Tragic twist in case of Kentucky woman who shot and killed El Paso Uber driver over fears he was kidnapping her

A Kentucky woman who shot and killed an El Paso Uber driver, and claimed he threatened to kidnap her, has died almost one month ahead of her murder trial. 

Phoebe Copas faced a murder trial scheduled for April 28 after the death of Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, who Copas shot and killed on June 16, 2023. 

Copas claimed that Garcia was attempting to kidnap her and take her to Juárez, Mexico, and that she had acted in self-defense. 

She was reported to have died on Tuesday March 25, according to Copas's former attorney Matthew James Kozik.

Kozik told ABC 7 that Copas was scheduled for a court date scheduled on Tuesday and never made it to the hearing. 

'Phoebe Copas was and remains an innocent woman,' Kozik said in a statement to the outlet. 

The trial was set to begin after being previously delayed due to serious medical issues Copas faced. She was reported to have collapsed at a court hearing in December, El Paso Times reported. 

Garcia's niece, Didi Lopez, said that after learning of Copas's death her family processed many emotions. 

'Anger was one of them, sadness also, because where's the accountability? I don't feel like - we don't feel we got any justice, and there's no accountability in her death,' Lopez said.   

Garcia's family previously claimed that he had been killed unjustly and wanted justice for Copas's 'reckless' behavior. 

They said that had she been fearing for her life, she had other options before choosing to shoot Garcia, including calling 911. 

Kozik stated, in defense of Copas's actions, that she claimed the locks and windows of the Uber driver's vehicle were not operational and there were razor blades in the vehicle. 

The attorney also rebutted the police statement as 'false and that at no time did she report defending herself because she saw a sign to Juárez.' 

'It has been disappointing to see some of our community react to this case in a way that we, as a diverse community, should know better,' Kozik said. 

'No one should rejoice in the death of Mr. Piedras or Ms. Copas.'  

Kozik had previously told the El Paso Times that Copas claimed Garcia had told her of a fair in the Mexican city, and even though she said she didn't want to go to the fair, the driver sped up and ignored her pleas to be let out. 

'She asked for him to stop the vehicle. She attempted to open the doors, but the doors were locked,' he claimed. 'She tried to do everything anybody would expect someone to do before an escalation of force.' 

Copas then pulled out her weapon and 'begged for him to just pull over the vehicle,' Kozik said. 

'He turned around and said, "I'm going to take you. We're going to Juárez," and he sped up the car.' 

'She didn't just point the gun and shoot him. That is not what happened,' Kozik told the outlet. 'She told him she didn't want to go to Juarez. She tried to escape for several minutes. She just wanted to get out of the car. She feared for her life.'

At the time of the shooting, police claimed Copas shot Garcia because she saw traffic signs saying they were approaching 'Juarez, Mexico' - though the highway he was driving on also lead to the casino Copas wanted to go to.

After he was shot, the Nissan Maxima Garcia was driving crashed into barriers, which a police affidavit noted was 'not in close proximity of a bridge, port of entry or other area with immediate access to travel into Mexico.'

'The roadway Copas was traveling on is a normal route to drive to the destination requested by the Copas.

'The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas' destination,' police said.

At a June 29, 2023, hearing, El Paso County District Attorney's Office prosecutor Shantal Ortega also claimed that no facts in the case proved Copas was being kidnapped.

'Simply because this is a border city and there may be signs showing miles away from some port of entry, it is unreasonable that she wouldn't have come across that before,' she argued.

District Attorney Bill Hicks even went as far as to claim Copas' actions were 'very unreasonable.'

'El Paso is a safe community. and to have someone react the way she did, I think highlights a misconception about El Paso being dangerous,' he said.

'And that's why it's so important that we stand up for not just this Uber driver, not just this family, but for our community, to say to El Paso, to the state, to our country that El Paso is a safe community and behavior that reacts any other way is not acceptable.'

But Kozik argued that the claim Copas simply saw a sign for Juarez and shot Garcia is 'literally a figment of law enforcement's imagination.'

He noted that a review of police body camera footage and an interrogation of his client show she never mentioned the road signs.

Instead, Kozik claimed, it was the first officer who arrived on the scene who told another officer about the road sign - and from there the story spread, to even be included in the police affidavit.

'She never says she saw a sign of Juarez and then shot him,' Kozik insisted. 'She says "yes" during her interview when asked if she saw signs of Juarez, but she also says she saw signs saying Fort Bliss.'

Footage from the day of the shooting also shows Copas crying, praying and asking officers whether Garcia was dead as she sat in the back of the patrol car, the El Paso Times reports.

'She gets into the back of the vehicle and she is saying, "Jesus. I'm sorry. Oh God, oh God. Oh Lord. Jesus. Sir is he dead?"' Kozik said. 'She repeatedly asks if he is dead.

'Is this some racially motivated attack? Doesn't seem like it from how she is reacting and from all the evidence in the case.'

Police had also alleged that before she called 911, Copas took a photo of Piedra after the shooting and texted it to her boyfriend.

When police arrived on the scene at about 2:20pm they found Copas being helped out of the car by her boyfriend.

But Kozik said Copas took the photo because she called her boyfriend for help, and he thought she was joking at first.

The lawyer also noted that police found razor blades and a crowbar within Garcia's arm span, adding credibility to Copas' fears she was being kidnapped.

 'I can't speak for everyone, but everyone I know doesn't carry razor blades on [them] or near their steering wheel,' Kozik argued. 'I've never heard of or know anyone that does that.

'Razor blades and a crowbar... are weapons,' he noted. 'These are weapons that could be used to commit a crime.

'These aren't accusations. These items were found in the car.'

Further supporting Copas' claims, he said, is Uber driver data that showed Garcia took an unusual route to get to the casino.

'All of this adds up to show this was not a normal Uber ride,' he claimed.

Garcia's family has described the victim as a hard-working man trying to make money for his family. They said they believed he was working his last ride of the day when he picked up Copas.

He was ultimately found slumped over in the driver's seat of the car having been shot in the head. He was hospitalized for several days before his family took him off life support after doctors told them he would not recover.

The trial was set for December and then pushed to April due to Copas's health conditions, including heart failure, kidney complications and bouts of unconsciousness.