Couple Killed In Eagan: Man Pleads Guilty To Murder

EAGAN, MN — Jonna Kojo Armartey, 37, pled guilty late Monday to two counts of murder (intentional) in connection with deliberately driving his vehicle into 58-year-old Diane Peterson and 74-year-old Roger Peterson on June 28, 2018, killing them both, while they were walking in Eagan.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on June 28, Eagan police officers were dispatched to a parking lot on a report of two people in need of medical attention.

When officers arrived, they found both Diane and Roger Peterson struggling to breathe. Both were transported to Regions Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma. Witnesses at the scene provided statements that the Petersons had been struck by a silver van, which sped away from the scene, according to a news release.

Police later responded to a report that a minivan was in a parking lot of a restaurant less than one mile from the initial scene. A Dodge Caravan with front-end damage and a cracked windshield was spotted.

Diane Peterson’s cell phone was found wedged under the passenger side windshield wiper. It was learned that the registered owner of the minivan had sold it to Armartey months earlier, police said.

In an interview, Armartey stated he saw the Petersons and that they "freaked him out" so he ran them over "going fast and hit them hard," according to the criminal complaint.

Judge Shawn Moynihan scheduled the sentencing for Armartey for Oct. 11.