DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – A lawsuit over the murder of an Anamosa prison guard can move forward but some defendants were dropped, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. KCRG-TV reports Sara Montague is suing the Iowa Department of Corrections and several staffers over the death of her husband, Robert McFarland. He and a nurse, Lorena Schulte, were murdered by inmates in March 2021 during an escape attempt. Thomas Woodard and Michael Dutcher both pleaded guilty to the murders in 2023 and were sentenced to life in prison.

Montague’s lawsuit claims gross negligence on Iowa Department of Corrections staff which contributed to her husband’s murder. The suit lists 26 employees, including Director Beth Skinner. It claims the Anamosa prison was over-capacity and under-staffed for months before the attack. It also claims the Department of Corrections failed to properly train staff, lacked a proper emergency response plan and had faulty emergency radios.

The Iowa Attorney General had sought to dismiss the case, claiming Iowa’s Workers’ Compensation provided the only avenue for compensation for a workplace injury. But the court disagreed, noting the Iowa law required public workers must take part in the program, not that it prohibits other claims against government workers. The defense also argued the lawsuit did not follow proper administrative claims procedure before filing a lawsuit. The Supreme Court partially agreed, noting that Montague had not filed administrative claims against each employee named before filing the lawsuit.

As a result, it dropped those staff from the lawsuit, but allowed it to continue against eight workers, including Director Skinner.