A screenshot of Karina Cooper during a recent case management conference held by videoconference. Cooper was appearing by Zoom from the Tama County Jail.

TOLEDO – Karina Sue Cooper’s first degree murder trial previously scheduled to begin next week on July 9 in Linn County has been reset to Oct. 1, 2024.

The planned 10-day jury trial was rescheduled by Chief Judge Lars G. Anderson last Friday in response to a motion by Cooper who waived (again) her right to a speedy trial.

Cooper, 47, was arrested and charged this past February with first degree murder in connection with the June 18, 2021 death of her husband Ryan Cooper who was found dead in the early morning hours at the rural Traer residence they shared.

As of press time, Karina Cooper remains behind bars at the Tama County Jail in Toledo on a $1 million bond.

GAL application filed

Last month on June 20, Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren filed an application in Tama County District Court for the appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL) as part of Karina Cooper’s and Huston William Danker’s first degree murder trials.

Danker, 26, has also been charged in connection with Ryan Cooper’s 2021 murder. His 10-day trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 17, 2024, in Johnson County.

The GAL application indicates that at the time of Ryan Cooper’s death, there were four minor victims. The application further states the unnamed child “will be called to testify in the prosecution” of both Karina Cooper and Danker.