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Texts, Snapchat messages implicate Traer woman, lover in her husband’s fatal shooting
Karina Cooper denied an extramarital relationship in police interview after her husband’s murder
Jul. 3, 2025 7:28 pm, Updated: Jul. 4, 2025 7:29 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Forensic evidence presented in court Thursday indicates an affair between a Traer woman and a Shellsburg man, their frustration over not being together, and their plans for the future. And some text messages and snapchats implicate them in her husband’s 2021 fatal shooting, the prosecution says.
About an hour before Tama County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the fatal shooting of Ryan Cooper, 42, around 4:30 a.m. on June 18, 2021, his wife, Karina Cooper was in a text message conversation with Huston Danker. They professed their love for each other and Danker reminded Karina not to leave any evidence after the shooting.
“Remember those (shell) casings. No ifs, ands or buts,” Danker wrote.
“Absolutely. 100 percent,” Karina replied.
Danker then told her at 3:32 a.m. his phone was “going down” and “Love you.”
Deputies testified Wednesday they were dispatched about 4:30 a.m. and found Ryan Cooper had been fatally shot twice in the face as he was sleeping in his recliner in the living room of the Coopers’ house at 1846 K Ave., in Traer. One .22 caliber cartridge casing was found on the floor near the recliner.
Karina Cooper, 48, is on trial this week for first-degree murder. The prosecution will continue its case Monday in Linn County District Court. The trial was moved from Tama County.
Huston Danker, 27, also is charged with first-degree murder and his trial is set for Aug. 12 in Johnson County District Court. His trial was recently moved from Tama County.
According to the prosecution’s theory, Karina and Danker wanted to be together. They planned to kill Ryan Cooper for his $500,000 life insurance policy because Karina didn’t have any money and all of Ryan’s assets were owned by Cooper Farms — his family’s farming business.
The defense says Karina was taken advantage of by Danker and he’s the one who fatally shot Ryan.
The Linn County District courtroom was nearly full again, as it was Wednesday, with family and friends supporting Ryan and others supporting Karina.
Investigation revealed internet searches, text messages
Tiffany Lord, a detective and forensic examiner with the University of Iowa Police Department, testified she found internet searches conducted by Karina. In searches on Nov. 8 and 9, 2020, Karina was looking for “common type of handgun bullets” and which bullets are used in different situations. The Nov. 9 search was performed on a private browser.
There were 23 internet searches conducted on Nov. 11, and 66 on Nov. 18, all on a private browser, Lord said. Those searches included basic parts of a firearm, how to use and clean a firearm, and what bullets should be used.
Lord said Danker’s search history, which was deleted, revealed that he looked up ways to kill a person. The searches looked for information about killing someone with antifreeze and sodium sulfate, and killing someone without them knowing. The searches were conducted on May 11, 2021.
In July 2021 — after Ryan’s death — Danker searched “where do murderers go to prison in Iowa.” He looked up information about medium security prisons in Iowa, how long it takes to go through data forensics, and how to delete snapchats, as well as how to get away with murder and the number one lawyer in Iowa, Lord said.
The romantic relationship — according to the text messages and snapchats, at least — went back to Dec. 13, 2020. In a message on that day, Karina was complaining about her husband, saying she “hates” him. Karina also told Danker she had been imagining them traveling together. They exchanged “I love you” and heart emojis.
In a message exchange from March 12, 2021, Karina and Danker were talking about having a baby and Karina mentioned doing in vitro fertilization.
Lord testified there was a gap in messages until June 17, 2021. Then, on June 18, 2021 at 3:31 a.m. — the morning of the murder — Karina sent Danker a heart emoji. He replied, “More than (expletive) life.”
Danker’s reminder for Karina to pick up casings after the shooting followed in the chat messages.
Lord also reviewed data from the health apps on Karina’s and Danker’s Apple iPhones the morning of Ryan Cooper’s murder. Karina walked 170 steps between 4:23 and 4:33 a.m. That’s 393.7 feet — more than a football field — Lord said. It was about 41 feet from the back bedroom of the Coopers’ house to the living room, where Ryan was found.
Danker’s health data showed that on June 18 at 3:13 a.m. he walked 244 steps, and he walked 230 steps at 4:46 a.m.
Karina, in interview with police, denied extramarital issues
In other testimony Thursday, Special Agent Ryan Herman with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation answered questions about Karina’s video recorded police interview on June 18, 2021, and the prosecution played portions of the interview. At the time of the interview, Herman wasn’t aware of all the text and Snapchat messages or the autopsy results.
Karina told him she went to bed around 9 or 10 p.m. on June 17 and was awakened by a “crashing” noise. She had gotten up about 3 a.m. to use the bathroom and heard Ryan snoring in his recliner. He usually slept in the recliner because their two youngest kids slept in the bed with her, she told Herman.
Karina told Herman she looked around the house, went downstairs and saw Ryan in the recliner, but didn’t know anything was wrong until she turned on the lights and saw “a lot of blood.” Karina said she screamed. She was so “freaked out” that she locked herself and the three kids in the bedroom. She thought an intruder was in the house.
She called Ryan’s brother, Aaron Cooper, and asked him to come over.
Herman asked Karina if she saw any injuries on Ryan, but she said no.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Mike Ringle asked Herman if Karina mentioned Ryan was shot because she’d told a 911 dispatcher that Ryan had been shot twice. Herman said Karina told him she didn’t know where all the blood came from.
Herman said Karina, during the interview, seemed to be crying, but he didn’t see any tears.
Herman asked Karina about the status of their marriage and she denied any extramarital issues. When asked about Danker, Karina became upset, yelling “The neighbor? My friend?” She said there were some rumors about them because of a Snapchat he accidentally sent her. It was sent to her by mistake and Ryan saw it, she said.
Karina said there was “absolutely” nothing going on between them.
In a second interview, on June 19, 2021, after Herman confronted Karina about his suspicions that she was involved in Ryan’s death, Karina said it was “ridiculous.” She again said she didn’t know where all the blood came from because she didn’t see any injuries on her husband.
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