UPDATE: Second person charged in 2021 Traer homicide (2024)

TRAER— A second person has been arrested in connection with the 2021 shooting death of a Traer resident at his home.

On Monday, officers with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Tama County Sheriff’s Office charged Huston William Danker, 27, of Shellsburg, with first-degree murder.

He was taken to the Tama County Jail, and bond was set at $1 million.

Authorities said Danker is charged with the slaying of Ryan Cooper at his home. Authorities allege Danker worked with Cooper’s wife, Karina Sue Cooper, in a plot to kill him.

“Danker told investigators he planned and assisted Karina Cooper with the shooting of Ryan Cooper,” investigators wrote in court records.

In February 2024, authorities arrested Karina Sue Cooper, 46, for first-degree murder.

Tama County deputies were called to the home at about 4:35 a.m. June 18, 2021, and found Ryan Cooper in a recliner with a gunshot wound. Karina Cooper was sitting on top of him, court records state.

An autopsy determined he had been shot twice in the face and a spent .22-caliber shell casing was located nearby. No guns were found near the body.

During the investigation, authorities found two witnesses who said Karina Cooper told them she wanted her husband dead and could shoot him in the face, records state.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information related to this investigation can contact the Tama County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 484-4111, the DCI at (515) 725-6010, or by email at dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us.

In March, Karina Cooper pleaded not guilty to her murder charge, and she stood by her speedy trial rights.

In April, a judge granted a motion to move her trial the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on a change of venue. Her trial is currently scheduled for July.

Defense attorney Nichole Watt has asked the court to have authorities turn over video and police reports from a bar fight in Reinbeck involving Ryan Cooper around June 16, 2021, just days before the slaying.

The defense also asked for any tips on the homicide that were sent to Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, the Iowa DCI and Tama County Sheriff's Office.