Man Charged In Shooting Ex-Wife, Boyfriend Attempts Suicide: Report

RIVERHEAD, NY — Daniel Coppola, who faces murder charges after prosecutors said he fatally shot his ex-wife and her boyfriend, attempted to die by suicide while in custody at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead, Newsday reported. Coppola was badly hurt after falling intentionally from a set of stairs, Newsday reported.

Click here to read the full Newsday story.

"We can confirm that [Monday] an inmate was injured during a self inflicted incident," Suffolk County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Vicki DiStefano told Patch. "Correction Officers responded quickly and appropriately to get him the medical treatment he needed. He was transported to a local hospital. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office is unable to comment further on any incarcerated individual's medical conditions or status."

Coppola pleaded not guilty to the shootings, the Suffolk County DA's Office previously told Patch. He faces two counts of second-degree murder.

Coppola's lawyer, David Jason Cohen, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Officials said Coppola fatally shot his ex-wife, Kelly, 50; and Kelly's boyfriend, Kenneth Pohlman, 53, in their St. James home.

Coppola's 15-year-old daughter called 911 at 11:45 p.m. Aug. 28, telling police her father was trying to kill himself with a gun at his Harbor Road home, the department said. Officers took Coppola into custody for his attempt to die by suicide and were directed to a gun in the home, police said.

At 11:54 p.m., a woman called 911 to report the teenage girl left her mother's Brasswood Road home with Daniel Coppola without Kelly Coppola's permission, and the caller told police that the Coppolas were divorced, police said.

Officers found the door forced open and discovered Kelly Coppola and Pohlman dead from gunshot wounds, police said. Kelly and Pohlman lived together with other family members who were not involved in the shooting, police said.

Coppola was mentally evaluated based on his suicidal statements, Detective/Lieutenant Kevin Beyrer, commanding officer of the Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad, told reporters on Aug. 29.

Beyrer said the Coppolas' daughter was in the St. James house when Daniel reached out to her and told her to get out of the house before he went in and shot his ex-wife and her boyfriend, Beyrer said.

"[Daniel Coppola] went to the house on Brasswood Road," Beyrer said. "He picked the girl up, put her in his car, committed the murders, drove her from there to Harbor Road. As he's driving her, she's communicating with friends via text saying, 'I don't know what my father did. I don't know how my mother is.' They try to reach out to the mother, can't get in touch with the mother, they call 911."

Beyrer said he would not call the shooting a "custody dispute."

Kelly Coppola did not have an order of protection in effect against Daniel, and the one documented domestic incident was a "non-criminal" argument between the Coppolas when they were still married, Beyrer said. The divorce is final and was "contentious," Beyrer said.

Coppola had a typewritten note planning the shooting, as well as a bullet with the names of everyone involved in the divorce case, including his own lawyer, officials said, ABC 7 reported.

A GoFundMe, Support Gianna After Tragic Loss, has been created by the Patton family to help Gianna, 15, Coppola's beloved daughter.

Lori Patton, Kelly's sister-in-law —Lori is married to Kelly's brother Ryan; the siblings also have another brother, Kyle — spoke with Patch about the family's unthinkable loss. Kelly's parents, she said, "are devastated."

Kelly, she said, "radiated positivity."

She added, "She was very, very close to her brothers. Kelly was very much a family-oriented person," she said. "She wanted everyone together, all the time."

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Pohlman's three children who are left without their father.