A 16-year-old girl has been arrested and accused in the
hacking to death murder of a “gentle and kind” Uber driver just after Memorial
Day. The Lincolnwood Police Department says that Eliza Wasni was arrested on
May 30 and will appear in court on May 31 in Skokie. On the night of May 29,
Grant Nelson’s family say he had finished dinner and was going out to make some
extra money as an Uber driver. In the early hours of May 30, Nelson was found
stabbed inside his car in Lincolnwood. He was rushed to St. Francis Hospital in
Evanston, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead. Nelson was 34 years old.1. Authorities Say Wasni Was Found With 2 Weapons Believed to Have Been Used in Nelson’s Murder
In a press release, the
Lincolnwood Police Department said that when officers found Nelson, at 3:22
a.m. on May 30, he identified his passenger as his assailant.
Authorities
arrested Wasni close to where Nelson was found. Wasni had tried to drive
Nelson’s car away from the scene but couldn’t. She was in possession of two
weapons, one of which was a machete, that cops think were used to kill Nelson.
After being confronted by officers, Wasni refused to co-operate and was tased.
Cops were
dispatched to the area after a resident reported hearing a man screaming for
help. Those screams were relayed in court as being, “Help me! I’m going to
die.”
Cook County
prosecutors said during Wasni’s hearing that Nelson had been her third Uber
driver on the night of the attack, according to ABC Chicago.
Prosecutors said that there is Walmart surveillance video showing Wasni walking
around “nonchalantly” before stealing two knives.
Nelson had
been driving his gray 2015 Hyundai Sonata sedan when he was killed. NBC Chicago reports
that there is “grainy” surveillance video that showed the Nelson’s car stopped
with someone walking out of it at Hampton Place Condominiums around the time of
the attack.
Nelson’s
father has described the killing as random, according to CBS Chicago.
2. Wasni Says on Her Facebook Page, ‘I Will Always Be Myself’
Wasni says on her Facebook page, “I will always
be myself.” While her last visible update (above) read, “Ok ok that jus changed
everything.” That post was written on February 13.
Wasni has a profile at Kids Casting, a social media website for aspiring
actors. Wasni’s Instagram page has been taken offline while her Twitter page
offers little information other than her location of Chicago.
The Chicago Tribune
reports that Wasni is a student at Taft High School and lives with her mother
who is a single parent.
Taft High
School Principal Mark Grishaber told DNA Info that Wasni
was enrolled at his school in February 2017 for nine days. Grishaber said that
Wasni’s “case manager” said that the teen shouldn’t have been allowed to enroll
and that she and been “in and out of therapeutic hospitals.”
3. Nelson Was Known for His Love of Animals
Grant Nelson’s sister, Alex, told NBC Chicago about her
brother’s love of animals. Alex Nelson said that he was especially in love with
her family’s dog, Lilly. Alex Nelson added, “He had probably the most extensive
collection of classical music of anyone I’ve ever met in life… I want people to
know Grant was a good person. He was not a vindictive person. He was not a
cruel person. He didn’t deserve this fate.”
While a friend, Mike Foley, told ABC Chicago, “It’s
overwhelming, really. It’s very sad. Heartbreaking.” Foley said that Nelson
worked in the restaurant industry and also drove part-time for ride share
companies. Another friend, Colleen Milner, told the station, “Grant’s the type
of person that would walk away from an altercation. He would never stay around.
He would let something go and walk away.”
According to
his Facebook page, Nelson lived in
Wilmette with his parents. He graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka
and the University of Colorado Boulder.
A
spokeswoman for Uber paid tribute to Nelson saying:
4. Illinois Is No Longer a Death Penalty State
The Cook
County state’s attorney’s office has said that Wasni will be charged with first
degree murder as an adult. As of 2011, Illinois is no longer a death penalty
state. The maximum penalty in a
first degree murder case is life in prison. During her initial court appearance
on May 31, Wasni was denied bond.
5. This Is the First Homicide in Lincolnwood Since 2006
It’s noted in the Lincolnwood Police Department’s release that the town
has not experienced a murder since the 2006 murder of Lester McDurmon. In that
case, Lester’s brother, James McDurmon was
sentenced to 60 years in prison for the crime.
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