Girl, 16, Accused of Murdering Her Uber Driver

Police say she used a stolen machete and a knife
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 31, 2017 4:52 PM CDT
Updated Jun 4, 2017 1:31 PM CDT
Teen Girl Accused of Killing Her Uber Driver
In this file photo taken Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, a woman walks past the company logo of the internet car service, Uber, in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, FILE)

Prosecutors say a teenage girl used a stolen machete and a knife during a fatal attack on a suburban Chicago Uber driver, the AP reports. Eliza Wasni is charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of Grant Nelson of Wilmette. A Cook County judge on Wednesday ordered the 16-year-old Wasni of Chicago held without bond. Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Cunningham says the 34-year-old Nelson picked up the girl near a Walmart in Skokie, from which she stole the machete and knife some time after 2am Tuesday. Within minutes, she was attacking Nelson. He managed to stop his car and run into a condominium building lobby where WGN-TV reports he was heard screaming, "Help me! Help me! I'm going to die!"

Cunningham says Wasni drove off in Nelson's car, struck a median, and then ran off. Lincolnwood police say they responded to a report of a man screaming for help at about 3:20am Tuesday when they found Nelson with multiple stab wounds. Wasni was apprehended moments later after removing a bloody shirt, still in possession of two weapons police believe she used in the stabbing. Authorities say Nelson was able to describe his attacker to police before dying at a nearby hospital; the Chicago Tribune reports a check of his phone revealed "Eliza" was his final customer. Wasni had taken two previous Uber rides early Tuesday, all in violation of the company's terms and conditions, which stipulate ride-hailers be 18 and up. A public defender would only say Wasni attended a Chicago high school and lives with a single mother. (More Uber stories.)

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