ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A jury now holds the fate of a woman accused of faking a kidnapping and killing two people while driving the wrong way down Interstate 25.

Jeannine Jaramillo is accused of setting off that crash, which claimed the lives of Santa Fe police officer Robert Duran and retired Las Vegas firefighter Frank Lovato in March 2022.

Jaramillo faced several charges, including first-degree murder. In closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors said Jaramillo admitted to leading police on the chase “because it was fun.”

“She committed these crimes, knowingly, willingly, and with a depraved mind, and we ask that you find her guilty of all charges,”

Jaramillo’s attorneys declined to give an opening statement and didn’t call any witnesses. In closing arguments, her attorney said the state didn’t prove she had the required state of mind to warrant a first-degree murder conviction.

“At best, the state has shown evidence that the reckless driving caused the deaths of Duran and Lovato. But there’s no evidence that she had an evil mind, a perverted mind, a corrupt mind. There’s no evidence that she knew that her driving was going to result in the deaths of those two men,” the attorney said.

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