Appeals court turns down shooting victim's parents

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A federal appeals court says the parents of a woman gunned down at a Salt Lake City shopping mall in 2007 can't declare themselves victims of a gun sale that helped arm the teenage killer.

The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed the case brought by Sue and Ken Antrobus of Cincinnati, who tried to assert they had crime-victim status to argue for an eight-year sentence for Mackenzie Glade Hunter.

The court said the couple's request would undermine prosecutors' control of how to handle cases.

Hunter spent nearly 13 months in prison on a plea deal for selling a handgun to a juvenile.

Sulejman Talovic turned 18 by the time he opened fire Feb. 12, 2007, at the Trolley Square mall, killing five people, including Vanessa Quinn, before police gunned him down.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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