TOLEDO – Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Karina Sue Cooper’s first-degree murder trial will proceed as scheduled beginning July 1 in Linn County.
On Friday, June 20, Karina Cooper, 47, and her attorneys Aaron Hawbaker and Nichole Watt both with the Waterloo Public Defender’s Office, along with Assistant Attorney General Michael Ringle and Assistant Tama County Attorney Geneva Williams all appeared in person for a joint case management/pre-trial conference in Tama County District Court at the courthouse in Toledo. Also present were attorney Melissa Nine, appointed guardian ad litem (GAL), Tama County Investigator Trevor Killian, Tama County Jail Administrator Brian Randall, several members of the public, a videographer from KWWL, and a producer with CBS News’ true-crime series 48 Hours. Chief Judge Lars G. Anderson presided over the hearing.
Karina Cooper, a longtime rural Traer resident and mother, was arrested and charged on Feb. 19, 2024, with first-degree murder in connection with her husband Ryan Cooper’s death; she pleaded not guilty to the single Class A felony charge…