Woman Who Faked Kidnap Charged With Murder After Police, Firefighter Died During Her Rescue

A New Mexico woman who fabricated her own kidnap is facing murder charges after a police officer and firefighter died during a high-speed chase to "rescue" her ended in a crash.

The officials have identified the victims as 43-year-old Santa Fe police officer Robert Duran and 62-year-old Rio Rancho, a veteran firefighter of Las Vegas, NY Daily News reported.

Jeannine Jaramillo, 46, from Albuquerque, claimed that she was kidnapped Wednesday by her new boyfriend, Mark Lopez, who drove her away in a vehicle after an argument with him near an apartment complex.

A woman at the apartment complex called 911 after Jaramillo told her that she was being kidnapped. The police chased the vehicle on the wrong way on Interstate 25, which led to a crash involving two police vehicles, two civilian vehicles and the car Jaramillo traveled, Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

According to witnesses, an unidentified man wearing a red shirt, black pants and a black jacket fled the scene and Jaramillo claimed that it was Lopez. However, Julian Norris, a Santa Fe police officer said he only saw a female driver in the car and no one else got out of the vehicle.

The police later determined that Jaramillo made up the kidnapping story and the vehicle she traveled was a stolen one. They also found out from the computer data of the vehicle that during the crash only the driver's seat was occupied. As the DNA from the driver’s side airbag matched that of Jaramillo, she was confirmed as the driver.

Jaramillo was arrested Saturday night and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, city police Chief Antonio Salazar said. She faces additional charges, including homicide by vehicle, receiving stolen property, aggravated fleeing and tampering with evidence. Meanwhile, it is not known if Jaramillo stole the car, Salazar added.

"Her actions put the entire public in danger and took the lives of two dedicated public servants. I hope that holding her accountable will provide some closure to Officer Duran and Frank Lovato’s family," Tim Johnson, New Mexico State Police Chief, said in a statement.