A 15-year-old girl was using her phone as a lifeline, calling 911 and texting family and friends, after a terrifying experience with her father in Long Island. On Friday, he pleaded not guilty to the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend.
The teen called 911 on Wednesday, August 28, according to Suffolk County detectives. At around 11:45 p.m. she reported that her father was threatening to kill himself with a gun, per police. Ten minutes later, police reported that her friends called in after they were unable to reach her mother, reporting that she’d left with her father without her mother’s permission.
According to the police investigation, as detailed by WCBS, Daniel Coppola, 50, drove to the home of Kenneth Pohlman Jr., 53. He lured out his daughter, putting her in his car. He then went back inside, per authorities, gunned down both Pohlman and his ex-wife Kelly Coppola, 50, before driving his daughter back to his own home.
“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,” said Suffolk County Detective Kevin Beyrer.
In response to the calls, Beyrer said officers went to the home that Daniel still shared with his ex-wife Kelly. He was taken into custody for a psychological evaluation. They also made their way to the Pohlman’s home, where they found the two victims, as well as a gun at the home, per Beyrer. The DA believes the murders were “a premeditated ambush and execution,” per WCBS.
A neighbor admitted to hearing the gunshots, but did not call police. “It’s so quiet around here,” he said. “Maybe I should have called the police, but you don’t think it’ll be gunshots.”
Speaking about the suspect, Beyrer said, “He went to the house … picked the girl up, put her in his car, committed the murders, drove her from there to [his home].”
One of the victim’s brothers, Tom Pohlman, spoke Thursday afternoon about his brother’s murder: “This is his home. His girlfriend was living with him. Her ex-husband shot down his door, ran upstairs, and shot him and her in cold blood.”
This is ludicrous, and people need to understand that my brother died defending his girlfriend in his home and probably trying to save his [own] life for these kids that don’t have a mother,” he added.
He explained that the mother of two of the victim’s children died 17 years ago from cancer. “Today, this maniac took their father from them,” he said.
Kenneth and Kelly had been together for about a year and a half, according to family members. His three children and her 15-year-old daughter had been living together as a blended family.
According to Pohlman’s family, per WCBS, Daniel began threatening the new couple almost immediately after they began dating. Kenneth Sr. further claimed that Kelly had said “he abused her, the ex-husband, and they were divorced.”
On Friday, prosecutors laid out additional details suggesting a possible motive for the killings. Police believe that Daniel blamed his ex-wife for his financial ruin. She and her boyfriend were reportedly killed in a $1.1 million home, per The New York Post.
They also reported finding a document in his house detailing the plans in “excruciating detail,” per WCBS, which were purportedly not complete.
The plans allegedly included bullets earmarked for the attorneys involved in his divorce proceedings, including his own.
“The defendant stated in his letters that, ‘I am of sound mind, I know exactly what I am doing,” Assistant District Attorney Eric Aboulafia said in court on Friday.
According to his “premeditated plan of murder,” per Aboulafia, Daniel texted his daughter inside the house to draw her outside. He then allegedly told her to wait in the car while he went inside the house, “and while they were in a state of undress, he fired on them with a semi-automatic handgun, taking their lives,” said Aboulafia.
The ADA further alleges that Coppola told his daughter, who had heard the gunshots, about what had happened inside the house.
The victim’s father, Kenneth Pohlman Sr., detailed the love his son and his new girlfriend shared. “Every year since Kenny and Kelly were together he wrote a love letter to Kelly,” he shared. “She framed them and she got them mounted on the wall. They got pictures on the wall and a sign saying ‘I love you more.’ They were in love.”
He went on to say, “She brought the best out of him and he brought the best out of her. They had a second chance. My son lost his wife 17 years ago.”
Kelly’s father, Ken Pohlman, echoed the sentiment, adding, “My daughter has never been so happy in her life since she met his son, Kenny Pohlman. The joy radiated around her.”
“Daniel Coppola is currently being mentally evaluated based on the suicidal statements he made,” Beyrer told the media. He has since been charged with two counts of second-degree murder. According to the DA, body camera footage shows Coppola admitting to the murders.
He is currently on suicide watch and being held with no bail. His daughter is with family members.
