Lisl Auman was born in 1976 in Colorado, United States, to Colleen and Don Auman. Her parents divorced when she was eleven, and she split her time between her mother’s household—later shared with stepfather Rob Auerbach—and her father’s. She was named after the character “Liesl” from The Sound of Music.

During her adolescence and early adult years, Auman experienced instability, marked by academic struggles and emotional uncertainty. After dropping out of junior college, she began working a series of temporary jobs and lived with friends in Englewood. In the summer of 1997, she took a seasonal reforestation job in the Colorado mountains, relocating to a boarding house in Buffalo Creek. There, she began a relationship with Shawn Cheever, a logger and fellow boarder. That relationship quickly deteriorated after Auman learned of Cheever’s involvement in minor criminal activity and perceived his disinterest in their relationship. Eventually, she left Buffalo Creek and moved back to Denver, leaving her belongings behind in the shared property.

By November 1997, Auman was determined to retrieve her belongings. She met with friend Deme Soriano, Soriano’s boyfriend Dion Gerze, and two of Gerze’s acquaintances: Matthaeus Jaehnig and Steven Duprey. Auman explained her situation, and the group offered to help her recover her items from the boarding house. While the defense would later argue the trip was intended to recover Auman’s personal property only, the prosecution alleged it was a premeditated burglary, citing Auman’s frustrations with Cheever and references to his speakers as evidence of intent to retaliate.

At the heart of the case was the question of whether Auman knowingly participated in or supported the burglary, or was simply a passive passenger in a group activity she did not fully understand or control. As the events later unfolded, this distinction became critical to how the law, particularly the felony murder rule, would be applied to her case.

On November 12, 1997, Auman and four others—Jaehnig, Duprey, Gerze, and Soriano—drove to the Buffalo Creek boarding house to retrieve Auman’s belongings. Auman and Soriano entered her former room and packed items, while Gerze and Duprey cut a padlock to enter Cheever’s room. While Auman later admitted to entering Cheever’s space, she claimed she took only her possessions and was unaware that others were taking Cheever’s property.

Unbeknownst to the group, a neighbor reported the incident as a burglary to the police. Shortly after the group began their return to Denver, officers began pursuing the two vehicles. Auman was in Jaehnig’s red Trans Am. During the high-speed pursuit, Jaehnig retrieved an SKS semi-automatic rifle and instructed Auman to take the steering wheel as he fired at officers. Auman briefly complied but later stated that she was afraid and coerced, reporting that she attempted to flee at one point but was threatened by Jaehnig and stayed in the vehicle.

Around 3:10 PM, police spotted Jaehnig’s car at a condominium complex in Denver. Auman and Jaehnig were found in a nearby alcove. Auman surrendered immediately and was handcuffed and placed in a police car. Jaehnig fled and hid in a dead-end stairwell within the complex.

Roughly 13 minutes later, Denver Police Officer Bruce VanderJagt located Jaehnig’s hiding spot. As VanderJagt entered the stairwell, Jaehnig opened fire, striking the officer ten times in the head and torso. He then engaged in a shootout with other officers before taking his own life with VanderJagt’s sidearm.

Auman, still handcuffed in a patrol car, had no knowledge of VanderJagt’s death at the time. However, in the aftermath, prosecutors applied the felony murder rule, arguing that her participation in the burglary directly led to VanderJagt’s death—even though she was already detained at the time of the shooting.

In July 1998, Lisl Auman was convicted of first-degree felony murder and second-degree burglary, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case ignited widespread public debate and national attention, as critics argued that the felony murder rule was being unfairly and excessively applied to a person who did not directly cause harm and was under police control when the murder occurred. Among her defenders was Hunter S. Thompson, who wrote extensively about her case and helped launch a public awareness campaign.

In March 2005, the Colorado Supreme Court overturned her conviction, ruling that the jury had received improper legal instructions during trial, specifically related to the burglary charge. Since the felony murder charge was tethered to the now-invalid burglary conviction, it too was reversed.

In 2006, Auman accepted a plea deal to avoid retrial, pleading guilty to burglary and accessory to first-degree murder. She received a 20-year sentence under community corrections, significantly shorter than her original sentence. Auman was ultimately released after serving her time, and has since remained out of the public eye.