Daniel Coppola, St James, Long Island man shoots dead ex wife, Kelly Coppola and her new boyfriend, Kenneth Pohlman at their Suffolk County, NY home. Ex husband had started threatening new couple soon after they started dating amid bitter divorce.
A family member has told of a St James, Long Island man previously threatening his son and his new girlfriend, soon after they started dating, before the ‘enraged’ former husband taking out his vengeance on the the new couple living in the new boyfriend’s multi-million dollar Suffolk County home.
Daniel Coppola, 50, of St James, allegedly gunned down the couple — Kelly Coppola, 50, and Kenneth Pohlman, 53 — at their St. James residence around 11:45 p.m, Wednesday night at the couple slept.
At the time, Coppola had reached out to his 15 year old daughter who lived with her mother and her new boyfriend to to sit in his car outside 21 Brasswood Road, according to police.
Two 911 calls placed 9 minutes apart
‘The daughter was in the house and he reached out to her and told her to get out of the house,’ Detective Lt. Kevin Breyer told reporters.
It’s then that Daniel Coppola allegedly broke down the front door of the multi-million dollar home, ran upstairs and fatally shot both Kelly Coppola who he had been previously married to and her new partner, Kenneth Pohlman.
From there, Daniel Coppola fled the crime scene, returning to his home with his teen daughter who he shared with his ex wife, just one mile away according to News 12 Long Island.
Two 911 calls were placed within minutes of each other, Wednesday night just after 11.45pm, according to Detective Lt. Kevin Breyer with Suffolk County Police.
The first came in at 11.45 pm from Head of the Harbour at Daniel Coppola’s home, with the man’s 15 year old daughter saying her father was suicidal and that he was trying to kill himself with a gun. Officers responded and took the man into custody according to Breyer.
Nine minutes later, a woman called 911 to report a teen had left her mother’s home without her mother’s permission.
Suspect was threatening to shoot self dead after double murders
At the time of the double murders, 15-year-old’s friends were trying to reach out to Kelly Coppola, and when they could not get in touch with her, they called 911 and reported a teenager had left the home on Brasswood Road with her father without her mother’s knowledge. That 911 call was placed around 11:54 p.m.
‘As he’s driving her, she is communicating with friends via text saying, ‘I don’t know what my father did. I don’t know how my mother is,” Breyer added.
Her friends called her mom but were unable to get in touch with her — leading them to call 911.
Officers arrived at Daniel Coppola’s home where he was placed under arrest and placed under mental evaluation after making suicidal statements, police said.
The former husband now faced two counts of second degree murder, patch reported.
The bloodshed came after the former couple finalized their divorce a year or two ago, according to Pohlman’s family. Soon after, Kelly Coppola moved into Pohlman’s six-bedroom, four-bath, $1.1 million home just one mile away from where her former husband resided.
Ongoing threats
In the aftermath of the double murders, Kenneth Pohlman Sr., whose son was gunned down along with his live in girlfriend, told CSB News that when his son started dating Kelly, there were numerous threats from Coppola.
Added the victim’s father, ‘Kelly said he used to abuse her.’
Of note at the time of the bloodshed no order of protection was issued against the bitter ex. Nevertheless police were called for a non-criminal dispute between the pair while they were married.
Kenneth Pohlman was a father of three.
‘Two of his children had their mother taken from them 17 years ago from cancer. Today, this maniac took their father from them. He has another child who also lost their father,’ Tom Pohlman said.
Come Thursday, investigators could be seen towing a car and gathering guns from Daniel Coppola’s home as authorities now sought a motive to the double murders.
