By Zech Sindt
An omnibus hearing was held on September 30 in Samantha Jo Petersen’s case. The hearing centered around search warrants, and a recording of a conversation between Samantha and her identical twin sister, Sarah Petersen.
Samantha is facing 21 felony charges related to a crash a little over a year ago, on September 25, 2023. Two children were killed, and two others were injured in the crash.
Samantha’s attorney, Carson Heefner, says there are issues with the warrants used to obtain blood and urine samples from Samantha because they went beyond just methamphetamines. He also challenged the warrants used to obtain her cellphone, and her cellphone meta, location, and Snapchat data. In addition, Heefner also challenged a recording of a conversation between the two Petersen sisters.
Fillmore County Sheriff’s Deputy Don Kullot took the stand as a witness. He said when he arrived at the scene, he was approached by both sisters. According to his testimony, at that time, Sarah Petersen said she was the one who hit the buggy. He pulled out his small audio recorder from his front left shirt pocket and activated it, then put it back into his pocket. He then asked for her ID. She went to a vehicle unrelated to the crash, across the road from the scene of the accident, to retrieve her ID. From there he accompanied her to his squad vehicle, a fully marked Dodge pickup, and opened the front passenger door for her to get into the vehicle. He then closed the door, went around the truck, and entered it on the driver’s side. With Sarah sitting next to him in the vehicle, he pulled the recorder from his pocket and set it in a cup-holder that was located in the center console between them.
Kullot says that after a few minutes of conversation, he then exited the vehicle to speak to his captain because he wanted to make sure they were on the same page with the investigation. He had planned to continue the conversation as soon as he returned to the vehicle, so he left the recorder on. He was gone for about three minutes. He was facing away from his vehicle during the conversation with the captain. When he turned around to go back to the truck, he noticed the passenger window had been rolled down and Samantha was standing near the window talking to Sarah.
The complaint alleges that during the conversation between Sarah and Samantha, the sisters “chatted about what was asked by law enforcement to each of them.” It also alleges that Sarah can be heard saying, “I think that one of the guys is on to me but I don’t really care…” and “there’s no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us so they can’t tell.”
Heefner, Samantha’s attorney, claims Sarah did not know she was still being recorded during their conversation.
Blood and urine samples obtained from Samantha during a search warrant the day after the crash show the presence of methamphetamine, amphetamine, Delta-9 THC, and the metabolite of Delta-9 THC.
A November 8, 2023, search warrant for data on an Apple iPhone belonging to Samantha alleges that Samantha was at Hy-Vee at 5 a.m. on September 25. The data then allegedly places her near the Rochester airport at 8:11 a.m. It then continues tracking to the intersection of Highway 30 and County Road 1 at 8:20 a.m., and then to the scene of the accident at 8:23 a.m., the approximate time of the accident.
An alleged message exchange between Samantha and someone listed in the complaint as DH has Samantha admitting to the deaths. “…I hit that Amish buggy and killed two ppl,” she says. She then goes on to say, “made Sarah come there and take the fall for it so I wouldn’t go to prison.”
Reviews of her search history also turned up some evidence. She allegedly searched, “what happens if you get in an accident with an Amish buggy and kill two people,” “how to lock an iphone cops have,” and “if you hit a buggy and kill two people are you going to prison?”
Samantha Petersen’s past criminal history shows she was convicted of 4th Degree DWI-Alcohol on October 15, 2015, in Mower County, 3rd Degree DWI-Controlled Substance on August 6, 2018, in Mower County, and Giving False Name to a Peace Officer on March 15, 2007, in Olmsted County.
Another hearing has not yet been scheduled, but it is tentatively being planned for sometime in December.
Linda says
She needs to go to prison! Per her history she has never been accountable able for the choices she made. She appears to not care that she killed 2 children. Makes one sick!
Patricia Watson says
Are you kids us? Any and All evidence ought be allowed in a Double Vehicular Homicide! I, and the Amish do not care how rich mommy and daddy are – these two girls need to be held completely responsible for what they did and what they attempted to do by hiding it!
Get Real – the horse also was killed and the survivors also needed medical attention. THEY BOTH OUGHT BE SPENDING TIME IN PRISON.