Lawyer wants felony murder charge dropped

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AUBURN – A lawyer has asked a judge to dismiss a murder charge against a northeast Indiana woman whose boyfriend was killed by police after he shot an officer.

Thirty-four-year-old Julie Marie King of Auburn is scheduled to be tried May 6 on charges of felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. Felony murder occurs when a person is killed during another crime – in this case, King’s boyfriend.

Prosecutors allege King assisted Ralph Hardiek in a robbery in December 2011 hours before Hardiek shot Waterloo Deputy Marshal Steve Brady. Police later shot and killed Hardiek.

The Auburn Star on Tuesday (http://www.kpcnews.com) quoted Public Defender Daniel Pappas as saying that even if the allegations are true, they don’t justify a murder charge because Hardiek wasn’t shot during the robbery.