A father accused of fatally shooting his ex-wife and her new partner as they slept in their million-dollar Long Island home ranted about his hatred of gender pronouns in a MAGA-fueled speech just hours earlier.
Daniel Coppola, 50, was arrested Thursday on two counts of murder, after Kelly Coppola, also 50, and her partner of nearly two years, Kenneth Pohlman, 53, were found dead in their St. James home shortly before midnight Wednesday.
On Friday morning, DailyMail.com obtained the first photos of Coppola since his arrest, as he left jail to appear in court wearing socks and no shoes, with a small wound visible on his forehead.
He was later arraigned on two counts of second-degree murder and is being held without bail. He is on suicide watch and faces 50 years to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Coppola, a father of one, lost his temper on Facebook hours before the alleged killings, complaining about the use of gender pronouns in email signatures.
“Maybe I should say Trump/him in my byline,” he wrote, followed by the hashtag “#MAGA2024.”
Daniel Coppola, 50, was arrested Thursday on two counts of murder.
The father of one lost his temper on Facebook hours before the alleged murders, complaining about the use of gender pronouns in email signatures.
“He/she, she/him, what a bunch of crazy people like me, I need this in a corporate email. I don’t give a shit about your orientation, why do I need this in your signature line? Do your job as a man, woman, trans, etc.,” Coppola said in her lengthy rant.
‘I’m done with this shit and fuck everyone who thinks this in (sic) normal, I can’t wait for them to give me a negative answer. I’m tired of biting (sic) my damn tongue. Grow up, you attention-seeking morons.
Coppola said he had a conversation with a “very close friend” who asked him why it bothered him so much and he argued that “it goes against my core values.”
At first, the post sparked a number of sympathetic reactions from friends who agreed with him. Since news of his alleged crimes spread, the post has been flooded with strangers sharing praise for Kelly and Kenneth.
Police allege Coppola made a call Wednesday to her 15-year-old daughter, who was inside the home with her mother, warning her to get out of the house.
“The daughter was in the house and he approached her and told her to get out of the house,” Detective Lt. Kevin Breyer said at a news conference Thursday.
Kelly Coppola, 50, and her partner of nearly two years, Kenneth Pohlman, 53, were found dead in their home shortly before midnight on Wednesday.
On Friday morning, DailyMail.com obtained the first images of Coppola since her arrest.
Coppola was scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Coppola and his ex-wife (pictured together) are known to have recently gone through a bitter divorce.
‘He picked up the girl, put her in his car, committed the murders, drove her from there… While he was driving her, she was communicating with her friends via text messages saying, “I don’t know what my father did. I don’t know how my mother is.”
“They try to communicate with the mother, but they can’t, they call 911,” he said.
Coppola was arrested and reportedly being held for a mental evaluation after making suicidal statements.
The alleged attacker and his ex-wife had recently gone through a bitter divorce.
Kelly Coppola and Pohlman shared a six-bedroom, four-bathroom home valued at $1.1 million in wealthy Suffolk County. They had been dating for more than a year, friends said.
Pohlman is known to have had three children, their mother having died of cancer.
The couple had recently taken their blended family on vacation and celebrated Kelly’s 50th birthday with friends.
Breyer described it as a “tragic incident.”
“Kenny was a dear friend of my ex-husband and was one of the nicest people you could ever meet,” a friend said after his death.
The alleged victims shared a six-bedroom, four-bathroom home valued at $1.1 million in wealthy Suffolk County.
Kenneth Pohlman, 53, was shot and killed along with his partner in their home while they were in bed, police said.