Huston William Danker booking photo.

TOLEDO – Huston William Danker’s first degree murder trial which was originally set to begin on Nov. 4, 2024, has been reset again.

On Sept. 6, defense attorney Leon F. Spies of Iowa City, Assistant Attorneys General Michael H. Ringle and Israel J. Kodiaga, and Tama County Attorney Brent D. Heeren filed a joint motion in Tama County District Court requesting Danker’s 10-day trial which had been previously reset to Dec. 17 in Johnson County be continued and reset for a second time to Jan. 21, 2025.

“In support of this request, the parties state that the current trial setting will likely require that proceedings will be interrupted by the Christmas holidays and further involve travel and scheduling difficulties for both prosecution and defense witnesses,” the joint motion stated. “In order to avoid these logistical complications, the parties jointly request that the trial be reset.”

On Sept. 9, Chief Judge Lars G. Anderson granted the motion and reset the trial to Jan. 21, 2025, beginning at 9 a.m. in Johnson County District Court.

A case management conference in the case is scheduled for Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. by Zoom.

On April 29 of this year, Danker, who turned 27 on Sept. 11, was arrested in Cedar Rapids by the Tama County Sheriff’s Office and charged later that day with first degree murder for acting “in concert with Karina Cooper to kill Ryan Cooper.” Danker pleaded not guilty to the single Class A felony charge on May 16 while also waiving his right to a speedy trial.

Ryan Cooper was murdered in his rural Traer home as a result of two gunshot wounds to the face in July of 2021. Ryan Cooper’s wife, Karina Sue Cooper, now 47, was arrested and charged in February of this year with first degree murder. She also pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting a 10-day jury trial which is set to begin on Feb. 25, 2025, in Linn County.

Danker and Karina Cooper both remain behind bars at the Tama County Jail in Toledo on $1 million bonds.