PHOENIX — The criminal trial for the man accused of shooting and killing his ballerina wife in 2022 may not happen this year.
Christopher Hoopes recently changed attorneys and was in court Thursday for a status conference. Because he has a new attorney, his scheduled May trial was pushed back to September.
“I don’t see any way that we’re going to be in trial on this in 2025,” Frankie Grimsman, a deputy county attorney in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, told the judge.
Attorney Daniel Raynak is now representing Hoopes. He says he needs additional time to review the evidence and will also be in trial on a different criminal case for several months this year.
“This is an extremely complicated case with some unusual issues,” prosecutor Frankie Grimsman told the judge.
The Maricopa County Superior Court judge overseeing the case, Monica Edelstein, indicated that it’s likely the September trial date may get pushed back, potentially into 2026.
The trial has been postponed several times, which is not unusual in murder cases. Hoopes is free on bond while he awaits trial, but he wears an ankle monitor and is mostly confined to this home.
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Tempe Police say Hoopes shot and killed his 25-year-old wife, Colleen, in the middle of the night in May 2022. He told police he woke up startled in their Tempe home, thought there was an intruder in the house and accidentally shot his wife. He has pleaded not guilty.
Colleen Hoopes’ death made national headlines. She was part of Ballet Arizona, a professional dance company in Phoenix. The shooting shook the close-knit community of dancers.
Legal experts believe court filings by Hoopes’ previous attorneys suggest a possible defense strategy – called “involuntary intoxication.” This is rarely used in murder cases. This is a defense where the defendant claims their legally prescribed medicine caused unintended, even dangerous, side effects that affected their perception.
“At the time of the incident, Mr. Hoopes was legally prescribed medications. The use of these medications and the effects of these medications are directly relevant to Mr. Hoopes’ defense,” according to a court motion by his attorneys last year.
In the court motion, Hoopes sought permission from the court to hire two expert witnesses: a pharmacologist and a forensic psychiatrist. The pharmacologist is needed to “educate the jury on the medication, uses and side effects of the legally prescribed medications.” The forensic psychiatrist is needed to assist attorneys and “educate the jury on Mr. Hoopes’ mental state, the effects of various medications and how the relevant medications impact intent.”
The judge granted the request to hire the expert witnesses. But what those expert witnesses said has not yet been publicly revealed. A settlement conference scheduled for earlier this year was canceled when Christopher Hoopes changed attorneys.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
