Man pleads guilty to deliberately running over, killing Eagan couple in minivan

EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 37-year-old man pleaded guilty to the murder of an Eagan couple late Monday.

The Dakota County Attorney announced the plea Tuesday. The attorney’s office says Jonna Kojo Armartey deliberately drove his vehicle into 58-year-old Diane Peterson and 74-year-old Roger Peterson on June 28, 2018.  Both Petersons died in the crash.

That night, police found Armartey’s minivan after he fled the scene of the crash. Diane Peterson’s cell phone was found wedged under the passenger side windshield wiper when they located his vehicle.

Armartey told police he saw the Petersons and they, “freaked him out,” so he ran them over “going fast and hit them hard.”

“We are pleased that Jonna Armartey has accepted responsibility for this senseless and violent crime that tragically killed two individuals in our community. On behalf of everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution of this crime, I wish to extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Diane and Roger Peterson for their great loss,” said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom.

Armartey will be sentenced Oct. 11.