A year ago, in mid-May, Ballet Arizona had started a series of shows at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix when a COVID-19 outbreak shut down production for several days.
“We were kind of dropping like flies with people getting sick,” said Eastlyn Jensen, a ballerina with the professional ballet company.
The dancers were at their homes and unable to see each other. Jensen opened an email one day to tragic news.
“I thought someone hacked the email,” she said. “I was just in disbelief.”
Her friend, mentor and co-worker, Colleen Hoopes, died after being shot in the chest in the middle of the night. Her husband, Christopher, told police he awoke and thought there was an intruder in the home. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
One year after the 25-year-old ballerina’s death, her friends are concentrating on keeping her memory alive through emotional dance tributes. Her husband is asking a judge to send his criminal indictment back to a grand jury for reconsideration.
The video in the player below shows ABC15's previous coverage of the shooting:
Court records state Christopher Hoopes called 911 shortly before 3:30 a.m. on May 20, 2022. He told police he woke up that day, startled. He thought an intruder was in their Tempe home. He told police he grabbed a 9-mm handgun and fired two to three times before he realized he shot his wife.
Police found two fired cartridge casings. Court records state evidence indicates he fired the gun “from the foot of the bed toward the opposite side of the bed, which was where the victim had been at the time of the shooting.”
The 36-year-old was charged with two felonies: second-degree murder and unlawful discharge of a weapon.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell called Colleen Hoopes a talented dancer, beloved by her community.
“Her life was cut short, and this office will seek justice for her and her family,” Mitchell said in a statement last year.
This month, the prosecutor, Frankie Grimsman, declined to comment on the case, as did Christopher Hoopes’ attorney, David Dow.
Retired Phoenix defense attorney Mike Black, who is not involved in the case, said it will be a tough case to prosecute because Christopher Hoopes made limited statements to police, as is his right under the law.
Black said the criminal case will revolve around the couple’s relationship – they had been married nearly two years when the shooting took place – and evidence at the scene.
“All these physical facts are going to become so important,” Black said. “What was the lighting like? Where was the gun? Where was she standing? Where was he shooting from?”
The trial is scheduled for July in Maricopa County Superior Court, though that date is likely to be postponed to give the prosecution and defense more time to examine evidence.
Because Hoopes made limited statements to police, he will almost certainly need to take the stand if the case goes to trial, Black said.
“Because it's a single-act event that doesn't occur over a period of time, his state of mind has to be explained,” Black said. “And he’s the only one that can reasonably do it.”
Once a defendant raises self-defense as a justification, it’s the obligation of the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act in self-defense under Arizona law, Black said.
In court records, Dow also claims the grand jury that indicted his client was given misleading evidence.
He says the jurors weren’t told Hoopes gave his wife first aid after the shooting. Jurors also were left with the impression it took four minutes for him to call 911 after shots were fired when it was three minutes, court documents state.
The grand jury was told that Christopher Hoopes was awake and aware of his surroundings before he fired, but that is false, according to his attorney.
These “misstatements of evidence (were) designed to make it look like the shooting was something other than an accident,” Dow wrote in court documents.
He is asking a judge to send the case back to the grand jury for reconsideration of the indictment. The judge has yet to rule on the motion.
Black said judges rarely grant jury remands.
With a trial looming, Colleen Hoopes’ friends are left with many questions.
“It’s just hard to figure out,“ Jensen said. “Why? Of all people, Colleen. She didn’t hurt a fly.”
Ballet Arizona called her a “bright light,” and said they were heartbroken over her death.
Ballet Arizona and Colleen’s family are now using Colleen’s maiden name, “Buckley,” when referring to and honoring her.
Colleen grew up near Rochester, New York.
She was just over 2 years old when she told her family she wanted to be a ballerina and started training at the age of 4. She majored in ballet at Indiana University and, after graduation, she served as an apprentice at Rochester City Ballet. She was hired by Ballet Arizona in 2017.
Nayon Iovino, a friend and co-worker, said she brought positive energy to the room. Colleen was incredibly strong. After a vigorous workout, he said most dancers would be on the floor, breathing hard and sweating.
“She would be up,” he said, “ready to go again.”
She danced in signature pieces, including George Balanchine’s Serenade, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Ballet Arizona’s annual classic, the Nutcracker.
On days when the dancers performed two shows, Colleen changed into a lovely dress and running shoes between shows, Jensen said. She dashed to a nearby Catholic church and attended mass in full stage makeup. She ran back to Phoenix Symphony Hall for the evening ballet performance.
Jensen and Iovino said they had met Colleen’s husband at ballet functions and occasional gatherings. She didn’t signal if there was something amiss in the relationship, they said. Little is known publicly about the couple’s relationship; Tempe Police Department has not yet released the police investigation to ABC15.
Ballet Arizona honored Colleen this spring at its annual Dance with Me gala.
“We honored her twice,” Iovino said.
He choreographed and dedicated a dance to her. Other dancers staged a piece based on notes Colleen left behind. She was known for keeping meticulous notes about choreography.
“Just watching it…made me feel like, oh man, she still exists,” Iovino said.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on Twitter and Facebook.
