A divorced Long Island man who allegedly killed his ex-wife and her lover in their multimillion-dollar mansion was saving bullets for others he planned to kill, prosecutors said Friday in a dramatic court hearing punctuated by shouts from grieving family members.
“A f**king murderer,” one man yelled as a handcuffed Daniel Coppola, 50, walked into a Suffolk County courtroom to be arraigned on a charge of second-degree murder.
Coppola cold-bloodedly “ambushed and murdered” his ex-wife, Kelly Coppola, 50, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Pohlman, 53, with a semi-automatic rifle while they slept in their $1.1 million St. James mansion on Wednesday night, Assistant District Attorney Eric Aboulafia said.
“The perpetrators who brutally took their lives stand before you,” Aboulafia said.
Describing the results of a warrant search of Coppola's home, prosecutors said her jealous ex-husband had typed up a letter detailing his pathological reasons for committing the murder, including blaming Kelly for his financial woes.
The letter also said he was in possession of bullets with the names of lawyers involved in the divorce proceedings inscribed on them, “including his own lawyer,” Aboulafia said in court.
Coppola's anger was “evident” in the letter, Aboulafia said.
“In the letter the defendant states: 'I am sane and I know exactly what I am doing,'” he said.
Aboulafia said Coppola executed a “premeditated murder plan” by texting someone inside the house – the family said was their teenage daughter – and luring her outside.
Authorities said the man told the boy to wait in his car, then shot open the front door of the home.
Coppola forced his way in, confronted the couple in a hallway and “while they were both naked, fired a semi-automatic handgun, killing them both,” Aboulafia said.
According to prosecutors and family members, Coppola told his daughter, who was frightened after hearing the gunshots, about the despicable act.
Police arrested Coppola at his St James home and he underwent a psychiatric evaluation after he had threatened to commit suicide.
Aboulafia said the suspect admitted to killing the couple.
Judge Jonathan Bloom ordered Coppola held without bail and also placed him on suicide watch at the request of his attorney, Joseph Cohen.
The shocking plea was attended primarily by Pohlmann's grieving family.
As they waited for the trial to begin, their anguished sighs and cries of “that idiot,” “I miss you” and “murderer” echoed through the courtroom.
The man angrily shouted “fucking murderer” and was ordered out.
Pohlman's father, Kenneth Pohlman Sr., told reporters outside the courtroom that the heinous murder had robbed the couple of a “second chance” at life.
He noted that his grandchildren lost their mother 17 years ago, and now their father has passed away after finding his “soul mate” in Kelly Coppola.
“They've been together for over a year and a half and are more like lovers than lovers,” Pohlman said. “They were in love. In their own words, they were soul mates.”
Family members say Daniel Coppola was abusive and a “crazy man” towards his ex-wife and had a bitter divorce.
After Kelly met Kenneth Pohlman, she finally found the happiness she'd never known before, her father, John Patton, said.
“There was so much joy around her and she was always smiling. It's such a tragedy that this happened,” he said. “I'm at a loss for words. My whole family, his family, the grief we're feeling is immeasurable. We'll never get over this.”
