Eliza Wasni, 16-years-old, took three Uber rides on Tuesday. She started in her first Uber going to Des Plaines, IL, train station at approximately 1:25 a.m. Her second Uber ride at 2:18 a.m. was to a Walmart. Surveillance video showed footage of her shoplifting a knife and a machete. She took a third Uber from Walmart in Lincolnwood, IL. That ride cost 34-year-old Uber driver Grant Nelson his life, according to prosecutors.
Wasni was only a few minutes into the third ride, in the backseat, when she started hacking and stabbing the driver, according to Michelle Cunningham, Assistant State’s Attorney, Cook County, IL.
Nelson was a random murder victim and the first killing since 2006 in Lincolnwood.
His family said, after finishing their family’s Memorial Day dinner that he decided to drive Uber for extra cash. They said he was a kind man, had no enemies, and was gentle.
Uber driver attacked with knife and machete
Just a few blocks away from Walmart is where Nelson picked up his fare, Wasni, who started attacking him with the machete and knife, according to prosecutors. He maneuvered his Hyundai Sonata and pulled it over at condominium building driveway. He ran to the nearby lobby and pushed buzzers, banging and yelling for help. Cunningham said that Nelson is screaming for help, said he was going to die. Residents called 911.
The teen drove off in his car yet soon hit a median. Wasni left the car, then ran on foot and was found close by wearing only leggings and a bra. A Chicago Cubs shirt, which was bloodstained, was also found nearby. Officers followed a trail of blood to the grass near the condominium lobby. They found Nelson seriously injured.
According to Cunningham, police saw that the name Eliza was Nelson’s most recent customer when they used his phone’s Uber app after he told police that he drove for the company.
After describing Wasni to police, Nelson died a few hours later of his wounds at Presence St. Francis Hospital.
Police use stun gun when accused teen killer refuses to drop weapons
Police found Wasni behind an office building, crouching behind the air conditioning unit with a knife in one hand and a machete in the other hand. Police told her to drop the weapons, she refused, and an officer used a stun gun to shock her. She was, then, taken into police custody and didn’t make a statement.
Wasni, who has been charged as an adult and with first-degree murder, had her first hearing Wednesday in Skokie bond court. She was ordered by a Cook County judge to be held without bond since she allegedly attempted fleeing the scene and also changed her clothing. According to David McMahon, Assistant Public Defender, Wasni lives with her mother, attends high school, and doesn’t have a criminal record.
Since February 2016, Nelson, of Wilmette, had been working as a driver for Uber. A spokesman for Uber said Nelson was well-regarded. He drove for Uber and for Lyft after his shifts working as a waiter. He lived with his parents.
He was a good person, his sister, Alexandra Nelson, told Chicago’s WMAQ-TV. She said her brother loved the family dog, Lilly, and classical music. He was a pianist. She described his death as horrifying.
