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Convicted killer Joseph Duncan has terminal brain cancer

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SPOKANE, Wash. — Convicted child killer Joseph Duncan has terminal brain cancer and will likely die before his federal death sentence is carried out, according to court documents.

Duncan was convicted of killing four members of a family from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 2005. He kidnapped two children, Dylan and Shasta Groene, from the family’s home and tortured them in Montana before killing the boy. Shasta Groene was the only survivor of the rampage and was rescued when Duncan stopped at a restaurant in Coeur dÁlene and the girl was recognized by the staff.

KXLY-TV reports Duncan, who is from Tacoma, Washington, has been on federal death row in Indiana for years as his appeals move forward.