Reporter: THAT MORNING, DCI AGENTS INTERVIEWED KARINA AT THE
SHERIFF'S OFFICE. HOURS HAD PASSSED.
HER VOICE WAS A LITTLE STEADIER AS SHE RECOUNTED THE MOMENTS
BEFORE SHE DISCOVERED HER HUSBAND DEAD IN THE LIVING ROOM.
THERE WAS A-- IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING CRASHED IN THE
KITCHEN. IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING
FALLING. IT SCARED ME.
I KIND OF LAID THERE FOR A SECOND TO SEE IF THE KIDS WOKE
UP, WHICH THEY DIDN'T. AND I GOT UP, AND I PEEKED IN
THE LIVING ROOM, AND HE WAS LAYING THERE, AND I WENT TO THE
KITCHEN AND TURNED THE LIGHT ON IN THE LIVING ROOM, AND THEN--
THEN I SAW HIM. OKAY.
IT JUST LOOKED LIKE HE WAS SLEEPING.
OKAY. AND THEN I WALKED UP TO HIM
AND TOUCHED HIS FOOT. THERE WAS BLOOD, LIKE,
EVERYWHERE. SHE SAID THAT SHE JUST HEARD
A LOUD BANG, WHICH SHE GOT UP TO INVESTIGATE, AND THAT'S WHEN SHE
FOUND HER HUSBAND WAS COVERED IN BLOOD.
BUT I KNEW I SCARED THE KIDS 'CAUSE CAYD CAME RUNNING DOWN.
I THOUGHT-- I DON'T KNOW WHAT I THOUGHT.
I THOUGHT SOMEBODY WAS IN THE HOUSE.
I PUT THEM IN MY BEDROOM AND TOLD THEM TO LOCK THE DOOR, AND
I CALLED AARON. DO YOU MAKE ANY ATTEMPT AT--
YOU KNOW, DO YOU TOUCH HIM? DO YOU-- DO YOU--
I CRAWLED ON HIM. I WAS-- I HIT HIM, I THINK.
I WAS SHAKING HIM AND SCREAMING IN HIS FACE TO WAKE UP.
OKAY. YOU THINK YOU WERE HITTING HIM?
I THINK I KEPT HITTING HIM, TRYING TO GET HIM TO WAKE UP.
DID YOU HEAR ANY OTHER SOUNDS OR COMMOTIONS OR ANYTHING OTHER
THAN THE ONE THAT WOKE YOU UP? NO.
NOTHING I MEAN, CARS GO BY ALL THE TIME OF THE NIGHT, BUT I
DIDN'T SEE-- I LOOKED OUT THE KITCHEN WINDOW.
I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING. OKAY.
NO SOUNDS OF LIKE THE FRONT DOOR SLAMMING SHUT.
NO. OR ANYONE RUNNING DOWN YOUR
DECK OR DOWN YOUR STEPS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT?
NO, NOTHING. DO YOU KNOW ANYONE THAT WOULD
HAVE ANY REASON TO HURT HIM? NO.
DOES HE HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH ANYBODY?
NO, NOBODY. HE DOESN'T HURT ANYBODY.
Reporter: OF COURSE, INVESTIGATORS HAD TO ASK SOME
DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. NOT TO BE PERSONAL, OKAY, BUT
AGAIN THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ASK.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY MARITAL ISSUES BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU?
NO, WE HAD A ROUGH PATCH SHORTLY AFTER HIS MOM PASSED
AWAY WHERE WE JUST WEREN'T-- WE WEREN'T GETTING ALONG.
THERE WASN'T ANY REAL ISSUE, WE WERE JUST BOTH SAD AND MAD AND
NOT COMMUNICATING. SHE SAID THEY HAD THEIR
ARGUMENTS, UM, BUT THEY FOUGHT, AND THEY MADE UP, AND EVERYTHING
WAS JUST FINE. Reporter: SO NO TROUBLE IN
PARADISE FOR THE COOPERS. YEP.
ACCORDING TO HER THERE WAS-- THERE WAS NO ISSUES, NO ISSUES
THAT NOBODY ELSE HAS. Reporter: HE'S BEEN SLEEPING
ON THE RECLINER? YES.
HE WORKS A LOT OF HOURS, AND IT'S JUST SOMETIMES EASIER TO
COME HOME, HE JUST-- HE SLEEPS IN THE RECLINING CHAIR.
NO AFFAIRS OF ANY KIND? NO.
NOT BY HIM OR BY YOU? AND THE ONLY REASON I ASK IS IF
SOMEONE WENT IN AND DID SOMETHING TO HIM, I'M JUST
THINKING ABOUT LIKE THE SCORNED LOVER TYPE OF THING OR ANYTHING
LIKE THAT. NO.
OKAY.
SO THERE'S NO-- WE DON'T GO ANYWHERE.
WE DON'T DO ANYTHING. HE MIGHT GO TO THE BAR AFTER
WORK WITH HIS FRIEND RILEY, AND HE'S NEVER HOME PAST 8:00.
THAT'S HOW EXCITING WE ARE. Reporter: INVESTIGATORS LET
KARINA GET BACK TO HER CHILDREN. MOM BROUGHT HER BACK TO MY
MOM'S HOUSE. I MET THEM THERE.
Reporter: THIS IS KARINA'S BROTHER, KURT ALPERS.
IF I REMEMBER RIGHT, KARINA TOOK A SHOWER.
SHE WAS OBVIOUSLY MESSY. A BUNCH OF HER FRIENDS CAME TO
MY MOM'S HOUSE AND VISITED AND GAVE THEIR CONDOLENCES.
IT WAS JUST A LOT OF CRYING, A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
Reporter: ONCE RYAN'S AUTOPSY WAS COMPLETE, FAMILY AND
FRIENDS LEARNED HE HAD BEEN MURDERED, SHOT TWICE IN THE
FACE. WHAT'S GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND
WHEN THIS GETS OUT? NOBODY BREAKS INTO HOUSES AND
SHOOTS PEOPLE IN TRAER, IOWA. SO, IT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT
HAPPENS. Reporter: CRIME SCENE TECHS
HAD SWABBED THE HOME FOR FINGERPRINTS, FOR DNA.
THEY PHOTOGRAPHED THE HOUSE ROOM BY ROOM, TAKING CAREFUL NOTE OF
THE BLOOD POOL AND SPATTER ON THE WALLS OF THE LIVING ROOM.
OUTSIDE, THEY PHOTOGRAPHED A PARTIAL BLOODY SHOE PRINT.
Reporter: DID THAT GIVE ANY CREDENCE TO THIS INTRUDER THEORY
THAT MAYBE THAT WAS AN INTRUDER RUNNING FROM THE HOUSE?
IT DID LINE UP WITH THAT SOMEBODY HAD COME INSIDE AND WAS
AT LEAST AT THE SCENE AND STEPPED IN THE BLOOD AND THEN
LEFT. Reporter: IN THE DRIVEWAY,
ANOTHER CLUE. THERE WAS A PURSE THAT WAS
THROWN OUTSIDE OF A VEHICLE DOOR, IT WAS KARINA'S PURSE.
Reporter: IS THAT SUGGESTING THAT IT COULD BE A ROBBERY?
YEAH. THAT'S WHAT IT APPEARED TO BE
WITH KARINA SAYING THAT AN INTRUDER HAD CAME IN AND-- AND
HAD ROBBED THEM AND SHOT HER HUSBAND.
Reporter: AND WHILE INVESTIGATORS HADN'T YET FOUND A
GUN, THEY FOUND A SHELL CASING ON THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR.
IT APPEARED THAT HE WAS SHOT WITH A .22.
Reporter: AND DOES THAT TELL YOU ANYTHING, A .22 CALIBER?
I MEAN, PROBABLY EVERY FARMER HAS ONE.
THEY SHOOT COYOTES, UH, RACCOONS THAT ARE ON THEIR PROPERTY.
Reporter: THIS COULD BE ANYBODY IN THE AREA.
YEAH. AND THERE'S A MAJOR HIGHWAY
RIGHT THERE. Reporter: SOMEONE COULD
EASILY JUMP ON THAT HIGHWAY AND JUST BE GONE.
YEAH. YOU GOT THREE DIFFERENT WAYS
THAT YOU-- YOU CAN GO UP THE GRAVEL, YOU CAN GO EAST OR WEST
FROM THE RESIDENCE. Reporter: EAST OR WEST THE
ROAD OUT WAS OPEN. BUT A TIP WOULD SOON PULL
DETECTIVES RIGHT BACK TO THE FARM.
THE ONLY ONE THAT WE'VE
REALLY HAD ANY BUSINESS DE STRIKES YOU ABOUT THIS AREA IS
JUST HOW PEACEFUL IT IS, AND IT FEELS SO SAFE.
YEAH. Reporter: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE
HOW THIS AREA MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE SHATTERED--
YEAH, IT WAS. Reporter:-- BY SOMETHING
LIKE THIS, THE FEAR. YEAH.
WITH-- WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED, IT WAS SLEEPLESS
NIGHTS FOR A WHILE, FOR SURE. NOT KNOWING IF WE'RE IN DANGER
OR NOT. Reporter: YEAH.
I MEAN IT WAS TERRIFYING TO GO HOME THINKING THAT SOMEBODY
MURDERED OUR FRIEND A MILE FROM OUR HOUSE, AND I MEAN, CAMERAS
WENT UP ON THE FARM ALL OVER, LOCKS WERE CHANGED ON THE HOUSE
WITHIN THE WEEK. Reporter: KARINA AND THE
THREE KIDS STAYED WITH HER BROTHER KURT.
KARINA SAID THAT SHE WAS ALWAYS SCARED, FEARFUL THAT
WHOEVER HAD DONE THIS IS GONNA COME FOR THE FAMILY.
EVERY NIGHT, I'D DOUBLE CHECK THE LOCKS ON THE HOUSE.
YOU KNOW, I BOUGHT A MOTION SENSOR LIGHT.
Reporter: KURT AND HIS WIFE TRIED THEIR BEST TO DISTRACT THE
KIDS. WE TRIED TO KEEP THEM BUSY,
KEEP THEIR MINDS OFF THINGS. I MEAN, YOU CAN ONLY FORGET FOR
SO LONG BEFORE IT COMES BACK. Reporter: AND EVERYONE HAD
THEIR OWN THEORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED.
MY FIRST ASSUMPTION WAS THAT SOMEBODY STOPPED ON THE HIGHWAY
FOR SOME REASON AND WAS LOOKING TO ROB THE HOUSE OR SOMETHING
LIKE THAT AND SAW THAT RYAN WAS SITTING IN HIS RECLINER AND
FREAKED OUT. THE TOWN NEXT TO US WAS
HAVING THEIR BIG CELEBRATION THAT WEEKEND.
COULD IT HAVE BEEN SOMEBODY THAT WAS HERE WITH THE CARNIVAL?
THERE WAS A LOT OF THEORIES, A LOT OF SPECULATION.
IT WAS REALLY ANYTHING, ANYTHING THAT PEOPLE COULD USE TO COPE
WITH WHAT HAPPENED. Reporter: TAMA COUNTY SHERIFF
CASEY SCHMIDT WAS A DEPUTY AT THE TIME.
I'VE MET PEOPLE IN TAMA COUNTY THAT WILL LEAVE THEIR
DOORS UNLOCKED AND HAVE FOR 60, 70 YEARS.
THAT JUST SHOWS THE TYPE OF COMMUNITY THAT WE ARE.
IT'S ALMOST MORE SHOCKING WHEN IT HAPPENS IN A SMALLER
COMMUNITY, BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS SO CLOSE, EVERYBODY WANTS TO
KNOW WHY IT HAPPENED, WHAT HAPPENED.
Reporter: IT WAS DETECTIVE KILLIAN'S JOB TO FIND THOSE
ANSWERS, AND HE DIDN'T BELIEVE A RANDOM INTRUDER WAS RESPONSIBLE.
IT JUST MADE NO SENSE THAT SOMEBODY WOULD COME TO A
FARMHOUSE AND WALK IN THE DOOR AND SHOOT SOMEONE IN THE FACE
FOR NO REASON. Reporter: YOU WOULD THINK IF
IT WAS AN INTRUDER OR SOME TYPE OF ROBBERY GONE BAD, THAT
USUALLY THE ROBBER IS INTERRUPTED IN SOME WAY.
BUT YOU'RE ASSUMING THAT RYAN WAS SLEEPING, RIGHT, BASED ON
WHERE HE WAS FOUND AND-- YEAH.
IT DID NOT APPEAR THAT HE HAD TRIED TO GET UP.
THERE WAS NO DEFENSIVE WOUNDS. Reporter: AND WHILE KARINA'S
PURSE WAS IN THE DRIVEWAY, THERE WAS CASH ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER,
UNTOUCHED. SO IF NOT A ROBBERY, THE
DETECTIVE THOUGHT IT HAD TO BE PERSONAL.
THEY TALKED TO KARINA AGAIN. DID KARINA HAVE ANY IDEA WHO MAY
HAVE WANTED TO DO THIS TO RYAN? THE ONLY NAME THAT SHE
BROUGHT UP WAS NOLAN DeWALL. Reporter: THAT WAS A NAME
RYAN'S SISTER KNEW WELL. THE ONLY ONE THAT WE'VE
REALLY HAD ANY BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH THAT HAVE MAYBE GONE AWRY
WOULD BE NOLAN. Reporter: NOLAN DeWALL HAD
BEEN A BUSINESS PARTNER IN THE COOPER FARM'S CATTLE OPERATION,
AND HE HAD SOME TROUBLE WITH THE LAW.
A FEW YEARS EARLIER, HE WAS INVOLVED IN A BANK FRAUD SCHEME,
WRITING BAD CHECKS TOTALING A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS.
HE WAS GOOD AT LIKE SHIFTING THINGS FROM HERE TO THERE TO TRY
AND COVER, AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS KIND OF STARTED HAPPENING
IN OUR BUSINESS TOO. Reporter: LIKE SNEAKY STUFF?
MM-HMM. YEAH.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT JUST GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I THINK, YOU
KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TERMINATE THIS RELATIONSHIP AND
GET OUT. Reporter: WOULD RYAN HAVE
BEEN INVOLVED IN THAT? HE--
Reporter: THE DECISION-MAKING OF--
YEAH. FOR SURE.
Reporter:-- IT'S TIME FOR NOLAN TO GO?
YEAH, FOR SURE. YEP.
Reporter: SO NOLAN AND THE COOPERS CUT TIES.
HE LIVED AND WORKED A 30-MINUTE DRIVE FROM THE FARM, AND THAT'S
WHERE INVESTIGATORS FOUND HIM. DID AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM AND
JUST KIND OF ASKED HIM ABOUT, UH, RYAN COOPER.
AND HE HAD SAID THAT HE HAD HEARD, 'CAUSE IT WAS OUT, THAT
HE HAD BEEN KILLED. Reporter: NOLAN DENIED HAVING
ANYTHING TO DO WITH RYAN'S MURDER, AND WHILE HE DID OWN
A .22 CALIBER PISTOL, HE TOLD POLICE HE DIDNT HAVE IT HANDY
FOR THEM TO LOOK AT BECAUSE HE KEPT IT AT HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW'S
HOUSE. DETECTIVES WANTED TO GET THEIR
HANDS ON THAT GUN FOR TESTING AND CHECK OUT NOLAN'S ALBI.
AND HE WASN'T THE ONLY PERSON THEY NEEDED TO TALK TO.
YOU FIND OUT THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN AN ALTERCATION AT A BAR
WITH RYAN A FEW NIGHTS BEFORE THE MURDER?
YES. SO THERE WAS SOMEONE AT THE BAR
THAT NIGHT THAT HAD CALLED US FOR A TIP THAT SAYS, "HEY, I
THINK YOU SHOULD GO TALK TO THIS PERSON.
UM, HE COULD BE A SUSPECT." SO WE GET AHOLD OF THE BAR
OWNER. HE DID MAKE THE COMMENT TO US
THAT THERE WAS THIS RONALD BENKIN AND RYAN HAD
GOTTEN INTO A VERBAL ALTERCATION.
Reporter: THE MEN KNEW EACH OTHER THROUGH THE FARMING
BUSINESS. I DON'T REALLY THINK THAT HE
LIKED RYAN COOPER. Reporter: WHAT WAS THE
ALTERCATION ABOUT, OR THE-- THIS VERBAL ARGUMENT?
WHAT WAS IT OVER? SO NOBODY REALLY TOLD US WHAT
IT WAS ABOUT. THEY JUST SAID THAT, UM, THEY
WERE HAVING AN ALTERCATION TOGETHER.
Reporter: DETECTIVES WENT TO THE BAR AND ASKED TO SEE
SECURITY FOOTAGE FROM THAT NIGHT.
THERE WAS NO AUDIO ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIDEO.
IT WAS JUST A PICTURE. IT JUST LOOKED LIKE A COUPLE
PEOPLE HAVING A NORMAL CONVERSATION.
THERE WAS NO FINGER-POINTING. THERE WAS NOBODY STANDING UP
GETTING IN ANYBODY'S FACE, AND THERE-- THEN THERE WAS
CERTAINLY NOT A FIGHT AS IT WAS PUT TO US.
Reporter: THAT LEAD WENT NOWHERE.
SAME WITH NOLAN DeWALL. INVESTIGATORS DID FIND
HIS .22 CALIBER PISTOL. IT WAS AT HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW'S
HOUSE LIKE HE SAID. SO THAT FIREARM WAS
SUBMITTED, AND IT DID NOT MATCH WHAT THE SHELL CASING THAT WAS
AT THE SCENE. AND WE WERE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP
WITH HIS ALIBI THAT HE WASN'T EVEN IN THE AREA.
THEY CLEARED HIM AS A SUSPECT. Reporter: BUT INVESTIGATORS
WEREN'T OUT OF NAMES YET. SOMEONE ELSE HAD POPPED UP ON
THEIR RADAR. A YOUNG MAN WITH QUITE THE
REPUTATION. HE LIKED THE OLDER LADIES.
Reporter: OH. LIKES COUGARS.
YEAH.
LIKES COUGARS.
YEAH. Reporter: INVESTIGATORS
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO IN THIS FARM TOWN MIGHT HAVE HATED
RYAN COOPER ENOUGH TO SHOOT HIM WERE CROSSING NAMES OFF THEIR
LIST, INCLUDING HIS FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER AND A MAN RYAN
ENCOUNTERED AT A BAR. DETECTIVES WERE ALSO EYEING
SOMEONE ELSE, A FARMHAND WHOSE REPUTATION AROUND TRAER PRECEDED
HIM. HUSTON DANKER IS A YOUNG MAN
WHOSE NAME JUST KIND OF POPPED UP ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
Reporter: ASSISTANT TAMA COUNTY ATTORNEY,
GENEVA WILLIAMS, JOINED THE INVESTIGATION AT THE BEGINNING.
HE'S KNOWN AS A LADIES' MAN. HE WAS, UH, KNOWN AS SOMEONE WHO
HAD A PARTICULAR AFFINITY FOR OLDER WOMEN.
Reporter: HE WAS ONLY 23 YEARS OLD AND FRIENDS WITH
KIRSTIE'S SON. HE LIKED THE OLDER LADIES.
Reporter: LIKES COUGARS. YEAH.
WE'D BE WORKING OUT AT THE GYM IN THE MORNINGS, AND THIS IS--
HE WAS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL AT THIS TIME.
AND HE WOULD DRIVE UP TO THE FRONT WINDOW AND LIKE WATCH US
THROUGH THE WINDOW WORK OUT. Reporter: AND HUSTON WASN'T
JUST OGLING. THERE WAS ONE WOMAN IN
PARTICULAR THAT HE WRECKED THEIR MARRIAGE.
IS THAT-- IT'S HIS BEST FRIEND'S--
YEAH. >>-- MOM.
Reporter: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOM?
WITH HIS HIGH SCHOOL BUDDY'S MOM.
YEAH. YEAH.
Reporter: OKAY. THAT REALLY IS STACY'S MOM.
YEAH. Reporter: SO, HE HAD AN
AFFAIR WITH HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOM, AND HER MARRIAGE ENDED?
OH, YEAH. Reporter: HUSTON WAS A CLIENT
OF KARINA'S AT THE SALON, AND INVESTIGATORS LEARNED THAT RYAN
THOUGHT HE WAS INTERESTED IN MORE THAN A HAIRCUT.
THEY HEARD HUSTON HAD BEEN MESSAGING WITH KARINA ON
SNAPCHAT, AND RYAN WASN'T HAPPY ABOUT IT.
HE IS ALSO BROUGHT IN TO TALK TO INVESTIGATORS.
YEAH. HUSTON SHOWED UP AT THE TAMA
COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE. YOU CAN GRAB A SEAT WHEREVER.
ACTUALLY, YOU CAN GRAB A SEAT HERE.
THAT'D BE GREAT. OKAY.
HIS DEMEANOR WAS-- WAS VERY RELAXED.
Reporter: COOPERATIVE? HE WAS VERY COOPERATIVE.
UM, HE WAS KIND OF JOKING WITH THE DCI AGENT IN THE INTERVIEW.
KEEP IN MIND I DON'T KNOW YOU.
I'VE KNOWN YOU FOR WHAT, TEN MINUTES NOW.
BUT YOU KINDA GOT THE REPUTATION WHERE YOU'RE PRETTY SUCCESSFUL
WITH THE LADIES, RIGHT? I WOULDN'T--
BETTER LUCK THAN SOME OR NOT AS BAD AS OTHERS.
LIKE, YEARS AGO. YEARS AGO?
YEAH, I MEAN IT'S BAD TO SAY, BUT I'M YOUNG WITH TWO KIDS.
THE RUMOR THAT'S GOING AROUND IS RYAN-- OR YOU AND KARINA
WERE SNAPCHATTING. DID THAT ACTUALLY HAPPEN AT SOME
POINT? YEAH.
IT'S NOT ANYTHING-- IT'S-- YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST YOUR TYPICAL
SNAP-- LIKE I SAID, SNAPCHAT. RANDOM, YOU KNOW.
WHAT I WAS TOLD, AND KEEP IN MIND THIS IS SOMETIMES SECOND,
THIRD HAND THROUGH PEOPLE-- YEP.
>>-- IS THAT RYAN FOUND OUT THAT YOU WERE SNAPCHATTING.
DID RYAN EVER KNOW ABOUT YOU TWO SNAPCHATTING?
OH, YEAH. Reporter: BUT HE SAID IT WAS
NO BIG DEAL, THEY WERE JUST FRIENDS.
THERE'S NO POINT IN KINDA DANCING-- IF YOU WERE SCREWING
AROUND WITH HER, IT DOESN'T MAKE YOU A KILLER.
EVERYBODY'S GOT WEIRD GOING ON IN THEIR LIFE.
RIGHT. SO, I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET
TOO NERVOUS, BECAUSE IF YOU HAD AN AFFAIR WITH KARINA, IT
DOESN'T MAKE YOU GUILTY OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOU HAD AN
AFFAIR WITH HER. RIGHT.
WELL, AND THAT-- THAT-- I'LL PUT IT THIS WAY.
I'LL-- I'LL COMPLETELY DUMB IT DOWN.
SO, LIKE WITH ME AND KARINA, I WAS LITERALLY SITTING THERE
LIKE, I WOULD SAY, A GAY BEST FRIEND.
"I'M MORE LIKE A GAY BEST FRIEND."
Reporter: ONLY HE'S NOT GAY. RIGHT?
THAT'S CORRECT. Reporter: KARINA WAS 20 YEARS
OLDER THAN HUSTON. HE SAID SHE GAVE HIM ADVICE, AND
EVEN OFFERED TO HELP HIM OUT WITH HIS KIDS.
ME AND MY BABY MAMA SPLIT UP, OKAY?
SHE LOVES KIDS, WHATEVER, AND SHE-- SHE ALWAYS TOLD ME, YOU
KNOW, "IF YOU'RE EVER IN A PINCH, HEY, YOU KNOW, I DON'T
HAVE A PROBLEM WATCHING YOUR KIDS."
AND THEN THE SNAPCHATTING, DID THAT KIND OF COINCIDE WITH
WATCHING THE KIDS, OR HOW DID THAT--
YEAH, THAT'S-- THAT'S WHERE-- THAT'S WHERE THAT
PICKED UP. YOU'RE A HELPLESS SINGLE DAD
THAT NEEDS HELP EVERY NOW AND THEN?
THAT'S PRETTY WELL KIND OF THE WAY-- YEAH.
Reporter: HUSTON SAID HE WAS HOME ASLEEP WHEN THE MURDER
HAPPENED. WHAT TIME DO YOU THINK YOU
WENT TO BED? OH, PROBABLY 11:00, 11:30.
SO, AFTER 11:00. YEAH, PROB-- YEAH, I'D SAY
10:30, 11:00. Reporter: DID THE
INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE HIM? YEAH.
I MEAN, WE WOULD FOLLOW UP WITH HIS ALIBI TO SEE.
SO, IT'S A LONG PROCESS FOR US.
WE HAVE SEVERAL RUMORS THAT WE GOTTA TRACK DOWN RIGHT NOW, SO
YOU'RE JUST ONE OF 'EM. I GET THAT.
SO, DON'T FEEL TOO SPECIAL. Reporter: THE INTERVIEW ENDED
WITH INVESTIGATORS CONCLUDING THIS LEAD WAS LIKELY A DEAD END.
JUST ANOTHER RED HERRING? MM-HMM, MM-HMM.
I THINK THEY KIND OF EXPLAINED IT AS JUST A FRIENDSHIP THAT
MAYBE SOMEBODY HAD MISINTERPRETED AS BEING-- BEING
A RELATIONSHIP. Reporter: BUT THE IDEA THAT
SOME KIND OF LOVE TRIANGLE MIGHT BE AT THE CENTER OF THE MURDER
WAS JUICY GOSSIP FOR A SMALL TOWN.
ASHTON WAS QUICK TO DISMISS IT AS AN ABSURD RUMOR.
IT WAS ALMOST LAUGHABLE. YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY GOOD
FRIENDS' HUSBAND WAS JUST MURDERED, AND THE RUMOR MILL IS
JUST FLYING NOW. THERE WAS A 20-YEAR AGE GAP.
Reporter: INVESTIGATORS ASKED YOU ABOUT HUSTON?
YES. THEY ASKED IF WE THOUGHT MAYBE
HE WAS INVOLVED, AND I DIDN'T THINK SO.
I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS HIS WAY OF DOING THINGS, JUST NOT HIS
WAY OF-- Reporter: HE'S MORE INTO
COUGARS THAN KILLING. YEAH.
I THINK, YEAH, I DON'T-- I THINK HE'S MORE OF A LOVER THAN
A FIGHTER, SO. Reporter: MONTHS PASSED.
THE FALL HARVEST ARRIVED AND STILL NO ARREST.
YEAH, IT WAS VERY FRUSTRATING.
AND WE WERE IN TOUCH WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT WEEKLY, AND WE KNEW
THEY WERE WORKING ON THINGS, BUT IT'S JUST EVERYTHING TAKES TIME
AND WE JUST HAD TO BE PATIENT. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AS IT BECAME
A COLD CASE, THEN IT WAS LIKE, OH, YOU KNOW.
Reporter: DID THEY ACTUALLY CALL IT A COLD CASE?
YES. YES.
Reporter: THE LAW ENFORCEMENT?
YEAH, ABOUT SIX, SEVEN MONTHS IN.
Reporter: THAT SEEMS SO QUICK.
IT'S ONLY BEEN SEVEN MONTHS, LIKE--
Reporter: RIGHT. YEAH.
IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A YEAR. Reporter: THE TRAIL TO RYAN'S
KILLER HAD GONE COLD, BUT IT WAS BY NO MEANS FROZEN.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SOMEONE IN HIS INNER CIRCLE COULD BE THE KEY TO
IT ALL. ENTER KAREN.
SOMETIMES KAREN COULD DRIFT INTO BAD KAREN?
UH, YEAH, WHEN SHE HAD WAY
TOO MUCH TO DRINK. Reporter: IN THE MONTHS AFTER
RYAN COOPER'S MURDER, ASHTON WILSON SAW HER FRIEND
KARINA DOING HER BEST TO RAISE HER THREE CHILDREN WITHOUT HIM.
IT WASN'T EASY. SHE GAVE UP CUTTING HAIR AND
MOVED WITH THE KIDS INTO A DIFFERENT HOUSE ON THE COOPER
FARM. AND KARINA'S JUST FEELING
LONELIER AS THE TIME GOES ON? IS THAT HOW YOU SAW IT?
YEAH. I-- YOU KNOW, I THINK SO.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, NOT AS MANY PEOPLE WERE REACHING OUT OR
CHECKING ON HER. SHE WAS JUST FEELING, YOU KNOW,
LONELY. Reporter: TRUTH WAS, WHILE
ASHTON HAD REMAINED CLOSE WITH KARINA, OTHER FRIENDS, LIKE
KIRSTIE AND CARMEN, HAD DRIFTED AWAY.
WE DID SOMETHING TOGETHER AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK AND--
Reporter: MM-HM. >>-- WE'D TALK ALMOST EVERY DAY
UNTIL OUR RELATIONSHIP REALLY KINDA WENT SOUTH.
Reporter: THE BREAKDOWN STARTED BEFORE THE MURDER,
BECAUSE BEING A REAL HOUSEWIFE OF TAMA COUNTY, ALONGSIDE
KARINA, MEANT REAL DRAMA SOMETIMES FOLLOWED.
KARINA HAD A NICKNAME WHEN SHE WAS DRINKING?
YEP, WE CALLED HER KAREN. Reporter: KAREN?
YEAH, KAREN. BUT IT WAS KAREN BEFORE THERE
WAS ALL THE KARENS OF THE WORLD. Reporter: RIGHT.
YEAH. SO WE SHOULD HAVE COPYRIGHTED
THAT ACTUALLY. IT STARTED OFF AS A VERY FUN,
JUST GENERAL NICKNAME FOR HER. Reporter: TURNS OUT KARINA'S
ALTER EGO WASN'T ALWAYS SO FUNNY.
SOMETIMES KAREN COULD DRIFT INTO BAD KAREN?
UH, YEAH, WHEN SHE HAD WAY TOO MUCH TO DRINK, AND SHE WOULD
USE THAT AS THE EXCUSE. Reporter: KIRSTIE REMEMBERS
ONE PARTICULAR INCIDENT AFTER A GOLF TOURNAMENT.
THERE WAS MANY DRINKS TO BE HAD, AND, UH, SHE JUST KIND OF
TURNED VILE. SHE WOULD GO OUTSIDE THE
CLUBHOUSE AND SCREAM, LIKE PEOPLE COULD HEAR HER FROM
EVERYWHERE. Reporter: WHAT IS EVERYONE
THINKING WHEN THIS IS HAPPENING? EVERYBODY THOUGHT, WHAT IS
GOING ON, LIKE--
WE WERE LIKE, "RYAN, DO YOU THINK IT'S TIME TO TAKE HER
HOME?" HE'S LIKE, "SHE AIN'T GONNA
LISTEN TO ME." Reporter: JAMIE AND CARMEN
SAY THOSE DRUNKEN OUTBURSTS WERE OFTEN DIRECTED AT RYAN.
IT COULD BE JUST THE SMALLEST THING THAT WOULD--
YEAH. >>-- JUST SET HER OFF.
LIKE, "WHY'D YOU WEAR THOSE BOOTS?
WHY DON'T YOU WEAR THESE OTHER BOOTS TONIGHT," OR SO, I MEAN,
JUST, UH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. Reporter: MMM.
HOW DID RYAN TAKE IT? UH, HE JUST KINDA WATER ON A
DUCK'S BACK. Reporter: THE FRIENDS HADN'T
TOLD POLICE ABOUT KARINA'S BELLIGERENT SIDE, BUT
INVESTIGATORS HAD THEIR OWN CONCERNS ABOUT HER BEHAVIOR.
DESPITE THAT COLD CASE DESIGNATION, DETECTIVES WERE
STILL FOLLOWING UP ON LEADS. AND THEY COULDN'T SHAKE THE IDEA
THAT SOME OF THE THINGS KARINA DID SEEMED OFF, STARTING THE
MORNING OF THE MURDER. KARINA, INSTEAD OF CALLING
9-1-1, CALLS AARON, HER BROTHER-IN-LAW.
YEAH. THAT-- THAT, TO ME, SEEMS VERY
ODD IN-- IN THIS CASE. YOU CALL 9-1-1 IF SOMEONE IS
HURT. IF YOU NEED THE POLICE, YOU NEED
THE AMBULANCE, YOU NEED THE FIRE, YOU-- YOU CALL 9-1-1.
Reporter: ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY, GENEVA WILLIAMS, SAYS
INVESTIGATORS WERE ALSO SCRUTINIZING HOW KARINA ACTED
WHEN THE FIRST RESPONDERS DID ARRIVE.
IT SEEMED VERY UNUSUAL FOR HER TO BE SITTING ON HIS BODY,
NOT TRYING TO RENDER ANY KIND OF AID, NOT ALLOWING OTHERS TO COME
AND RENDER ANY AID. EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT PEOPLE
HAVE DIFFERENT TRAUMA RESPONSES, BUT IT JUST SEEMED OVERBOARD.
Reporter: SHE ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS ODD THAT KARINA WASN'T MORE
ATTENTIVE TO HER CHILDREN IN THAT MOMENT.
I'M ALWAYS LOOKING FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF A MOTHER, AND I
JUST COULD NOT UNDERSTAND, AND I COULD NOT WRAP MY MIND AROUND
WHY SHE WASN'T INITIALLY RUNNING TO PROTECT HER CHILDREN, AND SHE
SEEMED TO BE TOO WRAPPED UP IN HER OWN EMOTIONAL DISPLAY.
Reporter: AND THERE WERE THINGS ABOUT KARINA'S STORY THAT
DIDN'T ADD UP. LIKE WHEN SHE TOLD ONE OF THE
DEPUTIES SHE TRIED TO GET A GUN TO PROTECT HERSELF BUT COULDN'T
OPEN HER SAFE. I COULDN'T GET MY
GUN OUT OF THE SAFE. YOU COULDN'T GET YOUR GUN OUT
OF THE SAFE? Reporter: BECAUSE WHEN THE
DEPUTY TRIED TO DO IT HIMSELF-- HE WAS ABLE TO OPEN UP THE
SAFE, WHICH THEN HE GOES, "WELL, THIS IS REALLY WEIRD.
SHE SAID SHE COULDN'T GET HER SAFE OPEN, BUT I JUST WALKED
OVER AND OPENED IT." Reporter: DETECTIVE KILLIAN
ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS STRANGE THAT KARINA'S 100-POUND ROTTWEILER,
RANSOM, HAD SOMEHOW SLEPT THROUGH THE ATTACK.
EVEN KARINA TOLD US THAT THE DOG PATROLS THE HOUSE AT NIGHT,
AND GOES AND CHECKS ON THE KIDS IN THEIR BEDROOMS AND MAKES SURE
THAT EVERYBODY IS SAFE. Reporter: BUT THE DOG WAS
ASLEEP AT THE FOOT OF THE BED DURING--
IT WAS IN HER BEDROOM AT THE FOOT OF THE BED.
NEVER GOT UP, NEVER WOKE UP. Reporter: BUT FOR ALL THE
THINGS ABOUT THAT FIRST DAY THAT RAISED RED FLAGS, IT WAS WHAT
KARINA DIDN'T DO IN THE MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED THAT REALLY STRUCK
DETECTIVE KILLIAN. SO KARINA COOPER NEVER
CONTACTED US AND ASKED WHERE THE INVESTIGATION STOOD.
Reporter: THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD THINK
SOMEONE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN. YOU KNOW, WHO'S TAKEN YOUR
HUSBAND? YEAH.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT SHE WOULD WANNA KNOW, LIKE SHE WOULD BE
DEMANDING, LIKE, "WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG?"
AND SHE NEVER CONTACTED US. Reporter: KARINA DIDN'T CALL
THEM, AND INVESTIGATORS HAD NOT TALKED TO HER SINCE ABOUT A
MONTH AFTER THE MURDER. HER BROTHER KURT SAID SHE HAD
GOOD REASON TO KEEP HER DISTANCE.
KARINA WOULD GET UPSET WHEN SHE WAS ASKED QUESTIONS.
SHE FELT LIKE SHE WAS BEING ACCUSED.
SHE FELT LIKE THEY THOUGHT SHE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.
Reporter: INVESTIGATORS CERTAINLY HAD THEIR SUSPICIONS.
AND THE PEOPLE OF TRAER, IOWA, HAD SOME AS WELL.
THAT'S A HOT POTATO RIGHT THERE, THAT YOU NOW HAVE IN THE PALM OF
YOUR HAND. I SAT ON THAT FOR QUITE SOME
TIME. ONE OF THE DCI AGENTS SLIDES
THE SNAPCHAT CONVERSATION FORWARD UP ON THE DASH, AND
THERE'S JUST THIS PAUSE. Reporter: THERE WAS ANOTHER
TWIST IN ALL OF THIS THAT YOU DID NOT SEE COMING.
RIGHT. WE THOUGHT THAT THE BOOK WAS
CLOSED. Reporter: AND THEN--
THEY UNCOVERED ANOTHER
CHAPTER.
THEY UNCOVERED ANOTHER
CHAPTER. Reporter: RYAN COOPER'S
FAMILY WAS NOT SURPRISED TO LEARN INVESTIGATORS SUSPECTED
KARINA WAS INVOLVED IN HIS MURDER.
THEY WONDERED IT THEMSELVES. SISTER MICHELLE AGREED THAT
SOMETHING ABOUT KARINA'S REACTIONS SEEMED OFF FROM THE
START. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW ANYONE IS
GONNA RESPOND IN THOSE KINDS OF SITUATIONS, BUT JUST SOMETHING
DIDN'T SEEM TO MESH WITH THE EVENTS OF THE DAY.
DO YOU WANT TO STAND UP? YEAH.
I NEED AIR. LIKE, SHE WAS VERY BROKEN UP
AND VERY, UM, EMOTIONAL, BUT JUST NOT AS GENUINE AS YOU WOULD
THINK. Reporter: YOU FELT LIKE SHE
WAS ACTING MAYBE? MAYBE A LITTLE.
Reporter: AND AS TIME WENT ON, THEY COULD SEE SHE WASN'T
HOUNDING POLICE FOR ANSWERS. LIKE, SHE NEVER HAD CONTACT
WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAIN. Reporter: SHE DID TALK TO
AARON ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION. ONE MORNING SHE CALLED, AND I
THINK SHE SAW THEY HAD FOUND A SHELL CASING, AND SHE WANTED TO
KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT, WHICH SEEMED ODD TO ME JUST 'CAUSE
SHE-- I WOULD THINK SHE WOULD KNOW WHAT A SHELL CASING IS,
BECAUSE WE'VE SHOT GUNS. Reporter: AARON THOUGHT SHE
WAS PLAYING DUMB. WHILE NEITHER SIBLING WANTED TO
BELIEVE KARINA WAS CAPABLE OF KILLING THEIR BROTHER, THEY WERE
GROWING MORE AND MORE SUSPCIOUS. SHE'S NOT BEHAVING IN A WAY
OF SOMEONE WHO'S INNOCENT AND WANTS THEIR HUSBAND'S MURDER TO
BE FOUND. Reporter: BUT AUTHORITIES
URGED THEM TO KEEP KARINA AND THE KIDS IN THEIR LIVES.
SO THEY CELEBRATED HOLIDAYS TOGETHER AND INVITED THEM ON
FAMILY VACATIONS. IF YOU THINK THAT THIS WOMAN
KILLED YOUR BROTHER-- RIGHT, RIGHT.
Reporter:-- AND THEN YOU HAVE TO BE NICE TO HER?
I-- RIGHT.
Reporter:-- DON'T EVEN KNOW. RIGHT.
Reporter: IS THE STRATEGY JUST TO KEEP HER SORT OF, YOU
KNOW, OFF HER GUARD? YEAH.
SO IT WAS, DON'T SHUN HER OUT OF-- OUT OF THE FAMILY, AND
MAYBE SOMETHING WILL COME-- COME ABOUT THAT, THAT SHE'LL LET
HER GUARD DOWN AND LET SOMETHING SLIP.
Reporter: SHE NEVER DID. MORE MONTHS PASSED.
DETECTIVES KEPT WORKING AND COLLECTED DIGITIAL EVIDENCE
USING AN INVESTIGATIVE TOOL CALLED GEOFENCING.
THEY ANALYZED THE CELL PHONE AND GPS DATA FROM TRAFFIC AROUND THE
COOPER FARMHOUSE IN THE HOURS BEFORE AND AFTER THE MURDER.
IT'S AN IMAGINARY FENCE THAT WOULD GO OVER THE PROPERTY.
WE WERE LOOKING FOR DEVICES TO-- DID ANYBODY COME THERE,
AND DID ANYBODY LEAVE? Reporter: THE GEOFENCING DATA
LED TO A MAJOR DISCOVERY, WHAT THEY DIDN'T SEE.
SO WE HAD NO DEVICES OR ANYTHING COMING AND GOING FROM
THE RESIDENCE. Reporter: WHAT WAS A
POSSIBILITY BASED ON THAT? THAT POTENTIALLY KARINA HAD
MURDERED HER HUSBAND. Reporter: THAT THE KILLER WAS
INSIDE THE HOUSE. SHE WAS.
Reporter: THAT WAS THE THEORY ANYWAY.
THEY WERE EAGER TO CONFRONT KARINA WITH THIS NEW EVIDENCE,
BUT IT HAD BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS SINCE SHE LAST SPOKE WITH
INVESTIGATORS, AND THEY WERE WORRIED SHE WOULDN'T AGREE TO A
MEETING. THAT'S WHEN THE FAMILY KEEPING
KARINA CLOSE PAID OFF. SHE'D ALWAYS TRUSTED RYAN'S
BROTHER AARON, AND HE ASKED HER TO SIT DOWN WITH DETECTIVES
AGAIN. I'M LIKE, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S
YOUR TIME TO TALK TO 'EM AND SETTLE ANYTHING THAT THEY HAVE
TO TALK ABOUT. Reporter: AND SHE SAID YES.
AND SHE SAID YEAH. Reporter: IT WAS MAY 2023.
A DCI SPECIAL AGENT MET KARINA AT THE FARM.
THIS WILL BE AN INTERVIEW WITH KARINA COOPER.
Reporter: HE ASKED HER TO TAKE HIM BACK TO THAT JUNE
MORNING WHEN SHE FOUND HER HUSBAND RYAN SHOT IN HIS
RECLINER. I GOT UP AND KIND OF-- JUST
TO LOOK AND FIND THAT NOISE AND FIND RYAN, WHY-- WHY DIDN'T HE
WAKE UP TO THAT? YEAH.
WHEN I WENT IN THE LIVING ROOM, I SAID HIS NAME A COUPLE
OF TIMES 'CAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE HE WAS SLEEPING.
Reporter: SHE AGAIN DESCRIBED THE CHAOTIC SCENE WHEN AARON AND
FIRST RESPONDERS ARRIVED AND FOUND HER WAILING ON RYAN'S LAP.
AND I REMEMBER AARON OVER MY SHOULDER TOOK HIS PULSE, AND HE
WAS ON THE PHONE WITH 9-1-1 'CAUSE I REMEMBER HIM
SAYING, "NO, THERE'S NO PULSE" OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.
I SCREAMED AND SCREAMED. I KNOW THAT.
AND I'M EMBARRASSED THAT I DID EVERYTHING WRONG.
I JUST REMEMBER SCREAMING. I THOUGHT SOMEBODY WAS HERE.
Reporter: THE INVESTIGATOR DRILLED DOWN ON THE DETAILS FROM
THAT MORNING. AND WAS RANSOM IN THE BED OR
IS HE AT-- WHERE'S HE SLEEP AT? NO, AT-- HE WAS AT THE FOOT
OF THE BED. 'CAUSE YOU SAID YOU ALMOST
TRIPPED OVER HIM. I DID TRIP OVER HIM.
YOU DID. Reporter: BUT KARINA GREW
IMPATIENT WITH THE INTERVIEW. I NEED TO BE FINISHING UP
SOON, SO IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO YET--
YEAH, YEAH. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. Reporter: THE INVESTIGATOR
HAD ONE MORE THING TO ASK HER ABOUT.
SO, KARINA, AT-- I MEAN AT THIS POINT, UM, THE CASE FACTS
SHOW US THAT-- THAT-- THAT NOBODY DID COME INTO THE HOUSE
THAT NIGHT. SOMEBODY DID.
SOMEBODY OBVIOUSLY CAME IN HERE. MY HUSBAND'S DEAD.
HE IS, KARINA, AND WE--, WE BOTH KNOW AT THIS POINT WHY THAT
IS. KARINA, WE KNOW THAT IT WASN'T
SOMEONE COMING INSIDE THE HOUSE. YOU'RE LEAVING MY PROPERTY
NOW. SOMEBODY CAME INTO MY HOUSE AND
KILLED MY HUSBAND. GO FIGURE OUT WHO KILLED MY
HUSBAND. YEAH, WELL, WE DID, WE DID.
NO, YOU OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T. Reporter: KARINA STORMED
OUTSIDE. THE INVESTIGATOR FOLLOWED.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT. NO, GET OFF MY PROPERTY.
YOU WANT TO TALK, YOU TALK TO MY LAWYER.
WELL, I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOUR-- I JUST WANT TO TALK TO
YOU 'CAUSE YOU'RE THE ONE THAT KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO RYAN THAT
NIGHT. NO, I DON'T.
IF I KNEW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HUSBAND, I'D BE IN JAIL BECAUSE
THE [ BLEEP ] WOULD BE DEAD. KARINA?
GET OFF MY PROPERTY. I TALKED TO THE INVESTIGATOR
RIGHT AFTER THAT. HE SAID IT DIDN'T END WELL, AND
HE GOT KICKED OFF THEIR PROPERTY, AND SHE WAS NOT--
Reporter: OH. >>-- GOING TO TALK TO THEM
AGAIN. Reporter: THE SITDOWN DIDN'T
YIELD ANYTHING USEFUL, EXCEPT MAYBE A GLIMPSE AT KARINA'S
FAMOUS TEMPER. DETECTIVE KILLIAN FELT THEY HAD
A STRONG ENOUGH CASE AGAINST HER, BUT IT WAS UP TO THE IOWA
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE TO FILE CHARGES, AND HE SAYS THE
ASSISTANT AG ASSIGNED TO THE CASE WASN'T RECEPTIVE.
MORE MONTHS PASSED UNTIL A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH THE AG
HERSELF ALLOWED THE DETECTIVE TO MAKE HIS CASE.
I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HER THAT I FEEL SHE'S GOT THIS BIG
MOMENTUM OF REALLY PURSUING IOWA COLD CASES.
Reporter: MM-HMM. THIS IS A COLD CASE.
I FELT LIKE YOUR OFFICE MAYBE WASN'T GIVING THE ASSISTANCE
THAT WE NEEDED, AND SHE SAID THAT SHE WAS NOT AWARE OF THAT.
Reporter: SOON AFTER THAT MEETING, A NEW PROSECUTOR FROM
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE WAS ASSIGNED TO THE CASE.
BUT IT WASN'T JUST A FRESH SET OF EYES THAT WOULD FINALLY BREAK
IT OPEN. THERE WOULD ALSO BE A FRESH SET
OF REVELATIONS. WE TOOK HIS PHONE AND LOOKED
AT ALL THE MESSAGES, AND IT WAS JUST TONS OF MESSAGES OF, "I
LOVE YOU." Reporter: OH, MY GOSH.
SO IT WAS LIKE-- Reporter: THIS ON HIS PHONE?
>>-- CLEARLY AN AFFAIR.
Reporter: THIS ON HIS PHONE?
>>-- CLEARLY AN AFFAIR. Reporter: IT WAS FALL 2023.
A NEW PROSECUTOR WAS ASSIGNED TO REVIEW THE RYAN COOPER CASE,
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL MICHAEL RINGLE.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE CASES WHERE I LOOK AT IT, AND WE'RE NOT AT A
STANDSTILL, WE'RE NOT DEAD IN THE WATER, THERE'S THINGS THAT
WE CAN DO. Reporter: RINGLE SPENT THREE
THE LOCAL PROSECUTOR LOOKING AT THE CASE FROM EVERY ANGLE,
REVIEWING WITNESS STATEMENTS AND ELIMINATING ALL OTHER
POSSIBILITIES BEFORE COMING TO THE SAME CONCLUSION AS DETECTIVE
KILLIAN. WE THOUGHT THERE WAS ENOUGH
EVIDENCE TO PROCEED. MIKE COMES IN AND SAYS, "I
THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH FOR THE ARREST."
Reporter: ON FEBRUARY 16, 2024, DETECTIVE KILLIAN ROLLED
ONTO THE COOPER FARM WITH A TEAM OF DEPUTIES.
KARINA WALKED OUTSIDE TO GREET THEM.
ALL RIGHT. WE GOT SOME PAPERWORK FOR YOU.
DO YOU HAVE NEWS ABOUT RYAN? WELL, YOU'RE UNDER ARREST.
WHAT? YEP.
SO, WE'RE PLACING YOU UNDER ARREST.
THERE'S GONNA BE SOME PEOPLE AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE THAT ARE
GONNA BE TALKING TO YOU DOWN THERE.
WHY AM I UNDER ARREST? IF YOU'LL LET ME, MY CHILDREN,
YOU GUYS, MY CHILDREN. WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?
WHAT IS HAPPENING? SO, WE HAVE A COPY OF YOUR
WARRANT FOR YOU. I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
WHAT? THIS IS INSANE.
MY KIDS ARE GONNA BE SO SCARED. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?
THIS IS INSANE. I GOT A CALL FROM
TREVOR KILLIAN IN THE MORNING AND SAID, "WE JUST ARRESTED
KARINA. CAN YOU COME OVER AND GET THE
KIDS?" Reporter: WHAT'S THAT LIKE?
MM, IT WAS A LOT OF EMOTION. SICK TO YOUR STOMACH TYPE OF
FEELING. NOT A-- IT WASN'T A GOOD
FEELING. Reporter: ASHTON GOT A
FRANTIC PHONE CALL FROM ONE OF KARINA'S SONS.
THE COPS ARE HERE ARRESTING MOM.
AND SO MY-- Reporter: WHAT GOES THROUGH
YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THAT? UNBELIEVABLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT
IS HAPPENING? YEAH, I JUST DID NOT BELIEVE IT.
THEY'RE OUT OF LEADS, AND THIS IS THEIR NEXT ONE.
Reporter: ASHTON WAS SURE KARINA WAS INNOCENT.
SO WAS KARINA'S BROTHER KURT WHO VISITED HER IN JAIL SOON AFTER
THE ARREST. I DO REMEMBER SHE SAYING TO
ME, "YOU DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THIS, DO YOU?"
AND I TOLD HER, "ABSOLUTELY NOT. NO, YOU DIDN'T DO IT.
THEY'RE MISTAKEN." Reporter: HE FOUND HIS SISTER
TWO DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, AARON HAWBAKER AND NICHOLE WATT.
AND WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS?
MY FIRST IMPRESSION WAS THAT SHE WAS POSSIBLY A VICTIM HERE
OF A WRONGFUL PROSECUTION. Reporter: WHY DID YOU THINK
THAT? BECAUSE IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE
THERE WAS ANY EVIDENCE AGAINST HER AT ALL.
Reporter: THEY'RE LOOKING AT KARINA--
MM-HMM. Reporter:-- AS THE-- THE
SOLE KILLER IN THIS. RIGHT.
Reporter: AND YET YOU HAVE THIS SHOE PRINT COMING OUT OF
THE HOUSE. RIGHT.
THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE DID NOT LINE UP WITH HER BEING
RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS. Reporter: LIKE THE FACT THAT
NO MURDER WEAPON HAD BEEN FOUND, AND ANOTHER GAPING HOLE, NO
PROOF OF ANY MOTIVE. INVESTIGATORS WERE WORKING ON
THAT. AND RIGHT AFTER THE ARREST, THEY
REACHED OUT TO KARINA'S CLOSE CIRCLE OF GIRLFRIENDS, INCLUDING
KIRSTIE. AND THEY CALLED AND SAID, "I
DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW, BUT KARINA IS BEING ARRESTED, AND WE
WOULD LIKE YOU TO COME DOWN AND FOR US TO TALK TO YOU."
Reporter: I MEAN, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN SHAKING.
I STILL AM. Reporter: LIKE, YOU'RE
SHAKING NOW. I MEAN, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE--
I KNOW, I'M LIKE-- Reporter:-- IN THE MOMENT.
YEAH. Reporter: WHAT ARE THEY
HOPING THAT YOU CAN OFFER? I THINK JUST WHAT KIND OF
PERSON SHE WAS, IF THERE WAS ANYTHING GOING ON.
Reporter: IT WAS THE FIRST TIME KIRSTIE SPOKE WITH
INVESTIGATORS. THEY HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT
HUSTON DANKER, THE YOUNG WOMANIZER WHO JOKINGLY CALLED
HIMSELF KARINA'S GAY BEST FRIEND.
RUMORS OF AN AFFAIR BETWEEN THE TWO HAD NOT DIED DOWN, AND
DETECTIVES WANTED TO SEE WHAT KIRSTIE KNEW.
TURNED OUT A LOT. I HAD HEARD SOME THINGS THAT
REALLY STARTED TO KIND OF CONCERN ME.
Reporter: IT WAS SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE THE MURDER.
KIRSTIE WAS HANGING OUT WITH SOME OTHER MOMS.
ANOTHER FRIEND CAME AND SAID THAT SHE WAS WITH HUSTON DANKER
ALL DAY. THERE WAS JUST LIKE HUNDREDS OF
MESSAGES COMING THROUGH BETWEEN HIM AND KARINA.
Reporter: WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES?
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WERE LIKE, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
HE WAS ONLY A COUPLE YEARS OLDER THAN MY SON.
Reporter: THEN HUSTON HIMSELF SHOWED UP AT THE HOUSE.
US GIRLS ARE VERY INQUISITIVE, SO WE TOOK HIS
PHONE. Reporter: THE REAL HOUSEWIVES
OF TAMA COUNTY. YEAH.
UM, WE TOOK HIS PHONE AND LOOKED AT ALL THE MESSAGES, AND IT WAS
JUST TONS OF MESSAGES OF, "I LOVE YOU."
Reporter: OH, MY GOSH. AND MESSAGES OF--
SO, IT WAS LIKE-- Reporter: THIS ON HIS PHONE?
>>-- CLEARLY AN AFFAIR. Reporter: I MEAN, HERE SHE
IS, SHE HAS THIS GREAT HUSBAND, CHILDREN, BUSINESS FARM, FRIENDS
AND THEN NOW SHE'S WITH THIS GUY HALF HER AGE.
YEAH, I JUST COULDN'T EVEN WRAP MY HEAD AROUND AND
UNDERSTAND THAT. Reporter: I MEAN, THAT'S--
THAT'S A HOT POTATO RIGHT THERE THAT YOU'RE-- THAT YOU NOW HAVE
IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND. I SAT ON THAT FOR QUITE SOME
TIME, AND I REGRET THAT PROBABLY TO THIS DAY.
Reporter: BUT NOW SHE TOLD INVESTIGATORS EVERYTHING.
DID THAT FEEL AT ALL CATHARTIC TO YOU THAT YOU'D HELD THIS IN
FOR SO LONG, AND THEN NOW IT'S FINALLY OUT IN THE OPEN?
YES AND NO. LIKE, I WANNA HELP BRING JUSTICE
TO RYAN, BUT ALSO THERE'S THOSE YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP.
Reporter: DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE IN A WAY BETRAYING
KARINA? YEAH.
Reporter: BUT KIRSTIE'S STORY WASN'T HARD EVIDENCE.
THE MESSAGES SHE SAW WERE ON SNAPCHAT AND LONG GONE.
THAT'S BECAUSE SNAPCHAT IS DESIGNED TO DELETE MOST
COMMUNICATIONS 24 HOURS AFTER THEY'RE SEEN.
AUTHORITIES HAD BEEN IN POSSESSION OF KARINA'S PHONE
SINCE THE DAY OF THE MURDER AND FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF AN AFFAIR
WITH HUSTON. NOW THE NEW PROSECUTOR WANTED A
SECOND LOOK. DID YOU SORT OF FEEL LIKE IT WAS
A BIT OF A HAIL MARY SINCE IT HAD ALREADY BEEN LOOKED AT?
TO SOME DEGREE, YES. Reporter: HE REACHED OUT TO A
FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA AND ASKED HER
TO TRY TO EXTRACT ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FROM THE PHONE.
SHE HIT PAY DIRT. TURNS OUT DELETED SNAPCHATS
SOMETIMES DON'T COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR.
THE EXPERT WAS ABLE TO RECOVER A TROVE OF MESSAGES BETWEEN KARINA
AND HUSTON DANKER. WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU READING ON
THESE MESSAGES? THE SNAPCHAT MESSAGES MADE
CLEAR THAT KARINA COOPER AND HUSTON DANKER WERE ENGAGED IN
SOME SORT OF AN AFFAIR. Reporter: THE GAY BEST FRIEND
IS HAVING SEX WITH HIS FEMALE-- YES.
Reporter:-- FRIEND. IT WAS ALL THERE ON KARINA'S
PHONE. MESSAGES LIKE THIS ONE FROM
HUSTON, "YOU GOT TO SEE ME IN MY UNDERWEAR THIS MORNING, AND I
HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO SEE YOU!!!!" IN ANOTHER, KARINA TELLS HUSTON,
"JUST FELL EVEN HARDER FOR YOU." THEY EVEN DISCUSSED HAVING A
BABY THROUGH IVF. THERE WERE DISCUSSIONS OF
ESSENTIALLY HUSTON DANKER ASSUMING RYAN COOPER'S ROLE IN
KARINA'S LIFE. CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HAVING THEIR
OWN CHILDREN TOGETHER, ESSENTIALLY PLANS FOR THE
FUTURE. Reporter: IT WAS TIME TO TALK
TO HUSTON DANKER AGAIN. WHAT WOULD THE YOUNG MAN HAVE TO
SAY NOW? ARE YOU GUYS TELLING ME THAT
I'M THE ONE THAT DID IT?
ARE YOU GUYS TELLING ME THAT
I'M THE ONE THAT DID IT? WANTED ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH
HUSTON DANKER, THE YOUNG MAN THEY'D JUST CONFIRMED WAS HAVING
AN AFFAIR WITH KARINA WHEN HER HUSBAND WAS MURDERED.
HE ENDED UP BEING IN CEDAR RAPIDS AND AGREES TO MEET THE
DCI AGENTS IN MENARDS PARKING LOT.
THANKS FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY WORK DAY.
OBVIOUSLY, AT THIS POINT, UM, KARINA HAS BEEN ARRESTED.
YEAH. AS THINGS HAVE MOVED ALONG,
THERE'S A-- STILL A FEW GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE.
Reporter: THEY TOLD HUSTON THEY KNEW ALL ABOUT THE AFFAIR,
AND NOW HE READILY ADMITTED TO IT.
YOU BECOME ROMANTICALLY ATTRACTED TO HER.
YEAH. THAT RIGHT?
AND THINGS HAD PROGRESSED? YEAH.
Reporter: HUSTON TOLD THEM LIED HIS WAY OUT OF IT.
DID HE BASICALLY ASK YOU IF THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON
BETWEEN YOU AND KARINA? PRETTY MUCH.
AND-- AND YOU JUST STRAIGHT UP SAID NO.
YEAH. WHEN HE GOT AHOLD OF ME ABOUT
THAT, I MEAN, THAT MADE ME FEEL PRETTY LOW AS A PER-- I MEAN,
IT-- TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE, I FELT BAD FOR KIND OF PISSING IN
HIS CHEERIOS. OKAY.
DID YOU GUYS EVER TALK ABOUT, UM, A PLAN TO, UH, RELOCATE
TOGETHER OR LIVE TOGETHER AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE?
NO, NO. ONE OF THE DCI AGENTS SLIDES
THE SNAPCHAT CONVERSATION FORWARD UP ON THE DASH, AND
THERE'S JUST THIS PAUSE. Reporter: AND THEY UPPED THE
PRESSURE EVEN MORE. IT WASN'T TRUE, BUT THEY TOLD
HUSTON THAT KARINA WAS COOPERATING FROM JAIL AND WAS
POINTING THE FINGER AT HIM. KARINA HAS A WAY OF-- OF
EXPLAINING THIS. MM-HM.
AND IT'S HUSTON, WHO IS THE LOVE-CRAZED PERSON WHO JUST
HATED RYAN, AND-- AND THAT WILL BE THE STORY THAT GETS TOLD,
AND-- AND THAT'S NOT TRUE? NO.
IT'S NOT TRUE. TELL ME ABOUT THAT NIGHT.
SO, I MEAN, JUST TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, KARINA WANTED ME TO GO
OVER THERE AND DO IT. YEAH, LET'S START OVER, UH,
AND TALK ABOUT THESE EARLY MORNING HOURS, RIGHT?
I GUESS WHAT I'M GONNA ASK YOU, GUYS, RIGHT NOW, ARE YOU
GUYS TELLING ME THAT I'M THE ONE THAT DID IT?
Reporter: THEN IT ALL CAME SPILLING OUT, HIS VERSION OF
EVENTS ANYWAY. WHO FIRST PUT THE IDEA
FORWARD TO-- TO END HIS LIFE? KARINA.
WHAT WOULD BE THE NEXT THING THEN THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE
PLAN? WAS TO, I GUESS, BE TOGETHER
AND LIVE LIFE TOGETHER WHERE THAT WOULD'VE NEVER HAPPENED.
WAS THIS 50/50, WOULD YOU SAY?
I WOULD FEEL LIKE I WAS FORCED INTO A LOT OF THAT STUFF.
Reporter: HUSTON SAID THE PLAN WAS FOR HIM TO BE THE
SHOOTER, BUT THEN HE CHANGED HIS MIND.
HOW DID SHE RECEIVE THAT WHEN YOU'RE LIKE, "I-- I DON'T WANT
TO DO THIS?" NOT VERY GOOD.
UM, CALLS ME A [ BLEEP ], UM, YOU KNOW, "THOUGHT YOU WERE
GONNA TAKE CARE OF US," UH, THINGS LIKE THAT.
Reporter: HUSTON SAID HE DID AGREE TO HELP.
HE LENT KARINA HIS GUN. OKAY.
RYAN GOT SHOT WITH A .22 THAT I OWN.
WHO SHOT HIM? KARINA.
WHERE WERE YOU AT? AT HOME.
Reporter: HE SAID THAT AFTER KARINA KILLED RYAN, HE DROVE TO
THE FARM TO RETRIEVE THE WEAPON. HE WAS CAREFUL TO LEAVE HIS
PHONE AT HOME. WHERE WAS IT AT WHEN YOU
PICKED IT UP? IN THE DRIVEWAY.
WHAT VEHICLE DID YOU DRIVE OVER THERE TO PICK THE GUN UP?
A FOUR-WHEELER KIND OF BE UNDER THE RADAR, I SUPPOSE.
Reporter: HUSTON DANKER IS DENYING HAVING ANYTHING TO DO
WITH THE SHOOTING. CORRECT.
Reporter: BUT HE'S IMPLICATING HIMSELF.
HE THINKS THAT HE DID NOTHING WRONG.
Reporter: HE SAID IT WAS ALL KARINA, AN OLDER WOMAN WHO
MANIPULATED HIM. SHE'S A PRETTY DOMINANT
PERSON. IT WAS SO FORCED UPON ME WITH--
AND, LIKE I SAID, ONCE AGAIN, SHOULD HAVE JUST BEEN A BIGGER
PERSON, SAID, "KARINA, YOU, THIS IS STUPID.
THIS IS [ BLEEP ] DUMB. WHAT ARE WE DOING?"
Reporter: INVESTIGATORS DIDN'T BELIEVE ALL OF HUSTON'S
STORY. THEY SUSPECTED HE WAS IN THE
HOUSE WHEN RYAN WAS KILLED. THAT BLOODY SHOEPRINT FOUND AT
THE CRIME SCENE TURNED OUT TO BE FROM A VANS SNEAKER, WHICH
MATCHED HIS SHOES. ARE YOU GUYS ARRESTING ME?
JUST BE HONEST WITH ME. AT THIS POINT, UM, BASED ON
WHAT YOU JUST SHARED WITH ME, WE DO NEED TO PLACE YOU UNDER
ARREST. Reporter: LIKE KARINA,
HUSTON DANKER WAS CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
THAT WAS A BIG SHOCK, 'CAUSE WE WERE TOLD EARLY ON THAT
THEY'D TALKED TO HIM SEVERAL TIMES, AND HE WASN'T A SUSPECT
ANYMORE, THAT HE HAD AN ALIBI, AND THERE'S NOTHING THEY HAD ON
HIM, SO. Reporter: IT TURNS OUT THAT
WAS NOT THE CASE. YEAH, THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.
Reporter: ASHTON AT FIRST THOUGHT HUSTON'S ARREST MEANT
KARINA WAS INNOCENT. I FELT RELIEF BECAUSE I
THOUGHT, I TOLD YOU GUYS, I TOLD YOU SHE DIDN'T DO THIS.
I KNEW SHE COULDN'T DO THIS, AND THEN IT TOOK ABOUT FIVE
MINUTES FOR IT TO KIND OF HIT ME THAT THEY DID THIS TOGETHER.
Reporter: THAT'S A TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW.
YEAH. Reporter: BUT WAS THAT THE
WHOLE STORY? A JURY WAS ABOUT TO HEAR TWO
VERY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF EVENTS.
SHE TELLS HUSTON DANKER, "GO, NOW'S THE TIME."
SHE'S WRAPPED UP IN SOMETHING, DOESN'T THINK THIS IS
ACTUALLY GOING TO HAENPP Reporter: KARINA COOPER AND
HER MUCH YOUNGER LOVER, HUSTON DANKER, WERE EACH FACING
LIFE BEHIND BARS FOR KILLING KARINA'S HUSBAND RYAN.
THERE WOULD BE TWO SEPARATE TRIALS.
KARINA'S WOULD COME FIRST. THE PROSECUTOR KNEW THERE WERE
CHALLENGES. I MEAN, THIS IS A FARMER'S WIFE,
HER CHILDREN ARE IN THE HOUSE. SHE'S A HAIRDRESSER.
SHE'S, YOU KNOW, A MEMBER OF THIS-- THIS TIGHT-KNIT
COMMUNITY. DID YOU WORRY THAT JURORS WOULD
HAVE A HARD TIME SEEING HER AS A COLDBLOODED KILLER?
YES. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S
REALLY HARD FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND.
WE HAD A CONCERN THAT JURORS MAYBE WOULDN'T ALLOW THEMSELVES
TO BELIEVE IT. Reporter: THE PROSECUTION
TEAM WAS A TRIO. JOINING MICHAEL RINGLE AND
GENEVA WILLIAMS WAS ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL ISRAEL KODIAGA.
THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW THAT SHE IS A MURDRERER.
THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE WILL PROVE BEYOND A REASONABE DOUBT
THAT SHE IS GUILTY. Reporter: THEY TOLD THE JURY
THAT KARINA AND HUSTON PLANNED THE MURDER TOGETHER, EXECUTING
RYAN WHILE HE SLEPT. AND THE STATE SAID THE TWO HAD A
PLAN FOR FINANCING THEIR FUTURE TOGETHER.
Reporter: THERE WAS ALSO A LOT OF MONEY INVOLVED IN THIS AS
FAR AS LIFE INSURANCE THAT KARINA WAS SET TO COLLECT.
CORRECT. WE WERE ABLE TO FIND OUT THAT
THERE WAS AN INSURANCE POLICY IN THE AMOUNT OF $500,000 OF WHICH
KARINA WAS THE BENEFICIARY. Reporter: PROSECUTORS SHOWED
JURORS FOOTAGE OF THE CHAOTIC SCENE AT THE FARMHOUSE,
INCLUDING KARINA SITTING ON HER HUSBAND'S BLOODY BODY.
THEY SAID SHE DID THAT FOR A REASON.
SHE JUMPS ON RYAN. SHE PUTS HER FACE, FOREHEAD,
HAIR INTO THE BLOOD COMING FROM RYAN'S FACE.
WHY IS HER FACE ON THE LEFT SIDE WHERE THE BULLET HOLES ARE?
BECAUSE SHE'S CONCEALING EVIDENCE.
I BELIEVE THAT SHE PULLED THE TRIGGER, UM, AND THAT CAUSED
BACK SPATTER OR BLOOD TO SPRAY ONTO HER FACE, WHICH EXPLAINS
WHY SHE WAS SITTING ON RYAN COOPER WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT
ARRIVED, RUBBING HER FACE ESSENTIALLY ON THE WOUND
COVERING HER OWN FACE IN BLOOD. Reporter: THAT'S WHAT RYAN'S
BROTHER AARON WALKED INTO THAT MORNING.
AARON HAS FIRST RESPONDER TRAINING AND TESTIFIED THAT HE
NOTICED SOMETHING ODD ABOUT THE BLOOD.
AT THAT POINT IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS DARKENING.
IT WASN'T BRIGHT RED. WHAT DID THAT MEAN TO YOU?
THAT IT WASN'T IMMEDIATELY FRESH.
Reporter: PROSECUTORS ARGUED THAT MEANT RYAN HAD BEEN SHOT
EARLIER THAN KARINA CLAIMED, AND THEY SAID HER PHONE BACKED
THAT UP. YOU EXTRACTED SOME HEALTH DATA
FROM KARINA'S PHONE THAT SHOWED SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS TO YOU
ABOUT HER MOVEMENTS. YES.
IT SHOWED THAT SHE WAS UP AND WAS MOVING AROUND THE HOUSE
DURING A PERIOD OF TIME THAT SHE SAID SHE WAS ASLEEP.
Reporter: A FULL TEN MINUTES BEFORE SHE CALLED FOR HELP.
THE PHONE SHOWS THAT SHE WAS WALKING BETWEEN 4:23 AND 4:33,
170 STEPS. Reporter: THE STATE CALLED
THE COOPERS' ELDEST SON, CAYD, TO THE STAND.
WITH CAMERAS BARRED FOR HIS TESTIMONY, THE NOW 15-YEAR-OLD
TOLD THE JURY THAT ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER, HIS MOTHER
INSTRUCTED HIM TO SLEEP IN HIS OWN BED INSTEAD OF HIS USUAL
SPOT ON THE COUCH NEAR HIS DAD. IT WAS A CRITICAL PIECE OF
INFORMATION. THAT SHOWS THE LEVEL OF PLANNING
AND CALCULATION ON HER PART. Reporter: IS IT POSSIBLE THAT
SHE'S JUST A MOM, YOU KNOW, SAYING, HEY, YOU'RE NOT GETTING
A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP. I-- I WANT YOU TO START
SLEEPING IN YOUR OWN BED. IT'S ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE IN
ISOLATION, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FULL CONSTELLATION OF
EVIDENCE, EVERY PIECE TOGETHER, IS IT PROBABLE OR LIKELY THAT
THIS WAS AN INNOCENT ACT? IT'S NOT.
Reporter: THE STATE ALSO CALLED FRIENDS, INCLUDING
CARMEN ERHARDT, WHO TOLD THE JURY ABOUT FIGHTS SHE SAW
BETWEEN RYAN AND KARINA. SHE WAS ARGUING WITH RYAN.
ANOTHER FRIEND TRIED TO STEP IN AND KIND OF LIKE DISSOLVE THE
SITUATION. SHE EVEN GRABBED THAT PERSON BY
THE HAIR AND RIPPED THEM BACK OUT OF THE ARGUMENT.
SO IT-- IT-- YOU COULD PHYSICALLY TELL THAT SHE WAS
VERY UPSET. Reporter: ANOTHER FRIEND,
TERESA McBRIDE, TESITIFED SHE HEARD THIS THREAT DIRECTED AT
RYAN. WELL, THE ONE THAT STANDS OUT
IN MY MIND IS THE NIGHT THAT SHE YELLED AT HIM AND SAID THAT SHE
HATED HIM AND WOULD SHOOT HIM IN THE FACE.
Reporter: BUT THE STATE'S STRONGEST EVIDENCE APPEARED TO
BE KARINA AND HUSTON'S OWN WORDS.
THOSE SNAPCHAT MESSAGES RECOVERED BY THE PROSECUTION'S
EXPERT. AND THOSE MESSAGES REVEALED A
LOT MORE THAN JUST PILLOW TALK. IN ONE, SHE BELITTLED RYAN AS
JUST HER "SPERM DONOR." IN ANOTHER, SHE SEEMED TO WISH
HE WAS DEAD. Reporter: YOU FOUND ONE OF
HER SNAPCHAT MESSAGES TO HUSTON DANKER SAID, "I'M WISHING
FOR A ROGUE SEMI ACCIDENT, NO SURVIVORS."
AND RYAN DROVE A TRUCK. HE DID.
HE DROVE A SEMI WITH SOME REGULARITY FOR HIS FARM DUTIES.
AND, YES, SHE SENT THAT MESSAGE TO HUSTON DANKER, WHICH CLEARLY
INDICATES FROM THE STATE'S PERSPECTIVE MALICE.
Reporter: BUT THE MOST DAMNING WERE MESSAGES ABOUT THE
MURDER ITSELF. THEY CERTAINLY THINK THEY'VE
DONE A GOOD JOB OF DELETING THE MOST INCRIMINATING SNAPS.
AND A LOT OF WHAT THEY DID WAS PRETTY STUPID AND PRETTY EASILY
DISCOVERED. Reporter: ROUGHLY AN HOUR
BEFORE THE 9-1-1 CALL, HUSTON MESSAGED KARINA, "OKAY, BABE.
SERIOUSLY PUTTING THE PHONE DOWN.
HAVE TO GET THIS "EXPLETIVE" DONE.
I LOVE YOU." KARINA REPLIED, "GO."
SHE TELLS HUSTON DANKER, "GO," WHICH WAS THE SIGN THAT
THE COAST WAS CLEAR FOR HIM TO COME INTO THE HOUSE AND FOR THE
TWO OF THEM TO COMMIT THIS MURDER.
Reporter: AND THE STATE SAID IF THERE WAS ANY DOUBT ABOUT
WHAT THEY WERE DISCUSSING, LOOK AT WHAT ELSE HUSTON SAID,
"REMEMBER THOSE CASINGS." KARINA'S REPLY?
"ABSOLUTELY. 100 PERCENT."
THEY SHOOT RYAN. THE PLAN IS FOR HUSTON TO GET
OUT OF THERE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE OUT THAT DOOR, WHICH IS EXACTLY
WHAT HAPPENED. KARINA'S JOB IS TO FIND SHELL
CASINGS. SHE USES HER CELL PHONE
FLASHLIGHT TO SEARCH AROUND. SHE FINDS ONE.
SHE DOESN'T FIND THE OTHER. Reporter: KARINA'S BROTHER
KURT HAD STOOD BY HER SIDE SINCE HER ARREST.
NOW, AS HE SAT IN COURT, THE FULL WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE SUNK
IN. I WAS DISGUSTED.
IT WAS JUST DISGUSTING. COMING HOME FROM THE TRIAL THAT
MY MOM MUTTERED SOMETHING LIKE, "WHERE DID I GO WRONG?"
I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, IT'S NOT SOMETHING SHE DID, OBVIOUSLY.
Reporter: HOW COULD KARINA POSSIBLY RECOVER FROM THIS?
SHE WAS ABOUT TO TRY, BY TELLING HER STORY DIRECTLY TO THE JURY.
I WAS DISGUSTED AND SCARED OF
LOSING MY HUSBAND.
I WAS DISGUSTED AND SCARED OF
LOSING MY HUSBAND. Reporter: OVER AND OVER,
KARINA COOPER TOLD FRIENDS AND FAMILY SHE DID NOT KILL HER
HUSBAND RYAN. NOW, HER DEFENSE WAS ABOUT TO
EXPLAIN WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. HUSTON DANKER KILLED
RYAN COOPER. HUSTON DANKER SHOT RYAN COOPER
IN THE FACE. Reporter: THE STRATEGY WAS
POINT THE FINGER AT HUSTON DANKER, THAT--
THAT HE'S YOUR GUY THAT YOU WANNA BE FOCUSING ON HERE.
HE IS. AND THAT IT'S LIKE, SHE'S
WRAPPED UP IN SOMETHING, DOESN'T THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO
HAPPEN, AND THEN IT DOES. Reporter: KARINA'S STORY WAS
THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT HUSTON TOLD POLICE.
IN HER VERSION, THE YOUNGER MAN COERCED HER INTO TAKING PART IN
THE MURDER. HUSTON DANKER SOLICITED
KARINA. HUSTON DANKER MANIPULATED
KARINA. KARINA COOPER WAS IN A DREAM
WORLD, AND THEN IT BECAME REAL, AND THEN SHE WAS IN TOO DEEP.
Reporter: AND NO ONE COULD EXPLAIN THAT BETTER THAN KARINA.
YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT THE TESTIMONY YOU'LL BE GIVING IN
THESE PROCEEDINGS WILL BE THE TRUTH?
I DO, YOUR HONOR. Reporter: YOU DECIDED TO PUT
KARINA ON THE STAND. YES.
Reporter: WHY? BECAUSE IT'S-- YOU KNOW, THAT'S
SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN.
'CAUSE THE JURY NEEDED TO HEAR THAT SHE'S A REGULAR
PERSON, A GOOD MOTHER, SOMEBODY WHO LOVES HER CHILDREN, AND WHO
WOULD NOT DO THIS. AND SO SHE HAD TO TAKE THE STAND
SO THAT JURY COULD SEE MORE THAN JUST HER SITTING NEXT TO US AT
THE TABLE SILENTLY. Reporter: FROM THE WITNESS
CHAIR, KARINA DESCRIBED HOW, AS A MARRIED MOTHER OF THREE, SHE
ENDED UP IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH A MAN 20 YEARS YOUNGER.
HOW DID YOU MEET HIM? I KNEW OF HIM FOR YEARS, BUT
I STARTED CUTTING HIS HAIR IS HOW I MET HIM.
AND I WAS BEING SHOWERED WITH ATTENTION BY HIM BEING TOLD I
WAS BEAUTIFUL AND FUNNY. "WHY CAN'T I FIND A WOMAN LIKE
THAT?" AND IT BECAME VERY FLATTERING TO
ME. Reporter: KARINA TESTIFIED
THAT THE ROMANCE WAS MOSTLY A FANTASY THAT PLAYED OUT ON
SNAPCHAT. IT'S ODD BECAUSE WHEN I WOULD
CUT HIS HAIR, WE WOULD TALK ABOUT THE SAME THINGS THAT I
WOULD TALK ABOUT WITH ANY OTHER CUSTOMERS.
IT WASN'T LEWD. IT WASN'T FLIRTATIOUS.
UM, THAT WAS WHEN WE SNAPCHATTED AT NIGHT THAT THAT WAS LIKE, WE
WERE SHY IN PERSON BUT BECAME OTHER PEOPLE WHEN WE WERE
TEXTING EACH OTHER. AT ONE POINT, DID IT BECOME
PHYSICAL? THERE WAS ONE PHYSICAL
ENCOUNTER, YES. THE LAST TIME I CUT HIS HAIR
BEFORE HE KILLED RYAN, IT WOULD'VE BEEN IN FEBRUARY I CUT
HIS HAIR, AND WE HAD SEX. Reporter: AFTER THAT, SHE
TOLD HUSTON TO STOP COMING TO THE SALON.
WHY DID YOU STOP CUTTING HIS HAIR?
Reporter: BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT THAT CHANCE OF THAT
HAPPENING EVER AGAIN. IT WAS AN ONLINE FANTASY THING,
AND WHEN IT BECAME A PHYSICAL IN-PERSON THING, I WAS DISGUSTED
AND SCARED OF LOSING MY HUSBAND. Reporter: BUT KARINA SAID
HUSTON REFUSED TO BACK OFF. HUSTON ACTED LIKE HE WAS MY
HUSBAND, AND RYAN WAS MY BOYFRIEND.
Reporter: KARINA TOLD THE COURT THAT HUSTON WAS THE ONE
WHO WANTED RYAN DEAD. DID HUSTON TALK ABOUT KILLING
RYAN? SEVERAL TIMES.
DID YOU EVER TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY?
NO. I THOUGHT HE WAS FULL OF CRAP.
HE'S GOT QUITE A REPUTATION AROUND TOWN WITH WOMEN AND
TELLING TALL TALES. Reporter: SHE INSISTED SHE
HAD NO IDEA WHAT HUSTON WAS PLANNING TO DO UNTIL THE WORST
HAD ALREADY HAPPENED. YOU GET TO THE LIVING ROOM,
YOU TURN ON THE LAMP, WHAT HAPPENS?
I SEE RYAN, AND THEN I SEE A LARGE POOL OF BLOOD.
I SHOOK HIS FOOT. OKAY.
AND THEN I JUST STARTED SCREAMING.
CAN YOU TELL US WHY YOU CALLED AARON INSTEAD OF
9-1-1 FIRST? AARON LIVES LESS THAN A MILE
FROM US. AARON IS A FIRST RESPONDER.
AARON IS THE PERSON CLOSEST TO US THAT I WOULD TRUST IN A TIME
OF EMERGENCY. I CALLED HIM BECAUSE I WAS
PANICKING. THREE CHILDREN HOME.
WOULD YOU EVER ORCHESTRATE THE MURDER OF YOUR HUSBAND WITH YOUR
THREE KIDS HOME? NEVER.
Reporter: ONE OF THE POINTS THAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE FOR THE
JURY WAS THAT WHAT KIND OF MOTHER WOULD KILL HER HUSBAND IN
THIS SMALL FARMHOUSE WITH THE CHILDREN HOME?
THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS I BELIEVED THAT-- THAT SHE WAS
INNOCENT, BECAUSE FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, SHE SEEMED
LIKE A VERY GOOD MOTHER. Reporter: KARINA SAID
ALTHOUGH SHE NEVER SAW HUSTON IN THE HOUSE, SHE KNEW NO ONE ELSE
COULD HAVE KILLED RYAN. THEN WHEN THE POLICE GET
THERE, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL THEM HUSTON SHOT MY HUSBAND?
I WAS SO SCARED. I INSTANTLY THOUGHT I WAS BEING
SET UP IN SOME-- ONE OF HIS PLOTS THAT HE LAID OUT ALL THE
TIME THROUGH SNAPCHAT. I-- I PANICKED.
AND THEN DID-- DID YOU CONTINUE TO LIE TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT FOR YEARS? I DID.
ONCE SHE COMMITTED TO A PATH, WHICH WASN'T COMING CLEAN ABOUT
HER RELATIONSHIP WITH HUSTON DANKER, IT WAS TOO LATE.
YOU KNOW, IF SHE WOULD'VE COME FORWARD AND SAID, "THIS IS
WHAT WAS GOING ON," THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT RESULT.
Reporter: FROM THE BEGINNING, THE DEFENSE UNDERSTOOD THE
IMPORTANCE OF ADDRESSING SOME OF THE MOST DAMAGING EVIDENCE.
Reporter: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM?
WHICH IS THE SNAPCHATS? Reporter: THE SNAPCHAT?
THERE'S A MESSAGE ABOUT A ROGUE SEMI-ACCIDENT THAT WE SAW
ON THE SNAPCHAT. DID YOU WANT YOUR HUSBAND DEAD?
NO. WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?
'CAUSE I HAVE A REALLY SICK SENSE OF HUMOR SOMETIMES,
INAPPROPRIATE HUMOR, AND I WAS PROBABLY ANGRY.
LIKE PEOPLE HAVE SAID, ESPECIALLY WHEN I DRINK, I CAN
SAY I HAVE A SHARP TONGUE SOMETIMES AND CAN SAY NASTY
THINGS. Reporter: AND WHAT ABOUT THAT
MESSAGE SHE SENT JUST BEFORE RYAN WAS KILLED, THE ONE
PROSECUTORS SAID SIMPLY READ, "GO"?
SHE TESTIFIED THERE WAS MORE TO IT.
I KNOW I SAID MORE. I SENT THREE MESSAGES IN A ROW.
WHAT DID THEY SAY? GO TO SLEEP.
THREE MESSAGES, LIKE PUTTING PERIODS IN BETWEEN THE WORDS TO
EMPHASIZE. GO TO SLEEP.
Reporter: IN OTHER WORDS, SHE WAS TELLING HUSTON, "GOOD
NIGHT," NOT "COME OVER AND HELP ME KILL MY HUSBAND."
THE DEFENSE SAID THE PROSECUTION'S EXPERT HAD
ESSENTIALLY HACKED INTO KARINA'S PHONE AND DIDN'T RECOVER
EVERYTHING. SHE CLAIMS SHE SAID, "GO TO
SLEEP." THAT THERE WERE THREE MESSAGES
AND THE DATA DIDN'T RETRIEVE COMPLETELY.
AND WE FOUGHT A LOT ABOUT DATA LOSS FROM PHONE INFORMATION AND
PHONE DUMPS. IT'S ESSENTIALLY A HACK.
THE SOFTWARE IS THEN KIND OF GETTING THEM THROUGH THE BACK
DOOR AND BEING ABLE TO EXPOSE SOME INFORMATION, BUT THEY CAN'T
ANSWER-- THEY CAN'T FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT.
Reporter: BUT ONE THING WAS CLEAR IN THOSE DIGITAL
CONVERSATIONS. ACCORDING TO THE DEFENSE, ONCE
RYAN WAS KILLED, COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE LOVERS ABRUPTLY
ENDED. NOBODY TESTIFIED TO ANY
INDICATION OF A CONTINUED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KARINA AND
HUSTON. SO WHY DOES IT END?
IT ENDS BECAUSE IT BECAME REAL, AND HE ACTUALLY KILLED HER
HUSBAND. HUSTON DANKER ON THIS EVENING
WENT ROGUE, AND HE ACTUALLY DID IT.
Reporter: AMONG THOSE LISTENING IN COURT WAS ASHTON,
STILL STRUGGLING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL.
YOU WATCHED HER UP THERE. HOW DID THAT FEEL?
I MEAN, THERE WAS PARTS OF HER STORY THAT BECAME
BELIEVABLE. MAYBE SHE WAS MANIPULATED INTO
THIS. Reporter: WOULD THE JURY FEEL
THE SAME WAY?
Reporter: WOULD THE JURY FEEL
THE SAME WAY? GIVING IN THESE PROCEEDINGS--
Reporter: KARINA COOPER HAD JUST TOLD THE JURY SHE WAS
MANIPULTED BY HUSTON DANKER, AND HE WAS THE ONE WHO SHOT HER
HUSBAND. YOU STATE YOU LOVED
RYAN COOPER? YES.
YOU LOVED HIM? YES.
VERY MUCH? YES.
Reporter: NOW, PROSECUTOR ISRAEL KODIAGA MADE IT HIS
MISSION TO POKE HOLES IN HER STORY.
YOU HAD A LOVER. THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL HIM.
YES. WHAT DO YOU CALL HIM?
I CALLED HIM AN ONLINE INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP.
WE FELT CONFIDENT THAT EVEN IF PEOPLE DID HAVE SYMPATHY FOR
HER, WE COULD REMIND THEM OF THE EVIDENCE THAT THEY'D SEEN.
THE PERSON YOU JUST REFERRED TO AS A SPERM DONOR, THAT'S YOUR
HUSBAND. YES.
RYAN COOPER, WHO YOU TELL THIS JURY YOU LOVED SO DEARLY.
I THINK WE ALL CALLED PEOPLE THAT WE LOVE NAMES AT TIMES.
Reporter: HE THEN ASKED KARINA TO READ HER OWN LOVING
WORDS TO HUSTON. "I SWEAR, HEART EMOJI, AND
JUST FELL EVEN HARDER FOR YOU, WHICH I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE
BEEN ANY MORE CRAZY OVER YOU THAN I ALREADY WAS."
Reporter: AND THE EXCHANGES GOT MORE EXPLICIT.
THE PROSECUTOR WANTED THE JURY TO HEAR IT ALL.
"GOOD MORNING, BABY. YOU WOULD HAVE WOKE UP TO YOUR
HORNY WIFE'S HAND WRAPPED AROUND YOUR [ BLEEP ] THIS MORNING.
Reporter: HE ASKED ABOUT SUGGESTIVE PHOTOS THE PAIR
SWAPPED. HE WROTE, "YOU GOT TO SEE ME
IN MY UNDERWEAR THIS MORNING, AND I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO SEE
YOU." YOU GOT TO SEE HIM IN HIS
UNDERWEAR THAT MORNING? HE SENT A SNAPCHAT OF IT.
YES. Reporter: THE PROSECUTION
ALSO WANTED TO KNOW THIS. IF KARINA WAS SO INNOCENT, HOW
COULD SHE POSSIBLY EXPLAIN THAT TEXT EXCHANGE ABOUT PICKING UP
THE SHELL CASINGS? THEN HE SAYS, "REMEMBER THOSE
CASINGS, [ BLEEP ] REMEMBER THOSE, NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTS."
THAT'S WHAT HE SAID. YOU SAY, "ABSOLUTELY,
100 PERCENT?" THAT WAS THE SNAPCHAT I SENT,
YES. Reporter: YOU WATCHED KARINA
TESTIFY? YEP.
Reporter: YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU WERE SEEING AND
HEARING. LIES, ALL LIES.
AND IT ACTUALLY MADE ME GO BACK AND THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING,
EVERY CONVERSATION I'D EVER HAD WITH HER, HOW MUCH I THOUGHT SHE
PROBABLY LIED DURING ALL OF THOSE ALSO.
Reporter: EVEN HER OWN ATTORNEYS HAD TO ADMIT, KARINA'S
CROSS-EXAMINATION DID NOT GO WELL.
CROSS-EXAMINATION WAS PRETTY BRUTAL, BUT IT WAS MORE JUST A
SHOCK EFFECT OF EMBARRASSING HER, AND THAT'S WHAT THE STATE
DID. THEY SUCCEEDED.
Reporter: AFTER THAT, THE CASE WENT TO THE JURY.
IT WAS NOT A LONG WAIT. 3 1/2 HOURS LATER--
HAS THE JURY, IN FACT, REACHED A VERDICT?
WE HAVE, YOUR HONOR. WE, THE JURY, FIND THE
DEFENDANT, KARINA COOPER, GUILTY OF THE OFFENSE OF MURDER IN THE
FIRST DEGREE. I FELT A LOT DIFFERENT THAN I
THOUGHT I WOULD FEEL. IT WASN'T--
Reporter: HOW SO? IT WASN'T RELIEF, IT WASN'T
HAPPINESS. IT WAS JUST-- I WANNA SAY IT
WAS SAD HOW IT WENT DOWN AND-- Reporter: YEAH.
I MEAN, WE LOST ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER.
Reporter: MM-HMM, AND IT DOESN'T BRING BACK RYAN.
AND IT DOESN'T BRING RYAN BACK.
Reporter: THE WOMEN WHO ONCE CONSIDERED KARINA A CLOSE FRIEND
FELT THE SAME SENSE OF EMPTINESS.
YEAH. NOBODY IN THEIR WILDEST DREAMS
WOULD EVER THINK THAT YOU WOULD HAVE A FRIEND THAT COULD DO
THIS. AND IT GIVES YOU A LOT OF TRUST
ISSUES WITH PEOPLE FROM NOW ON. Reporter: BUT FEW FELT AS
WOUNDED AS KARINA'S OWN BROTHER. THIS IS HARD FOR ME TO SAY.
I DON'T, I THINK AS KARINA AGED, SHE WASN'T MENTALLY STABLE, I
GUESS. I THINK SHE BELIEVED SHE WAS
SMARTER THAN SHE ACTUALLY WAS. NOW, DON'T GET ME WRONG.
SHE WAS A SMART WOMAN, BUT I BELIEVE SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD
ACTUALLY GET AWAY WITH THIS. Reporter: AS EXCRUCIATING AS
IT WAS TO SIT THROUGH THE TRIAL, RYAN'S FAMILY PREPARED TO GO
THROUGH IT ALL AGAIN WITH HUSTON DANKER SET TO GO ON TRIAL
A MONTH LATER. AFTER HIS LAST INTERVIEW WITH
POLICE, PROSECUTORS EXPECTED DANKER TO BLAME KARINA FOR THE
MURDER SCHEME. BUT BY NOW, THEY'D ALSO DONE A
DEEP DIVE INTO HIS ELECTONICS. AND IT TURNED OUT, HE WASN'T THE
MOST CLEVER CRIMINAL WHEN IT CAME TO SEARCHING THE WEB.
TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS HE WAS SEARCHING FOR.
UH, CONSIDERING DIFFERENT POTENTIAL POISONS.
THE BEST GUN TO USE TO KILL SOMEONE.
Reporter: THE QUESTIONS INCLUDED, "HOW DO PEOPLE GET
CAUGHT FOR SHOOTING" AND "THE BEST WAY TO KILL SOMEBODY WITH
NO EVIDENCE." MAYBE THAT'S WHY HE CHANGED HIS
MIND AS THE TRIAL WAS BEGINNING. THAT MORNING OF JURY
SELECTION, I GOT CALLED FROM MIKE RINGLE, THE PROSECUTOR,
AND-- "HEY, ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AGO HE PLED GUILTY."
Reporter: WOW. EVERYTHING CAME TO A SCREECHING
HALT. IT DID, AND THAT WAS A GOOD
FEELING, JUST NOT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN WAS GOOD.
Reporter: BOTH KARINA AND HUSTON DANKER WERE AUTOMATICALLY
SENTENCED TO LIFE BEHIND BARS. RYAN'S CHILDREN NOW LIVE WITH
THEIR UNCLE AARON AND HIS WIFE. AND THEIR UNCLE KURT HAS FOUND A
WAY TO STAY IN THEIR LIVES, DESPITE THE HORRIBLE THINGS HIS
SISTER DID. I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S AWKWARD
ANYMORE. UM, IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING, YOU
KNOW. BUT IT'S JUST NOT ANYMORE
BECAUSE THEY'RE SO GREAT. THEY'RE ANOTHER GOOD FAMILY.
Reporter: LIFE ON THE FAMILY FARM CHURNS ON THROUGH SEASONS
OF PLANTING AND HARVESTS. AARON BUILT A NEW, BIGGER HOUSE
ON THE LAND WHERE THE KIDS CAN GROW UP WITH THEIR COUSINS, WHO
ARE REALLY LIKE SIBLINGS NOW. WHAT'S LIFE LIKE ON THE FARM NOW
THAT YOU'VE DOUBLED-- YEAH.
Reporter:-- YOUR CHILDREN, THREE TO SIX.
YEAH. IT'S BUSY.
THERE'S USUALLY SOMETHING GOING ON AT ALL TIMES.
SO IT'S-- Reporter: YEAH.
>>-- SOMEWHAT OUT OF CONTROL CHAOS.
IT'S A RIDE. Reporter: A RIDE.
JUST LIKE RYAN, A MAN WHO LOVED FARM AND FAMILY, WOULD HAVE
WANTED. OF "DATELINE."
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