VASCO

A jury convicted defendant Adriana Vasco of the first degree murder of Carolyn Stahl and the second degree murder of her husband, Ken Stahl. Multiple-murder and lying-in-wait special-circumstance allegations were found to be true. She contends the court erroneously applied the newsperson’s shield law to restrict her cross-examination of a newspaper reporter who interviewed her in jail. She also contends the evidence is insufficient to support the second degree murder conviction based on a theory it was a natural and probable consequence of the murder she aided and abetted. We affirm.

I

Facts

A. Overview

Ken Stahl, a prominent Huntington Beach osteopathic physician, hired a contract killer to murder his wife Carolyn while the couple celebrated her birthday. Stahl’s murderous betrayal of his wife was matched on a smaller scale when the gunman turned the weapon on Stahl and opened fire, killing him instantly.

Defendant played a key role in this tragic drama. As Stahl’s former mistress and long-time confidante, she was privy to his obsession to murder his wife. She introduced Stahl to her new boyfriend, Tony Satton, when she learned the latter had experience as a hired…