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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors presented enough evidence to pursue murder charges in a criminal trial against a New Mexico woman accused of causing a car crash that killed a police officer and a retired firefighter, a judge said Thursday.
Jeannine Jaramillo had a preliminary hearing before Santa Fe District Court Judge Mary Marlow Sommer.
The 46-year-old Jaramillo is facing two counts of first-degree murder along with other charges in the March 2 wrong-way crash on Interstate 25 following a police pursuit.
She originally was thought to be a victim in the multi-vehicle crash, but later was accused of causing the deadly wreck and lying to police about what happened.
Killed in the crash was 43-year-old Santa Fe Police Officer Robert Duran and 62-year-old Frank Lovato, a retired firefighter from the northern New Mexico city of Las Vegas who was driving a pickup truck and not involved with the pursuit.
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Authorities said Jaramillo initially told them she been carjacked at knifepoint.
Jaramillo was arrested days later when New Mexico State Police said evidence showed she was the sole driver of the stolen vehicle involved in the crash.
Jaramillo has been in jail since her arrest. Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to keep her behind bars throughout a trial.
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