his best friend, Tim Cutkomp, moved to Arizona, and borrowed $5,000 from his brother to buy chemicals and equipment. Within a year, Honken and Cutkomp managed to produce several pounds of nearly pure meth, which they sold in northeast Iowa, primarily through two dealers: Terry DeGeus and Greg Nicholson. The two made hundreds of thousands of dollars from several drug runs. On one of his drug runs, Honken met Angela Johnson, who was then dating DeGeus. Johnson told Honken that DeGeus was personally using too much meth which was supposed to be sold, and that they should deal with each other instead. The two started a romantic relationship and Johnson soon became pregnant with Honken's child. Honken, seeking to expand his drug dealing business, studied chemistry textbooks at the library, read science journals, kept extremely thorough records, made plans to expand his business to the Internet, and considered writing his own book about how to make and sell meth in the United States. In March 1993, Honken and Cutkomp were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges. While preparing for his trial, Honken discovered through legal documents that Nicholson had turned witness. He wore a wire to a meeting and recorded Honken making a future $3,000 deal. Authorities had found almost 150 grams of pure meth in Nicholson's house, and he'd agreed to become an informant in exchange for leniency. Over the next few weeks, Nicholson became extremely paranoid. His then-wife, Leslie Olson, said he prevented her from going outside or staying near windows for very long. The two ended their relationship shortly after Nicholson's arrest. Honken had threatened Nicholson in the past, saying he could order a hit on him or anyone else if he wanted. Honken said he planned to plead guilty, and a hearing was scheduled for July 30, 1993. Murders and court proceedings Honken was released on bond and searched for Nicholson's whereabouts. Johnson bought a pistol on July 7, 1993. The two eventually located Nicholson. On July 24, 1993, Johnson pretended to be a lost saleswoman to get into Nicholson's home, where she and Honken bound him and forced him to record a statement claiming that Honken was innocent. The two then bound and gagged Nicholson and his new girlfriend, 37-year-old Lori Ann Duncan. Johnson took Duncan's daughters, 10-year-old Kandace Duncan and 6-year-old Amber Duncan, telling them that they were going on a surprise trip. Honken