Margaret Ann Hooper Kokoth, 75, of New Canaan, Connecticut, died on May 6, 2021, in what the chief medical examiner later ruled a homicide. Police were sent to the couple’s Down River Road home after a 911 call from her husband, Albert Kokoth, 77, who said he had accidentally shot his wife while showing her a shotgun before a planned trip to a gun range. Officers found Margaret deceased and Albert covered in blood.

Medical findings showed shotgun wounds to Margaret’s head and torso. A neighbor reported hearing two distinct gunshots about 15 minutes apart, and prosecutors said evidence indicated the shotgun had been fired, emptied, reloaded, and fired again—details that conflicted with Albert Kokoth’s account of a single accidental discharge. His daughters had reportedly expressed prior concerns about his mental state.

Albert Kokoth was arrested, initially charged with assault and illegal discharge of a firearm, and in July 2021 those charges were upgraded to murder with bond set at $2 million. During proceedings he was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease and was found not competent to stand trial on multiple occasions; a state expert testified there was no substantial probability he could be restored to competency, and he was transferred to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for civil commitment proceedings.

Did anyone in the area know the Kokoths or hear anything the night of May 6, 2021?