High court throws out convictions in LV slaying

CARSON CITY -- Murder and kidnapping convictions against a Las Vegas woman have been thrown out because prosecutors did not prove she intended to commit those crimes.

The Nevada Supreme Court rejected the verdicts against Natasha Lee Barker, 24, who was convicted four years ago in the May 5, 2003, slaying of Anthony Limongello.

Authorities said Barker called Limongello, 40, and asked him to meet her at a shopping center near Rancho Drive and Washington Avenue. Once there, the man was ambushed and murdered by Aaron Daniels, then 21, who wanted his ATM card. Daniels received a first-degree murder conviction in a deal under which prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

While Barker "clearly participated" in a conspiracy to rob Limongello, justices said there was no evidence to support the finding that she intended to kidnap and murder him.

The prosecution, according to the court, "forcefully argued that Barker was guilty of murder and first-degree kidnapping as a co-conspirator."

But in a 3-0 decision, justices said there was "no evidence of Barker's precise role, if any, in the victim's murder" or kidnapping.

Referring to a decision in a 2005 case, justices said defendants can be convicted for crimes under the "theory of vicarious co-conspirators' liability," but the prosecution first must prove they intended to commit the offenses.

Vicarious liability is a legal doctrine under which people can be found liable for an injury to another, even if they did not personally cause the injury but had a "particular legal relationship" to the person who did.

In their decision, the justices ordered the District Court in Clark County to vacate Barker's murder and kidnapping convictions. However, she was convicted of other offenses, including robbery and conspiracy to commit a violent crime, that will keep her behind bars at least until 2010.

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.