A Burlington woman has been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison for the stabbing death of her cousin last year.
On Feb. 11, a Des Moines County jury found 50-year-old Tisha Bounds guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Derius Lashaun Moore. Bounds was sentenced Monday by Judge Wyatt Peterson, who also ordered her to pay $150,000 in restitution to Moore’s two young children. Under Iowa law, Bounds must serve up to 70 percent of her sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The case stems from a March 2025 confrontation at an apartment Bounds was living in. During an argument with Moore and his fiancé, Bounds stabbed Moore, who later died from his injuries. Prosecutors argued Bounds chose to take her anger out on Moore, while her defense maintained she acted in self-defense.
A victim impact statement read in court detailed the deep and lasting pain Moore’s death has caused for his family. Bounds also addressed the court, saying she loved her cousin and never intended to kill him, calling the incident a tragic outcome of a heated confrontation.