Friend: Father worried son was going to shoot him

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000 | 12:13 p.m.

Authorities contend 15-year-old Conan Pope did just that, killing his father Jan. 6 after an argument over dirty dishes in the family's southeast Las Vegas home.

"Conan's threatening to shoot me...He said he would take one of his guns and shoot me," Mike Elgas told police after his friend was killed.

The victim's 16-year-old daughter, Desiree Pope, also cast doubt on her brother's claim that he shot in self defense in an interview with police.

Desiree Pope said that Frank Pope became enraged when he came home from work and saw dirty dishes in the sink. He smashed the dishes and sent the teens to their rooms.

Less than a minute later, Conan Pope left his room and shouted at his father.

"He yelled at the top of his lungs, 'I'm going to kill you,"' Desiree Pope said in the court documents.

Conan Pope is charged with murder in the shooting, and is under house arrest at a friend's home.

Desiree Pope said she loved her father and her brother. She said she believes her father sent the children to their rooms to ensure he did not hit them in his rage.

Frank Pope had been convicted of beating and suffocating his 11-month-old daughter, Sandra, in 1962. He served four years in a Washington state prison for second-degree murder.

Though the documents unsealed Thursday contain some negative information about Frank Pope, they also suggested he tried to be a good father.

Desiree Pope told police she and her brother lived with their mother for most of the first seven years of Conan Pope's life. They moved constantly, and she said they were subjected to physical and mental abuse.

"She was on drugs very heavily," she told police.

Desiree Pope said her father took custody of the children and the family has not heard from the mother in seven years.

"My dad ran a tight ship, but we stuck with it because we needed discipline. We didn't have discipline with my mother," she said.

Desiree Pope said her father was a recovering alcoholic who didn't physically discipline the children until they reached junior high school.

She said her father and Conan began to clash more as the son grew into young adulthood, saying both had bad tempers.

She said her father was angry that Conan Pope was not doing well in school, and deeply hurt because her son did not get him a Christmas present.

archive