Relative: Suspect in deputy's shooting death 'not a monster'

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - The half-sister of a central Illinois man accused of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy says her half-brother is "not a monster."

Christina Brown of Decatur spoke after Floyd E. Brown's Monday hearing in Rockford federal court. He is charged with first-degree murder in the Thursday death of McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner. Floyd Brown fled in a vehicle that crashed along an interstate about 170 miles away. He was eventually arrested.

Christina Brown says she'll be with her half-brother "every step of the way." She also offered the Keltner family sympathies, saying "my heart honestly, truly goes out to all of them." She said she was alarmed to learn about the charges and is scared to think her half-brother faces a potential death penalty.

The 39-year-old Brown did not enter a plea Monday.