When 42-year-old Ryan Roy Cooper was found dead inside his home in Traer, Iowa, on June 18, 2021, it left not only his loved ones but the entire community shaken to the very core. That’s because, as explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: A Farmer’s Wife,’ he was a true family man determined to carry on the legacy of his ancestors while also providing for those remaining in his life. Therefore, of course, no one could have ever imagined he would be betrayed and killed at the hands of someone he once trusted the most, but sadly, that’s precisely what happened.
Ryan Cooper Was Found Dead on His Recliner
Born on June 1, 1979, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Connie Beck Cooper and Jan Cooper, as one of their four children, Ryan Roy Cooper never knew anything apart from unwavering familial support. He reportedly grew up in a household full of love alongside his brother Aaron and his sister Michelle, even after they had suffered the loss of his elder brother Jason at age 5 in early 1978. The loss was hard on the entire family, even the siblings who never got to meet him, but they didn’t let it halt their lives since they knew the late toddler would have wanted them to go on.
Ryan and Karina Cooper
Ryan thus seized the joy of every day – he graduated from North Tama High School in 1998 before pursuing his lifelong passion for farming by joining the family business, Cooper Farms. He subsequently built a name for himself as a hardworking farmer, truck driver, as well as cattle producer, all the while also maintaining great relationships with loved ones, neighbors, and strangers alike. However, he was proudest of being a father of four. He shared a son with his first wife and had three more kids – two sons plus a daughter – with his second wife, Karina Alpers Cooper. They are: Cole Roy, Cayd, Cable Ryan, and Cortlyn Evaan.
Ryan hence seemed to have an almost idyllic family by the time 2021 rolled around, albeit clouded by grief as they had lost his mother just a year prior in May 2020, but everything turned upside down in the early hours of June 18, 2021. It was around 4:35 am when Karina dialled 911 in a panic, telling the dispatcher that someone had broken into their 1846 K Avenue home in Traer, and she had heard gunshots ring out. When officials arrived at the scene, they found the farmer dead on his recliner, with his hysterical wife on top of him. A day later, an autopsy confirmed that the 42-year-old had been shot twice in the face at close range.
Ryan Cooper’s Homicide Was The Result of a Murder Plot Ignited by a Secret Affair
The moment detectives walked into the Cooper home, they knew something terrible had transpired, not only owing to Karina’s distress call but also because of how bloody the scene was. The fact that there were no signs of forced entry, nothing appeared to be stolen, and everyone else – the wife as well as their three kids – was left unbothered/unharmed seemed strange, leading to the hypothesis that Ryan was an intentional target. All deputies found at the scene was a .22 caliber shell casing near the victim’s remains, which was soon confirmed to be the exact caliber of the two bullets that had killed the victim as he lay on his recliner.
Karina Cooper
Officials questioned Karina, who indicated that she was with family on June 17, 2021, and had returned home in the evening to put the kids to bed before going to sleep herself without any issues. According to records, she then asserted she woke up in the early hours of June 18 to a loud noise, following which she thought she heard her husband snoring. She thus called out to him, as per her statements to the police, only to venture out to the living room upon getting no response and discovering the bloody scene. She reportedly also maintained that her marriage with Ryan was in a good place, suggesting there were no affairs or betrayals in any manner, before further iterating that he didn’t have any enemies.
Ryan’s other family members, friends, and acquaintances backed the latter aspect, but detectives continued to look into his personal life as well as those closest to him to ensure they didn’t miss anything. That’s when they got a breakthrough – a digital forensic analysis of Karina’s phone revealed she had indeed been having an affair with a man named Huston Danker. There were extensive Snapchat exchanges between the two, which painted a clear picture of their romantic as well as sexual relationship that transformed into more. After all, according to court records, they even discussed eventually tying the knot, wanting Ryan “out of the picture,” and using the payout from his life insurance to start a new life together in detail.
Karina Cooper and Huston Danker Are Both Serving a Life Sentence in State Prison
While the investigations were still ongoing, Karina received $514,882.21 as the beneficiary of Ryan’s life insurance, which she began using not long after to maintain her lifestyle and provide for the kids. However, things changed nearly three years after the incident, as she was arrested for first-degree murder on February 19, 2024, with Huston following on April 29. When questioned, the latter admitted to helping his lover plan and execute her husband’s murder before he ultimately pleaded guilty to the same on August 12, 2025. Karina, though, chose to stand trial for the charge against her, which commenced in the summer of 2025, with her maintaining her innocence despite the extensive evidence and testimonies against her.
Huston Danker
During the court proceedings, prosecutors presented her Snapchat exchanges with Huston for the jury, wherein she was openly showing hostility toward Ryan. In one message, she wrote, “I f**ing hate him,” whereas in another, she typed, “I’m wishing for a rogue semi accident, no survivors.” As if that’s not enough, on the fateful night, around an hour before the 911 call, Huston had texted her, “Remember those casings. No ifs, ands or buts,” to which she had replied, “Absolutely. 100 percent.”
Karina was thus found guilty of first-degree murder on July 11, 2025, which is the same charge Huston pled guilty to on August 12, 2025, before they were both separately sentenced to life in prison. Therefore, today, at the age of 48, Karina is incarcerated at the minimum/medium-security Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville, where she is expected to remain for the rest of her natural life. As for Huston, at the age of 28, he is currently detained at the medium-security Iowa Medical & Classification Center in the Johnson County community of Oakdale in Coralville.
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