LI Man Charged With Murder In 'Tragic' Slaying Of Ex-Wife, Her Boyfriend: PD

ST. JAMES, NY — A man faces murder charges after he shot and killed his ex-wife and her boyfriend in St. James on Wednesday night, Suffolk police said Thursday.

Daniel Coppola, 50, of Head of the Harbor, was accused of killing his former wife, Kelly Coppola, 50, and Kelly's boyfriend, Kenneth Pohlman, 53, at their Brasswood Road home, Detective/Lieutenant Kevin Beyrer, commanding officer of the Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad, told reporters.

Beyrer called it a "tragic incident."

Daniel Coppola's 15-year-old daughter called 911 at 11:45 p.m., 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. The department does not know as of Thursday afternoon if Coppola legally owned the gun, police said.

He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

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, Beyrer said.

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."

Both families were notified, and the teenage girl is now with family members, police said.

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.