By Steven K. Paulson, Associated Press
March 28, 2005

The Colorado Supreme Court tossed out a life sentence and ordered a new trial Monday for a woman who was convicted of murder even though she was handcuffed inside a police car when her companion gunned down an officer after a burglary and chase.

The court said Lisl Auman's conviction was flawed because the judge's instructions to the jury on a related burglary charge were improper. Auman's conviction on the burglary charge allowed the jury to find her guilty of felony murder, which carries a sentence of life without parole.

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The court ordered a new trial but upheld the law that allowed Auman to be convicted of felony murder as an accomplice, even though she did not kill anyone.

"... It does not matter that the defendant had no intent to kill or that the defendant did not cause the killing," the court ruled.

Auman, her companion Mattaheus Jaehnig and others had broken into her former boyfriend's apartment on Nov. 12, 1997. A passer-by called police; when they responded, Auman and Jaehnig fled in a car driven by Jaehnig.

Prosecutors said Auman handed Jaehnig a gun and some point.

Officers pursued Auman and Jaehnig to a condominium complex 30 miles away, where the pair abandoned the car and fled.

Police caught Auman as she ran, handcuffed her and put her into a patrol car, but Jaehnig bolted into a maze of townhouses, exchanging gunfire with police.

Vanderjagt, 47, was hit at least once and died at a hospital after fellow officers carried him to an ambulance. After an hours-long search, Jaehnig was found dead outside a townhouse from a single gunshot wound to his chin.

The ruling was a major victory for Auman, 29, who has spent seven years in prison appealing her conviction. The case has attracted national attention, with Auman winning support from the late writer Hunter S. Thompson, the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, and actors Sean Penn, Benecio Del Toro and Johnny Depp.

Jason Dunn, spokesman for Attorney General John Suthers, had no comment Monday. Public defender Kathleen Lord, who handled Auman's appeal, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Karen Steinhauser, a former Denver prosecutor who had no connection with the case, said a retrial will be difficult for prosecutors because witnesses' memories have faded and some witnesses are no longer available.

She said the ruling will be a blow to many.

"The fact this case is being overturned will be difficult, not just for police officers, but for the family of officer VanderJagt," she said.

VanderJagt's wife now lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

Auman's appeal challenged the trial judge's instructions to the jury on the burglary charge and said jurors didn't fully understand state law.

The Supreme Court ruled the judge failed to tell the jury that a burglary conviction requires prosecutors to prove that the defendant knowingly took someone else's property without permission.

Auman admitted entering her ex-boyfriend's apartment unlawfully but claimed she only wanted to retrieve her own property.

The attorney general's office, which argued the case on appeal, said any questions about the judge's instructions should have been made before the case went to the jurors.