Huston William Danker booking photo.

TOLEDO – In his first degree murder trial set to begin in late January, Huston William Danker plans to use an alibi defense.

In court documents filed on Oct. 15, Danker — through his defense attorney Leon F. Spies — gave notice he plans to rely on an alibi defense during his nine-day jury trial set to begin Jan. 21, 2025, at 9 a.m. in Johnson County District Court.

On April 29 of this year, Danker, now 27 and formerly of Shellsburg, 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.” Ryan Cooper was murdered in his rural Traer home as a result of two gunshot wounds to the face back in July of 2021. Prior to Danker’s arrest, Ryan Cooper’s wife, Karina Sue Cooper, now 47, was arrested and charged in February of this year with first degree murder.

On May 16, 2024, Danker pleaded not guilty to the single Class A felony charge while also waiving his right to a speedy trial.

As part of his alibi notice, Danker said he was at 2798 Highway 8, Traer at the time of Ryan Cooper’s murder. The address, located east of Traer, is the home of Danker’s parents, David and Denise Danker.

Per the court filing, Danker intends to rely on testimony from three witnesses to support his alibi including Detective Trevor Killian with the Tama County Sheriff’s Office; Tiffany Lord with the University of Iowa Police Department; and Holly Witt with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation based in Dubuque.

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

Karina Cooper also pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and is currently awaiting her 9-day jury trial set to begin on Feb. 25, 2025, in Linn County.