Victim's sister fears 2nd trial over death penalty

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - A sister of one of five people killed by an Iowa woman says she hopes her family doesn't have to suffer through another trial after a federal judge threw out her death sentences.

Brenda Stone of Charles City is the sister of Terry DeGeus, a 32-year-old federal drug informant from Britt killed by Dustin Honken and Angela Johnson in 1993.

Stone said Monday that U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett's ruling Friday throwing out Johnson's death sentence in her brother's death and three others wasn't surprising. She says she hopes prosecutors appeal.

But if Bennett's ruling stands, she would be fine with prosecutors converting Johnson's sentence to life in prison. She says the family's tired of reliving her brother's horrific death, and taxpayers should not have to pay for another trial.