COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) - Family members of victims say they don't want the state to make a deal with Joseph Duncan III that would let him avoid the death penalty, even though a trial could be difficult for lone survivor Shasta Groene.

Duncan's public defender, John Adams, said last week a plea agreement would be easier on Shasta because she wouldn't have to testify at trial, but could only be made if the state didn't seek the death penalty against Duncan.

Duncan, 42, of Fargo, N.D., has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping in the slayings of three people in their Coeur d'Alene-area home in May 2005. Killed were Brenda Kay Groene, 40; her son, Slade Vincent Groene, 13; and Mark Edward McKenzie, 37.

Federal prosecutors say that when the state case is resolved, federal charges will be filed in the abduction of 9-year-old Dylan Groene and 8-year-old Shasta Groene from the blood-drenched family home, and Dylan's subsequent death at a Montana campsite.

"For anybody to think we'd want to plea-bargain with him, they're totally crazy," Mark Doble, husband of Brenda Groene's younger sister, Sandra, told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. "This guy ruined our lives. He needs to pay."

Of his niece, Shasta, he said: "She's very strong. She will be able to testify. It needs to be done."

Adams hinted last week that a plea agreement could be possible, following a hearing in which 1st District Judge Fred Gibler postponed the trial six months at Adams' request.

Shasta's court advocate, and her father, Steve Groene, accompanied by his attorney, testified in closed proceedings in the judgeâ€'s chambers. Adams called Steve Groene as a defense witness during the hearing.

Afterward, Adams said a plea agreement would be easier on Shasta.

But Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said there will be no negotiations, and family members say they back that decision.

"We're definitely not interested in any plea bargain whatsoever," said Darlene Torres, Brenda Groene's mother. "Mr. Douglas, we're behind him all the way."

Steve Groene, father of Slade, Dylan and Shasta, has not said publicly whether he prefers a plea agreement or a trial.

The brother of Mark McKenzie, Steve McKenzie, said he understood the concern over the idea of Shasta being called to testify. But he said the death penalty should not be bargained away.

"That was my dad's son and my brother," Steve McKenzie said. "And he was tied up and beat to death with a hammer. We don't want to plea bargain with this guy."