A heroic father of three who was shot dead in his Long Island mansion tried to protect his girlfriend before they suffered the same gruesome fate.
According to police, Kenneth Pohlman, 53, and his partner Kelly Coppola were shot dead by her ex-husband Daniel Coppola last Wednesday night.
On Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Church in Melville, Kenneth’s father, Kenneth Sr., told those gathered at the funeral that his son had been selfless to the end.
‘And my son – and everybody who played football or baseball [with] Kenny [knows] – his last act in life was selfless, he tried to protect the woman he loved… my son was a hero,’ said Kenneth Sr., the new york post reported.
Daniel Coppola, 50, was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of two counts of murder after Kelly, also 50, and Kenneth were found dead in their St. James home.
Kenneth Pohlman and his new partner, Kelly Coppola, were murdered in their Long Island home shortly before midnight. The perpetrator was believed to be Kelly’s ex-husband Daniel Coppola.
Daniel Coppola, pictured, shot the happy couple in a fit of rage, prosecutors said
The couple shared a $1.1 million, six-bedroom, four-bathroom home in affluent Suffolk County and had been dating for more than a year, friends said.
Kenneth’s mother, Dorothy, described in detail her son’s life before he met Kelly.
She said he loved sports and met his high school sweetheart and future wife Kim when his family moved to Brentwood, California.
The couple had two children together – Brianna and Tyler – before Kim died of cancer in 2006.
Kenneth Sr. said his son dated other women after his wife died and even had a daughter in 2009. But his relationships never really ran smoothly until he met Kelly, he said.
“They were soul mates,” Kenneth said. “People kept calling them boyfriend and girlfriend. They weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. You walked into their house and they were in love.”
Kenneth, pictured, was “soul mates” with Kelly, his father said at his funeral
Kelly was also very happy when she met Kenneth, according to her father John Patton.
“The joy was all around her, she was smiling all the time and for this to happen is such a tragedy,” he said. “I can’t even talk — my whole family, his family, the sadness that we’re feeling is overwhelming. I just can’t get over this.”
Their murders have shocked residents of this normally quiet community on Long Island’s North Shore.
Police say Daniel Coppola forced his way into the couple’s home and shot his ex and her new partner in the hallway.
“As they were undressing, he shot them with a semi-automatic pistol, taking their lives,” Assistant District Attorney Eric Aboulafia said in court.
Coppola and Kelly had recently gone through a bitter divorce, and during his arraignment Friday, prosecutors revealed evidence that Coppola had a pent-up murderous rage.
Daniel Coppola is pictured with his ex-wife Kelly, who police say he murdered
Aboulafia said investigators found a typed letter in Coppola’s home blaming his ex-wife for his financial problems. The letter also allegedly contained plans to kill the attorney involved in their divorce, including his own
According to Aboulafia, investigators found a typed letter in Coppola’s home that detailed his plans “in minute detail,” clearly showing his “murderous rage.”
In the letter, he blamed his ex-wife for his financial problems and said he planned to kill the lawyers involved in the divorce, including his own, shooting them all with bullets.
Coppola’s daughter was in the house when the double murder allegedly took place.
According to authorities, he gave her a warning and lured her out of the house so he could carry out the horrific act unhindered.
“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 said.
‘He picked the girl up, put her in his car, committed the murders, drove her from there to Harbor Road. While he was driving her, she was texting friends and saying, ‘I don’t know what my dad did. I don’t know about my mom.’
Coppola was later arrested and reportedly held for psychiatric evaluation after expressing suicidal thoughts.
Kenneth and Kelly lived in this $1.1 million, six-bedroom, four-bathroom home in affluent Suffolk County
According to friends, the couple had been dating for about a year
Brianna, Kenneth’s eldest daughter, said her father would ‘give you the shirt off his back, even if he never knew you’
The victims’ families left the courthouse in tears on Friday
Kenneth’s parents and brother Tom were among those in court during Friday’s hearing.
Tom screamed at Coppola as he was brought into the courtroom in prison garb. Other family members burst into tears.
“My dad would give you the shirt off his back even though he never knew you,” Kenneth’s eldest daughter, Brianna, told DailyMail.com outside the courthouse.
The 25-year-old explained that her father “did everything” for her and her siblings after their mother died of cancer when Brianna was seven.
“Now my brother, sister and I are parentless,” she cried.
Brianna also explained that Kelly’s daughter lived with her and her father. Kelly “came in and made that house a home for us,” she said.
She considers Kelly’s daughter her sister and says she “fell in love” with both her and Kelly “instantly.”
