An Iowa man will spend the rest of his life in prison for helping kill Ryan Cooper in 2021. Huston Danker said he was guilty of first-degree murder in August 2025. He admitted that he worked with his lover, Karina Cooper, to kill her husband. The judge gave him his sentence on October 3, 2025, in Tama County court.
According to Court TV, Ryan Cooper was a 42-year-old farmer and father of four. Someone found him dead in his home on June 18, 2021. He had been shot in the face twice. The couple’s three children were in the house when it happened. When a deputy got to the scene, he saw something strange. Ryan’s body was sitting in a recliner and Karina was sitting on top of him. Police did not find a gun anywhere, but they did find a .22 shell casing.
Prosecutors said that Karina Cooper and Huston Danker were having an affair. They said the two made a plan to kill Ryan so they could get $500,000 from his life insurance. Evidence shown in court proved the two had been talking on Snapchat and having sex since February 2021. Karina said in court that their relationship started when she cut his hair at a salon where she worked. But things changed after that.
How the case played out in court
Karina Cooper went to trial in July 2025. She told the jury that she stopped seeing Danker in person because she felt disgusted and was scared of ruining her marriage. She said that Danker killed her husband by himself. But the messages between them told a different story. The court saw that the two were talking right before Ryan was murdered. Danker sent her a message about remembering those shell casings about an hour before Karina called 911.
Police talked to Danker in June 2021, and the jury watched that interview during the trial. Danker said he was not having an affair with Karina Cooper. He told police that their relationship was like a gay best friend. When prosecutors wanted him to testify at Karina’s trial, his lawyer said he would use his Fifth Amendment right and not answer questions.
A jury found Karina Cooper guilty of first-degree murder. She got sentenced to life in prison without parole in September 2025. Danker was supposed to go to trial in August, but he changed his mind right before they picked the jury. His lawyer said that Danker wanted to take responsibility for what he did. He also wanted to save the families and the community from going through a long trial.
Ryan’s sister, Michelle Wilson, spoke at the sentencing. She called both of them psychopaths. She said they could not be happy with what they had. Wilson said that Ryan was sentenced to death by this murder. She added that everyone left behind was sentenced to life without him. People who want to learn about other murder cases can read about true crime podcasters who solve cases they cover.
