Pope’s ex-wife, siblings recall the violence

Kim Smith

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 | 11:08 a.m.

Nikita Shane practiced for hours. Every day for weeks she practiced packing suitcases and dressing her three small children, hoping she could accomplish the task in fewer than 30 minutes.

Then their spot opened at a women's shelter, and Shane was ready to leave her abusive husband. She just made it.

"As the cab was pulling out of the driveway, Frank was pulling in," Shane said.

Frank, as in Frank Pope.

Shane was married to Pope for six years. When she left him that day in 1986, her oldest son -- from an earlier relationship -- was 7. Her daughter, Desiree, was 1, and Conan Pope was 3 weeks old.

She never dreamed that one day Conan would go to prison for killing the man who abused her five of the six years she was married to him.

On Tuesday Conan Pope, 16, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the Jan. 6, 2000, shooting death of his father. He will serve between four and 15 years in prison.

Conan Pope turned himself in to juvenile authorities Tuesday afternoon and will remain at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center until his sentencing May 22.

The teen will serve his sentence at the Southern Desert Correctional Center near Indian Springs. Prosecutors have said they would not oppose his entry into a new youthful offender program.

In explaining his guilty plea, the boy told District Judge Michael Cherry, "I was protecting me and my sister against my father, and I shot my father."

Kristina Wildeveld, Conan Pope's attorney, has long claimed that Frank Pope was a "terrifying psychopath" who abused both his children horribly and served four years for murdering an infant in 1962.

Wildeveld said that although the boy had a compelling defense he opted to accept a deal rather than put himself and his sister through the trial process. He also wanted to avoid the possibility of a 40-year to life sentence.

Shane was married to Frank Pope decades after he was released from prison in the infant homicide case. But, in a brief interview this morning, she said she has first-hand knowledge of his violent behavior.

After the divorce in 1986 Shane said she was forced to change her name and hide because her former husband stalked her.

When Frank Pope was able to gain custody of their children, Shane said he refused to let her see them.

"He said he would kill me and the kids if I tried to see them," Shane said.

It was only after he died that Shane re-established contact with her children. Five years had gone by.

She learned then that Conan and Desiree had been told she was dead. They were also told she had been a prostitute and drug abuser.

Shane said she doesn't believe her son deserves prison time. But, she also didn't want him to risk a 40-year to life sentence.

Even Frank Pope's siblings said they understood their nephew's decision.

James Pope and Priscilla Falknor didn't meet Conan Pope until after he shot their brother to death. In fact, they didn't even know Conan existed.

They love him just the same.

"It's unfortunate things are the way they are and he could not go to trial safely," James Pope said Monday afternoon. "I think the lad would be acquitted, but it's not worth risking 40 years for."

James Pope, 67, and Falknor, 65, were the older siblings of Frank Pope, 62. They reside in Massachusetts and Colorado, respectively.

"I still don't feel he should be prosecuted, but if he has to be, then I think this is the best thing that could happen under the circumstances," Falknor said.

The siblings say they are sure their brother deserved his demise. Both have said Frank Pope was inherently evil and began exhibiting violent tendencies as a small child.

Both recall incidents in which they saw their brother choke people, break limbs and beat his wives.

Neither one had heard from Frank Pope in years, having chosen to cut him out of their lives because of his violence.

They learned of Frank Pope's death and the existence of Conan and Conan's sister, Desiree, through Wildeveld.

"I don't hold any rancor toward Conan for shooting my brother," James Pope said. "I expected for years to get a phone call in the middle of the night from someone telling me my brother had lost his life to the police or to one of his criminal associates."

James Pope said he also hopes Desiree, who denies any abuse was taking place in the Pope household, comes to grips with the past.

"I don't think she realizes how close to the window she came," James Pope said.

Paul Mones, a nationally known defense attorney who specializes in cases in which children kill their parents, said the Pope case is unique because so much of Frank Pope's violence was documented.

Of all the homicides in the United States, less than 2 percent are parricide cases or those involving relatives. Of those, 75 percent are cases in which fathers end up dead, Mones said.

Mones, who is based in Oregon, said he has handled several hundred parricide cases. Had the Pope case gone to trial he would have waived his fee and assisted Wildeveld.

"I can say with full confidence Conan has gone to hell and back before the age of 15," Mones said.

Mones said the teen has an excellent chance of living an exemplary life after he is released from prison.

Conan Pope told "NewsONE at 9," Las Vegas One's newscast, that he hopes one day to become a nurse practitioner.

"I want to spend the rest of my life helping people," he said.

"Face to Face" Executive Producer

Dana Gentry contributed to this story.