Karina Cooper pocketed a $515K life insurance check — now, her slain husband’s estate wants it back
NEED TO KNOW
- Karina Cooper received nearly $515,000 from her husband Ryan Cooper’s life insurance in December 2021 after he was found shot dead in their Iowa home
- Prosecutors said Karina and alleged lover Huston Danker plotted the killing to cash in on the insurance policy; she was convicted on July 11 and he later pleaded guilty
- Ryan’s estate asks a judge to freeze and return the money, and a hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12
Karina Cooper was convicted of murdering her husband Ryan Cooper last month — now his estate seeks to claw back the roughly $515,000 life-insurance payout she cashed before the death investigation even finished.
PEOPLE previously reported that Ryan, 42, was found shot twice in the face inside the couple’s home in Traer, Iowa, on June 18, 2021. While the death investigation was still underway, his wife received a payout of $514,882.21 from his life-insurance policy, according to the Times-Republican, KCRG and KCCI.
Karina was arrested nearly three years later in February 2024, and a Linn County jury found her guilty of first-degree murder on July 11, 2025. A first-degree murder conviction in Iowa carries a mandatory life sentence…